The First Step of Retaliation
"What would make our family look better?"
Aaron walked into the living room from outside, with his secretary following behind. The secretary took one look at the situation and was about to leave.
"Just leave the documents on the desk in the study upstairs."
The secretary went upstairs, and before leaving, instinctively glanced at Zuri.
Saira hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Mom told Zuri to dress nicely when going out, but Zuri felt offended and argued with her."
Aaron looked at his angry wife, then at Zuri, who was dressed shabbily. His brows furrowed slightly, and he believed most of what Saira said.
"Your mother is right. A young lady should wear a dress. You should change out of those clothes."
Aaron spoke gently, but Zuri understood the implication behind his words.
She was no longer the little girl she once was.
"You think going out in these clothes would disgrace the Lin family, but isn't it even more disgraceful to wear old clothes that others don't want? Or does the Lin family have a rule that we must wear second-hand clothes when meeting friends?"
Hearing the sarcasm in her words, Aaron frowned, "What do you mean?"
"My dear sister made me wear her old clothes to meet her friends."
Seeing her father's gaze, Saira looked aggrieved, her eyes reddening, "Dad, I didn't."
"Zuri, how could you lie at such a young age? When did Saira say such a thing?"
Zuri laughed, "She didn't say it, but that's what she did. Besides the few clothes I brought, everything in my wardrobe is Saira's unwanted old clothes. You're not allowing me to wear my own clothes, forcing me to wear her old ones to meet her friends. Wouldn't that make the Lin family look even better?"
Zuri didn't stop there and continued her sarcasm.
"If I really didn't consider the Lin family's reputation, within a day, the entire upper class of Oceanic City would know that the Lin family's biological daughter is wearing the foster daughter's old clothes to meet people."
"On a smaller scale, people would think the Lin family prefers the foster daughter more since she's been with them for years and they have more feelings for her. Look, the biological daughter has to wear the foster daughter's clothes."
"On a larger scale, they might think something went wrong with the Lin family's business, that there are problems with the cash flow, and they can't even afford clothes for their biological daughter."
"If someone with ill intentions took this matter and spread it online, what would the consequences be?"
Seeing Aaron's face change, Zuri laughed internally.
Her father didn't care much about people, but he cared a lot about his company. If anyone did anything to harm his company, he wouldn't let it slide.
Dalia said indifferently, "What people say online has nothing to do with the Lin family."
"Shut up!" Aaron reprimanded her and then looked at Zuri with a gentler expression, "You have thought this through very well."
Aaron glanced at Saira, who felt a bit scared under his gaze.
"Dad, it's not like that. I... I never thought of it that way." Saira wanted to defend herself but didn't know what to say.
Because as long as someone went upstairs and looked, they'd know she was telling the truth. Defending herself now would only make her father unhappy.
"Look how you've scared Saira. She has so many clothes, how could she remember which ones she's worn and which ones she hasn't?" Dalia held her precious daughter's hand, and seeing her eyes well up with tears, she felt immediate heartache.