Riley made up an excuse and left the house, feeling every fiber of her being burn in anger.
How could they do this to Lillian?
She wondered.
She stormed into the house, not even bothering to greet the guard whom she always greeted with a wide smile.
"Dad." She yelled out, standing in the middle of the hall. Wishing this was a lie. How could they invite HIM out of everyone to their ball?
"What?" Her father appeared out of one of the rooms, wiping his hands on a tissue paper, followed by her mother.
Ew. She didn't want to know what happened in that room.
She almost forgot what she wanted to say looking at the couple and glared at them, hard.
"How could you do this to Lillian?" She spewed out in anger.
"What?" Her mother said this time, looking and sounding frustrated.
Riley rolled her eyes.
"How could you invite Vincent and his family to your Ball after what he did to Lillian?" She asked, throwing her hands sideways in exasperation.
Guilt flashed in Benjamin's eyes and Stacy scratched her neck, looking at her daughter sheepishly.
"I can explain." Benjamin said, throwing his hands up in surrender.
"Please do." Riley gritted out, crossing her arms over her torso.
"It was an accident. I was looking for a catering company for my new hotel and I left the job to the marketing department, since I knew they'd choose the best." He then turned quiet, looking awkward. How could he have forgotten Vincent runs the most famous restaurant.
Riley scoffed in disbelief, getting riled up.
"And they didn't ask you even once?" She fumed out. She may not be a businesswoman but she did know marketing department- or any department for that matter- can't make any important decision without the CEO's knowledge.
Benjamin passed her an apologetic look.
"Well...... I signed the contract without looking."
Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable.
"What are you going to say to Lillian? You can't really expect her to be OK with this." Riley said in a concerned tone after calming herself down but felt irritation bubbling up to the surface as she spoke.
"We asked her and she was OK with it." Benjamin replied.
Riley raised her eyebrow at that.
Of-fucking-course she said that.
When has she ever said that she wasn't OK with anything. Lillian is so easy to take advantage of.
'That's exactly what you are doing now. Taking advantage of her.' Her consciousness mocked her.
"You should really stop treating Lillian as a child. She is an adult, Riley." Stacy said when no one spoke after 2 minutes.
Riley rolled her eyes at that. Lillian was an adult and she wasn't denying that, but she had zero boundaries. How can she not be protective of her then?
~~~~~~~
MEANWHILE
"Are you sure that's Lillian?" Max asked entering his father's study behind him.
Lillian looked matured, older than her 16 year old self but she was different. Much different than the last time they talked. It's been 8 years but a total flip of a person's personality isn't really that believable.
And he did remember the way she slipped up with her name. He wasn't doubting it was a whole another person, just that she wasn't who she says she is.
He was almost certain she wasn't going by her real name. If she did, she wouldn't have almost said another name.
If he got to know that name she was going by for the past 8 years then he could easily uncover her identity.
"That's what she says. She looks like Lillian, doesn't she?" Vincent said, not even bothering to hide that he wasn't interested in continuing the conversation.
Times like this, Max isn't a fan of his father. He didn't approve of him kicking Lillian out either. She was a teenager, and teenagers make mistakes. She wouldn't be the first teen to have done drugs or the last.
Well, she wasn't his kid so it wasn't his business or problem.
But he was now more curious than ever to know more about his sister.