But before Stephen could react, the pearl pendant was caught by the chain and dangled in the air. Abigail spoke calmly, "This is the pearl necklace Grandpa gave me. My name is engraved on the clasp."

Daniella’s face turned a bit tense. At the same time, Stephen picked up the necklace and examined it. As Abigail just said, the name Abby was engraved on it.

Before he could say anything, Abigail yanked the necklace back forcefully. She looked at him as if he were a joke. She snapped, "See it now? So how exactly is she going to prove it’s hers? Or are you going to say Daniella bought a necklace and deliberately had my name engraved on it?"

Stephen’s face twisted with frustration at her sarcasm. “Abigail, do you have to be so aggressive?"

Abigail snapped back, "With someone blind and brainless, I’m afraid being subtle just doesn’t get the message." Stephen flushed with humiliation. "It’s just a cheap necklace. You really think we care that much? Grandpa probably gave it to you just to get you out of the way, and you treat it like a treasure. Pathetic. You probably never saw something nice before."

As soon as those words left Stephen’s mouth, Abigail stepped up to him. Stephen opened his mouth to retort, but before he could say a word, a crisp sound echoed through the second floor.

Stephen stood in shock and growled, "How dare you?" Abigail stared at him, her voice sharp as a blade. "You can insult me, but you don’t get to speak ill of Grandpa."

Stephen blurted out, "Who the hell do you think you are? You think Grandpa actually cares about you?" Before he could finish his words, another slap landed on his other cheek. Rage burned in his eyes as he instinctively raised his hand to strike back.

“Stevie, you can’t hit her.” Bianca’s voice stopped him. She had seen the entire exchange. And now, faced with the truth – Daniella’s necklace was indeed Abigail’s – Bianca was at a loss.

"Could Abigail have been telling the truth all along? No way. Dani would never do something like that. There has to be a misunderstanding," she thought.

“Mom, did you not see how she hit me?” Stephen turned to Bianca, his face red with the shape of the handprints.

Bianca was pulled back to reality. She looked at her son’s flushed cheeks and felt a pang of pain. She turned to Abigail and said, "Abby, if you think we wronged you, you can talk it out. You can’t just resort to violence. You should apologize to Stevie."

Abigail’s voice was cold and disdainful. "He doesn’t deserve it." Stephen’s anger surged. Bianca’s expression turned dark too, but before she could speak, Abigail had already returned to her room.

Moments later, she came out with a backpack slung over her shoulder and walked past them without a word.

Blanca started to call out to her, but Stephen interrupted. “Let her go. Let’s see where she even thinks she can go. If she doesn’t suffer setbacks, she will embarrass all of us. We can tolerate her at home, but the outside world won’t."

“Why has Abby changed so much? She wasn’t like this when she first came back.” Bianca paused, as if something occurred to her. She sighed, “Why…”

Daniella’s eyes flickered. “Do you think… Abby’s dating someone?” Bianca froze for a second and then frowned, clearly lost in thought.

At the same time, Abigail had already left the villa and checked into a hotel near her company.

Chapter 327

After a solid night’s sleep, she woke to see several missed calls from unfamiliar numbers. She was sure those calls were from the Gibson family. Abigail deleted them all, washed up, packed her things, and checked out.

Outside Halden Group, a luxurious car pulled up, and Daniella stepped out. It was rush hour, and she was used to the admiring glances from those around her. She spoke to Stephen, “Stevie, you don’t need to pick me up from work. Ralphie said he’d come.”

Stephen nodded and smiled. “Finally, Ralph knows how…” Daniella said with a blush, "Come on, Stevie. You do make me happy. Anyway, it’s worth the wait, huh?"

Stephen chuckled, but just as he was about to reply, his gaze caught a familiar figure. He suddenly opened the car door. Daniella was shocked by his sudden move and asked, “Stevie? What’s up?”

But in the blink of an eye, the figure was gone. Stephen shook his head and replied, “I thought I saw Abigail. Must’ve been my imagination.” Daniella frowned. “No way. Halden Group has strict hiring standards. Abby wouldn’t make the cut.”

Stephen let out a cold laugh. “Guess I didn’t see it clearly.” Daniella checked the time, said goodbye to Stephen, and turned to walk into the building.

“Abigail, you’re finally back.” The moment Abigail arrived at R&D, she was greeted with enthusiasm from her workmates. Timothy even came into their office personally to praise her. "Abigail, well done. You really made our department proud."

Abigail was a bit surprised by how fast the news had traveled. But Timothy’s praise didn’t matter much to her because she’d already received the bonus she cared about.

“You’re amazing, Abigail.” Leon appeared the second Timothy left, grinning with a bit too much eagerness. "Do I have the honor to have lunch with you today?" Abigail looked at him, confused, and shook her head. “Thanks, but don’t bother. I’ll just eat at the cafeteria.”

Leon insisted, “Come on, the cafeteria food’s good, but it’ll still be there tomorrow. Just give me the honor today, okay?" Abigail gave him a direct look. "You can just say what you want from me. If I can help, I will. But no need for lunch.”