Bella's POV
I met the questioning stares of the crowd with complete composure, my gaze steady as I looked back at them.
"If I truly wanted to battle for the inheritance, I wouldn't have waited this long." The words left my lips before I turned my attention to Jasper and Ivy, letting my eyes challenge them both. Ivy flinched under my stare, her head dropping though I caught her eyes shifting nervously.
My voice turned icy as I continued, "Keep slinging mud at me with these false accusations, and I'll gladly become what you're painting me as. When that happens, forget those ten shops. I won't surrender even a single stone of the entire ducal estate."
Genevieve's voice cracked like a whip, "Bella!"
Before she could say more, Ursula's authoritative tone drifted from within the room. "Those ten shops and two estates were my gifts to Bella. Anyone with complaints can direct them to me."
The curtain parted, and I watched Ursula emerge, leaning heavily on her walking stick.
