Riya’s face went pale as Vincent’s suspicious gaze bore into her. She shook her head frantically.
"I didn’t do it," she cried. "Zara is lying. I would never..." She grabbed his hand, tears welling up. "Dad, are you doubting ?"
Her words trembled. "I know I’m not your blood, but you are my family. You’ve given everything. You took in and gave your na. You loved selflessly. I would never hurt you."
Watching her cry, Vincent’s hard expression softened. He couldn’t imagine Riya harming them. After all, the family had cared for her. "I trust you," he said, offering a consoling smile.
"No, Dad — don’t take her word for it," Zara urged. "I saw her add sothing. Send the juice for testing first. That will show who is telling the truth."
A fresh wave of terror washed over Riya at the thought of testing the juice. Zachary had claid the substance was undetectable, but the possibility of it showing a deadly toxin terrified her.
If it did, she’d be ruined. The Grants would throw her in jail. Panic churned through her at the thought of prison. She had to stop this. She had to make them believe the juice was fine.
Riya insisted desperately, "I’m telling the truth. If you don’t believe , I’ll prove it. I’ll drink it myself."
Before anyone could stop her, she snatched up the glass and downed the juice in one swift motion.
Zara froze at the sight, gaping at her in disbelief.
Riya had actually drunk it.
’Did I misunderstand her? Or is this just part of her act?’
Before Zara could make sense of it, Riya slamd the empty glass onto the table and turned toward her with defiance blazing in her eyes. "See? I’m fine. I’m standing here, perfectly healthy. There was nothing dangerous in that juice."
Zara’s mind reeled. She was certain she had seen Riya mix sothing into it. She couldn’t have imagined that. And that malicious glint of her eyes...How could she ignore it?
It was clear that whatever Riya had mixed into the juice was sothing harmful. Yet, she stood there unhard.
’How is that possible?’ Zara thought, confusion swirling in her chest. ’If it wasn’t a harmful substance, then what was it?’
"What’s going on here?" Gracie’s sharp voice cut through the tension. She approached them, her brows knitted. "Why is Riya shouting?"
Vincent lifted a hand, attempting to calm the situation. "It’s nothing serious — just a misunderstanding."
"Yes, Mom," Riya added quickly, dabbing her tears with the back of her hand. "It was all a small misunderstanding."
Gracie eyed her skeptically. "A misunderstanding? Then why are you crying?" She flicked her gaze to Zara, suspicion evident in her face.
Fresh tears welled up in Riya’s eyes as she put on a pitiful expression. This was her mont to twist the situation to her advantage and turn everyone against Zara. There was no way she’d let it slip by.
"Zara misunderstood," she choked out. "She thought I mixed sothing harmful in Dad’s juice to hurt him. But I swear, I would never do such a thing. Why would I ever harm my own father?"
Gracie’s face darkened with fury. She shot Zara a scathing look. "How absurd! You just walk in and start accusing my daughter? What’s wrong with you?"
Zara opened her mouth to defend herself, but Riya quickly cut in. "Please, don’t bla her, Mom. She must have seen it wrong. When I added a little sugar, she probably thought I was putting sothing harmful."
Turning toward Zara, Riya wore an expression of wounded innocence. "Zara, please stop targeting . I know you’ve never liked . You’ve always tried to put down, but this is going too far. Accusing of trying to hurt my father? It’s unbearable. This is my family, too. I love them just as much as you do. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t try to fra ."
"Don’t beg her," Gracie snapped. "You’ve done nothing wrong. She is the one at fault."
She pointed an accusing finger at Zara. "This isn’t so misunderstanding. You are deliberately trying to cause a rift between us. But let tell you sothing — you can’t break our family apart with your lies. All you are doing is ruining your own image."
"I’m not trying to break your family apart," Zara shot back defiantly. "I’m only telling you what I saw."
"You saw her add sothing to the juice," Gracie retorted sharply, "and imdiately assud it was poison. Did you even bother to find out what it really was? Just because you dislike her, you jumped to conclusions and accused her of sothing she would never do. I’m deeply disappointed. I never imagined you could be so petty and narrow-minded."
"Please stop," Riya chid in. "Don’t argue because of . I can’t take it." With that, she turned away and rushed to her room, pretending to be overwheld.
Zara stood frozen, her expression conflicted. Had she really misunderstood Riya? Her mind raced with doubts and questions. No matter how much Riya loathed her, she wouldn’t go as far as to hurt Vincent, would she?
"Are you satisfied now?" Gracie hissed, glaring at her. "Today you accused Riya; tomorrow it’ll be . Is your goal to tear this family apart?"
"No, I—"
"This is my final warning," Gracie interrupted coldly. "If you ever go against Riya again, I’ll make sure you are out of this house. Nathaniel won’t stand by you then."
Zara gasped, stunned.
"That’s enough, Gracie," Vincent interrupted, unable to watch silently. "No need to be too harsh. She only acted out of concern."
"Concern?" Gracie scoffed. "How can you call that concern? She falsely accused Riya on purpose just to attack her. Can’t you see it?"
"Whatever her intention, she was only trying to protect ," Vincent said firmly. "Stop raising your voice at her. And Zara—" he turned toward her, his tone softening slightly, "be more cautious next ti before accusing Riya. She is part of this family — our daughter, Nathaniel’s sister. Don’t forget that."
Zara remained in stunned silence, humiliation, anger, and sorrow crashing over her. She couldn’t look him in the face and kept her head bowed.
"Go check on Zane," he said.
As she turned to go, Gracie’s voice followed coldly. "This once I won’t tell Nathaniel. But if you do this again, don’t expect to be lenient."
Fighting back her tears, Zara clenched her fists and hurried away to her room instead of going to check on Zane. She couldn’t face the boy at this mont. She didn’t want him to see her like this. Or in other words, she had no patience to deal with his questions. She needed a mont alone, but Riya had other plans.
Riya stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Where are you running off to? Hiding sowhere?" she taunted.
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