"As long as you're not doing anything illegal, why would I ever be disappointed?" she said, putting her shoes back on and walking toward the small table.
He smiled, watching her walk away, eyes glinting. "Then don't be disappointed in the future, sis."
Ever since that night at the club, Danielle had been anxious. Deputy Director Hall had acted so weird. The next day, Hall didn't show up on set, and two days later, even the director was replaced.
The reason behind the change wasn't clear, but Danielle had a strong feeling it had something to do with Hall, and maybe Rachel.
A few days later, when she heard that Hall was hospitalized with what seemed like a crippled right hand, she was shocked. That hand… if she remembered right, it was the one that slapped Rachel.
Danielle was panicking. What the hell was going on?
Hall's sudden change after that phone call, and now his injury… Was it really all just a coincidence? Or did Rachel actually have someone powerful backing her?
But if Rachel had connections like that, why was she still out sweeping the streets?
Danielle couldn't hold it in anymore. She told her parents what happened at the club. When Brandon found out his younger daughter had sent her older sister to entertain guests, he glared at Danielle. "How could you make your sister do that? Our family is still—"
"It was just to entertain some guests. Besides, Danielle did it for the family. If she doesn't succeed, what future do we have? Are we supposed to rely on your ex-con daughter?" Faith cut in coldly.
Brandon's face darkened, but he didn't say anything else.
"Dad, does sis really have some bigshot behind her? Otherwise, why would Hall let her go? And now he's in the hospital!" Danielle asked, getting more and more anxious.
Brandon had no answer.
Faith crossed her arms. "You're her dad. You should go find out. If she really has some powerful backer, she should be honest about it with her family. But if she's into shady stuff, that's dangerous. She's been to prison,who knows what kind of people she met there!"
The more Faith talked, the more she convinced herself.
Just thinking about Rachel's current life, how could she possibly be connected to anyone rich or important?
Most likely, she'd gotten caught up with sketchy people who treated prison like some kind of playground.
Brandon's face twisted with rage. "She better not be! If she drags the family down again, I'll break her legs!"
That evening, Rachel had just finished making dinner and was waiting for Jeffrey to come home when there was a knock at the door.
She opened it and saw her father, stepmother, and half-sister standing there.
The three of them pushed their way in.
Brandon didn't waste any time. "Did you hook up with some thugs in prison? I'm warning you, if you do anything that brings trouble to this family, I'll make you pay for it!"
Rachel crossed her arms and stared him down coldly. "What exactly did I do to deserve this lecture?"
"Did you have someone break Deputy Director Hall's arm? All he asked was for you to pour drinks, that's it! How could you be so vicious? You just got out of prison and still haven't learned your lesson. Are you using those thugs from prison to mess with people now?" Brandon shouted.
Rachel let out a bitter laugh. "Looks like karma caught up with him. And if you think pouring drinks is no big deal, why don't you let your precious daughter Danielle do it next time? Tell her to stop setting me up."
"That's what you owe her! If it weren't for you, she—" Brandon started yelling.
"If it weren't for me, do you think she'd even have landed that lead role?" Rachel snapped. "So don't talk like I owe her anything. I don't owe her a thing!"
"Sis, I never blamed you for anything. You don't have to speak to Dad like that," Danielle said softly, her face full of hurt.
Faith rushed to comfort her daughter and turned to glare at Rachel. "Rachel, don't take it out on your sister. Your dad just doesn't want you to go down the wrong path again. If you end up back in prison, the shame will crush this family!"
"Why are you still talking to her?" Brandon barked. "Just go to Deputy Director Hall and apologize. Do whatever it takes to get his forgiveness. We can't let this mess affect Danielle's future. If you ruin her career, I swear I'll make you regret it!"
Rachel actually laughed. Did he really think he could control her? Or was he just so biased he couldn't see anything clearly?
"I'm not apologizing. Get out. None of you are welcome here," Rachel said coldly.
Brandon's face flushed with rage. "You dare talk to me like that?" he roared, raising his hand and swinging it toward her.
Rachel instinctively tried to step back, but the pain in her ankle shot through her body. The spot where the scooter scraped her still hadn't healed.
Just as Brandon's hand was about to hit her, another hand caught it in mid-air.
"Jeffrey!" Rachel gasped, stunned to see him back right then.
Jeffrey scanned the room with a cold gaze. He already knew who these three were, her father, stepmother, and half-sister.
"Get out," he said sharply.
"Who are you to stop me from disciplining my daughter? Let go!" Brandon yelled, wincing from Jeffrey's tight grip.
He got his wish. The next second, Jeffrey tossed him out the door.
Faith and Danielle rushed outside to help Brandon up.
"Rachel, how could you let someone treat your father like this?" Faith snapped.
"Who the hell is that guy?" Brandon shouted.
"Well, Rachel," he sneered, "you sure didn't waste any time. Just out of prison and already hooking up with some random—"
He didn't get to finish.
The air around Jeffrey changed instantly, like a wild animal ready to strike. Brandon's voice died in his throat.
He felt it, if he said one more word, this man might actually kill him.
Bang!
Rachel slammed the door shut.