Maria usually avoided saying hurtful things to other people, but she made an exception for Vivian because of Julie.

"You!"

Instantly, Vivian's face flushed in indignation.

However, she knew she was in the wrong, so she swallowed her pride and said, "Julie's my adoptive mother. Can't I go see her if I want to?"

Maria gave a slight nod but then shook her head.

“Even if my mother is your adoptive mother, she has the right to refuse your visit."

“That's bullshit!" For twenty years, Vivian addressed Julie as "Mom." How could she possibly not want to see her?

“You're preventing her from seeing me, aren‘t you? Maria, you didn't show as much concern for my mother before. You're sucking up to her, aren't you? You want to curry favor with her because she's now the general manager of the Sky Group. I won't deny that the Sky Group has serious financial clout, but it hardly matters. You are a talentless, worthless schmuck. What good will it do you to establish ties with the Sky Group if you barely made it through the preliminary round by sheer Luck?"

Vivian was nearly hysterical as she expressed her innermost thoughts. "Maria, do you really think you can win this competition?"

She was genuinely distressed.

Both the literary match and the martial match would be used to determine the champion, the runner-up, and the second runner-up in the competition. After the competition, only the top three finishers in each match would get extra resources from the family.

Vivian was well aware of the fact that she was not as powerful or wealthy as Barbara, and she expected the latter to triumph in the literary competition.

That was why she began aiming for the runner-up spot.

After the preliminary round, though, she discovered that the literary match featured more than a few competent doctors and weaponsmiths. They were also rather young, but they showed exceptional talent for their age group.

Vivian was gifted as well, but she had not trained for very long. Therefore her strength was just at the beginner level.

She hoped to place second in the competition, but she doubted she had what it took to beat out the brilliant youngsters of her clan.

In the end, she had no choice but to ask for Julie's help.

With Julie's assistance and the Sky Group's sway over the Jenkins family, she might place second in the literary match.

Vivian had planned on visiting Julie at the villa, but she learned from the housekeeper that Julie had already left for a walk.

After hearing that, she immediately knew that her adoptive mother had gone to visit Maria.

However, when she arrived at Lemna Yard, Maria stopped her from entering. So, of course, she would be mad.

“Maria is definitely aiming for the runner-up spot as well," Vivian muttered angrily to herself.

Maria simply stared at Vivian, remaining silent as the latter lost her cool and screamed hysterically.

By the time Vivian had run out of steam, Maria remained unfazed, as if her complaints and curses had been for naught.