Bullied and Dumped, But She Won in the End (Adriana) novel Chapter 414

Chapter 414 Last Chance

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If she had spent her childhood less consumed by envy of Nicole, if she had resisted Chandler’s poisonous influence, if she had stood unconditionally with her grandfather and Nicole when Chandler schemed against him… Her life would not have crumbled into this ruin from which there seemed no return.

“Danielle, you still have one chance to turn back. And this is it.”

Those were the words Jeremy had written in the letter.

Jeremy had long expected that Chandler, when pushed by profit and ambition, would one day discard his own daughter. When that moment came, when Danielle stood with nowhere left to go, she would face one final choice.

And now, as if by design, Adriana needed her. There was Julian at Skyridge Materials.

That was the bomb Chandler had planted inside Barton Group before his departure.

If Danielle could find the clarity to help Adriana defuse it, that could be the redemption her grandfather had written about.

But her thoughts churned like storm–tossed water. Fear coiled in her chest.

She was afraid that no one would believe her.

Even if Jeremy had offered her this chance, would Adriana and Justin extend the same grace?

Given everything she’d done, trust felt like an impossible currency.

She had hit bottom. But was survival waiting there, or just more darkness?

Tears fell silently onto the paper as Danielle sat there for a long time, unable to decide.

Outside the window, the low rumble of a car engine drifted through the quiet. Justin had left.

She wanted to talk to him, but he probably wouldn’t give her the time.

Danielle tucked the letter carefully against her skin, then rose and stepped out of the bedroom.

She had not destroyed it. A small, fragile hope lingered in her mind. If she brought Jeremy’s handwritten letter to Adriana, perhaps Adriana might be willing to believe her. Just once.

‘Ms. Barton, breakfast is ready.” Peggy Stodden, the housekeeper, smiled warmly. “Mr. Hotchner had to step out. He asked that you eat properly.”

Something in Danielle’s chest loosened. She nodded.

There was no way Justin would ever say something like that himself. The kindness likely came from Peggy alone.

She sat down and blinked in surprise. The table held everything she used to eat at the Barton Estate. The familiar comfort foods she’d loved as a girl.

“How did you know…” Danielle’s voice caught as Peggy ladled clam chowder into her bowl.

Peggy had never worked for the Bartons. How could she know Danielle’s preferences?

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Chapter 414 Last Chance.

“Mr. Hotchner’s instructions,” Peggy said gently.

Danielle’s eyes burned. Justin remembered. After everything, he remembered what she liked to eat.

“Did he… say I should leave after breakfast?” she asked quietly.

Peggy shook her head with a smile. “No, he said nothing of the sort. You’re welcome to stay.”

Danielle looked down at her bowl and forced herself to eat, though each swallow felt like stones.

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She knew Justin’s kindness came filtered through her grandfather’s wishes. But somehow, that didn’t stop the tears from threatening.

Twenty two years of armor, stripped away in a single morning. And beneath it, she found only an aching, unfamiliar lightness.

“You’ve got some nerve, sitting there eating.” Peggy had barely left the room when Susan appeared, her expression dark. She kicked the leg of Danielle’s chair. The sudden jolt nearly made Danielle choke.

“What is wrong with you?” Danielle set down her spoon, eyes narrowing.

“What gives you the right to stay here? Justin only let you stay because he pitied you. You’re nothing more than a stray he picked up off the street. He gave you a letter, didn’t he? Hand it over.” Her hand shot out, demanding.

Danielle ignored her and lifted her spoon again.

Susan grabbed a fistful of Danielle’s hair and yanked. “Are you deaf? Do you want me to have Justin throw you out right now?”

Danielle’s expression hardened. She stood abruptly and struck Susan across the face. “I may have fallen on hard times, but that doesn’t mean I’m dead.”

Susan staggered back, clutching her face, eyes wide with disbelief. “You… Did you just hit me? I’m telling Justin!”

She fled, sobbing.

Danielle pressed her fingers to her temples, a headache blooming behind her eyes. She’d done it again. Let her temper win.

With the way Justin doted on Susan these days, she’d probably be out on the street by nightfall.