“That ungrateful brat! Now that she’s found someone to back her, she thinks she can stand up to us?!” Ronald raged in the car.

Bryan’s expression was grim. With Bowen in the picture, handling Aubree would be far more complicated.

Ronald sneered, “That Magnus might have been onto something. What else could nobody like her offer Bowen except her looks?”

Bryan frowned, the words grating, yet he couldn’t refute it. Deep down, he believed it too.

The idea of Bowen supporting a young girl out of pure kindness was laughable to them. “Bowen Turner” and “charitarian” were antonyms in Rithol.

Thinking of Aubree’s defiance, Ronald’s rage refilled. ‘Three years under our roof, and this is how she repays us? She’s got the nerve to talk back to me!’

‘Carmen was always the right choice. Give Aubree the inheritance? She’d be nothing but an ungrateful traitor,’ he mused.

“But I’ll give her this–she’s got something to hook up with Bowen,” Ronald sneered.

Bryan instantly understood Ronald’s words. Bowen’s strategic return to Rithol after three years expanding overseas had made him the city’s most coveted connection.

If Aubree came back, leveraging Bowen’s influence could elevate the Wilson family to new heights.

“The immediate problem,” Bryan said, rubbing his temples, “is how to get her back.” He never expected Aubree to become such a problem.

Ronald waved a dismissive hand. “Easy. Use the same methods as before.”

In the Wilson family, Aubree had always obeyed their every command without question. To put it bluntly, she would not have hesitated to die on the spot if they ordered it.

Bryan gave a dry laugh. “Dad, do you honestly think Aubree is still that Aubree?”

The question hung in the air. Ronald opened his mouth to retort, then swallowed his words, recalling Aubree’s recent defiance.

Aubree had changed.

“That obedience,” Bryan stated flatly, the truth sour on his tongue, "came from her desperate need for our love. She craved it, endured anything for it."

“Now? She doesn’t care. We’re less than strangers to her.” Admitting it felt like defeat.

Ronald refused to accept it. “Nonsense! Kids throw tantrums. Just a phase. A few sugar–coated promises instead of the usual stick will bring her back.”

Ronald dismissed Bryan’s assessment as overly dramatic. He refused to believe Aubree had truly broken free.

Bryan nodded, clinging to hope. “You’re right, Dad. Bowen’s attention is turning her head. I’ll deal with Magnus, make him apologize–she’ll come around.”

Ronald smirked, “Once she’s home, I’ll give her some lessons.”

Both of them totally forgot Aubree had already cut ties with them from the very beginning.

Back at the Wilson estate, Bryan frowned at the family gathered on the couch. “What’s the occasion tonight?”

Alice waved them over eagerly as they entered. “Carmen’s out, so I called Trevor and Daxton home to look at this.”

She unfurled the design sketch in her hand. Once an internationally renowned designer, Alice now ran her own brand and rarely designed personally anymore.

The sketch showed a diamond–encrusted dress paired with an oversized cobalt blue bow, its trailing fabric mimicking a galactic stream.

“At the gala, the gold dust in the trailing will catch light like a flowing Milky Way as Carmen moves,” Alice explained, pointing out the intricate details.

“Is this for Carmen’s eighteenth birthday gala?” Emery asked cautiously.

Alice beamed. “Yes!”

Bryan felt a pang in his chest. The others might not know, but he knew the dress had been first designed by Alice when Aubree was born. It went through several revisions before being finalized the year Aubree disappeared.

It was meant to be a minidress for Aubree’s fifth birthday–the day she was to receive a fifth of the Wilsons‘ fortune and other assets. The original trailing design featured delicate kittens, playful and sweet.

‘This dress meant everything to Mom. I never thought she’d revise it for Carmen,‘ Bryan mused.

Daxton’s eyes lit up. Even without fashion sense, he could imagine how stunning Carmen would look.

“Our Wilson princess deserves to shine the brightest!” he said.

Trevor, the family’s most fashion–sharp, couldn’t hide his admiration. Even surrounded by haute couture, bespoke pieces held unique power. He could already imagine Carmen’s joy.

“So unfair, Mom!” he teased, his famous, tear–streaked eyes and charming smile effortlessly disarming. “You design for Carmen after all these years, but nothing for your favorite movie star son?”

Alice laughed, pinching his cheek. “How come, honey–everyone gets something.”

Ronald merely nodded in approval, sparing no praise but definitely satisfied.

“Then what about Aubree?” Emery asked.

The family was wrapped in warmth and joy until Emery’s question wiped the smiles from their faces.

Alice’s expression twisted with disgust. “Why bring her up? She doesn’t even want to acknowledge me as her mother. What more could she expect?"

“She’ll never truly leave the Wilsons. This is all a game–playing hard to get. She’s just waiting for us to beg her back on better terms so she can kick Carmen out!”

Alice’s conviction was absolute. ‘I know that wretched creature. Raised in an orphanage? Selfish, scheming mind. I won’t play her game.‘

“No wonder she’s been acting so different–she’s been plotting this all along!” Ronald sneered, warming to Alice’s theory.

Daxton flushed with anger. “How vile! After everything Carmen’s done for her, all she wants is to scheme against her–the thought of sharing blood with her makes me sick.”

Trevor curled his lip in silence, his distaste obvious. Having seen enough backstabbing in showbiz, he loathed scheming people. Emery studied his family, struck by how alien they seemed. He couldn’t understand why everyone had changed after Aubree’s return.

Emery glanced at Bryan, who looked lost in thought.

Bryan stood conflicted. A chilling thought surfaced: ‘If I were Aubree, faced with this family or Bowen, I’d choose Bowen too.’

A quiet, unsettling doubt echoed in his mind: “Will Aubree ever come back?”