Chapter 3464
“Mr. Fraser, please step outside first. I need to speak with my mother,” Kathryn said, aware of Pedro’s worry for her.
She reassured him, “Don’t fret; my mother isn’t really going to harm me. I was born to her, and I’ve done something that disrupted her plans. I deserve a slap for it.”
Kathryn felt that Clarissa wouldn’t truly hurt her, as she believed her mother still cared about their relationship.
Pedro looked at Clarissa, then at Kathryn’s red and swollen face, feeling heartbroken, and quietly exited the room.
He asked a nurse for some ice and handed it to Kathryn, urging her to apply it to her face.
Kathryn accepted the ice and said, “I’ll take care of it. You can go now.”
Pedro pursed his lips and eventually left the room.
Once it was just the mother and daughter in the ward, Kathryn applied the ice to her face and said, “Mom, you must be tired from standing. Please pull a chair over and sit down.”
Clarissa stared at her for a moment before dragging a chair closer and sitting down.
“Mom, the next time you hit me, could you please avoid my face? I’m not pretty as it is, and if I get swollen, I’ll look even worse. I’m not married, and if you make me ugly, I won’t be able to find a husband or have a daughter. Even if you take out Liberty and the others, you’ll have no successor.”
Clarissa replied, “Stop joking with me.”
Kathryn responded, “I’m not joking. Mom, I’m being serious.”
Clarissa asked, “When did you wake up?”
Kathryn answered truthfully, “I woke up when you were mumbling and crying. I pretended to be asleep; it was hard to maintain the act.”
Clarissa was left speechless.
After a moment of silence, Clarissa said angrily, “I did that for your own good! I’d risk my life to ensure that the head of the family position is passed on to you.”
The descendants of your aunt will never be able to compete with you!”
Kathryn paused for a moment before looking at her mother and saying earnestly, “Mom, don’t you think you’re mistaken? You keep making errors—completely wrong ones. I admire Liberty, my junior, and my conscience won’t let me stand by while you harm her. If I can save her, I certainly will.
Mom, you and my aunt are sisters, and you were raised by her. We come from the same roots, so why are you so intent on destroying us? Why must you eliminate us all? Don’t claim it’s for our own good. Did I ask for your opinion? Do you really think I owe it to you to act in certain ways? Mom, do you even know if I want to be the head of the family? Not everyone values power the way you do.”
“If I could, I wouldn’t want to remain in the Farrell family and accept everything that comes with it. The rules of the Farrell family are difficult for me to adapt to. Why do we even have such rules? Isn’t it better for the capable and virtuous to take on leadership roles?”
“Why must she be a daughter of the direct lineage?”
“If a family head has many daughters, it can lead to situations like your mother’s,” Clarissa stated coldly. “If you have the ability, you can change the rules you dislike. Just look at the Lafayette family in Meadspring; once the current head took over, didn’t he abolish numerous family rules?”
Kathryn responded, “I do want to, but the position of family head shouldn’t automatically belong to me. Mom, your claim to the head of the family is neither legitimate nor justifiable. I just want to ask you one thing: Did you truly kill my eldest and second aunts?”
Kathryn already…
She had the answer deep down, yet she couldn’t help but cling to a glimmer of hope, wishing to hear a negative response from Clarissa. She longed for another truth.
“Mom, if you didn’t do it, I would do everything in my power to help you clear your name, even if it meant sacrificing my life!” Kathryn declared earnestly.
Clarissa met her gaze for a moment before looking away.
“You are my only daughter, and I don’t want you to put your life at risk. Whether you have the truth or not, does it really matter?”
Clarissa’s words were, in essence, a confirmation for Kathryn.
The last shred of hope in Kathryn’s heart was crushed.
Her two aunts had indeed been harmed by Clarissa.
Clarissa continued, “Kathryn, what truly matters is that I am the one in charge of the family now—your biological mother!”