Chapter 8 Eighty Slaps

• Larissa forcefully covered her mouth, preventing her from spitting out the diamond necklace.
• Anais' eyes, which were brimming with tears, widened in response.
• Larissa's voice softened as she asked, “Anais, do you really never learn? Everyone has a brain, so why does it seem as if you're the only one who doesn't?”
• “Mmph... Help! Mmph...”
• Upon hearing the commotion, Philip and Sienna came rushing over.
• After witnessing the scene before them, both of their faces were frozen in shock.
• “Stop!”
• Acting as if she hadn't heard anything, Larissa kicked Anais back.
• Anais stumbled and fell in front of the two, her coughs tearing through her like a storm for what felt like an eternity, before she finally coughed up a diamond necklace.
• Sienna hastily bent down to help Anais up and asked worriedly, “Anais, are you okay?”
• “Mom!” Anais sobbed and collapsed into Sienna's arms, tears streaming down her face.
• “Larissa, you've crossed the line!”
• With a stern look on his face, Philip stepped forward, swiftly raising his hand to strike Larissa's cheek.
• Upon seeing this, Larissa calmly sidestepped as she asked, “I'm your own flesh and blood, no? Are you really going to hit me for Anais' sake?”
• After uttering those words, Larissa seemed as if she was deeply heartbroken and let out a long sigh.
• “Do you all despise me that much?”
• It was unclear whether Larissa's acting skills were too convincing, or if Sienna was simply too oblivious to detect the sarcasm in her words.
• Sienna gently soothed Anais with a few soft words, before she finally lifted her gaze to address Larissa, “Rissa, it's not that your father and I don't care about you. If you could just change your bad temper, we would treat you and Anais equally.”
• Of course, this was all under the assumption that Larissa would hand over her inheritance rights to the shares.
• Larissa blinked her eyes and said, “Treat us equally? By publicly declaring that I'm an adopted daughter of the Stenz family, you mean?”
• She wasn't always this irritable toward her so-called family from the very beginning.
• Four years ago, she had completed her special training and returned to her homeland, where she found the Stenz family.
• The outcome was clear as day.
• Philip and Sienna publicly declared that she was the adopted daughter of the Stenz family.
• Anais had ruined the gown Sienna had planned to wear for an important banquet, and then falsely accused her of causing the damage.
• And just like that, she was swiftly sent back overseas by the Stenz family.
• From a young age, Larissa understood the harsh law of the jungle. She knew that she had to fight tooth and nail to stay alive.
• Yet, this experience of reuniting with her family had once again given her a metaphorical slap in the face.
• It turned out, it remained hard to understand people's thoughts even with the closest of kin.
• “What do you mean by this? Anais isn't you. If people found out that Anais isn't a true daughter of the Stenz family, how do you expect her to live her life? You couldn't accept Anais four years ago, and now, what has she done to provoke you again? Why are you tormenting her?” Sienna exclaimed, her voice laced with fury.
• Larissa nodded and said with a chuckle, “All right, then. I'll tell you. Four years ago, Anais ruined a dress and blamed it on me. Now, she wants to plant that diamond necklace on me. Maybe you should ask her what she's planning to do.”
• Sienna furrowed her brows and looked toward Anais after hearing that.
• Upon seeing the diamond necklace on the ground, Sienna was taken aback.
• “Anais, wasn't this the birthday gift your father and I gave you? Why did you...”
• Since so much time had passed, Anais had already carefully thought through what she was going to say.
• With tears welling in her eyes, she said, “I-I just wanted to give this necklace to Rissa. I had no ill intentions! I don't know why Rissa dislikes me so much...”
• When Anais spoke, all Larissa saw was a pretentious woman doing her thing.
• With a stern expression, Sienna told Larissa, “Don't assume that everyone in the world is scheming like you just because you are!”
• Larissa fell speechless when she heard that.
• It seems reasoning with these individuals is truly impossible...
• Sienna had wanted to scold Larissa a few more times. However, upon seeing Larissa slowly flexing her wrist while leaning against the door frame with her head low, she held her tongue.
• For no apparent reason, her right eyelid suddenly twitched.
• The next thing she knew, Larissa suddenly dashed forward and delivered several slaps to Anais' face.
• Her hands moved so swiftly that Sienna and Philip saw nothing but a blur.
• Anais was hit so hard that her head felt dizzy, leaving her speechless for a moment.
• “You...” Sienna gritted her teeth so hard that she nearly ground her molars to dust.
• “Initially, I planned to slap her eighty times. Start off with eight sets of five slaps, then change direction and do it all over again. But it's getting late now, so I'll hold off on the remaining seventy-five. I'll deliver the rest whenever I have the time to. Now, off you go,” Larissa said with a laugh.
• “Larissa, you're such a—”
• Unable to contain her rage, Sienna got ready to charge forward, but she nearly got hit in the face when the door suddenly slammed shut.