Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 1651: I had to do it... to protect my child.

"You better have answers. I'm not in the mood to play nice either."

The woman trembled under their gaze. She could hear her own gulp echoing in her ears, and her throat drying up quickly. The tension in the room was so thick it felt like it had grown limbs, reaching out to choke her.

"Priscilla Reed," Mint called to get her attention, stressing each syllable. "Let's have a nice chat, shall we?"

The woman, Priscilla, Nina's biological mother, turned to Mint. She drew a deep, jagged breath as she clasped her hand on her lap. But before she could say anything, a painful throb struck her head.

"Aw-" Priscilla winced as she touched the side of her head where it throbbed painfully.

"Don't be dramatic," Slater clicked his tongue in irritation. "You were hit in the head, but it's nothing serious. Sleep it off and you'll be fine."

Priscilla clenched her teeth and glared at him.

"What?" he asked dryly. "Why are you glaring at me? If anyone should be glaring here, it's us at you."

"Third Brother." Penny gently raised a hand and rested it on his chest. "It's alright.'

Slater gritted his teeth silently but held back the storm of words brewing inside him. Priscilla might have been around their parents' age, but that didn't stop him from wanting to unload every harsh word in his vocabulary-words he'd practically rehearsed for a moment like this.

Penny, by contrast, maintained her composure. Her gaze locked with Priscilla's— cold, distant, unyielding.

"Priscilla Reed," she began, her voice low and tightly controlled. "You owe us an explanation. It's time to repay that debt."

"You better start talking," Mint added, giving a casual nod. "Or would you prefer we spell out all the questions we already know the answers to?"

Penny. She bit her inner lip, her head pounding, but

my daughter?" she asked at last, her voice

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responded with

"Please... just this once-"

to make a request like that?" Penny cut in, her voice unblinking and cold.

Priscilla said nothing.

eyes beginning to redden as she met Penny's icy stare. She knew she had no right. Not even to look at Nina from afar. The moment she did what she had done... she forfeited any claim to

cracked slightly at the edge, thick with

to force a smile—but failing. Her eyes flicked to Slater's grim expression, then to Mint's sharp,

whispered. "I had

child?" Slater, barely holding himself back, scoffed.

"Third Brother "

else's niece. Your daughter grew up believing she belonged to a family that never saw her as their own."His

breath. "How the hell

her lips into a tight line as she stared at his profile. Slater might be too emotional-but in truth,

not from emotion. She was watching Priscilla's every move,

her head

over her face. "I just wanted to save her," she whispered, her voice thin but clear in the silence. "I knew I had no right to be

her eyes. "I had to act quickly. I had

if it meant

was the only way," she added, voice cracking. "If I

I did." Her voice dropped even lower. "And if I had to

forward, but Penny grabbed his arm and held him back. His eyes burned with rage, jaw clenched so tightly it trembled. There was no remorse in this woman's voice. Only resolve.