She Stole My Seventh Beast, I Smiled Chapter 07

She Stole My Seventh Beast, I Smiled Chapter 07

“Vicious?” I turned on my mom, every word sharp enough to draw blood.

“I’m vicious? Do you have any idea what your precious Chloe did? She stole seven beastmen from

Every single time, she’d pull her collar aside to show off the marks on her neck, just to rub it in. And today? She dragged me into the lake with her. She wanted me to drown.”
“Where was all this outrage when she was doing that? You never called her vicious. You never said word. All you’ve ever done is take her side and cast me as the villain. I’ve been a stranger in my own home for years. Have either of you ever actually cared about me?”

“I know my birth nearly cost my mom her life. I’ve always known. But you punished me for it my entire life. You gave Chloe everything, then made me pay for it every time. Did you really think that

was fair?”

The words landed like blows.

My parents stood frozen, all the color draining from their faces.

My mom started to speak, but Raymond cut her off.

Raymond’s arm tightened around my waist. He stepped forward, and the temperature in the room

seemed to plummet.

The glare he gave my parents was absolute ice.

“Mr. and Mrs. Vance, what Valerie just told you barely scratches the surface. You enabled Chloe every step of the way. And if you think this ends with her, you’re wrong. The Vance family has a reckoning coming, too.”

“I’ve already had your company investigated. Tax evasion. Embezzlement. A string of illegal transfers. The evidence alone is enough to bankrupt you.”

My parents went white.

My father stumbled backward, catching himself on the table. His voice came out shaking.

“You wouldn’t. What do you gain from destroying us?”

“Nothing,” Raymond said, as if he were talking about the weather. “It’s just what Valerie is owed.”

He pulled out his phone, dialed, and said two words: “Do it.” Then he hung up.

Within half an hour, my father’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Employees. Partners. One after another.

Every call brought worse news: accounts frozen, contracts terminated, a tax investigation on the

way.

My father sank into the couch. He looked like a man watching his whole life go up in smoke.

My mom collapsed beside him, wailing. “It’s over. It’s all over.” She kept muttering it over and

over.

I watched them fall apart and waited to feel something. Nothing came,

They’d spent a lifetime choosing Chloe. This was what that choice cost them.

Raymond looked down at them, voice flat and final.

“Everything the Vance family owns will be liquidated. And every asset will be transferred to Valerie. She’s your daughter, the one you never bothered to see. Consider it the debt you never paid.”

Both of them looked up at me, stunned.

My father’s mouth opened, then closed. He had nothing left to say.

They knew they couldn’t fight Raymond. And they knew, whether they admitted it or not,

deserved this.

I looked at the two of them one last time. I was calm.

that they

“I’m done with the Vance family. I’m done with both of you. I’ll take the assets. Consider it eighteen years of back pay.”

I took Raymond’s hand and walked out the door. I didn’t look back.

The evening air hit my face the moment I stepped outside.

I breathed in deep, and for the first time in years, my chest didn’t feel tight.

The girl who kept her head down and let everyone walk all over her was gone. I was done being her.