Chapter 3 The Poor Relative of the Garcia Family

"Vera! Why'd you hit me?" Shirley suddenly screamed, clutching her face. She dropped to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

Vera couldn't help but admire Shirley's talent for turning on the waterworks.

She watched Shirley's little act in silence. Just as she expected, Victor and Laura came rushing over. Without even asking what happened, Victor slapped Vera hard.

Vera thought she was used to it, but it still hurt deep down.

She got up and walked over to Shirley. Under everyone's shocked stares, she grabbed Shirley's hair and slapped her twice.

Shirley's face turned red and swollen in an instant. She screamed, "Are you crazy? You damn bastard!"

Her weak act was gone in a flash.

Vera sneered, "See, now that's my doing."

Shirley quickly realized her mistake and stammered, "No! I was just hurt by Vera..."

Vera couldn't be bothered with them. She looked at Shirley and said, "Stop hurting yourself all the time. Not every time can someone force me to give you a blood transfusion."

Most of the previous blood transfusions were because Shirley hurt herself just to mess with Vera.

Victor said, "Wait! You have to come to the party on Friday. You can't just become a shareholder out of nowhere. I'll introduce you at the party."

Vera didn't say a word and left with her backpack.

Shirley started crying again as she watched Vera walk away, "Dad! Are you really giving her the shares? They're MINE!"

"She's just setting things up for you in the company. The dividends from the shares will still be yours," Victor said.

Laura looked worried, "Will she agree?"

Victor snorted, "Once she marries Andrew, she won't have a say in anything else."

On Friday, Vera showed up at the banquet hall in simple canvas shoes and jeans. Her plain outfit made everyone start whispering.

The security guard stopped her at the door.

Vera impatiently pulled down her baseball cap. "Get Mr. Garcia. I'm here at his invitation."

The whispers around her got louder:

"Oh my God! She actually claims to be invited by Mr. Garcia!"

"She must be the poor relative of the Garcia family!"

"Forget it, maybe she's just some girl Mr. Garcia once sponsored, and now that she's grown up and the support has stopped, she's here for more money."

Vera listened, her delicate face showing no emotion.

The insults she endured in prison were way worse than these harmless words."Don't you recognize her? That's Mr. Garcia's eldest daughter, Vera Garcia, the one who went to prison."

No one knew Vera was the biological daughter of the Garcia family because Victor always claimed both girls were his own, and the eldest was lost by a servant when she was a child.

Vera always had a terrible reputation in high society. She was rebellious and always hurt her younger sister, Shirley. She even attempted to get into her cousin's bed. Later, she gave birth to an illegitimate child who died shortly after birth.

"Her manners are awful. She even ended up in prison. Mr. and Mrs. Garcia shouldn't have brought her back. They're too kind!" Maria's sharp voice cut through the crowd.

Vera looked over and saw the woman hiding in the crowd, Shirley's good friend Maria Melville.

Vera took a few steps forward. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she grabbed Maria's hair and slammed her head into the ground.

"You bitch, let go of me! I'll kill you!" Maria, dizzy with pain, flailed her hands, trying to hit Vera.

But she forgot that Vera had been in prison. The first thing she learned was how to fight and subdue someone stronger than her!

The crowd screamed and scattered, some shouting for security.

But Vera couldn't fight them all. Someone kicked her, and she fell, scraping her palms and knees.

The commotion outside immediately caught Victor's attention. His face turned ashen.

He had intended to make Vera wait outside to humble her and show her who was in charge.

Who knew she would cause such a scene!

Ultimately, it was the Garcia family's reputation that was tarnished.

Victor wanted to rush out. But Shirley immediately said, "Dad, Vera is doing this to get our attention."

"Yes, this bitch only knows how to cause trouble!" Laura chimed in.

Shirley pretended to be concerned for Vera. "Maybe Vera didn't reform well in prison and picked up some bad habits. This time, she messed with someone important. Maybe she'll finally behave."

Victor thought this made sense.

Bert suddenly spoke, his tone grim, "It seems like she didn't learn her lesson in prison."

He couldn't understand why the once obedient Vera had changed so much.

In the end, the Garcia family didn't go out, waiting to see the joke.

Vera got up from the ground, glanced at the blood on her scraped palm, and didn't even flinch.

"Security! Throw her out! She's an uninvited bitch!" Maria's shrill voice continued.

The security guards immediately rushed toward Vera.

At this moment, a man's light laughter and applause rang out.