The Phantom Heiress Rising From The Shadows novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Apologize To

Brenna Now

The Harper family members exchanged uncertain glances, their silence heavy with doubt. Brenna’s lack of immediate response seemed like an unspoken admission of Rosie’s words.

Seeing their hesitant expressions, Brenna knew she needed to clarify the situation before they made any assumptions. She hadn’t come back just to be falsely accused–she wanted to reconnect with her real family.

Without hesitation, she scrolled through her phone, quickly pulling up the surveillance footage from the Flavor

Restaurant.

“You can watch this,” she said, holding out her phone. The screen played the events exactly as they had happened.

Giselle and Shepard watched. Luther and Tessa also leaned in. Their faces darkened as the video progressed.

Rosie watched the video as well, her expression twisting with frustration. “How did you even get that footage?” she snapped.

“Rosie!” Giselle’s voice was sharp with disappointment. Her heart ached–her daughter had suffered for twenty years, only to return and be met with hostility from her real family.

Tears filled Giselle’s eyes as she took Brenna’s hands in hers. “I should never have let Rosie be the one to pick you up. I should have canceled my speech at the United Nations forum. Nothing is more important than you finally coming home,” she said.

Now, she understood why Brenna had kept her distance from them, why she had refused to call them ‘Mom‘ and ‘Dad‘. Brenna had been mistreated before even stepping foot inside the house.

“Rosie, Brenna deserves an apology from you now,” Shepard said firmly.

Roşie pouted. “Dad, I already apologized to her at the restaurant! I even went to the hospital because of my sprained ankle. As soon as I got home, I tried to explain myself to her, but she wouldn’t let the matter go! I even offered her ice cream to smooth things over, and instead, she threw it at me. She’s being completely unreasonable!”

Rosie was still being smug. She believed since she had spent more than twenty years in the Harper family, Brenna couldn’t compare to her in the Harper couple’s eyes.

From the side, Rachael saw an opportunity to speak up. “Yes! Miss Brenna Harper is overreacting. Miss Rosie Harper was only joking-”

“This is none of your business!” Shepard interrupted her coldly. “Did you finish preparing dinner for Brenna?” Rachael flinched at the reprimand, her resentment toward Brenna growing. She had worked for the Harper

20.02

|||

O

<

Chapter 17 Apologize To Brenna Now

family for years and had always been treated with a level of respect. Now, because of Brenna, she was being

dismissed like a common servant.

“Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, I really didn’t mean it,” Rosie said sweetly, tugging at Shepard’s arm.

Shepard had always treated her as his own daughter, ensuring she never felt like an orphan.

Shepard hesitated. He wanted to be firm, but it was hard to be too harsh on the girl he had raised, especially not when he had just found his biological daughter.

Luther, however, was unmoved. “You crossed the line,” he said to Rosie. “Apologize to Brenna now.”

Rosie scanned the elders‘ faces, hoping for support, but no one defended her. The video evidence had stripped her of any plausible deniability. With no other choice, she clenched her jaw and forced out the words.

“Brenna, I’m sorry. Please forgive me,” she said.

Brenna smiled faintly, her tone dismissive. “I forgave you a long time ago. You’re immature–I won’t take your actions or harsh words to heart.”

Rosie’s nails dug into her palms. She had been waiting for the perfect moment to bring up Brenna’s extravagant spending, but now, how could she shift the conversation without looking bitter?

Thankfully, the elders didn’t linger on the issue. They moved to the living room, eager to learn more about Brenna’s life before.

The more they listened, the more their faces were filled with sorrow, guilt, and quiet anger.

Brenna studied their reactions, noting how vastly different they were from the Barretts.

“It’s all in the past now,” she said gently. “No need to dwell on it.”

But Tessa couldn’t stop crying. She took Brenna’s hand in hers, pulled out a bank card from her purse, and pressed it into her palm. “Here’s some pocket money. Buy yourself whatever you need,” she said.

Shepard, not wanting to be outdone, handed Brenna another card. “We didn’t prepare anything in advance since we didn’t know your sizes. There’s a hundred million on this–you can buy whatever you like with this.”

Giselle wiped her eyes and said eagerly, “Yes! Tomorrow, I’ll take you shopping myself.”