?<strong>Chapter 676:</strong>


    ire’s mother narrowed her eyes at the guilty-looking ire and asked in a low but clear voice, “What exactly did Elyse do to you? Tell me, and I’ll back you up.”


    ire nced desperately at Thea for help, but Thea’s stony silence was all she got. ire could only stomp her foot in frustration, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks.


    Her mother’s voice cut through the tension, sharp and insistent. “Speak up. Don’t be afraid. How did Elyse offend you? Did she say anything insulting?”


    ire’s eyes lit up, seizing the lifeline. She nodded vigorously and gushed, “Yes, yes! She insulted and humiliated me!”


    Elyse, with a cool and collected demeanor, asked calmly, “And how did I do that?”


    ire racked her brain, trying to recall, but then a sinking realization hit her—Elyse hadn’t actually said anything particrly offensive.


    Elyse, reading ire’s troubled expression, let out a scoff. “What’s wrong? Have you finally realized I didn’t say anything bad? After all, we only argued because you insulted my dad.”


    ire’s mother’s eyes darkened with fury. “ire, I thought I raised you better. Where did you learn how to insult others?”


    The scolding felt like a p to ire’s already fragile ego. Her eyes reddened, tears welling up, threatening to spill over.


    Observing her pitiful state, Elyse rolled her eyes at ire’s notably feeble mental resilience.


    Thea frowned deeply, her voice tinged with discontent. “Mrs. Lipson, how can you doubt your own daughter? I would never question ire. Elyse must have instigated something to push ire to the point of retaliation. ire’s already feeling down. How can you join forces with the very person who hurt her to interrogate her? Do you realize how much damage you’re doing to your own daughter?”


    ire’s mother gave Thea a long, hard look before turning her gaze to her daughter. Her tone softened considerably as she asked, “Is what Thea said true?”


    ire turned her head away, her eyes brimming with hurt. She refused to speak to her mother.


    The betrayal stung deeply — her own mother siding with Elyse instead of her!


    Elyse, observing the tension, felt a flicker of annoyance but remained silent. Whether she spoke or stayed quiet, she knew these people had already made up their minds about her. She stood there silently, feeling that being with the Bensons was no different from being with Lanny and Glenda.


    The suffocating atmosphere made her want to leave desperately.


    A few moments of silence passed before Elyse turned around to leave, assuming that the matter had been settled.


    Thea, however, refused to let her go. “Stop! Who said you could leave? You haven’t even apologized yet!”


    Elyse turned back slowly, her gaze icy as she stared at Thea. A cold smirk yed at the corners of her mouth. “If you want me to apologize, fine, but ire must first apologize for insulting my father.”


    ire’s eyes red with indignation as she immediately retorted, “Why should I? I wasn’t wrong! Your father’s nothing but a loser who couldn’t make it on his own, so he asked you toe crawling back home to fight for an inheritance!”


    ire’s mother’s face twisted into a grimace. “What nonsense are you spouting? Who put these ideas in your head?”


    ire, taken aback by the sudden scolding, stood there in a daze. Had she said something wrong? Wasn’t she just telling the truth?


    Elyse, maintaining herposure, turned her gaze to ire and spoke with measured calmness. “Miss Lipson, I don’t know where you heard these rumors, but my father has been dead for over twenty years.”


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