CHAPTER 363

"What do you mean by it harms others but I'll gain nothing at the same time?" Leigh cast a look at Justin. "Why are you assuming I didn't gain any advantages when you know nothing about me?"

"Both conditions aren't doing you any good, aren't they?" Justin then elaborated, "Whether you're demanding the main family and branch family to cut ties with each other or put my mother behind bars, both don't seem like they would benefit you."

She raised a brow at him. "What kind of benefits do you have in mind? Fortune, fame, or power?"

Her guess was right on point as Justin wasn't even thinking about any other answers. However, he felt ashamed when she stated them bluntly.

He struggled to answer but couldn't even form a full sentence.

Leigh snorted at his attempt. "You're wrong, because all of them are nothing to me. What I want is the pleasure to see the Penham Family breaking apart and Penny in prison. Even though I'm not getting any kind of material comfort, I'm happy. As long as I can feel pleasure, I don't need anything more."

"You—" Anger choked his words.

Austin shook his head in disapproval. "Justin, that's enough."

Leigh's feelings were understandable as her birth mother abandoned her at a young age, while her birth father didn't even bother to scale up the efforts after a few days of searching for her. It was impossible for her to not hold a grudge against the family after she had discovered her real identity. There was no way she would save a family who had treated her unfairly.

She was considered young at her age, but already possessed the skill of a doctor that had earned a compliment from the vice president of the Mayo Hospital in Dusktown. She wouldn't need to worry about her daily life and could live her life to the fullest.

As she was a self-sufficient woman, she had no obligations to compromise herself in the Penham Family.

After all, it was his parents' fault. A mistake deserved punishment as everything someone had done would have its consequence. It was karma that the Penhams were suffering at the moment.

After a long silence, Bryson nodded and spoke. "Alright, I promise you. The Penhams will undergo a division of assets and break into two families. I'll also call the police on Penny. Therefore, I…"

He mustered all of his courage to meet her gaze. "I'm hoping for your forgiveness."

"Is that a joke?" Leigh sneered. "The family's division and Penny's imprisonment are the conditions for me to take care of Old Master Penham and Luna's health. It has nothing to do with you. Why must I forgive you?"

Bryson was taken aback by her words and he swallowed hard. "What can I do to earn your forgiveness?"

"Nothing will ever make me forgive you." Her answer was firm, without a hint of hesitation. "You've made the choices in the past, so you should bear the consequences. If I wasn't lucky, I would already be dead back then. Since you've never fulfilled your responsibility as my father for once, then you

should keep it that way. What is the point of asking for forgiveness? "

He replied with a bitter tone, "You're one of the Penhams, after all. Moreover, I'm your biological father…"

"I couldn't care less about that." A snort escaped Leigh as she muttered, "You've given up on raising me when I was a baby in the first place because you knew I wouldn't benefit the family at that time. However, you're now hoping for me to return to the family due to my skill as a doctor could gain you benefits. Imagine that I'm not who I'm right now, do you still expect my return if I'm a poor, ugly, and malicious woman?"

"I do!" Bryson answered as soon as her words reached him. "Even if you're who you assumed to be, I'll do the same and compensate for your deprivation of childhood. Y-You're my daughter, after all."

"You're right. I am your daughter." His answer didn't satisfy her, so she sneered. "I'm the daughter you've given up on searching for after half a month. I'm the daughter you've found an imposter to replace for."

She shrugged. "See, didn't I brief everything more shortly and clearly?"

His face flushed with shame. For a moment, Bryson didn't say anything.

Much later, he began with difficulty, "You're right. It was a mistake, but I regretted it soon and have learned my lesson. I hope you can give me a chance to make it up to you. From now on, I promise I'll try my best to become a good father to you. I'll treat you with care and look after you."

"Oh? You regretted it sooner?" Leigh sized him up and laughed mockingly. "That's unexpected. If you

did so, then why didn't you unmask Ava's true identity by yourself? Did you ever ask your men to look for me? Did you ever think of telling the truth to your family that Ava isn't related to the Penhams, while the child of you and Penny was abandoned by you a long time ago?"

The older man choked on her words as his flushed cheeks turned pale.

There was nothing more for him to say. Her questions left him in a state of loss for words as he hung his head in shame.

It was only after a long silence that he lowered his head dejectedly and mumbled, "Yes, you're right about me being a coward. I've no right to ask for your forgiveness."

"I'm glad to see you coming to your realization." Leigh then continued with a neutral tone, "Since you're aware of it, I hope you'll remember to stop saying things such as I'm one of you Penhams, or you're my birth father. They disgust me. Remember, I'm a Shefford—Leigh Shefford. It's a fact that will never change."

"I understand," Bryson answered as he restrained the urge to cry when he felt the tears burning his eyes.

His impulsion and cowardice were the cause of his greatest mistake.

He should have had a daughter who was talented and valued loyalty before everything else. However, he allowed a b*stard like Ava, who was narrow-minded and ruthless, to replace his actual daughter with a misplaced thought.

He didn't need punishment from someone else because he was already suffering the cruel

consequence of his doings in the past.

The pain and regret would dwell on Bryson's conscience for the rest of his life, and he wouldn't dare say he could even find peace in his afterlife.

Leigh was indifferent toward his grievance as she spoke. "It's getting late. I should get going. I promise to begin the treatment for Luna and Old Master Penham once I see the letter of guarantee and Penny in prison."

As she finished her words, she turned away from the rest and walked toward the door.

"Stop it, you brute! Stop it right there!" Penny wanted to follow before Bryson held her shoulders to stop her.

He growled at her, "Are you not ashamed of your crimes? What else are you trying to do?"

"Let me go!" Penny tried to wriggle out of his grip as she yelled at Leigh, who was walking away. "You're a brute! You dare harm your birth mother?! You'll rot in hell! I should have strangled you when I had the chance. You're nobody more than a b*stard and a jinx! Nothing good ever comes to anyone related to you. You—"

As Bryson couldn't bear the commotion any longer, he struck her neck with his hand. Penny's curses ended abruptly as her eyes rolled back and her eyelids closed before she fell into a state of unconsciousness.

Closing his eyes to calm his racing heart, Bryson took a deep breath before looking for his phone in his pocket and dialed 911. Content is property © .

He had been making a fool of himself for over twenty years, and it was time to redeem himself.