...
The luxurious banquet hall was brightly lit, filled with elegantly dressed people, clinking glasses, and constant laughter.
However, in a dark and damp basement in a corner of the same city, there was a deathly silence and oppression that was the complete opposite of the banquet hall.
Cha Meiling was tied to a chair, looking disheveled. Her once exquisite makeup was ruined, but her eyes were still burning with fire.
The color Toshiba television in front of her was broadcasting the auction, which was being shown on ATV.
In the scene, Ning Yuan, dressed in a haute couture gown, stands elegantly beside Madam Ning, and everyone smiles at her.
The images on the television screen were reflected in Cha Meiling's eyes. The luxurious imperial purple jade was so dazzling to her, as if it were mocking her downfall.
"Isn't it beautiful? Your dear sister is living the high life now!" Cha Shenlou's hoarse voice echoed in the empty basement.
His tone was full of sarcasm and malice: "This used to be your life, but now it belongs to Ning Yuan. You are nothing to her!"
Cha Shenlou roughly pulled her hair, forcing her to look up and stare at the glaring image on the screen, his tone icy—
"Look at yourself now! You think you can keep living like a phoenix on a branch just because you've ingratiated yourself with the Ning family? Dream on!"
"Let me go!" Cha Meiling cried out in pain, struggling to break free from her father's grip, but he held her down firmly.
Cha Shenlou sneered, increasing the pressure on his hand, his tone filled with sarcastic mockery—
"What? Who was it that swore back then that even without your father, you would always be a young lady of high birth, and that Madam Ning would always love you?"
"Shut up!" Cha Meiling was filled with shame and indignation, but she was powerless to refute him.
"What, did I say something wrong?" Cha Shenlou abruptly shoved her head toward the screen—
"Look at yourself now, and look at her! You think you're Ning? Don't dream! Your surname is Cha, and you're my son, Cha Shenlou!"
Cha Meiling bit her lip hard, tears of humiliation welling up in her eyes.
"Look how happy your good godparents and your ex-fiancé are! Have they ever thought that you're being locked up here like a stray dog?"
Cha Shenlou's tone became increasingly hostile.
"Let me tell you, everything Ning Yuan possessed should have originally been yours!" Cha Shenlou's face was contorted with rage.
He seemed to want to vent all the humiliation he had suffered these past few days on Cha Meiling: "If it weren't for the Ning family, how could our Cha family have fallen to this state today?"
"You've repeated the same old tune so many times, what exactly do you want!" Cha Meiling suddenly raised her head.
She asked in a hoarse voice, "Since you've already escaped, why don't you just flee abroad and hide away for the rest of your life and never come back!"
"Escape?" Cha Shenlou seemed to have heard a funny joke.
He released her, letting Cha Meiling slump into the chair like a rag doll: "Why did I run away? Why did I run away? What did I do wrong? All of this is owed to me by the Ning family!"
Cha Meiling was filled with humiliation, anger, and despair. She bit her lip tightly until she tasted blood, then forced out a sentence through gritted teeth: "You brought me here, what do you want from me?!"
He looked down at Cha Meiling, his eyes sinister and his tone icy—
"I brought you here so you could see clearly that we, father and daughter, are in the same boat!"
"Your elder brother was killed by Ning Bingyu, and I will definitely avenge him! As his sister, shouldn't you do your part?!"
“That’s your son, not my brother!” Cha Meiling retorted without backing down. “My mother only has one daughter, me. I don’t have a brother!”
"Smack!"
A loud slap interrupted Cha Meiling's words, causing her head to tilt to one side and blood to seep from the corner of her mouth.
Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!
Cha Shenlou roared, "You think you can take all the Cha family's assets just because your elder brother is dead? Don't dream! You and your greedy mother are both deserving of death!"
“The Cha family’s property? That belongs to me and my mother! What do you take me for?! You’ve treated me like a pawn since I was a child, a pawn used to consolidate your position!” Cha Meiling suddenly stood up.
“You and Grandpa treated me like an object and gave me to Brother Yu. I accepted it. He didn’t love me, and I accepted that too. I studied law and business from elementary school, learning how to manipulate people and how to be a wealthy matriarch…”
She glared angrily at Cha Shenlou: "I've sacrificed so much for the Cha family, why should your illegitimate children benefit from it!"
"You unfilial daughter!" Cha Shenlou was furious and raised his hand again, slapping Cha Meiling hard across the face.
"I'm your father! My word is law! The money I give you is your money. You must immediately transfer all the money in your account to my overseas account!"
Cha Meiling gritted her teeth: "You're dreaming! My secretary has already called the police!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Cha Shenlou's eyes. He slowly squatted down, grabbed Cha Meiling's chin, and forced her to look him in the eye—
"Do you think you have a choice? Even if you don't want to live, what about your mother?"
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
