Chapter 408 Rina’s Lies
Hal’s proclamation left Titus grim and also resulted in Julia loosening her grip around Rina. I can’t say he’s wrong; if she really weren’t his daughter, why does she bear such strong resemblance to him?
As though she had sensed the doubt that crept into their minds, a panicked Rina grabbed Julia’s arm and eyed Titus pleadingly as she urged, “Mom, Dad, don’t fall for his lies! I’m not their daughter. I’m really not!”
However, Zane had a sadistic smile playing on his lips as he stared at Rina and suggested, “In that case, why don’t you tell us why you look so much like Hal?”
Rina then glowered at him, anger and hurt flashing in her red-rimmed eyes. You’ve gone too far. Are you so desperate to expose my identity?
While bristling at the wounded look she was giving him, he felt his lips twitch as he muttered in exasperation, “What a lunatic.”
“What’s wrong?” Sonia asked.
“Nothing. She merely hates me,” he answered with a casual shrug.
She let out a good-natured laugh as she said in jest, “Well, that’s expected of her, considering you’ve brought Hal and his wife over.”
As both of them fell into a friendly repartee, Toby merely watched them with his lips pressed into a grim line. What’s going on? Isn’t Sonia upset with Zane because he was hiding things from her? How is it that they’re back on good terms all of a sudden? Has she actually forgiven him? The possibility of this made him clench his fists at his sides.
Across the room, Rina was being scrutinized by Titus and Julia as they waited for her to provide an explanation. Knowing that she could not escape the ordeal without losing their trust, she took a deep breath and responded tearfully, “I… I don’t know why I look like him, but I’m really not his daughter at all. Mom, Dad, please, you have to believe me.”
Greta, however, scoffed in disgust as she seethed, “Don’t be stupid. I gave birth to you and I raised you for over twenty years, only for you to turn your back on us after finding a pair of rich folks to call Mom and Dad. How heartless can you be, Taylor?” With that, the older woman reached out and tried to prod Rina’s forehead with her finger.
Rina immediately ducked behind Titus and Julia once more, evading Greta’s dirty and calloused finger.
An enraged Greta snapped, “Oh, is this how it is now, Taylor? Did your skin grow thicker along with your new riches? How dare you duck away from me! Come out and let me teach you a good lesson, you ungrateful brat!”
Hal also added, “Didn’t you hear your mother? Get out here right now!”
“I will not! Why should I when you are both going to beat me to death? I was your punching bag for over twenty years. Do you really think I’d continue to take your abuse like how I did in the past?” Rina peeped from behind Titus’ frame and shouted at Hal and Greta spitefully.
“Y-You—” Greta pointed a trembling finger at Rina as she hissed, “You little b*tch! You have some nerve to speak to us that way. What, do you think you have the world on your side now?”
By the sidelines, Sonia frowned when she heard the rough language Greta used. While she didn’t fancy Taylor in the slightest, she felt sorry for Taylor for having to put up with a biological mother like Greta.
After all, it was heartbreaking to hear a mother verbally abuse her own child like this.
“That’s enough!” Titus yelled, his voice resonating throughout the room and effectively putting a stop to Greta and Rina’s squabble.
Hal and Great might be as bold as they were rude and demanding, but they were lowly peasant folks at the end of the day. So, they didn’t dare to ruffle the feathers of a rich man like Titus. As such, they fell silent as soon as he told them to.
“Looks like Titus is taking the reins into his own hands now,” Zane remarked quietly while rubbing his chin.
Sonia couldn’t see anything, but she heard the furious undertone of Titus’ voice and arrived at the same conclusion as Zane.
On the other hand, an unfazed and patient Toby continued to stare at the scene before him in silence.
Over at the other side of the room, Titus’ gaze lingered on Hal for a few seconds before he turned to give Rina a dark look. “You said you were their punching bag for over twenty years, is that right?”
She nodded numbly. “Yes.”
“And these are the Mr. and Mrs. Carey from your past stories, as in the ones who would call you to pester you for money, is that right?” Titus pressed further.
Upon hearing his voice grow colder, Rina swallowed convulsively. Even though she was deeply panicked, she nodded and replied, “Y-Yes.”
“In that case, why don’t you explain to me why you said you didn’t recognize him when I showed you his photo back at the detention center?!” This time, a clearly outraged Titus raised his voice as he jabbed a finger in Hal’s direction.
All the color drained from her face when she realized that she had been caught lying. She had indeed said that she didn’t recognize Hal from the photograph on top of feigning cluelessness as to why she bore such a strong resemblance to him.
However, Rina suddenly let the cat out of the bag that Hal and Greta had abused her for over twenty years and even admitted that they were her parents when Titus questioned her. I’ve exposed myself! I’ve as good as told them I know Hal and they’ll know I’m lying about that photo at the detention center!
“My, my,” Zane drawled, then whistled as amusement glittered in his eyes. “Hey, Sonia, looks like Rina dug her own grave at some point and now she’s jumping into it.”
Sonia smiled at this, pleased with how things were turning out.
Toby, however, narrowed his eyes and kept his gaze on Rina. What is she going to do about this?
Presently, Rina was trembling as her heart leaped to her throat. She had lied to Titus and Julia when she said she didn’t recognize Hal back then, hoping that they would believe she was their long-lost daughter. However, she never counted on the probability of Zane bringing Hal and Greta over to expose her lies.
No. I’ve struggled to come this far and I won’t let Hal and Greta take any of this away from me! With renewed determination, Rina closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. When her eyes fluttered open a second later, her heartbeat was as steady as it had ever been. She looked at Titus and Julia with tears in her eyes and shakily elaborated, “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry I lied to you in the past. I told you that I didn’t recognize Hal and I did so deliberately not for other reasons, but because I hate them and wanted to cut them off completely.”
After having said that, she quickly rolled up her sleeves to reveal all the scars that marred the skin on her arm and proof of the horrors of her past.
A mortified Julia clasped a hand over her mouth as she gaped at the scars in shock. Titus, too, fell into a stunned silence.
Even Zane couldn’t believe what he was seeing and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He knew how Taylor had brutally suffered under the hands of Hal and Greta; all of the details were recorded in the information he dug up about them. However, Zane had never seen Taylor’s scars in real life until now and it was only then that he realized how the pictures of her old wounds had severely downplayed the actual injuries.
Sonia was quite literally kept in the dark and was oblivious as to this shocking revelation. As for Toby, he maintained his indifference. At present, he couldn’t care less as to how others had suffered or been treated unfairly as long as it didn’t involve his family or Sonia, so he felt no empathy toward the scars on Rina’s arm.
“Mom, Dad, I’ve never shown you these scars. These two people are the reason why my scars exist; there were times when I thought I would die by their hands and I probably would have if some kind soul hadn’t saved me. This is the real reason why I hate them with all my being.” Rina pointed at Hal and Greta with boiling hatred and continued, “It wasn’t until that fateful day when I heard them mentioning I was not their daughter that I understood why they treated me like that, so I stole the necklace they hid from me and left that hellhole. Then, I landed here in Seafield. I only managed to reunite with you both because I saw that you were searching for the owner of this necklace.”
