The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

Melissa saw that Jonathan was truly angry and hurried out of the car after him. She shut the door and gave Sierra a look.

"Cee, we will just take a walk and look around for a bit. We'll take a cab back to the hotel later. You and Samuel go on ahead."

"Dad, Mom, please don't be like this."

"Cee, listen to your Mom," Jonathan said as he looked at Sierra. His eyes softened with fatherly affection. "Don't worry about us. We're not kids."

"Talk some sense into Samuel. If your dad gets serious, I'm afraid the two of them might end up in a fight." Melissa reached out and gently touched Sierra's head. "Be good and listen to me."

Sierra had no choice but to nod. "Alright. Then, please be careful on the way."

"We're getting out. Mom, Dad, let me and Sierra take the cab. You two take the car back to the hotel," Samuel said as he opened the door and called for Sierra to get out with him.

Sierra quickly followed. "Yes, you two are older and unfamiliar with Dithoria. It's different for Samuel and me, who grew up here. You should head back. Otherwise, we'll worry."

Melissa looked at Jonathan. After a moment of thought, he nodded. "Alright."

He didn't mind taking a cab himself, but Melissa's health hadn't been good for years. She had been receiving long-term care in a nursing house. It was better for her to take the car back.

"Cee, try to talk some sense into Samuel," Jonathan said as he and Melissa got back into the car. "We would never hurt either of you."

"I understand, Dad." Sierra nodded obediently. Once she saw her parents get into the car, she waved for the driver to go.

Soon, the car disappeared from view. Sierra reached for Samuel's hand. "Let me call Sophia. I think she'd give me the courtesy of listening."

"I'm worried she'll yell at you too." Samuel frowned. "She was raped by one of the Walker family staff members. Her mind's just not screwed on right."

Sierra's eyes widened as she looked at Samuel in disbelief. She had known him for so many years, yet at this moment, she felt like she was seeing him clearly for the first time.

"What?" Samuel frowned as he saw her expression. "Sierra, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Samuel, did you really mean what you just said? That Sophia was raped by a Walker family staff member and became mentally unstable because of it?"

Sierra felt like she couldn't breathe.

"She's your sister. She's already in enough pain after being hurt like that. And you, her own brother, say something like this about her? Samuel, I really think you've gone too far."

Sierra turned and walked away. "I used to think that maybe Sophia just didn't understand you during your calls. But now I see that I was wrong."

"Sierra." Samuel grabbed her hand. "You're just going to leave me like this? Walk away alone?"

"I just need some time to cool down," Sierra said, pulling her hand free from his grasp. "Samuel, I don't want to fight you. But what you said really made me uncomfortable. I can't accept that the man I've loved for so many years could be so cold and heartless.

"You don't have to sympathize with Sophia, but how could you twist the embedded knife with something like that? Samuel, if I were Sophia, I wouldn't forgive you either. I wouldn't even acknowledge you as my brother."

She finished in one breath and turned to run.

Samuel stood frozen. He stared at Sierra's retreating figure with resentment.

Was he wrong? Wasn't Sophia raped by a Walker family housekeeper?

That perpetrator was sentenced to death for it. It was a fact.

Sophia didn't feel ashamed about it. But did she think it was something to be proud of?

"Go, then. What? You think I can't live without you?" Samuel growled with hatred, then turned and walked off in the opposite direction.

...

At the Sinclair residence, Sophia and Samantha sat together watching TV. In the kitchen, Zachary was brewing chamomile tea for Sophia.

Samantha glanced at her phone from time to time, her expression hesitant, as if she had something to say.

"Sophia."

"Mom, if this is about Samuel, don't say anything." Sophia cut her off. "I don't want to hear that name. I don't acknowledge him as my brother."

"Sophia, I'm on your side," Samantha quickly said. "I wasn't trying to talk about him. I just wanted to ask if you've prepared a gift for Natalie and Marcus's wedding.noveldrama

"And also, about you and Zachary."

As she spoke, she glanced toward the kitchen. "You must know how Zachary feels about you."

"Mom, I do. But so what?" Sophia's voice made her sound bitter. "Do you think someone like me deservesè happiness? Zachary is my therapist. He knows all the terrible things 've been through. Do you know what Samuel said about me?

"He said I'm a filthy woman, someone who got messed with by a staff member, that I'm unfit to run Sinclair Group.

"He also said that if I hadn't been so shameless, I wouldn't have been raped. I was Sky's fiancée, and even Sky didn't stand up for me, so I was not worth much.

"Mom, I'm his biological sister. Natalie and Marcus aren't related to me, but they care about me. And Samuel?"

Samantha's eyes turned misty.

Sophia continued, "All the money he used abroad for years he got it thanks to me. Did he really think that money was his right?"

"Sophia." Samantha's eyes were red. "He actually said that about you? That bastard! How could he say that?"

"That's why I won't see him. I won't let him come back to the Sinclair family. And if you see him, then whatever bond we have as mother and daughter is over.

"I stayed in the Sinclair family all these years, living on the edge, being careful

every step of the way for you. For him. And what did I get in return?

"I was raped. Was that my fault? I fought my way out of that dark tunnel. Don't I deserve to live a good life now? Do I deserve to die instead?

"I don't know where Samuel gets the nerve to talk about me like that. But my conscience is clear. Other than lying to Marcus about being bis savior, I've never wronged anyone."

Sophia stood up. "I could've had a proper marriage. I could've had a beautiful love, a loving first night with someone I chose. But because of you, and because of Samuel, I ended up like this.

"Why does he still get to say things like that about me?"