Right at this moment, Aurora suddenly rose to her feet, and screeched with all her might, "Heh, you"re willing to give her a chance now, so why couldn"t you give me a chance? Just because I"m your daughter, I had to marry a man I didn"t love at 17? You threw me away like some object to someone you were trying to suck up to, then tossed me aside after I was no longer worthy of exploitation!"Jeffree stopped and turned around to appraise Aurora with furrowed brows as he asked in a cold voice, "Do you think you"re still worthy of being considered a human in your current state?"
"Aurora, stop…" Denise hurriedly urged in a low voice.
"That"s right! I"m not a human being! I"m not worthy of being part of the Moreton Family…" A tragic smile appeared on her face as she slammed her fist into her emaciated chest. She looked directly into Jeffree"s eyes with an intense gaze as she said, "But isn"t this what you inflicted on me, Father? When you forced me to marry that drunkard, Lister, did you think about how much pain and torment your daughter would have to endure every single night? Did you consider what kind of abhorrent addictions he"d force onto me?
"You knew, you knew all along that he had all of those horrible addictions that you detested. You were the one who made your daughter like this; you kicked me down the cliff, yet you"re now standing at the cliff"s edge and laughing at me… Does your conscience not ache?" Aurora"s eyes were completely bloodshot by this point, and her sinister display was rather horrifying to behold.
Jeffree"s brows furrowed even more tightly, but he still calmly replied, "It was your choice to develop those addictions; how does this have anything to do with me?"
"What does it have to do with you? Heh… As expected, you haven"t changed at all even after so many years. Women are just things to you; there"s no concept of equality in your heart." Aurora pointed a finger at Gloria as she screeched in a derisive tone, "She"s nothing more than a stepping stone for that useless son of yours! Regardless of what skills and talents she may have, from the moment she was born, she was destined to fail to inherit the Moreton Family for no reason other than the fact that she"s a woman! A woman!!!"
A deranged expression appeared on Aurora"s face as the veins on her forehead bulged in an unsettling manner. Her hands were like bony claws as she ran them down the sides of her face, and her eyes had turned completely bloodshot.
The hall had fallen silent yet again, and Denise wanted to say something, but didn"t dare to interject in the end.
Jeffree looked into Aurora"s eyes in silence for a short while before issuing a command. "She"s already gone insane. Take her away."
The butler standing at the entrance hesitated momentarily before waving a hand. From outside the door, two servants hurriedly rushed in, subduing Aurora before dragging her toward the door.
"You ruined your daughter! You"re the one who"s killed your own daughter!" Aurora screeched in a deranged manner. As she was dragged past Gloria, a bitter smile appeared on her face as she said, "Don"t trust him! He"s a liar! He won"t allow a woman to become his heir! If you make the mistake of believing his lies, you"ll end up like me…"
Aurora"s voice gradually faded as she was dragged away, and the hall fell silent again, but the silence was quite a deafening one.
Cyril"s eyes lit up again, but the light in his eyes quickly faded. However, the dejected look on his face had already been wiped away.
Gloria"s brows furrowed slightly before relaxing again, but her expression remained calm as if she hadn"t been affected much by that intense outburst.
Jeffree looked at the two of them with a serious expression, and said, "Everything that two of you do during this year will be recorded in detail, just like the account books that have been presented today. At the end of the year, I"ll a.s.sess what you two have been up to and announce my final decision. During this process, four investigation teams consisting of 16 members each will be a.s.sessing all of your actions. Two of them will do so out in the open, while the other two will conduct surveillance in the shadows, so don"t try to play any dirty little tricks."
Cyril"s heart sank slightly, and he was suddenly feeling quite uneasy again.
Meanwhile, Gloria nodded with a contemplative look on her face.
Jeffree then turned and left with the butler hurrying along behind him. The two middle-aged men also closed their respective metal boxes before exiting the hall, and the four of them soon disappeared as they rounded a corner.
"You"re so awesome, Big Sister!"
Mickey was the first one to rush over to Gloria, and he wore an expression that was filled with admiration. He felt as if his big sister had transformed into a completely different person, one that was super admirable and awesome.
Lance and Debra were also appraising Gloria with proud smiles on their faces.
"Hmph, a woman like you is hallucinating about inheriting the Moreton Family? I won"t allow that to happen. In this family, only Cyril is worthy of becoming the heir." Denise harrumphed coldly before exiting the hall.
Cyril turned to Gloria, and said in a cold voice, "You won"t be so lucky a year from now. I"ll show you who the true heir to the Moreton Family is, and I"ll banish you from the family on that day."
Gloria"s expression remained calm as she replied, "From this day forth, Blue Suede will belong to me, but if you lose a year from now, you won"t be able to take anything with you."
"Hmph!" Cyril turned and swept out of the room.
Herty strode toward Gloria with an enraged look on her face as she said, "I think we should cover up that smart mouth of yours with some bandages, ugly b*tch!"
"Perhaps you wouldn"t be so conceited if you hadn"t grown up at the bottom of a well your entire life." Gloria glanced at Herty, and said, "At the very least, you wouldn"t have to make up for your insecurities by wearing a bunch of s.h.i.+ny rocks."
"You!!"
Herty and Hernie blushed in unison as they looked at the s.h.i.+mmering gemstones that they were both wearing.
Gloria continued, "Also, you two had better watch your mouths from now on. According to our family"s rules, you should be punished for what you just said."
In the face of Gloria"s warning, Herty and Hernie could only swallow the insults that they were about to hurl at her. If Gloria had said the same thing to them a month ago, they"d simply continue to insult her to their hearts" content as she was only a denounced woman who didn"t even dare to show her face.
However, Gloria was different now. She had taken over all of the textile businesses that belonged to the Moreton Family, and she had also become a board member of the Chamber of Commerce, taking to the same heights as Cyril.
"Hmph!"
The two twins harrumphed in unison before also storming away.
…
"Hmm, this rich fragrance really hits the spot."
Inside the kitchen, Mag removed the lid of the brine, and took a long whiff as an intoxicated look appeared on his face.
Right at this moment, the system"s voice suddenly sounded. "Ding! Your level of perversion has increased dramatically, thereby triggering one of the system"s hidden missions: please capture a Red-top Tricolor Duck within 48 hours! Location: Wind Forest, Warden Lake, Red-top Tricolor Duck Breeding Base!"