The Phantom Heiress Rising From The Shadows

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Apologize To

Brenna Now

The Harper family members exchanged uncertain glances, their silence heavy with doubt. Brenna's lack of immediate response seemed like an unspoken admission of Rosie's words.

Seeing their hesitant expressions, Brenna knew she needed to clarify the situation before they made any assumptions. She hadn't come back just to be falsely accused-she wanted to reconnect with her real family.

Without hesitation, she scrolled through her phone, quickly pulling up the surveillance footage from the Flavor

Restaurant.

"You can watch this," she said, holding out her phone. The screen played the events exactly as they had happened.

Giselle and Shepard watched. Luther and Tessa also leaned in. Their faces darkened as the video progressed.

Rosie watched the video as well, her expression twisting with frustration. "How did you even get that footage?" she snapped.

"Rosie!" Giselle's voice was sharp with disappointment. Her heart ached-her daughter had suffered for twenty years, only to return and be met with hostility from her real family.

Tears filled Giselle's eyes as she took Brenna's hands in hers. "I should never have let Rosie be the one to pick you up. I should have canceled my speech at the United Nations forum. Nothing is more important than you finally coming home," she said.

Now, she understood why Brenna had kept her distance from them, why she had refused to call them 'Mom' and 'Dad'. Brenna had been mistreated before even stepping foot inside the house.

apology from you now," Shepard said

of my sprained ankle. As soon as I got home, I tried to explain myself to her, but she wouldn't let the matter go! I even offered her ice cream to smooth things over, and instead, she threw it at

since she had spent more than twenty years in the Harper family, Brenna couldn't compare to her in the

opportunity to speak up. "Yes! Miss Brenna

Shepard interrupted her coldly. "Did you finish preparing dinner for Brenna?" Rachael flinched at the reprimand, her resentment toward Brenna growing. She had worked for

20.02

Apologize To Brenna

a level of respect. Now, because of Brenna, she

a

Grandpa, Grandma, I really didn't mean it," Rosie said sweetly, tugging

treated her as his own daughter, ensuring

was hard to be too harsh on the girl he had raised,

unmoved. "You crossed the line," he said to Rosie. "Apologize

scanned the elders' faces, hoping for support, but no one defended her. The video evidence had stripped her of any plausible deniability. With no other choice, she clenched her jaw and forced out the

I'm sorry. Please forgive me," she

smiled faintly, her tone dismissive. "I forgave you a long time ago. You're immature-I won't take your actions or harsh

waiting for the perfect moment to bring

the elders didn't linger on the issue. They moved to the

more their faces

noting how vastly different