The living room somehow became even more silent, if that was possible.

"What do you mean by that?" Sayaka asked with a frown. "Do you want to dig up my painful memories just to satisfy your ego? Do you know how much that period destroyed everyone in this family? I know you do not value family, but some things are sacred."

Akira stared at her mother. "Sometimes, I cannot figure out if you are an idiot or a genius. Regardless, please listen to yourself when you talk."

"I am still your mother, and you will respect me."

"If I had a mother, she would not think she had more painful memories than me, after I was kidnapped by a psychopath. She would remember that she was not the one kidnapped, and stop being so f*cking self-centred." Akira took a deep breath after yelling.

"Please don't make me angrier. I am under a lot of stress already, and it can't be good for the baby. If I get madder, I will need to vent more. And that won't work out in your favour, understood? Now, let's continue with this family meeting."

After seeing Akira's true colours, they all felt nervous. They looked at Sayaka, hoping that she would call in the guards to take away Akira. However, Sayaka ignored the looks. She did not want things to escalate even more, and she did not feel like she had anything to hide.

The most important thing was preserving the family image and managing the story she would tell her husband and son. If Akira continued like this, it would not be hard to convince them that she was completely crazy. She would claim she had no choice but send her to a community for care.

"Ito Hanae, I am quite impressed," Akira said. "You are practically an angel, especially in comparison to these people here. If you weren't such a spoiled girl, you might have turned out well. It's a shame you were not raised properly."

Hanae looked a little relieved while Kaoru and Sayaka revealed some discomfort.

"You have good grades, a great social life and a hardworking spirit. Aaaw, even all your awards were earned through merit. Eldest Brother, this is what I am talking about. Even if you are not smart, you could have worked a little harder." Akira nodded in appreciation.

Hanae became a little more comfortable and even complacent.

"But this clever girl has caused me a lot of trouble since I came to this city, so I can't just let it go. What a shame! Let's see. Ms Ito Hanae has sold quite a few company secrets over the years to the competitors of the Yamazaki family. The design of the most popular smart pressure cooker was sold for a few tens of millions, but it caused the business to lose hundreds of millions, maybe even a billion." Akira said.

"I have never done such a thing!" Hanae countered immediately. "Don't make up stuff."

"Next time you steal something and sell it to the enemy, maybe don't use your personal email account," Akira advised. "There is enough evidence to convict you in a court of law, but my mother will probably protect you. So, I will send the details to Dad and Grandpa as well as the company lawyers. That way, we can make it stick."

"Stop this right now." Sayaka did not know why she stood up to defend Hanae.

The defence was almost instinctual. She had been with her niece for so long that she could not bear to see her suffer. She knew that Hanae was in the wrong if what Akira was saying was true. But, she had already tried to cut Hanae loose.

She could not bear it in the end because Hanae felt like her real daughter.

"Don't worry, mother. I have copied you to the mail. I am quite sure that most of those secrets were exposed by you during mommy-daughter outings. Do you think Dad and Grandpa will blame you?" Akira blinked innocently with pure large eyes.

"Do you think your father and grandfather will believe you blindly? They understand the meaning of family. You will only make them hate you by showing them how evil your heart is." Sayaka bluffed.

Akira sighed. "You are right. No one likes people with an evil heart."

Sayaka felt relieved at the acceptance.

"Let us forget about this whole incident. There is no need to fight against each other. We can all keep living in peace. I never wanted things to turn out like this. I am just a little fierce when I think about protecting our family." She added.

Akira nodded. "I think I am just hormonal. I was angry because you did not listen to me. I want to keep my baby. But I know there's no need to go so far against all of you."

There was almost universal relief.

"I understand. Why don't you undo anything that could harm the family while I try to reach your father? He does not have his phone, but I will send a message to someone at the medical facility to get him. We will face this as a family and support your decision." Sayaka said soothingly.

"Alright." Akira nodded and started tapping on her phone again with concentration.

Sayaka also picked her phone and started typing. But she did not reach out to the medical facility where Grandma Yamazaki was staying or to any person who could reach Daiki. She had asked for Seiji's and Daiki's phones to be confiscated because she wanted to make sure they would be unreachable for hours.

It was not hard for her to organise for it, even with the short time she had. After all, she was the one who found the facility for Grandma Yamazaki. She was familiar with everyone there, and they obeyed her orders.

All she had done was ask the hospital to call Seiji and Daiki and claim the old lady was asking for them. It was supposed to be an emergency claiming that she was agitated and could not handle more sedation medication. Then, they would say that phones needed to be left outside.

The tricky part was negotiating with the Old Madam. However, she got on board as soon as she heard that Akira would be kicked out of the family. Despite discovering that Makiko was the problem, the old lady believed that Akira was a jinx, now more than ever.

Sayaka texted the centre she had called to take away Akira after handling her husband and son. The place was called Sisters of Divine Repentance, and it was half a convent, half a hospital. Their main business was handling embarrassing situations such as pregnant underage girls.

They did not do abortions, but anything else was fine. They usually kept the young girls there until they gave birth, lost the baby weight and corrected their ways. They could even organise for anonymous adoption. Sayaka also heard they conducted conversion therapy from the secret rumour mill.

[What time are you arriving? The situation has escalated. You might need more manpower. I don't think my daughter will go as quietly as I hoped.]

After a few moments, the people forgot.

[We are prepared. We already told you they never go quietly. As for arrival, it might take a little while. The notice was too short.]

Sayaka felt frustrated by the response, but she had to remain calm to avoid alerting this demon daughter of hers.

"Your grandmother has taken a turn for the worse, but the staff will talk to your father as soon as it is convenient. We should not stress him too much." Sayaka said.

"Really?" Akira asked in a soft, vulnerable and dependent voice.

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?"