Filed to story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
She and Kenneth had assumed he had heard the news that they had found their biological daughter, and came specifically to bring gifts for his real bride-to-be.
But it turned out.
“No wonder Romeo wasn’t around much before, but ever since Bella came back to us, he’s been visiting frequently.”
It was all because of Bella that the families’ engagement has held.
If Bella hadn’t returned, if Serena were their biological daughter, he wouldn’t have chosen Serena, regardless of the families’ ties or even Phillip’s persuasion to the point of a heart attack.
He simply didn’t like Serena, that’s the whole of it!
“Martin must be disappointed with Serena’s actions, that’s why they broke up, right?” Kenneth asked, regretfully. He really thought Martin was a good guy.
But as good as Martin was, Serena truly didn’t deserve him.
Not just Martin, even Kenneth, who had been her father for eighteen years, felt chilled to the bone and utterly let down by Serena’s behavior.
How much more disheartening it would be for someone on the outside.”That’s not the case,” Eunice clarified. “Martin still cares for her, but she took it for granted. She even had someone tamper with Bella’s lemonade.”
“What?” This time, Kenneth and Louisa were utterly astounded, both staring at Eunice as if petrified.
Eunice laid out everything she knew, “At that time, mom and dad were away in Dawnstar, and we all went out for dinner. Bella seemed to sense something off with the lemonade and insisted Serena drink it. Serena was clearly reluctant, obviously scared to drink it. I suspected there was something wrong with it, and sure enough, Serena, out of sheer desperation, drank it and ended up rushing to the bathroom, hallucinating, and even making a move on Romeo in front of everyone. She mistook me for Bella several times and tried to come at me.”
“What in the world are you talking about?!” Both Kenneth and Louisa were frozen in shock, unable to believe that Serena could turn so malicious.
“She mistook me for Bella, calling me a homewrecker, saying that if it weren’t for me, she and Romeo would’ve been married by now, maybe even with kids of their own. She accused me of ruining their happiness.”
Kenneth and Louisa were left speechless and flabbergasted by Serena’s distorted values!
What kind of dirty words were these, coming from the young lady of the Collins family, who everyone thought was the epitome of grace and wisdom.
And she held such a deep grudge against Bella.
After all, she had previously pretended to be the world’s greatest sister in front of them.
She was just hypocritical, too frightening!!
“Later, I had someone look into where this drug was being sold and who was buying it. It took a while, but we found a lead. This is the evidence of her and Martha scheming together, drugging Bella,” Eunice said, pressing a button on the remote. A page of evidence appeared on the screen.
“Do you know what this drug does? It causes continuous flatulence, stomach discomfort, constipation at first, then severe diarrhea, and hallucinations. The effects last for about twelve hours.”
In other words, Serena had used such a nasty, terrifying drug against Bella.
“How could she do something like this!!!” Louisa slammed her hand on the armrest of the sofa, her regrets about keeping such an ingrate in their home multiplying, “All these years of kindness wasted on her!”She should have never been allowed to stay!!
Even considering the years of care they had given her, Serena should not have treated Bella this way, always butting heads with Bella, and now daring to drug her in secret.
If Bella hadn’t been knowledgeable about drugs, if she hadn’t noticed and had drunk that lemon water, she would have been the one to suffer.
“This is outrageous!! She has gone too far!!” Kenneth slammed his hand on the coffee table, his heart aching with rage, “Of all the mistakes she could have made, she should not have done something this foolish!!”
So, this was the underlying reason why Eunice turned a blind eye to Bella giving Serena a piece of her mind.
Serena was bad news, and it was about time she was put in her place.
“But Serena didn’t even realize her mistake, and when no one was looking, she sneaked off to see Romeo. I caught her red-handed, pretending to apologize for her crazed behavior, when in reality, she still harbored inappropriate feelings for him. When Romeo tried to ignore her, she sarcastically asked if it was her sister who told him to stay away from her, insinuating that Romeo wasn’t a cold-hearted man.”
At this, Louisa felt her blood boiling with anger, clutching her chest, fearing she might not catch her next breath, that she might die right there from fury.
Kenneth’s temples were throbbing with anger as he rubbed them. Serena was truly preposterous, utterly infuriating!!”And I found something else.” Eunice pressed the remote again, and the screen displayed a heap of evidence, “Regarding the scandalous news that went viral some time ago, claiming that using Ar-Bl-
Clear Group skincare could damage the skin, it seemed initially like a rival company, KT, was behind it.
But actually, the person in charge of KT works for Doom, and the boss behind is Martha.”
