Honestly, after everything that had been said, Emma should have given up by now. Anyone else would have just walked away. But she was still standing there, refusing to back down.

Maybe there were only two reasons for it. Either Emily really was their biological daughter. Or Emma and Emily were just so desperate, so greedy, that they'd keep pushing their story no matter how ugly things got.

But for the Austins, the first option wasn't even worth considering. Knowing what they did about Emily and Emma, the second reason made way more sense.

Mrs. Austin looked at Emma with pure disgust. "You really think I don't know what you're up to? You want me to agree to a DNA test with Emily, then you'll find a way to mess with the results so it looks like she's my daughter. Isn't that what you're planning?"

Emma's lips parted, her eyes wide with shock. She looked completely lost for words.

Mrs. Austin let out a cold laugh. "This is honestly ridiculous. Do you and Emily really think I'm that easy to fool?"

She leaned in, her voice dropping. "Let me make one thing clear. Any girl in the world could be my daughter, but Emily Blair? Never. Someone like her, with that kind of character, could never be my child."

She kept going, sharper than ever. "And you know what else? Even if Emily really is my biological daughter, I'll never recognize her. Isabella is my only daughter, always will be. Everything I have belongs to Isabella. Even if she's not around anymore, I would never give a thing to anyone else, especially not to Emily Blair. So don't even think about it."

Her lips curled into a cruel smile. "If I'd known I'd given birth to someone like Emily Blair, I would have ended it right then. I wouldn't let someone like her live in this world to hurt people. Do you get that?"

Emma's face turned bright red. She was shaking with anger. "How can you talk to people like this? This is just too much!"

Mrs. Austin just gave a little laugh. "If you can't handle it, then leave. People like you don't deserve any better from me."

Emma could barely speak, her hands trembling. "You'll regret this. Both of you will regret it..."

Mrs. Austin stared right through her. "I'll never regret any of this," she said, her voice icy. "Especially not when it comes to you and Emily Blair. The farther you both stay from me, the better."

Emma was so upset she could barely hold back tears. She'd come here for two reasons. First, to try and bring Isabella back into her life. Second, to see if maybe the Austins would accept Emily too, maybe even help her get ahead at work. She'd thought they were big names in business, smart and reasonable, not this mean and spiteful.

She'd never imagined things would turn out like this. Mrs. Austin was tearing her and Emily apart, and Mr. Austin just stood by, watching without saying a word.

Only now did Emma realize that Emily had been right all along. Emma hadn't listened, and now she'd just handed them the perfect chance to humiliate Emily. Emma shook, her voice barely more than a whisper. "You're unbelievable..."

But the more upset she got, the more satisfied Mrs. Austin seemed. "If we're talking about shamelessness, you and Emily really take the prize."

She gave a mocking smile. “Look at you. After everything I've said, you're still here, still clinging on, still making a scene. It's actually kind of impressive."

Emma couldn't think of a single thing to say back. All she knew was that she was furious, humiliated, and already wishing she'd never come here at all.