Chapter 8 Forced by Public Opinion
Evie stood in front of the media, crying her heart out. She claimed that she and Archie were deeply in love and that I was the wicked sister tearing them apart.
According to her, I was so desperate to stop their marriage that I was even trying to drive Archie out of the Houghton family, all so I could keep the family fortune for myself.
If it had just been Evie, a woman with no real ties to the Houghton family, people might not have believed her so easily.
But then Grandma stepped in, adding fuel to the fire.
The media storm immediately swallowed me whole.
“I can’t believe there’s a sister like this in the world!”
“A woman hoarding her family’s fortune? Does she have no shame?”
“Daughters shouldn’t have the right to inherit family assets. She grew up eating her brother’s food, living under his roof, and now she’s trying to steal his money too? What kind of person does that?”
I calmly scrolled through the comments, reading them from beginning to end.
Grandma’s usual smile had vanished. “Jillian, Archie was adopted into this family so the Houghton name wouldn’t die out. Everything in the family belongs to him. As the head of this household, I’m ordering you to hand over the company.”
She then added cryptically, “Otherwise, in a little while, there might not be a company left to hand over.”
I frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“You know exactly what I mean,” she said, her tone filled with disdain. “Evie already told me everything. You’ve been keeping a freeloader and throwing money on him. Do you think the Houghton family’s wealth fell from the sky?”
Annoyed, I snapped, “I earn my own money and spend it however I want. Who does that bother? How can you believe whatever nonsense Evie feeds you? The so–called ‘freeloader‘ you’re talking about is the CEO of Harmon Group.”
Grandma shot a sharp glare at Evie.
“You have connections with the Harmon family? Since when?”
“That’s none of your business,” I replied
“You may be beyond my control,” Grandma said coldly, “but I still have the final say over this company.”
Archie had fully accepted that he wasn’t my biological brother, yet he still saw himself as the rightful heir of the Houghton family. Naturally, he agreed with Grandma without hesitation.
“Funny,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “When the company was struggling, not a single one of you stepped forward to help. But now that it’s thriving, suddenly everyone’s eager to take charge.”
I looked directly at Archie before asking, “Is that what you think too?”
Archie frowned slightly. “Jillian, to me, you’ll always be my sister. But Grandma is right. Everything in this family belongs to me. But don’t worry. Even after I take over, you’ll always have a place in this home.”
“Oh, Archie.” My heart sank in disappointment. “I gave you everything. We lost our parents, so I treated you as my only family. But you still let me down.”
Evie came forward and said, “If you hadn’t abandoned Archie first, he wouldn’t have had to go this far! You brought this on yourself!”
“Fine.” I inhaled deeply. “Tell me one thing, Archie. Was it you who leaked the story to the media?”
I had already agreed to give up the company, but it seemed they couldn’t even wait a few days. If that was the case, why should I keep trying?
Archie remained silent. But his silence spoke volumes. I had already reached my limit.
Evie stepped forward again. “Jillian, if you hadn’t gone back on your word, we wouldn’t have had to do this. Now you’re being criticized by the public, but that’s just the consequence of your own actions!”
Archie added, “Jillian, the sooner you hand over the company, the sooner you can stop exhausting yourself. Didn’t you always say you wished I could help you?”
