The servant's face lit up with joy, and she scurried off to fetch the money from the butler.

"Mom, I heard from a classmate that she saw Josefina outside Gourmet Galaxy. She was grabbing a bite there," Ruby mentioned casually.

Lauren grabbed her purse and headed for the door, determination in her stride. "I'm going to confront that little hussy right now."

Ruby, not entirely at ease and admittedly eager for a spectacle, followed Lauren outside.

Billy didn't make it home that evening. The office was in chaos, and he had to stay back to strategize.

After a hearty meal, Josefina said to Alex, "I've settled the bill here, Alex. I need to head home now, but you guys should go on to karaoke. Just bring the receipt back to the office for reimbursement."

She had inquired earlier. Dinner followed by karaoke was the usual routine.

"Thank you, Ms. Josefina." her employees chimed in, thrilled and grateful.

Josefina thought they might enjoy themselves more in her absence. Clutching her purse, she was the first to leave.

As Josefina reached the bottom of the stairs, she encountered a sweaty Lauren standing at the entrance. The weather was scorching, and Lauren, determined not to miss Josefina, had decided against the comfort of her air-conditioned car and opted to wait outside instead.

"Josefina, how could you do that to us! We took you in, raised you, and this is how you repay us? You're nothing but a monster!" Lauren hissed, her words dripping with venom as she advanced. Josefina, dressed in a crisp white blouse and a flowing skirt, looked at Lauren with an icy stare that made her falter. "The wicked bring about their own demise! If it weren't for Mr. Antonio and Ava's scheming, how could they reap what they've sown?"

Ruby tugged at Lauren's sleeve and shook her head disapprovingly. The previously hostile Lauren suddenly fell silent.

Ruby, with a soft and soothing tone, addressed Josefina. "My parents raised you, and even though you're not related by blood, you owe them for that upbringing. Don't you feel a sense of obligation to repay that kindness?"

Josefina laughed derisively, her eyes filled with scorn. "Ruby, the orphanage raised you. How do you plan to repay that kindness? Since you've been back, have you visited the dean who cared for you? Have you seen the people who helped you through those years?"

Ruby's cheeks flared with anger. "You don't have to guilt trip me."

"Me? Guilt-tripping you?" Josefina scoffed.

"You're impossible!" Ruby fumed, at a loss for words.

Josefina crossed her arms, a cold smile playing on her lips. "How can I guilt-trip someone who lacks any sense of morality?"

Lauren couldn't stand by and watch her darling daughter be insulted. "Exactly. I raised you, and how do you repay that kindness? The money I spent on you, isn't that our contribution?" she retorted.

Josefina responded firmly, "I have given back to the village that raised me. As for your family, go ask Billy how your business dealings ended. Who was it that secured those deals for him in the first place? The return I've given your family is a hundredfold, a thousandfold your investment. And now you have the audacity to guilt-trip me? You've got some nerve."

Lauren and Ruby, rendered mute by the rebuke, watched as the manager wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. "Ms. Josefina, do you need assistance? If you don't want these two around, I can have someone escort them out." he offered.

Josefina, her demeanor cool and aloof, looked like a woman of high society, while Lauren and Ruby appeared to be the relatives you'd rather not acknowledge, those who couldn't hold a candle to her elegance.

With a lofty glance, Josefina warned, "Stay out of my sight in the future." She continued forward, where a car awaited her.

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