Sylvia smiled faintly, “Because… this time I brought my laptop with me. When I saw that video playing on the big screen, I asked Jax to fetch my laptop from the villa.”
“That video was clearly different from Isla’s character. Actually, both Franklin and I believe in Isla’s integrity.”
Sylvia glanced at Franklin, “I spent some time at MI6 and got to know Isla. So, I believed she wouldn’t do something so reckless. And it turns out I was right.”
Franklin held her small hand, “So I assisted Sylvia in the investigation and gathering evidence. We directly thwarted Kristen’s scheme. She wanted to ruin Isla’s reputation for her own hidden agenda.”
“I didn’t expect she would love her brother Soren in such a twisted way,” Isla said as she approached Sylvia and Franklin with a glass of juice, having changed into a new dress for the toast.
She was pregnant and couldn’t drink alcohol, so she could only have juice.
“With this juice as my wine, I thank you both for your unwavering help,” she said, downing the juice in one go. “Miss Andrews, Mr. Maskelyne, thank you.”
Her own parents didn’t even think twice before believing that video, but Franklin and Sylvia helped clear her name and restore her reputation.
Such great kindness she would never forget in her life.
“Mr. Maskelyne, Miss Andrews, if it weren’t for you, Isla and I might have never been able to hold our heads up high again. Gossip is truly terrifying. Even if I completely trusted Isla, the public’s accusations could have drowned us as a couple.” Soren also lifted his wine glass, “I toast to you!”
With these words, he drank the wine in his glass to the last drop.
“Whenever we are needed in the future, just say so. We will never hesitate, no matter what the cost.” Soren’s handsome face was full of generosity!
“It isn’t necessary, but right now we just need…” Sylvia teasingly looked at the couple, deliberately drawing out her words.
“What do we need?” Isla looked at her with curiosity, her delicate face.
“To have the little one born safely and soundly! Then we can come over and play with the baby!” Sylvia cast a playful glance at Isla’s belly.
Isla’s face turned red, “Miss Andrews, you… you’re so naughty.”
“Haha!”
Sylvia couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Everyone was immersed in the joyous laughter.
After the wedding banquet ended, everyone said their goodbyes and left one by one.
Organizing the banquet was rather tiring, and Isla, being pregnant, felt extremely uncomfortable all over. Soren helped her sit on the sofa and poured her a glass of warm water, “Drink some water and rest a bit.”
He looked at her with concern, “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
Isla shook her head, “Just tired, very tired.”
Just as the couple was talking, Jane and Malcolm walked over. Jane’s smile appeared somewhat forced, “Isla, are you okay?”
Seeing her parents’ appearance, Isla suddenly felt very cold inside; her expression was cold and indifferent, “Dad, Mom, if there’s nothing after the banquet, you should go home.”
“Isla, we are your parents, is it right for you to speak to us like this?” Malcolm’s face fell with displeasure and resentment when he saw his daughter’s cold expression, “How have we pampered you from childhood? Have you forgotten?”
Jane also glared at her with dissatisfaction, her tone clearly emotional.
“Right, you are our only daughter, not as if we have many girls in our family. Your father and I have always pampered you, giving you everything you wanted. We didn’t want to see what happened today, but we were so stunned at the moment, we didn’t think much. So, our reaction was somewhat intense… Why are you still taking it to heart? We are one family, after all, unbreakable by blood.”
“Your subconscious reaction was the most genuine one.” Isla didn’t originally want to talk to them, but they blamed her, the victim.
So many things had happened, and her parents didn’t comfort her or show any concern; instead, they blamed her for being petty and for not understanding them.
Absolutely ridiculous!
“You are still resentful of us? We have put so much effort into raising you and provided you with a good university education. The Saunders family isn’t poor, and you are the Saunders family’s lady. I really think you have been spoiled by us.” Jane stared at Isla with a heart-chilling look, growling angrily, “I have raised an ungrateful daughter.”
Isla was so angry that she had to take a deep breath to calm herself.
“Me? An ungrateful daughter? I have always excelled in both character and academic performance. Indeed, I was admitted to a good university, but I also joined MI6. My value is to glorify the Saunders family and satisfy your vanity. I am just a tool to you. The one you truly love is my brother, not me.”
“Because my brother can inherit the family business, and he is a son! You always pretended to treat me so well, but when real issues arise, you only wished to distance yourselves and hide as far away as possible. Today, for example, you couldn’t even think before rushing over to hit me and shouting. You have never believed in me.”
