Chapter 201: Perfect Timing
“Shut up, Raylee Goodridge! If you dare to upset Wavy again, don’t blame me for forgetting the bond between father and daughter!”
Raylee scoffed. “We’ve severed our parent-child relationship. What bond between father and daughter are you talking about? Mr. Goodridge, you’re not old enough to have Alzheimer’s disease. Could you perhaps stop forgetting my surname? My name is now Raylee Somers, instead of Raylee Goodridge, okay?”
Alaric’s gaze was dark and stormy, as if Raylee owed him a great debt. He barked, “Hmph! Once a father, always a father. You are my daughter for life! I took care of you for eighteen years, providing you with a life of luxury and comfort. That act of kindness alone is something you could never repay in your lifetime!”
Raylee furrowed her brows. “Do you really need another daughter that badly?”
“Enough with the nonsense! I’m ordering you to apologize to Wavy right now!” Alaric commanded, his face stern. “You tricked her into attending the banquet, nearly causing her death at the hands of the Lorimer family. Your actions are unforgivable, and you must kneel and apologize to her!”
He issued a commanding order. His serious demeanor was akin to a king overlooking the world, to whom everyone had to submit.
Raylee simply didn’t consider him worth her attention. Her demeanor was so haughty it seemed to surpass his. “What’s the matter? You don’t dare confront Tiffany at Lorimer Estate, so you’ve decided to pick on me, a weakling, right? I’m only responsible for tricking Waverly into going to the banquet. Everything else has nothing to do with me. If it hadn’t been for Waverly’s own foolish actions—knocking over someone’s birthday cake and hurting others in public—how would Tiffany have gotten the opportunity to leverage her? It’s been four years. How have you been raising her? She’s so reckless, not showing the slightest hint of being a daughter of the Goodridge family!”
“Raylee, it’s one thing for you to hurt me, but why do you have to blame Mom and Dad’s upbringing? I won’t allow you to bully them!” Waverly accused, her eyes red with tears.
Those words deeply moved the people of the Goodridge family.
Alaric instantly flew into a rage out of humiliation. “Not only do you refuse to admit your mistake, but you lecture me? Someone, bring me my whip. Today, I’ll discipline this disobedient girl to death!”
A hint of relief appeared on Waverly’s frail face when she heard those words.
Harriet’s usually affectionate face had changed. “Ray-Ray, it seems we’ve been too lenient with you, leading you to think you can do whatever you want! I’m not going to help you today either. Let your dad deal with you as he sees fit!”
“Who dares to strike my granddaughter?” Suddenly, a resonant and powerful voice echoed from outside the door.
Supported by her caregiver, Vera, who relied on her cane, made her unsteady way into the mansion. Her stern gaze swept across the entire scene. Despite her advancing age, Vera exuded an aura of strength and vitality akin to that of a dragon.
“Scumbag, if you want to lay a hand on my granddaughter, you’ll have to step over my dead body first!”
Raylee was taking on the authority of the Goodridge family all by herself. She was originally full of vigor and determination, but the moment she saw Vera, all her strength collapsed. She rushed over, embracing Vera tightly, her eyes welling up with tears as she asked, “Grandma, how come you’re here?”
“If I hadn’t shown up, they would have bullied you to death! Perfect timing! Let’s settle today’s score, including your forced trip to Musmeynia, all at once!”
Vera took a seat right in the center of the couch. At that moment, even though she was silver-haired with age, she sat with her back straight, exuding a vibrant spirit.
The deep, commanding voice carried overwhelming power and authority, instilling a profound sense of awe.
The once haughty and domineering Alaric suddenly deflated. “Mom, why would you say those words? Stepping over your dead body? That’s such a bad thing to say. We’re bullying Ray-Ray. We’re just teaching her a lesson for her mistakes.”
“Scumbag! How could you lie through your teeth!” Vera’s eyes were ablaze with intense fury. She slammed her cane onto the ground with force, creating a resounding thud that harmonized with the descending pitch of her angry voice.
“Ray-Ray hasn’t done anything wrong. If there truly was a mistake, the only one was addressing you as her father for eighteen years!”
Alaric was left speechless and stunned. At that moment, the usually high and mighty chairman of Goodridge Group was being scolded and couldn’t even retort. The scene was inexplicably comical.
“And you!” Vera’s sharp gaze fell precisely on Waverly’s face. “I just don’t get it! How can such a young girl have so many tears to shed? You’re either crying or seeking death every day! You’re going to drain all the wealth and luck from our household with your antics!” Vera uttered mercilessly.
“You’re right, Grandma. I so wish I could punch this crybaby to death,” Raylee couldn’t help but chime in. Raylee could no longer bear that pretentious woman, Waverly.