Reborn To Ruin Her Rivals - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

Seeing Henry's expression soften, Arielle pressed on. "You're the head of Bradford Group. If they dare disrespect your daughter, what's stopping others from trampling all over you?"
Henry found her words chipping away at his fury. 'She has a point.' Arielle was a Bradford—insulting her was an insult to him.
And those families paled in comparison to the Bradfords. Arielle represented the Bradfords. There was no need for her to tolerate such insults.
'Besides, they had provoked her first; she'd merely defended herself, ' Henry thought.
Having rationalized it, Henry still refused to admit his earlier misplaced anger. 'I'm your father; discipline is my right.'
Arielle saw through his hypocrisy, her heart chilling. 'See? This is my hypocritical father. Always selfish to the core.'
Just then, Sharon walked in, fresh from coffee with friends. Henry rounded on her. "Where have you been? Your daughter was bullied at school, and you didn't lift a finger."
Sharon froze, seeing Henry's rage and Arielle's icy calm. She forced a smile. "Honey, I came back as soon as I heard. What has she done this time to upset you so?"
Arielle watched her indifferently. Not 'Were her hurt?' or 'What happened?' Just immediate assumption of guilt. 'Would it be the same if it were Meredith? Doubtful.'
Henry's anger flared anew. "What's she done? Your daughter was humiliated, and you don't even know? Don't ask me!"
Sharon was thoroughly confused. This didn't match the story she'd heard— 'Wasn't Arielle the one who'd started a fight and gotten taken to the police station?'
She hid her confusion, maintaining the smile. "Alright, darling, calm down. I'll let Lexi make some soup for you."
"And pay more attention to Arielle from now on," Henry commanded sharply. "Don't let her get bullied again."
The conversation reached Meredith's ears outside the room. She'd just been dropped off at home and paused when she heard their voices.
'Bullied?!' Fury choked Meredith. 'That bitch! She's fooled them! Why should Mom care about her?! Never, I won't allow it!'
Meredith had called Sharon about Luke's visit to the school—Sharon was completely in the dark. Then she turned to his uncle, Luke Dalton, for answers.
Turns out, Luke had never stepped foot in school. As for Arielle, Luke swore he hadn't met her yet and didn't know her at all.
Luke didn't seem like someone who would lie. That's why Meredith had someone leak this incident to Henry.
'Bold. Arielle dared to fake an uncle?!' Meredith had considered exposing the charade, but the crisis was over. A fake uncle wouldn't cause much trouble now.
She mused, 'Besides, exposing the fake uncle story might backfire if this guy were some criminal associate.
'Trying to steal Mom and Dad's attention from me? Fine. I'll make her suffer in other ways. First, let her walk to school every day.'
The next morning, Meredith was up unusually early. She walked into the dining room, annoyed to find the empty table.
"Where's the food? Hurry up—I'm on a tight schedule," she snapped at the maid.
The maid scrambled to serve her. 'Meredith always the last one up… why so early today?' she mused.
Meredith wolfed down her food. As she finished, Sharon entered. "Sweetheart, all done?"
"I'm good, Mom. School's rehearsing a play, so I need to get there early," Meredith answered.
"My hardworking girl," Sharon asked, brushing a hand over Meredith's cheek with a mix of affection and faint concern.
"Gotta go. Bye, Mom!" Meredith chirped, heading out.
"Take care, darling—watch your step."
Ethan was waiting at the gate, ten minutes early as usual. Meredith slid into the car. "Drive. Now. I'm in a rush."
Ethan hesitated. "But... Arielle hasn't come down yet." Taking Meredith now meant Arielle would be late. The round trip took an hour.
Ethan's words grated on Meredith, her frown deepening with displeasure. 'Since when does a driver dare to question me?
'Before, no one dared contradict me. Is it because they think Arielle's the real heiress now? I'm just the adopted one?
'Now, even the staff think they can look down on me? Ungrateful old fool!' Rage boiled beneath the surface.
"I said drive," Meredith snapped. "Or do you need my mother to approve?"
Ethan recognized the fury in her tone. As a driver, he couldn't afford to provoke the Bradfords. "Right away, Miss Bradford," he said quickly.
By the doorway, Lexi watched the car head off. Though she pitied Arielle, she was just a maid—no place to voice opinions.
'No wonder Arielle is distant from Sharon. Who could bear a mother this biased?' she mused.
It was Arielle's second day of school. The Bradford mansion sat on a hillside, no bus routes in sight. Even hailing an Uber would be a gamble.
Other maids exchanged knowing looks. Witnesses to recent events, they whispered among themselves: "To Mrs. Bradford, Meredith is her real daughter.
"Arielle has been cold-shouldered since she returned. We'd better do our jobs—nothing we can do about their family drama."
Arielle came down for breakfast minutes later. Meredith's absence was unusual. 'No mother-daughter harmony today? Given up, or realized it doesn't work on me?'
Shrugging it off, Arielle finished eating before realizing Meredith had slipped out early.
"I've been trying to call an Uber, but no one's taking the order," Lexi explained anxiously. It was the mountainside; service was sparse.
Arielle waved her off. "Thanks, Lexi, no worries." She dialed a number, which was picked up instantly. "Might need your driver for school runs. Double the rate."
"Don't be ridiculous. Ten minutes out." It was Vanna, who had been glued to her phone lately, probably terrified Arielle would vanish.
Not that Arielle minded her enthusiasm—Vanna had helped during the online scandal.
'Meredith thinks this little stunt traps me?' Even without Vanna, Arielle wasn't stranded. The garage held several cars she could easily drive herself. But...