Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 232

Miriam's pleas only made Phoebe feel more humiliated. Her face flushed crimson, and she lowered her head as if wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

"Don't cross the line!"

Scarlett's mother stepped in front of Emma, shielding her protectively.

"From what I understand, your daughter's best friend is Gillian, isn't it?"

Miriam was struck dumb. She turned and yanked her daughter forward. "Say something, hurry up!"

Phoebe bit her lip, unwilling to display such an embarrassing side of herself.

"Come on! Do you really want to go back to our old hometown?"

Miriam shoved Phoebe hard. Phoebe's lips parted, but no words came out.

Miriam glared at her in sheer frustration, then turned back to Emma with desperate eyes.

"Emma, have you forgotten? I protected you when you were a little girl! We lived in Garrison. You were twelve or thirteen, and you got separated from your family. Phoebe played with you for hours."

Emma froze upon hearing this.

Did that really happen?

She used to visit Garrison a lot as a kid. She would hang out with her cousins and sometimes play with the nanny's daughter.

"A group of older kids came looking for you. One of them was the daughter of the nanny who worked for the Lockwoods."

A distant memory floated into Emma's mind, catching her completely off guard.

Carter had also mentioned that they had met as teenagers. It sounded exactly like the incident Miriam was talking about.

That day, she had sneaked out of her grandfather's house to find Martha's daughter. She did run into a devastatingly handsome boy and gave him some cash, even walking him toward the police station.

On her way back, she passed a park filled with kids her age and stopped to play for a while.

But she genuinely had no idea Phoebe was in that group. And as for being "protected," that was utter nonsense. She always had bodyguards tailing her from a young age.

Miriam was completely unhinged. She had grown accustomed to the luxurious lifestyle.

The Harringtons were incredibly generous. The holiday gifts alone were enough for her to show off to her relatives back home.

Now that she was kicked out, how was she supposed to live the high life?

"Mom..."

Phoebe's heart ached at the words. Miriam began hitting her as if venting all her rage. "You were so close to Emma! Look at what she's accomplished. She gets dumped by Percy, and she turns around and marries Carter! Look at yourself! You're a worthless disappointment!"

Phoebe's face paled completely, but she didn't dare fight back because of her mother's health.

She lowered her head and endured the abuse in silent helplessness.

Meanwhile, Emma didn't pay much attention to their departure. She hurried off to find Carter.

Carter had said they met years ago. Was he really the pretty boy she had given her money to?