Chapter 216

Bennett laid out the truth, word by word, sentence by sentence.

The color drained from Leia’s face with each revelation.

The rest of the Anderson family listened, their understanding a mix of clarity and confusion. Eli, ever impatient, blurted out, “Bennett, what are you talking about? What lab? What drugs?”

Bennett turned to Eli, maintaining his sorrowful expression. “It was the day Leia decided to reconcile with Noelle. They were supposed to have a class that evening but skipped it and came back home. Dad scolded Leia for it, and she stormed out.”

He continued, “When I went after her, I had some work-related issues, so I brought her to my labs, where I stored some dangerous chemicals. I told her to stay put and not touch anything, but she secretly took the poison back with her.”

“The symptoms Dad showed today matched the effects of that drug. I grew suspicious and checked the surveillance footage. Sure enough, I saw her take the poison,” Bennett explained.

Turning to his mother, Kimberly, Bennett added, “Mom, do you remember that day when I said Leia was coming back to apologize to all of us after just a short visit to the lab? We thought she had a change of heart, but she went back to poison Dad.”

Bennett presented Leia’s motive, her suspicious behavior, and the evidence of the poison, all laid bare before everyone.

Even with an Oscar-worthy performance and a hundred reasons to speak, Leia couldn’t clear her name now.

“It’s over. Everything is truly ruined,” she thought.

Pale and terrified, Leia felt the weight of everyone’s gaze. She feared losing the life of luxury she had always known, the ridicule and contempt she would face, and the possibility of going to jail.

After a moment of contemplation, she decided to turn to the softest and kindest heart in the room, her mother, Kimberly.

Leia spun around and threw herself at Kimberly’s feet, sobbing and begging for mercy. “Mom, I’m wrong. I know I’m wrong. It’s my fault. Please, Mom, forgive me this once…”

Kimberly was in a daze. Until Bennett revealed the truth, she still believed in her daughter.

Despite their recent friction, the Anderson family had never mistreated Leia. They had shared over a decade of love and care. In Kimberly’s mind, no matter how wronged Leia felt, she couldn’t possibly harm the parents who had raised her.

But the reality was far more brutal. Vincent was still in the hospital, barely out of danger, and the long-term effects of the poison were unknown. He might never fully recover, and it was all Leia’s doing.

“Leia…” Kimberly’s tears streamed down her face as she looked at her daughter.

“Mom,” Leia’s eyes lit up with hope, thinking she still had a chance.

The next moment, a loud slap echoed through the room. Leia’s face twisted to the side, and she was stunned. Her cheek went numb at first, then seared with pain as if half her face no longer belonged to her.

“Did she just hit me?” Leia thought, her mind buzzing. “Why did Mom slap me?”

Growing up, Leia had always been the Anderson family’s pampered princess. She had never been struck, not even scolded harshly by her mother. This time, Kimberly actually struck her.

“Mom, you….” Leia turned to look at Kimberly, shocked and hurt, wanting to ask, “Have you gone mad! I’m your daughter. How could you bear to hit me! Just as I thought. Ever since Noelle came back, everyone has changed. They only care about Noelle and don’t have a place for me in their hearts anymore.”

But before Leia could finish turning her head, crack, another loud slap echoed. The other side of Leia’s face was also slapped hard by Kimberly.

Now, Leia was furious. She turned around angrily, glaring at Kimberly, about to speak.

However, Kimberly spoke first, her voice filled with rage as she shouted, “Leia, don’t you feel any guilt! He’s your father. He raised you for eighteen years, and yet you poisoned him! Where is your conscience? Do you even have a heart?”

The more Kimberly had trusted Leia moments ago, the more she despised her now.

Kimberly was trembling with anger. Her hand, which had slapped Leia, was numb, but she wished she could hit Leia even more. Kimberly was too angry, too disappointed. Their daughter of eighteen years had actually tried to poison her father.

Kimberly couldn’t understand how Leia could have the heart to do such a cruel thing.

“Leia, speak up. How have we wronged you? How could you harm your father like this? Where is your sense of right and wrong!”

“How can you be so ruthless, so malicious? You’ve utterly disappointed me.” Kimberly’s emotions were so intense that her face flushed, and she almost shouted the words out.

After her outburst, Kimberly nearly collapsed from the surge of emotion.

“Mom!” Damon, standing nearby, quickly moved to support his mother as she wavered.

Once Kimberly steadied herself against Damon, she glared at Leia again and said through gritted teeth, “Are you mute now? Speak up. How has the Anderson family wronged you?”

Leia’s face, already bloody from her earlier attempt to slam her head against the door, was now swollen from the two slaps Kimberly had given her. She no longer looked like the refined, privileged young lady she once was; instead, she resembled a madwoman whose wild and frenzied appearance was terrifying.

After being confronted by Kimberly and seeing the reactions of the rest of the Anderson family, as well as the servants who were watching with a sense of curiosity, Leia knew she was finished.

Even her most compassionate mother had struck her. No matter how much she pleaded for mercy, they would never let her go. With that realization, Leia decided to stop pretending.

Leia laughed maniacally. “How has the Anderson family wronged me? Kimberly, listen carefully. The Anderson family has wronged me in so many ways!”

“W–what are you saying?” Kimberly couldn’t believe her ears.

She knew the Anderson family had always treated Leia extremely well. Before Noelle’s return, Leia had always been given the best of everything. Even the sons of the family didn’t have better provisions than Leia.

After Noelle came back, everyone initially protected Leia. Even when they eventually accepted Noelle, they never neglected Leia’s needs.

But now Leia claimed that the Anderson family had wronged her in so many ways. Kimberly was utterly bewildered. She couldn’t tell if her own perception was flawed or if the world had gone mad.

Unwilling to accept this baseless accusation, Kimberly stared hard at Leia and pressed on. “We’ve wronged you? Go ahead. How have we wronged you?”