The older family home was not located in downtown Seattle; instead, it was situated in a town just outside of the city. The Ford Family's old estate practically occupied half of the town's street. Despite the development of cities and towns over the years, many places lost their original appearance, but the Ford estate remained intact, preserving all of its old buildings.

Initially, there were developers interested in buying the Ford Family's old house. However, due to the non-negotiable price, the property turned into a coveted “historic site”. The city planning bureau recognized the difficulty in developing the area and decided to turn it into a tourist attraction instead. This move attracted numerous tourists, and pictures of the Ford Family's old mansion gate became a common sight in various places. It even became a popular point of interest among social media influencers, turning it into a notable internet-famous landmark.

Ella and Daisy stepped through the vermilion door of the Ford Family mansion, greeted by a vast courtyard. A rockery stream lay ahead, followed by a pond covered in lush lotus leaves. Crossing a green bridge and walking through several deep alleys and paths, they were surrounded by ancient houses on both sides before reaching a grand and majestic gate. Inside the Ford Family mansion, they entered a hall adorned with elaborate and exquisite carvings, exuding an atmosphere of grandeur and magnificence.

At that moment, the only elder of the Ford Family, Mrs. Athena Ford, sat in the center of the hall, wearing a rather bitter expression. On both sides were the members of Morton's family.

Morton had his own villa in the city, but in recent years, he had moved the entire family back to the Ford Family's old mansion to demonstrate his filial piety, putting on a show of reverence and respect.

Ella surveyed the room for a moment and took the initiative to call out, "Grandma."

"I only called for you, why did you allow her to follow?" Athena rasped, pointing at Daisy.

She didn't give Ella a friendly expression at all, instead, she berated her harshly. "What, are you still afraid that this elderly woman will bully you again?!"

"No, that's not it," Daisy attempted to placate her. "It's because I heard that you asked Ella to come to the mansion. I thought that since I hadn't seen you in a long time, I should visit too."

"I didn't expect to see my sister-in-law today," Lisa's expression turned contemptuous. "Are you really here to visit, Daisy? You didn't even bring a gift. Way to show your sincerity," she added sarcastically.

Ella turned her head to look at Lisa.

When Ella taught Doris a lesson before – with the spilt tea – Lisa went along with it and showed Daisy respect. But now that Lisa wanted to compete for favor in front of their mother-in-law, she instantly changed her demeanor.

"Who said we didn't give Grandma a gift?" Ella retorted.

"What gifts did you bring? Take them out." Lisa narrowed her eyes.

Daisy felt a little embarrassed. She hadn't thought too much before coming over because she was in a hurry. Now, being questioned like this, it was a bit overwhelming for her. She glanced at Ella and silently signaled her to be patient.

Every time Ella met with her grandmother, her mom would always bite her tongue and let the old woman mistreat her.

Ella was about to open her mouth, but Athena said directly, "Did you just try to talk back? What's wrong with you?!"

Ella pursed her lips and spoke bluntly, "Is there something serious that you called me back for, Grandma? If there's nothing urgent, we'll just leave since we're such an inconvenience for you."

Ella grabbed her mother's arm and got ready to leave.

"Stop!" Athena roared, "Did I tell you to leave? So unruly! I'd expect nothing less from someone born into a dirt-poor family. You don't even have basic manners!"

That was a cheap shot at Daisy's humble background.

Daisy listened, and she felt a tinge of sadness at how she still wasn't accepted by the family she married into.

Many times in the past, Ella saw her mother return from the old family mansion with red eyes, but since her mother didn't want to make things difficult, she always held back her true feelings.

But the truth was, holding back hadn't brought any favors; instead, it had caused Athena's demeaning sarcasm toward her mother to become increasingly intense and aggressive.

Ella's face visibly darkened.

Athena continued with her sarcasm, "What's the matter? Now that you and my son have inherited the family fortune, you don't even care about me anymore, is that it?"

"Grandma, your maiden name is Vin," Ella spat. "You don't get to talk about the Ford legacy as if it belongs to you."

"You little–!" Athena was dumbfounded and blushed, never imagining that her granddaughter, who had always been a pushover, would actually embarrass her like that.

"Our inheritance was explicitly stated in Grandpa's will. If you have a problem with that, you can take that up with him," Ella gave her a sinister smile.

"How dare you!" Morton's anger flared next. "You will NOT wish death on your own grandmother like that!"

"What's wrong, Uncle? What did I say?" Ella looked at him innocently. "You're the one who brought up dying."

"What nonsense are you on about?!" Morton's face turned red.

Ella laughed coldly, "I didn't come to fight with any of you, and I certainly didn't come to let you mistreat me or my mother. I only came back because Grandma said there was something important to discuss. But if you just wanted me here so you could yell at me, I have to apologize because I won't tolerate that."

The cold words made people's hearts tremble. It was evident that Ella had transformed in an instant. She became articulate, filled with fire. She locked her gaze onto Athena, who started to feel half-afraid. Daisy, standing beside her, was so shocked that she couldn't even speak.

After slapping Doris two days ago, she had already started looking at her daughter a little differently. Today, listening to Ella speak to Athena with such authority, she couldn't help but wonder if Ella was still her daughter.

But it had to be said. In the face of Athena's bullying over the years, she had never felt so relieved. She couldn't help but stay silent at that moment. She decided to let her daughter take charge.

This was an important moment. Today, they were cutting ties with Athena and Morton's side of the family, and Daisy fully understood why. These people simply didn't treat them as family, and it was pointless to try to curry favor with them.

"You, you, you...!" Athena was so enraged by Ella that she couldn't even speak a complete sentence. She finally roared, "Get out of here!"

Ella's eyes tightened, "Grandma, I think I need to remind you that the name on the real estate license is my father's. That means the place you are living in belongs to our family. Do you really think you can tell us to leave?"

"Ella!" Athena snarled.

"Of course, I didn't mean to tell you to get lost. I was just advising you not to act too righteous while living in someone else's house. It's distasteful," Ella said with a steely expression.

It caused Athena to lose the rest of her composure.

"You're an awful, awful child!" Athena pointed at Ella and cursed. She had never been treated like that before, and she was not taking it well at all.

"I was just stating a fact, so please don't take it personally if I've offended you in any way, Grandma. In fact, you probably only have a handful of years left and a lot of things to think about. The last thing I want is to be disrespectful. If I really wanted to upset you, your heart might not be able to handle it."

That shut Athena up immediately.