Framed by the Adopted Brother

When I returned to the ward, my father had already woken up.

“Dad, how much longer are you going to keep indulging him?” I asked.

My father didn’t say a word.

He just gripped the bedsheet tightly until his knuckles turned white.

“The day your mother had her accident,” my father began, trembling, “I received her dying phone call.

“The very last thing she said to me was not to blame Daniel, she told me to treat him well.”

At the mention of my mother, I was instantly reminded of that rainy night ten years ago.

My mother braved a torrential downpour to buy a birthday cake for Daniel but she never came back.

My father and I hid the truth from him all these years, telling him that my mother had passed away from a sudden illness.

We never expected him to turn out like this.

I fell silent for a moment, then lifted my head to look at my father earnestly.

“Dad, let’s make a bet.

“I will leak the news that you are in critical condition and see what he does next.

“If he still has an ounce of care for this family and feels any gratitude to you for raising him, I will clean up any messes he makes in the future.

“I will even give him half of the company’s shares.

“But if he just wants to steal the company, then he can’t blame me for disregarding our past ties.”

My father nodded in agreement.

That very afternoon, I sent Daniel a message that my father was in critical condition.

In less than half an hour, Daniel showed up at the hospital.

Maria was clinging onto his arm, followed by two bodyguards in black suits and three to four reporters carrying video cameras.

Daniel strode briskly to the door of the ward.

As he was about to shove it open, I blocked the doorway. “Dad is still weak. He needs to rest.”

“Still weak?” Daniel let out a cold sneer.

“Lyra Fraser, who are you trying to fool?

“Are you trying to transfer all of the group's assets to your name while Dad is unconscious and incapacitated?”

His voice was incredibly loud, causing several nurses and patients' guardians in the hallway to look over.

Maria wiped away tears at the exact right moment.

“Lyra, I know you hate us, but Dad is already in that state. You can't deny Daniel the chance to see him one last time!”

A reporter holding a camera immediately pointed the lens at me.

“Miss Fraser, may I ask what Chairman Fraser’s current condition is, actually? Is he really in critical condition as rumored online?”

Instead of answering the reporter's question, I looked directly at Daniel.

“Brother, are you sure you want to force my hand like this?”

He shoved me aside and barged straight into the ward, his eyes instantly locking onto the documents resting on the bedside table.

He reached out to grab them.

“What do you think you're doing?” I barked to stop him.

Daniel retracted his hand and turned around with his face masked in coldness.

“Lyra Fraser, let’s stop acting. With Dad looking like this, someone has to run the company.

“Hand it over to me and I won’t treat you badly in the future.”

My father’s eyelids twitched slightly.

Ignoring his demand, I asked him instead, “Are you sure you can manage the company?”

He replied with disdain, “Who says I can't?”

I smiled.

“Did you happen to forget that during your first year on the job, the new Hawaii regional project you were responsible for the group 23 million dollars in losses?”

“In your second year, you embezzled five million dollars from one of the group's subsidiaries without authorization.

“You invested in a livestreaming platform and lost every single penny.”

Daniel’s fingers began to tremble.

I continued, “Last year, you colluded with Manager Harold of the sales department to falsify marketing expenses.

“You cashed out 1.2 million dollars. Manager Harold was fired at the end of last year.

“You remember that quite well, right?

“And two days ago, you spread rumors online that I was an illegitimate daughter, wiping out over a billion of the company’s market value.”

Daniel snapped his head up. “You investigated me?!”

“There was no need to investigate,” I said flatly. “Every single transaction in the company accounts is crystal clear.

“Did you think Dad didn't know? He just didn't want to expose you.”

Daniel's face turned ashen, he was completely at loss for a retort.

Maria couldn't resist chiming in from the side, “Lyra Fraser, what exactly do you want?

“You're a woman, yet you're stubbornly hoarding the company. Do you have a conscience?!”

I sneered, “I want him to get the hell out!”

Daniel flew into a rage, “What gives you the right to make decisions on my father's behalf?!”

I pulled out an adoption certificate and slammed it against his chest. “Daniel, you’re just an adopted son.

“What right do you have to fight me for the Fraser Group?!”