Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“Do you have proof? Without proof, it’s stander!” Serena raised her voice, hoping to be heard outside, “Are you attacking me based on your assumptions? Don’t forget, this is Uncle’s house, not a place for a young girl like you to make a scene!”
“You better hope you’ve destroyed all the evidence. If not, I won’t let you off lightly-“
“So, you have no proof after all. Shouldn’t you be leaving my room then?”
Mirabella smiled coldly, “Even without proof, if I want to hit you, you’re getting hit”
As she spoke, the vanity stool crashed down on Serena.
Serena’s scream caught the attention of the servants outside.
“Ms. Serena, what’s wrong?” came the anxious knocking of Liz, “Are you alright? May I come in?”
Just as Serena tried to call for help, Mirabella brought the stool down again, and Serena’s cries got even louder.Liz was terrified and rushed to find Eunice, “Ma’am, something’s happened to Serena.”
The screams were horrifying.
Liz was too timid to open the door and see what was happening inside.
Eunice approached Serena’s door, faintly hearing the sisters’ quarrel.
“Mirabella. how could you.” Serena, in excruciating pain, felt as if her bones were falling apart with every movement. She glared at Mirabella with hatred.
“You dare to drug me, why shouldn’t I retaliate?” Mirabella slammed the stool down on Serena once more.
“Ahh.”
This time, Serena’s vision darkened, and she nearly passed out.
“Ma’am, what should we do? Should we go in and check? Could Serena have been taken hostage by some thug? Should we call security?”
Liz was all scared out of her wits by Serena’s hysterical shouts.
“Don’t bother” Eunice said icily. “Pretend you didn’t hear anything.”
“Ma’am? Ma’am.” Liz, seeing Eunice walk away, wanted to help but didn’t dare to act without permission, quickly followed Eunice’s steps.
Serena lay trembling on the floor, fearfully looking up at Mirabella. She couldn’t believe Mirabella had dared to hit her so hard.
Without her grandparents around, no one could save her.
She might actually be beaten to death by Mirabella right here.
What to do?
What could she possibly do?
“Bella, please have mercy.’ Serena, knowing she was no match, pleaded in weakness, “If you kill me, you’ll have to explain to grandma and grandpa. Let me go, I won’t tell them about you hitting me today.
I’ll say I fell and got these bruises.”
“And what if you did tell?” Mirabella didn’t care. “Don’t forget all the evidence you’ve left behind.”Serena froze, realizing why Mirabella was so bold – she held all the evidence, making Serena hesitant to speak up, leading to a situation where both would suffer in the end.
Not to mention the time Martha tried to make Mirabella slip by spilling oil, or Serena’s own attempts to seduce Romeo – these scandals alone could ruin her!
And that’s not even the half of it.
Mirabella looked down at Serena. If she hadn’t picked up a few tricks from Grandpa Beck and accidentally drunk the lemonade, the one in trouble would have been Mirabella herself.
She would be the one who danced on the pole, the one who broke the table with her bare hands, and the one who kissed a tree in a frenzy.
Serena’s heart was growing colder by the minute.
“Next time, I won’t be so lenient.” Mirabella threw the vanity stool at Serena with a vengeance.
Serena let out a wail, staring at Mirabella’s retreating figure, fists clenched in rage. Damn you, Mirabella, just you wait, I will not let this go!
Later, a servant went to look for Mirabella. Passing by Serena’s room, she discovered Serena sprawled on the floor. She rushed in to help.
“Serena, what happened? Did you fall?”
With the vanity stool overturned next to her and no other suspicious signs, it seemed Serena might have fallen off the stool?
How bizarre.
“tt hurts so much.’ Serena couldn’t get up even with the servant’s aid, tears streaming down her face.”Take it easy, Serena.” The servant could feel her pain from the cries, and after much effort, helped her to her feet, saying respectfully, “Please wait here. I’ll tell Ms. Bella something and then we’ll get a doctor.”
“Wait.” Serena looked up in pain, “What thing?”
“Mr. Collins wants to take Ms. Bella to change her name.”
The servant, thinking they were all family, shared openly, “He is dressed and is waiting in the living room. We just couldn’t find Ms. Bella earlier; don’t know if she fell asleep in her room. Please wait here.
