Chapter 42: The Breaking Point

Sierra’s gaze swept over their faces, colder than they had ever seen before. “I’ll remember this protection. Every last bit of it.” She turned and walked upstairs. The echo of her high heels resounded in the dead silence of the night; each echo landed in the Xander brothers’ hearts as if Sierra were stepping directly onto them.

None of them spoke. After a long silence, Sean said, “Brothers, did we make a mistake?”

Bradley and Evan pressed their lips into tight lines. Neither answered. After a long pause, Bradley finally spoke, “I’ll talk to Father tomorrow. I’ll stop this.”

If he didn’t, he felt like they were really going to lose their little sister. Bradley couldn’t explain why. It wasn’t like they had been close to Sierra. But in this moment, the heaviness in his heart was unbearable.

True to his words, Bradley brought up the topic the next morning over breakfast. “Father, let’s call off the marriage alliance with the Richardson family.”

As soon as Bradley finished his sentence, he heard Franklin slam his chopsticks onto the table and say in an ice-cold tone, “What did you just say?”

Denise, sitting beside Franklin, quickly tried to smooth things over. “Father, don’t be angry. Bradley, apologize to Father now!”

Bradley ignored Denise for the first time. Instead, he stared at Franklin and repeated, “I said, let’s call off the marriage alliance with the Richardson family.”

Franklin stared back coldly. Before he could speak, Evan and Sean chimed in.

“Father, let’s call it off.”

“That’s right, Father. We are doing just fine on our own. There’s no need to force this marriage alliance with the Richardson family. I can take on more projects to cover previous losses.”

Franklin glanced at his three sons and realized they had discussed the issue beforehand. Denise briefly glanced at her brothers. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and a glimmer of something dark flickered in her eyes. Then, she said softly, “Father, they’re right. Since Sierra doesn’t want this, why not just call it off?”

Franklin said nothing. He stared at his sons and spoke after a while, “The marriage alliance with the Richardson family can be postponed, but Sierra’s wild temper still needs to be tamed. She needs to be taught a lesson.”

Denise quickly offered, “I’ll go get Sierra and bring her here to apologize.” She turned and hurried upstairs. It seems Denise didn’t know about the phone call Bradley made last night.

Franklin was well aware of the call, but he didn’t know that Sierra had returned home safely last night. Seeing Denise run upstairs, he realized that Sierra had returned.

“She came back last night?” Franklin asked.

Bradley nodded. “Yes, she’s back. I called to check, but her behavior wasn’t considered serious. They decided there was no need to keep her in custody, so they sent her home.”

Franklin frowned and remained silent.

Denise came back downstairs very soon. She glanced at Franklin and said softly, “Sierra isn’t here. I’ve just checked with the maids. They said she left before dawn.”

Franklin swept a cold glance over his children. “You all went through all that trouble to speak on her behalf. Now, look at her attitude! Does she treat us like family?”

No one spoke. After a long moment, Eleanor, who had remained quiet until now, sighed and murmured, “We never…”

The dining room fell into deeper silence. Franklin stood up and said, “I granted her life and gave her a privileged existence. What more could she possibly want?” He turned and left the room.

At the same time, Sierra appeared outside Shane’s private villa. She hadn’t planned to come this early, but the lunatic Shane called her directly before the sun was even up. She had no choice but to show up.

Just when Sierra was about to step inside, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Jonathan, asking if she had rested well.

Sierra was stunned. Jonathan saw her being taken away yesterday, and now this message? So, it was really him who helped yesterday!

Warmth welled up in Sierra’s chest. Just when she was about to reply to Jonathan, the villa door opened. Shane was staring at her, his expression cold and dangerous.

“Do you need an invitation?”

Sierra had no choice but to put her phone away and follow Shane inside.

After stepping inside, Sierra heard Shane’s cold command, “Hand it over. Don’t make me do it myself.”

Sierra pressed her lips together and passed her phone to Shane. Shane remained staring at her, and both of them stared at each other silently for a few seconds. Then, Sierra slowly removed her necklace, which was installed with a tiny surveillance device.

Shane looked at the necklace in his palm and smiled mockingly, “You never learn, do you?”

Sierra’s expression remained unchanged. For three long years, she had never given up collecting evidence, regardless of how brutal Shane’s torment became.