Chapter 618
Chapter 618:
Maia took a small sip of her coffee, her eyes lifting to meet the man she had once called “Dad” for seventeen years. A cold, mocking laugh escaped her lips. “Let me make this clear,” she said, her voice calm but firm. “From this moment on, I have nothing to do with the Morgan family. And if you make trouble again, I won’t hesitate to call the police and report you for harassment p>
“How dare you!” Richard snapped, his face twisting with rage.
He, who was never the type to surrender easily, had stooped so low, practically begging her. Yet she refused and even threatened him. Outrageous.
He balled his fists, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught the waiter watching. He forced himself to hold back, grinding his teeth. “Fine. If you’re so set on cutting ties, let’s do the math. Do you know how much the Morgan family has spent raising you over these seventeen years? If you don’t pay me back, this isn’t over p>
He then pulled a folded paper from his jacket and opened it carefully. The sheet listed every expense, every penny spent from her childhood to now. He tossed it onto the table. “Take a 100k — about two million, not a cent less. Don’t accuse me of asking for too much. You want to cut ties? Pay up first p>
The Morgan family was completely broke now. That two million could at least keep them afloat a little longer, and there would definitely be bribes and payoffs needed to free Jarrod.
Maia held the paper and skimmed it. The sheer absurdity made her want to laugh.
The list was so ridiculously detailed that it even included baby formula and diapers from when she was an infant. There were even expenses that she didn’t remember—obviously made up by Richard to inflate the total.
In truth, during those seventeen years with the Morgans, Maia clearly remembered that Richard and Sandra had barely spent anything on her. They hadn’t even bought her more than a few outfits. The actual amount spent on her was probably less than one-tenth of what he claimed.
Two million wasn’t much to Maia now, but her heart, long empty, felt a faint sting at the number. Seventeen years of feelings, worth only two million.
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A bitter smile touched her lips.
“I don’t owe the Morgan family even a single cent,” Maia said softly, steady as stone.
Richard froze, shocked. Did he hear her right? Then he laughed, incredulous. “Maia, you’re seriously saying you won’t pay a dime? You don’t owe the Morgan family anything? What, do you think all the meals you ate and everything you used over the years just magically appeared out of nowhere? What an ungrateful wretch! If you refuse, I’ll go straight to the media. Let everyone else decide what’s fair p>
Maia held his gaze, a subtle, almost amused smile touching her lips. Then, out of nowhere, she asked, “Two years ago, when the Morgans were buried in debt and nearly bankrupt, how did you manage to pull through p>
Richard stiffened, suspicion flickering in his eyes. “How could you possibly know about that p>
At that time, Maia had been locked away in prison. How could she possibly have known about their financial disaster? He had kept it all under tight wraps. No outsider was supposed to hear a thing.
“Of course I know,” she said calmly. “Because the person who pumped nearly seven million into the Morgan family to save you from ruin was none other than me—the ‘ungrateful wretch’ you love to hate—the fake daughter your family cruelly abandoned four years ago p>