The Scorned Heiress: No More Mercy novel Chapter 570

"It's definitely nothing good," Tara agrees softly. "But if I don't show up this time, they'll just keep bothering you and Aunt Kellen. So, I'll come."

She knows Eleanor loves her and hates seeing her harassed. But Tara also knows the rest of the family's persistence. If she avoids them, they will torture her grandmother with endless complaints. It is easier to just face the firing squad.

The next day, Tara arrives at the Dennis Estate right on time, walking through the grand doors with practiced indifference.

Just as she expected, Eleanor and Aunt Kellen aren't the only ones waiting.

"Tara, you're here! Come sit by me," Eleanor calls out, immediately abandoning her conversation with Deanna to wave her favorite granddaughter over.

Tara smiles warmly and takes the seat beside her.

Before she can even exchange a proper greeting, Deanna assumes her self-righteous maternal posture.

"You have absolutely zero sense of time," Deanna scolds, her eyes narrowing. "You are making everyone wait for you to eat. You're an adult now; you should start considering the feelings of your elders. And why didn't you greet anyone when you walked in? You need to learn how to speak nicely, otherwise people will think you're completely uneducated and rude."

Deanna stares at her biological daughter with blatant disappointment. Tara just isn't as sweet, compliant, or obedient as Jade. When Tara was a little girl, she used to be so well-behaved. Deanna constantly wonders if Tara's years away from home corrupted her. The thought makes Deanna's chest tight, and she forces herself to stop dwelling on the past.

"You little—" Alec seethes, his face turning red.

Only Deanna and Alec are present today. Charles is busy with corporate meetings, and Jake has been acting incredibly distant and unpredictable lately. Nikolai was too utterly humiliated at the symposium to show his face. Deanna wisely left Jade at home, knowing her presence would only trigger Eleanor and Tara's immediate wrath.

"Enough," Eleanor snaps, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Tara rarely comes home. Can you two not manage a single peaceful conversation? Why must the air always be thick with gunpowder when you speak to your own daughter and sister? You certainly never treat Jade with this kind of hostility."

The blunt reprimand instantly suffocates Deanna and Alec's fiery arrogance, leaving them shifting uncomfortably in their seats.