Chapter 187
187:
“What?” Thea’s eyes widened. “I asked you to help me get back at them, not lock me up like some prisoner!”
“Forget about revenge. You need to let this go and act like it never happened. Sometimes, swallowing your pride is the only way forward,” Grant said quietly but firmly, the weight of his concern evident. He feared his headstrong daughter might unwittingly cross a dangerous line and pay a far greater price than humiliation.
“I won’t let it go!” she hissed, her voice rising. “If you are not going to help me, I’ll handle it myself! I’ll track them down with or without you!”
Martha, who had been silently watching from the side, stepped in quickly. She saw the storm building in her husband’s eyes and gently pulled at Thea’s arm. “Thea, please. Just listen to your father for once. He’s only trying to protect you,” she said softly. “Apologize to him now.”
“Apologize?” Thea scoffed. Her laugh was cold and sharp. “For what? For demanding justice? If he wants to be a coward, that’s his choice—but I won’t be!”
Grant’s expression darkened. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, the veins on his temples pulsing. “Do you really want to make things worse for yourself?” he warned, his voice shaking with suppressed anger.
“I will have my revenge!” Thea screamed. “No one—no one—gets to humiliate me and walk away. You can’t stop me! I will—”
Suddenly, a sharp slap cracked through the silence, the sound echoing painfully in the room. Thea’s head snapped sideways from the unexpected blow. A stunned silence fell.
Even Grant looked shocked, disbelief flickering across his features. He had just struck the daughter he cherished most.
Thea slowly turned her head, a crimson mark already forming on her cheek. Her eyes welled up, more in shock than pain. “You hit me?” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “You actually hit me…”
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It was unfathomable that the father who had always protected and adored her would raise his hand in anger.
“Thea…” Grant’s voice cracked with regret, his arm reaching out on instinct. But she recoiled like his touch was poison.
“I hate you!” Thea’s scream rang through the room, her face streaked with tears. “You’re nothing but a coward, lashing out at me while letting everyone else walk all over me! You don’t even care!” Her sobs trailed her as she stormed up the stairs, leaving Grant rooted in place, hollowed out and haunted.
Silence descended on the living room like a funeral shroud. Grant dropped onto the couch, shoulders sagging under an invisible weight. The fight in him had vanished, replaced by the brittle shell of a man who looked years older in an instant.
“What were you thinking?” Martha snapped, her voice sharp with reproach. “She’s our daughter. No matter how angry you were, that was—”
“We’re being targeted,” Grant cut her off, his voice grim and low.
Martha blinked, confused. “You mean… someone’s retaliating against us because of Thea?”
Grant gave a slow, somber nod. “Right after her humiliation hit the internet, the company started spiraling. Our stock is tanking. Investors are panicking. If this keeps going…” He didn’t finish the sentence.
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