His hand trembled as he pointed at Natalie, shouting, "You ungrateful brat! How dare you talk to your father like that?!" Natalie retorted right away, "If I'm a brat, then you're just an old brat." Before Jacob could fire back, she cut him off. "And by the way, I'm not your brat. The only brat you've ever cared about is your precious Rosalie." His chest heaved as he roared, "Where's your respect? Is this how you talk about your father and your sister?" Natalie sneered. "I don't have a sister. My mom only had a daughter. And you? You're not my father." He was so furious he could burst into flames, but the courtyard gate blocked him from reaching her. He clutched the iron bars and rattled them hard. "Open this gate! I'm not leaving 'till I teach you a lesson!" For a man like Jacob, who had a macho, self-centered personality, he could toss Natalie aside, but he couldn't stand being denied as her father. Through the gate, she watched him completely lose it. For a second, she felt dazed. How could one man wear two completely different faces? For the first 20 years, Jacob had never once yelled at her. He always played the perfect, gentle father. Her friends and classmates all envied her for having such a patient, understanding father. Even salespeople would gush about how lucky she was whenever they went shopping together. So, when he threw her out, she kept convincing herself that her father must have had some reason, that maybe he'd been forced into it. She clung to the fantasy that one day he'd show up, saying, "I was wrong. Don't be mad. Come home."But that day never came. In her previous life, his refusal to help had completely broken her heart. The man she once trusted most had stood by and watched her starve. He even let his illegitimate daughter parade around proudly while Natalie faded away. Those 20 years of so-called fatherly love felt like nothing more than a dream. Only at the very end did Natalie realize he never loved Scarlett. If he didn't love her mother, why would he care about her child? All those warm memories had been nothing but a performance for money and status. Snapping back to the present, Natalie saw Jacob still yelling. Fed up, she cut him off. "Why are you yelling? Yesterday, you said I wasn't even your real daughter. If we're not related, what right do you have to be lecturing me?" She stepped forward, yanked the gate wide open, and glared at him without blinking. "The door is open. Go on. Show me how you're gonna teach me a lesson." As soon as the gate opened, Jacob lifted his fist, but Natalie's cold glare stopped him in his tracks. What kind of look was that? Did she actually want to kill him? A jolt of fear shot through him, quickly twisting into rage. He straightened his back, desperate to prove he was still the one in charge. No way could he let this defiant girl walk all over him. But just as he was about to act, a heavy sense of danger crept over him from behind her. His eyes flicked past Natalie and landed on Cassian's hand resting on a gun.The image of two men blown apart by a shotgun yesterday flashed through Jacob's mind. His chest tightened, and he awkwardly lowered his raised hand. Even so, his pride burned. Grinding his teeth, he snapped, "Natalie, you've always had a sharp tongue!" Out of the corner of his eye, he still saw Cassian's hand on the gun, so he switched tactics. "Maybe I didn't carry you for ten months or suffer through labor, but I did raise you. You should know how to be grateful." Natalie wasn't having it. "The ones who raised me were Mom and the nanny. And it was Grandpa and Grandma who paid the nanny." She paused, then gave him a once-over with obvious disdain. "If I remember right, Grandpa handed you a pile of cash when I was born. It was more than enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably forever." She then asked, "So tell me—who raised who?" She'd known him for over 20 years, and she knew exactly how to cut him deepest. Her words sliced through his flimsy pride, landing right on his sore spot. His eyes went red with rage, his body trembling as he fought the urge to strike her. Natalie squinted. She dodged aside and kicked him hard, sending him crashing to the ground. That kick was for her mother. Jacob deserved it. Scarlett had never done anything wrong. He was the one who cheated and betrayed her. Even after her death, people still gossiped and mocked her. Why should she deserve that? Watching from behind, Cassian was stunned to see Jacob lying on the ground.He'd kept his gun ready the entire time, only to stop Jacob from hurting Natalie. He had never once planned to pull the trigger.