Chapter 789

Lara stiffened at those words. Debra added, “You’re about my age. The only reason Drake keeps you around isn’t for your meticulous nature, but for some other value you can provide. Ever since I mentioned Conrad, your expression has been a telltale sign. Drake can’t possibly entrust you with such a high position if you can’t control your emotions.”

“I…” Lara bit her lip, unable to form a counterargument.

Debra leaned in. “Yvonne might be Miss Sharp now, but she’s just an illegitimate child. For years, she’s used sex to benefit both the Sharps and Drake. But Drake is worried that Yvonne would slip out of his control, so he keeps you close, right?”

Lara’s face turned pale, confirming Debra’s suspicion. Debra asked, “May I know why you chose to stay here?”

Lara bit her lips. “My mother was once a toy for the wealthy, groomed and raised by the Lowe family. Conrad approached her, keeping her as his mistress. But when she became pregnant, he vanished. After I was born, my mother learned that Conrad had a horde of mistresses.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she continued with resentment, “When I was ten, Mrs. Sharp discovered our existence. Out of spite, she had my mother beaten to death. I escaped the disaster because I was at school. I tried to find Conrad, but he didn’t even recognize me. He had too many mistresses and illegitimate children to remember me.”

“And what happened next?” Debra asked, feeling sorry for her.

Lara replied bitterly, “After that, I relied on scholarships and charity to survive. Isn’t it absurd? In my senior year of high school, there was a charity gala where scholarship students like me were paraded by the so-called philanthropists. I recognized Conrad immediately, but he didn’t have the slightest idea who I was.”

She laughed through tears. “He couldn’t recognize me, but I couldn’t forget those voracious eyes. All the orphans, boys and girls, were locked in a room afterward. Conrad picked my best friend, Michelle, and had her dragged into his room.”

Lara gripped Debra’s hand and sobbed, “You have no idea what it’s like to hear those screams of despair. I’ll never forget Michelle’s hopeless face. I clung to Drake, begging him to save me. He walked me out of the hotel, and just as we stepped outside, Michelle’s body fell and landed right in front of us. Her limbs were shattered. Blood splattered all over Drake and me. And you know what he did? He wiped the blood off his face with disgust and ordered someone to dispose of the body so casually.”

Lara took a deep breath and added, “Later, I discovered that Drake had known who I was all along. He’s a monster. He orchestrated that gala just so I could witness the cruelty and hate Conrad.”

Chapter 709