She Outshines 344
She Outshines 344
If the rest of the Donovan family had heard what Saanvi just said, they would have probably attacked her on the spot.
Even Jaden, who was usually calm, showed signs of anger, his face turning slightly pale.
Athena, however, remained composed. She neither got angry nor lashed out.
Calmly, she picked up both copies of the agreement with one hand, and with the other, she struck a match, setting the papers. alight. Her cold gaze pierced through the flickering flames as she stared at Saanvi. “This is the Donovan family’s answer.
She then dropped the burning documents into the ashtray, casually picked up her cup, and sipped her tea.
Saanvi and the others‘ faces turned sullen.
Slamming the table, Saanvi pointed at Athena and said, “Since you want to go to court, we’ll sue you in Kitmore City tomorrow. Get ready to lose both the case and your money!”
Athena ignored her, instead turning her attention to Paityn. “Ms. Shepard, your in–laws are prepared to go to court to help you regain custody of Josie and are even willing to expose her true parentage to the world. Are you really going to let them do that?”
The news of Paityn, the pop diva who married into a wealthy family, having a love child with Damon, the music mogul who was twenty years her senior, was nothing short of sensational.
This love child, Josie, just won the national championship of a talent show and was hailed as a prodigious singer, all while being Zayn’s sister. If this news were to break, it would definitely cause
the internet to crash for days.
This would bring untold disasters to Josie. Paityn knew very well how damaging this kind of scandal could be.
Her face went pale, her lips trembled, and she appeared stricken as if battling a serious illness. She wanted to speak but couldn’t get the words out.
Saanvi, unfazed, said dismissively, “Even if this gossip blows up, it’ll lose heat in three days, and after a week, no one will care.
“By then, we’ll have deleted and blocked all the online news. In no time, no one will even remember Josie’s background.”
With a smirk, she added, “Miss Donovan, stop pretending you care about Josie. If you did, would you really be choosing to go to court with us?”
Athena’s gaze slowly shifted to her, growing cold. “And who do you think you are?
“Josie’s biological mother is keeping quiet, yet you, an old hag, can’t stop butting in. Are you in such a hurry to finish your last words before you kick the bucket? If there’s a lawsuit, it’s Paityn versus us. What the hell does it have to do with you? You love sticking your nose in others‘ affairs so much. Why not get a life of your own?” Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.
Saanvi had never been spoken to like this before.
She was so furious she nearly couldn’t catch her breath, pointing at Athena while gasping. “You… you insolent woman! You’re going too far!”
Westin hurried to support her, anger rising as he said, “Miss Donovan, have some decency. Watch your words.”
“And you, how dare you try to lecture others when you can’t even raise your own daughter properly?” Athena scoffed. “Your daughter’s notorious, yet instead of focusing on cleaning up her mess or educating her, you’re here trying to take someone else’s child. Do you think there’s no hope left for your own?”
“You….” Westin’s face turned purple with rage, and he nearly flared up.
Jaden, who had been quietly observing, finally said in a calm and stern voice, “We are here to meet with Ms. Shepard. No one else has the right to comment on Josie’s situation.”
Saanvi was about to erupt again.
Fearing a physical altercation between the two families, Paityn quickly unscrewed a bottle of water from her bag and handed it to Saanvi. “Please have some water and calm down. Let’s give the Donovan family some time to think this over.
4:45
“Miss Donovan, I understand that you care deeply for Josic, and it’s normal to have a hard time accepting all of this right away.
“How about this? Let’s all take a couple of days to cool off, and then we can sit down again and have a proper discussion.”
Athena stood up. “I’ve made myself perfectly clear. Do whatever you want. Let’s see if things will turn out the way you hope. Jaden, let’s go.”
Jaden followed Athena out, leaving the Pittman family with one parting statement. “Mistaking your opponent could be fatal.”
The room was left with only Saanvi and her group.
After downing half a bottle of water, Saanvi finally caught her breath and turned her scorn on Paityn. “Why are you so useless?
“You’re Josie’s biological mother! The law is on your side. No one can take your child from you, yet you sit there trembling in front of the Donovan family, afraid of offending theth. You’ve let them look down on you and the Pittman family.
“With that kind of attitude, how do you expect the Donovan family to give in or make concessions?”
Paityn knew that no explanation would help and feared making things worse, so she bit her tongue, silently enduring the humiliation.
“Calm down,” Westin interjected. “Athena might be young, but she’s sharp. We still don’t know what the Donovan family’s true stance or strategy is.
“I think we need to carefully plan our next move. Going to court should only be a last resort.”
The exposure of Josie’s true background would turn the Pittman family into a laughingstock, right along with Paityn.
Going to court was the last thing they wanted.
Saanvi shot a furious glare at Paityn, her voice dripping with disdain. “What kind of curse did the Pittman family bring upon ourselves to end up with someone like you? It’s bad enough that you
come from a low background, but your character is even worse. You had a child with a married man before the wedding. How shameful!”
Paityn’s face turned pale, her eyes brimming with tears. She wanted to protest but didn’t dare, swallowing her grievances.
Westin, noticing her pitiful state, softened a little. “Since the Donovan family’s stance is so firm, why don’t we bypass them and go directly after Josie?”
Paityn froze, stammering, “What… What do you mean?”
Westin replied, “You can secretly meet with Josie, tell her you’re her biological mother, and stir up her memories and emotions. I’m sure that if Josie is willing to leave with you, the Donovan family won’t be able to stop it.”
“Exactly.” Saanvi’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Blood is thicker than water. Once Josie knows you’re her real mother, she’ll naturally be drawn to you…”
“No!” Paityn interrupted, terrified. “Alina was too young when she was taken away. She has no memory of it. She won’t remember anything.”
Paityn wanted to see Alina and tell her that she was Alina’s mother.
But even more than that, she feared the Pittman family would use her to steal Alina away.
Nobody cared about what she thought.
Saanvi slammed the table. “I’ll find out where Josie is now. Once we have the chance, Paityn, you cah secretly meet her and reveal the truth, building a bond with her.”
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