Chapter 33
When Effie stepped through the door of the Bagnold household, she was hit by an immediate, suffocating tension.
Shepard sat rigidly on the living room couch, his face dark with anger. Vera, dressed in an elegant evening gown, stood off to the side, her expression complicated, saying nothing. On another sofa, Suzan sat with her head bowed, her complexion ghostly pale-clearly, she’d already endured a round of scolding.
Suzan knew she’d messed up. After all, the fiasco had exploded online for everyone to see.
“So, the prodigal daughter finally returns,” Shepard’s voice was cold as ice as he fixed Effie with a razor-sharp stare.
Effie met his gaze with indifference, her tone detached. “You wanted to see me?”
Her words were flat, almost as if she were speaking to a stranger. In truth, Effie felt that even strangers deserved more of her respect than Shepard did. Just looking at him, and thinking about how he and that woman had ruined her mother’s life, filled her with bitter resentment.
“I’m your father. Is that how you speak to me?” Shepard snapped, his voice heavy with authority.
“I thought we’d already severed those ties,” Effie replied coolly. “If you have something to say, say it. If not, I’ll be leaving.”
Shepard slammed his hand on the coffee table so hard the whole room seemed to shudder. “You ungrateful brat! You dare ask what’s wrong? Look at what you’ve done! You’ve dragged the Bagnold name through the mud!”
Effie had seen this coming. She gave a short, humorless laugh, locking eyes with him. “What I’ve done? Dad, are you sure you’re not confused? The security footage clearly shows Suzan dragging me into this mess. Why am I suddenly the one to blame?”
Shepard was momentarily caught off guard by her retort, his scowl deepening. Of course he knew what the footage showed he just didn’t care about the truth. All that mattered was the family’s reputation.
Clearly, Effie was the one who’d blown things out of proportion. Otherwise, how would this have become such a public scandal? Outrageous. He should have put a stop to her long ago.
Suzan’s recklessness had already thrown the family into the eye of a storm, and instead of defusing the situation, Effie had let it spiral further out of control. As Shepard watched Effie sit there, calm, almost amused, his anger rose.
“Don’t you dare try to weasel out of this, Effie!” he barked. “Suzan’s your sister- no matter what she did, as her older sibling, you should have protected her, not let the whole world in on our shame! Do you have any idea what people are saying about us?”
Effie listened to his words, a cold, mocking smile flickering at her lips. This was her father: selfish, self-serving, always ready to throw her under the bus for his own convenience.
She replied icily, “Dad, I’m an only child. My mother had just one daughter-me. Suzan is old enough to take responsibility for her own actions. If you’re so concerned about the family’s good name, maybe you should ask Suzan why she made such a stupid decision in the first place.”
“You-!” Shepard was so enraged his face turned a livid shade of red, his finger trembling as he pointed at her.
Vera hurried to intervene, trying to smooth things over. “Darling, please don’t get so worked up. Effie didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Let’s all calm down and talk through it. There must be a way to fix this.”
“Fix it? How?” Shepard thundered. “Everyone online is tearing Suzan apart, and dragging the Bagnold name through the dirt along with her! Tell me how do we fix that?”
Suzan finally broke down, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Dad, I really am sorry… I didn’t think it would get so out of hand. It was just a stupid mistake— please, I’m sorry…”