Chapter 92


    When Coral got home, Gabriel was already gone.


    She saw her parents sitting in silence on the sofa. She wanted to say something, but the vibe was off,


    so she tiptoed towards her room.


    But as soon as she took one step, Brandon''s angry voice boomed, "Stop!"


    Coral instantly stopped, looking at Brandon with terror, "What''s up, Dad?"


    She knew that her actions had caused Uncle to lose his job and trouble for Vivienne, which had


    plunged the Lockwood family into crisis. Her parents were upset, and she knew they were going to hold


    her ountable.


    Days passed and her parents hadn''t mentioned the incident. She thought they wouldn''t me her, but


    now, she was starting to worry.


    Her mom was usually prettyid back and spoiled her, but her dad, oh boy, when he was angry, it was


    terrifying.


    "Kneel down!" Brandon roared.


    Coral was shocked. She wanted to argue back, but seeing the fury in Brandon''s eyes, she lowered her


    head and obediently knelt down.


    Jan Lockwood, hearing themotion, came out. He nced at Coral, but didn''t say a word.


    Yeah, this little sister definitely needed some discipline.


    "Whack!" Brandon''s hand came down on Coral''s face, "You ignorant child! I have always been upright


    and never harmed others, but I never expected to raise such a troublemaker like you!"


    Coral, clutching her face, looked at Brandon in disbelief.


    No matter what wrongs she had done in the past, her father had never hit her. This p was a heavy


    one, and she could feel her face swelling up.


    Feeling wronged, she suddenly stood up, crying and ring at Brandon, "Dad, you hit me? What did I


    do wrong, why did you hit me?"


    "Whack!"


    Before Coral could finish, she got pped again, this time by Mrs. Lockwood.


    Coral looked at her mother in disbelief.


    Her father hitting her was one thing, but her mother too!


    "We''ve spoiled you rotten! You''re so reckless, and you still don''t know to repent. You''ve really let me


    down." Mrs. Lockwood said coldly.


    Coral had never seen Mrs. Lockwood so stern before, and she was a bit dazed, "Mom! Why? Why is


    this happening? I don''t understand!"


    Wasn''t it just asking Uncle for a little favor?


    Vivienne''s diploma was real, she had no idea! Who would''ve thought that someone raised in Emerald


    Monastery would have a double degree doctorate at the age of sixteen?


    Uncle got fired, and she felt guilty. This wasn''t what she wanted to see, but her parents didn''t


    understand her and even hit her.


    "You don''t understand?" Mrs. Lockwood said sternly, "The Lockwood family''spany is on the brink


    of copse, your uncle and aunt have lost their jobs, and your brother is under investigation and


    suspended from work."


    Coral lowered her head, not saying a word.


    "All these problems, you caused them all, and you''re saying you don''t understand?" Mrs. Lockwood


    was filled with disappointment.


    Her parenting style was not strict. As a girl, she wanted Coral to have a privileged upbringing, to be


    loved and taught the right values. But she never imagined her daughter would go astray. This was her


    responsibility.


    "Your father started from nothing and founded the Lockwood Group. Your brother studied until two in


    the morning every night to earn his current job. Do you know how hard it was for our family to get to


    where we are today? Your brother is transparent and fair in his dealings. He never acts out of line. Last


    time when you framed Vivienne for theft, your brother almost lost his job. Now, because of you again,


    your brother is under investigation. Can''t you stand to see the sess of our family?"


    Luckily, thest time Coral framed Vivienne for theft, Jan took Vivienne back for investigation. It was


    a normal procedure, but because Coral was his own sister, he was suspended from work, but he was


    quickly reinstated.


    But this time was different. This time was an investigation!


    Being investigated as aw enforcement officer meant that the higher-ups suspected Jan of


    wrongdoing!


    Once caught, being suspended was the least of his worries. Jail was the worst.


    Luckily, Jan was upright and loved his job. He never broke the rules, so there was nothing to find


    even if they did check.


    But Coral needed to be taught a lesson.


    "No, how could I not want to see our family seed? I, I just..." Coral was flustered.


    She really didn''t think things would get this serious.


    "You just couldn''t stand seeing Arabe being bullied, you just wanted to stand up for Arabe, you just


    thought Arabe was the realdy and Vivienne didn''t deserve to be!" Mrs. Lockwood finished Coral''s


    sentence.


    Coral looked at Mrs. Lockwood in surprise, "Mom, how do you know all this?"


    Indeed, everything she did against Vivienne was for Arabe.


    Arabe was her friend, and she couldn''t bear to see Arabe being bullied.


    "I''ve lived for over forty years, what tricks haven''t I seen? Do you think Arabe''s little schemes can


    fool me?"


    Coral stared at her in surprise, "I don''t get it! Don''t you like Arabe?"


    Mrs. Lockwood nced at Coral, expressionlessly saying, "I don''t like Arabe at all. The reason I''m


    friendly to her when shees over is because you consider her a friend. I don''t want to upset you, so


    I let you two be friends."


    She didn''t like Arabe from the first time she met her. She felt Arabe was too maniptive.


    Actually, she wanted to stop Coral from being friends with Arabe, but she loved Coral and didn''t want


    to upset her, so she let it slide.


    When Coral framed Vivienne for theftst time, she made it clear that Coral should not be friends with


    Arabe anymore and even grounded her at home for a few days.N?velDrama.Org ? 2024.


    But then she got busy with thepany and didn''t have time to deal with Coral.


    Who would''ve thought that not much time had passed, and trouble arose again.


    "What the heck? Arabe''s so smart and gentle. Everybody wants to be her friend. Mom, howe


    you don''t like her?"


    Coral waspletely blindsided. Her mom didn''t like Arabe?


    But she truly didn''t get it. Wasn''t Arabe great?


    Mrs. Lockwood had nned to give Coral a stern lecture, but seeing her bewildered face, she sighed


    instead, "Coral, think about it, does Arabe really consider you a friend? Doesn''t she always ask for


    your help to solve her problems?"


    "She''s my friend. Is it wrong for me to help her?" Coral didn''t think she was wrong.


    "There''s nothing wrong with helping friends, but Arabe isn''t worth it. Take how she keeps saying


    Vivienne is targeting her. If that''s true, why did Vivienne''s family move out? Also, if Arabe is so great,


    why wouldn''t the Ellington family want her, but pick Vivienne who grew up in the countryside instead?


    Do you think Richard is a fool?"


    "Richard has seen more people than the food you''ve eaten. He chose Vivienne over Arabe, which


    means there''s something wrong with Arabe. Moreover, Vivienne earned dual doctorate degrees at


    sixteen, that''s an honor. If it weren''t for Arabe stirring up trouble, wouldn''t you have thought Vivienne


    was impressive too?"


    Coral didn''t answer.


    It seemed to be true.


    Her bad impression of Vivienne was all because Arabe always acted like a victim in front of her,


    including this time. Arabe imed that Vivienne''s certificates might be fake, so she got her uncle to


    help.


    "Today is thest time we''ll talk about this. Tomorrow we''re going to apologize to Vivienne. Think hard


    about it. If you get it,e with us. And about Arabe, I hope you can make the right judgment. Is


    such a friend worth it?"


    With that, Mrs. Lockwood went into the room with Brandon.


    Jan nced at Coral, said nothing, and also went into his room.