Built His Empire Then Watched It Burn When He Cheated novel Chapter 717

She was never his blood sister, but as a child, she was cute and always clung to him.

Even though she wasn't his real sister, she was still a cousin, and what had happened back then had nothing to do with Gianna.

Steven disliked Adrian bringing home a 'replacement daughter', but never blamed Gianna and had always tolerated her.

Recently, Steven noticed Gianna's temperament worsening.

He once thought her simply willful, but her last police station incident showed clear arrogance.

Steven almost welcomed Gianna facing setbacks. If she'd learned humility before, Anneliese and her husband couldn't humiliate her now.

As he watched the woman beside him speaking calmly and confidently, a trace of admiration flashed through his eyes. Anne's never been the kind of fragile person who needs me to shield her every second. She's got her own edge, her own strength.

Gianna lost patience and tried to scratch Anneliese's hand.

But Pepper, who stood beside her, suddenly reached out and grabbed Gianna's wrist.

At the same time, Pepper took the tissue from Anneliese's hand and said,

"Gianna wasn't well during the competition. She's young and upset. The Malone family always doted on her—this is her first setback, so her words went too far."

She turned to Adrian as she spoke.

"Adrian, why not treat everyone to dinner as Gianna's apology?"

Gianna's impulsive words made things awkward.

With Jonathan refusing to let the matter go and Anneliese clearly not someone who would swallow insults, if Gianna had been smart enough, a calm, straightforward apology would have ended things.

Instead, she insisted on playing the innocent victim, making even Wendy feel embarrassed.

Adrian was unhappy; that's why he stayed silent.

Pepper stepped in, acting as the lady of the house and unconcerned about Adrian's displeasure.

For one thing, she was Gianna's mother. When her daughter caused trouble, it was only right for her to step forward.

Adrian laughed coldly, but Gianna pulled him aside, saying, "Dad, didn't you want to discuss business with Jonathan?"

She guided Adrian to sit beside Jonathan. By then, Pepper had already taken her seat—right on Adrian's other side.

That left only one seat remaining, which Gianna and Steven ended up sharing.

She had always been a little afraid of this eldest brother. Ever since the incident at the police station, when Steven hadn't helped her at all, her wariness toward him had only grown.

Now that she knew she wasn't even his real sister, sitting next to him made the sense of distance and coldness around Steven feel even stronger.

But she had already lost face today, and Pepper had made it clear—the priority now was to stabilize her position in the Malone family.

She needed to win over Adrian and Steven for reassurance.

Gianna leaned closer to Steven and spoke quietly.

"Steven, did I do terribly today? Can you check what people are saying online? I'm afraid to look."