“You are not even as good as Sylvia and Franklin. They don’t share any blood ties with me; they are just my superiors and friends! Yet, they helped me. Without hesitation, they chose to trust and support me. You are not as good as my husband, who knew it was a trap.”
“Talking about family love? Saying I’ve been spoiled? What do you base this on?”
“Is it the time you scold me first without asking the reason whenever I have an argument with my brother? Or the times you praise my brother when he snatches what I want, making him feel proud of it?”
“Or perhaps it is the fact that all my dowry was prepared by my aunt and grandparents, while you, my parents, only contributed 20, 000 pounds! I am the daughter of the Saunders family, yet the Saunders family treats me so pitifully.”
“Outwardly, I seem to have a glorious life. The Saunders family isn’t the top aristocracy, but we are still in a leading position among some families. 20, 000 pounds! Is that for beggars? Your set of cosmetics alone costs more than 20, 000 pounds! You don’t even spend just 20, 000 pounds gambling in one night! How afraid are you that I might snatch my brother’s inheritance? You won’t even give me a tiny bit.”
“If it weren’t for my grandparents, I would have had no dignity in my new family.”
Isla truly felt heartbroken by her parents. The more she spoke, the more sorrow and anger she felt.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she angrily wiped them away, shouting, “The red envelopes Sylvia and Franklin gave were more than the dowry you gave me!”
There was no trace of guilt on the faces of the Saunders family couple. The two of them glared at Isla angrily, their faces only showing fury and disgrace.
“You are still our daughter, you will marry and become part of another family. How can you still be counted as one of ours?”
“Moreover, your brother is a boy. How can you compare with him? He will take care of us in the future. The Saunders family’s company will definitely be inherited by him. If you inherit it, it would become the property of another family, do you think we are that foolish?”
Jane’s face turned dark with impatience, rolling her eyes, “Isla, I thought you were a sensible child. I didn’t expect you to hurt us like this.”
Malcolm, in a rage, raised his hand to slap Isla but was directly stopped by Soren. Malcolm, still not giving up, shouted at Isla.
“You ungrateful daughter! You dare to accuse us of favoritism. What if we do favor our heir? Are you going to be the one who carries on the Saunders family’s name? Your brother can!”
“Don’t even think of getting a penny from the company! It will all be his in the future.” Jane said darkly, “Honey, let’s go! You are such an ungrateful daughter, just married and already disowning us. It’s too much!”
“You have disappointed us.” Isla chuckled coldly, “Grandpa and Grandma have already transferred ten percent of the company shares to me as my dowry, so… I am destined to receive dividends at the end of the year.”
“What?” Jane was shocked. “What did you just say?”
“Didn’t hear clearly? You can ask my grandfather and grandmother if you didn’t hear clearly!” Isla looked at the couple with a cold and indifferent gaze, “I am now also a shareholder of Saunders Group. I have the right to join the board of directors.”
“It’s impossible! How could Father be so foolish, giving you, his granddaughter, the shares?” Malcolm was so angry that he almost fainted.
The Saunders Group had only twenty percent of the shares owned by the couple, twenty percent owned by Aviana, and about twenty percent owned by several small shareholders. The largest shareholder was Old Mr. and Mrs. Saunders, who owned forty percent of the shares.
This meant that they had transferred ten percent of their shares to Isla from their own forty percent.
“Exactly! Grandpa said, whether it’s a grandson or a granddaughter, they are the same in his eyes. He treats both you and Aunt Aviana fairly with a twenty percent share each. But you always show favoritism. He has been very angry about it for a long time. So, you wronged him, but he didn’t wrong me.”
Isla just gave them a cold glance; she no longer wanted to say anything.
Holding Soren’s arm, she said, “Honey, I want to sleep.”
Soren had always known that Isla’s family favored boys over girls, so he had always felt very heartbroken for her.
But he never expected it to be so despicable and shameless! Truly unworthy of being parents.
Of course, he stood by his wife, “Please leave. My wife needs to rest.”
The couple of Goo cursed as they left, and the room suddenly became quiet.
Isla, with red eyes, looked at Soren, “Thank you for being by my side.”
“In the future, we will be one family, Isla. I will never betray you, and I will always love and cherish you.” His thin lips slowly touched her forehead, “Trust me.”