I’ll be right back”
Watching the servant’s retreating figure, Serena’s nails dug into her palms, furning with even more resentment!
Here she was getting beaten up, while Mirabella was about to inherit the family fortune from grandpa?
Why her?
When the servant called for the doctor, Belinda hurried over, only to find Serena sitting on the armchair in her bedroom, her eyes red and swollen.
Belinda couldn’t help but ask, “Serena, what happened to you, my dear?”
“Grandma.” Serena burst into tears as soon as she saw Belinda, her voice quivering with distress.
“Did you fall? How did you get hurt like this?” Belinda gently rolled up Serena’s sleeve, revealing bruises.
The family doctor knew at first glance that these weren’t injuries from a fall but from a beating. She was shocked; she couldn’t believe that someone dared to hurt Serena, to such an extent.
This was too much and the bruises looked severe. Should she tell Belinda the truth?
“What are you staring at? I’m in so much pain, please just help me apply some ointment.” Serena wept, trying to control her sobs, “I fell. It was my own clumsiness, Grandma. Don’t worry. it’ll heal in a few days.”
Hearing Serena’s words, the doctor didn’t dare to pry further and silently treated Serena’s wounds, thinking it was better not to stir the pot. If Serena didn’t want to talk, it wasn’t her place to force the issue.
“How did you get hurt so badly? Did some of these happen when you were tossing and turning in your sleep last night?” Belinda was deeply concerned when she saw the bruises on Serena’s back.
Serena didn’t dare to confirm or deny, and just tearfully whispered, “It hurts, Grandma””Doctor, please be gentle.” All Belinda could do was watch anxiously.
Serena, seeing her grandmother’s concern, thought to herself that if her pain could elicit such sympathy, perhaps it could even strengthen their bond.
Meanwhile, Bard came home from work and immediately headed for the study to find Eunice.
“Eunice, I heard there was some friction between you and Serena this morning. Was it because of what happened last night?”
At Bard’s question, Eunice looked up from her laptop, her voice steady, “I have a feeling she’s behind what happened to Bella”
Bard knew Eunice’s intuition was often spot-on, but he had watched Serena grow up and found it hard to suspect her without evidence, even though he found Eunice’s suspicions compelling.
“I know everyone in this family has treated her like a princess and has truly adored her for eighteen years,” Eunice closed her laptop, stating the facts.
The time and affection everyone had poured into Serena over the years had become deeply ingrained, like a seed rooted firmly in the soil, growing into a towering tree that couldn’t be easily shaken.
Eunice didn’t want to challenge Serena’s place in the family.
“I just feel that the old Serena was innocent and kind, without a hint of guile.
She was sweet and sensible. But now, she seems like a different person”
The old Serena wouldn’t use her fragility and tears as weapons; she wouldn’t squander the trust and goodwill she had built up over eighteen years.
But now, she appeared to wield these tools with ease.”Mom and Dad haven’t suspected her, and I understand. As grandparents, they can’t just suspect their own granddaughter of being malicious without cause. Especially when they’ve watched her grow up, believing they know her character, understanding who she is. So we wouldn’t suddenly doubt her just on someone else’s say-so, let alone cast her out.”
Even if a pet cat scratches the owner, she’d think it was an accident. Who would believe that the cat has ill intentions, plotting to harm its owner?
Even if one’s own pet cat scratches its owner repeatedly, to the point of drawing blood, she might just think it’s misbehaving, not knowing any better.
At worst, she might scold it or give it a smack to teach it a lesson, but who would throw it out of the house, abandoning it?
That was the dilemma Eunice was facing.
Serena had been part of the family for far too long. Her identity had been unknown, and the emotions and time invested in her couldn’t be negated by a couple of mistakes.
Eighteen years was a long time. Even if it was a tree planted in the yard, wanting to uproot it all at once would make one feel heart-wrenching and difficult to let go.
Imagine a world where eighteen years of nurturing and affection for a child could be tested by the bitterness of sibling rivalry.
“I’m just worried that Bella might be getting the short end of the stick, Eunice admitted candidly.
The fear was that ever since Bella’s return home six months ago, she had been walking on eggshells for the sake of farnily harmony, always yielding to her sister Serena. After all, the family already owed her so much.