“If you can’t understand why I’m saying this, then there’s no way you can revive your business. It’s no wonder the Tanner family is still being trapped in this place.” Isabelle wiped her hands and gave me a piece of the dessert. She said with a smile, “Yvonne is the only reason why I’ve shown mercy to Scarlett and Yvette. I will never agree to let them be in charge of the Tanner family.”
“I…” Nathan looked troubled. “Is there no room for discussion?”
“Not at all.” Isabelle stood up and slammed the table. “You can only hand over the Tanner family to Crystal if you want them to still exist. If Scarlett or Yvette somehow managed to get their hands on the Tanner family, things will be done between us.”
I had never expected Isabelle’s stance to be this firm. Her tone kept increasing, and by the end of the sentence, she was basically yelling at us.
“Mom!” I shouted and held her hand, which she quickly shoved me away. She sneered, “Nathan, don’t blame me for this. You should be thanking Eve. If it wasn’t for her persuading me again and again, I’d have asked for more than this.”
Nathan kept silent for a long while before finally letting out a long sigh. “Fine. I can do that.”
“You’d better.” Isabelle sat back down in her seat. “I’ll give you three days to release a statement to the media, announcing that Crystal is the heir to the Tanner family. I promise I’ll make sure everything goes back to normal once I saw the statement, and I can give you back the project too.”
“I don’t need three days. You’ll see the statement by tomorrow.” Nathan sounded defeated.
On our way back, I was still puzzled. Although Isabelle didn’t make things too difficult for Nathan, and her reasoning made sense too. But, I was still flustered by her request to make Crystal the heir to the Tanner family.
I felt even more uneasy than making Yvette the heir. Why Crystal? Especially after everything she had done? Why was she eligible of leading the Tanner family? I wasn’t someone who hold grudges, but I had to admit I hated Crystal. It was as if she would always be causing me troubles.
I woke up early the next morning. The first thing I did was to read the newspaper. I wanted to see if Nathan released the statement. In the end, I turned on the television news instead, and I was stunned. Nathan did hold a media conference, stating that Crystal would from now on inherit everything in the Tanner family, including the power to make decisions.
This did gain some noise in the industry, but it wasn’t the trending news. Instead, it was something related to me. Earlier that morning, Mark held a grand press conference in front of Goldstein Corporation. Aside from briefing the media about Goldstein Corporation’s recent projects and planning, he also revealed something important. He announced that I was his stranded daughter.
“Yvonne Tanner is my stranded daughter. My heart aches to not learn about her existence for so many years. I hadn’t been healthy, and it was hard for me to have kids. Little did I know, I have a daughter out there, and she’s already an adult. I was surprised and excited. To express my gratitude to the Tanner family for bringing her up, I’ve decided to share this project with them. Also, Yvonne will be the eldest daughter in the Goldstein family from now on. You’ll have to ask me before crossing her line.”
I stood in front of the television, trying to process everything I just heard. Was I really Mark’s daughter?
The last time when we were in the desert, I lied because I wanted to rescue Christopher and the others. I never expected Mark to announce at a press conference that I was his daughter.
“H-How is this possible?” The cup in my hand slipped, and the milk inside was spilled everywhere. My mind went blank. After a while, I finally regained my senses. I grabbed the servant, who was busy cleaning up after my mess, and asked, “Where’s Mom?”