“Martha works for Doom???” Both Kenneth and Louisa blurted out in unison, once again shocked beyond words. How could Martha be involved with Doom, let alone holding a significant position within the organization.
“I’ve had people scouring the city and even Dawnstar for any sign of Martha, but she’s nowhere to be found.”
If Eunice ever got her hands on Martha, she’d give Martha a taste of her own medicine, with a good old-fashioned slap-fest and a no-holds-barred spanking.
The chaos in this household was Martha’s handiwork, no doubt.
“There was this one time, I got a tip-off that someone had put a hit out on Bella. I managed to nab the hitman, but the guy was tight-lipped about who was behind it all. That is, until Bella showed up. Julian —well, he made the guy an offer. Spill the beans, and he’d get a shiny new identity complete with a faked death certificate.”
Neither Kenneth nor Louisa could believe someone had tried to off Bella, let alone that she was cool as a cucumber, even negotiating with the hitman. Any other heiress would’ve been scared stiff.
Bella’s nerves of steel were something else.
“Bella gave him two days to think it over. However, by the end of the second day, he was dead.”
Kenneth and Louisa were in disbelief. How could such a coincidence happen? Was it foul play?
“I saw Serena with him right before it all went down. At first, I thought she had something to do with it.”
Before Eunice could finish, Kenneth interjected, shocked, “You mean to say Serena killed him?”
. Impossible. She couldn’t have that guts.
She’s been scared of her own shadow since she was a kid, let alone murder.”Let her finish.” Louisa said, her voice quivering with shock. It was unthinkable that their sweet little girl, raised for eighteen years under their roof, could be linked to a murder.
“Bella gave the hitman two days to decide, right? On the last day, the guy must’ve had an epiphany. He told one of my guys from the basement that he wanted to see Ms. Collins. My guy thought he meant Serena and sent for her. Then it was just Serena and him. No signs of a struggle at the scene, no fatal poison ingested. His hands and feet were still bound, but he definitely died from suffocation. I suspected Serena for a while until another guy from the Doom gang we had locked up—Hugh—wanted to save his own skin and spilled the beans. Turns out, the hitman had a change of heart that night, wanted a fresh start. When Serena showed up, he made it clear he wasn’t looking for her, but another lady. Serena pulled out her phone, probably with Bella’s photo, and he confirmed it was her.”
“He asked if coming clean meant his freedom and a new identity. Serena had no clue what he was on about but played it cool, saying, ‘That depends on you telling the whole truth.'”
“So he recounted the whole saga of being hired for the hit. Serena was petrified when she recognized the phone number he gave—it was one of Martha’s burners, hardly known by anyone. To protect Martha, Serena covertly contacted her, and Martha instructed her to take out the hitman.”
“But Serena had never done anything like that, especially not to a hitman. So, she followed Martha’s script, claiming she and Martha were with Doom, dropping the gang’s secret codes. She told the hitman he was marked for death for his failure. If he didn’t die, everyone close to him would suffer.”
“In the grimy basement, a man by the name of Hugh, unfortunate enough to be caged next to a hitman, was separated only by iron bars. Hugh made an offer to Serena. He could take out the hitman, but in return, Serena had to ensure that Martha would leverage the influence of Doom to free him. He couldn’t be left to rot as a disposable pawn of the Doom. After a brief exchange with Martha, she agreed. So, Hugh proceeded to strangle the life out of the hitman, who accepted his fate without a struggle, preferring a silent death over endangering his family and friends.”
Kenneth and Louisa were stunned beyond belief, their minds reeling from the revelation. The truth was far more twisted than they could have ever imagined.
Eunice, too, was caught off guard. Serena hadn’t actually killed anyone, but to protect Martha, she had concealed the truth and played the innocent before them all.
If Hugh hadn’t grown impatient in that claustrophobic cellar, tired of waiting for Martha to rescue him, and hadn’t spilled the beans in a bid to save his own skin, they might still be in the dark.
Eunice took a sip of her coffee, setting down her mug with deliberate slowness. Her gaze drifted towards Kenneth and Louisa.
“Hugh mentioned that Serena said something at the time,” Eunice recounted. “She asked Martha—
didn’t you say your hitman was reliable? So how did Auntie’s people catch him and lock him up in her basement?”
What did that imply?
It meant Serena knew Martha intended to hire a hitman to commit murder, to kill Bella.
Yet, not only did she not stop it, when things were about to be exposed, she sought to destroy the evidence, abandon the hitman, and save Martha.”Martha might as well be her real mother!” Louisa was livid, her heart twisting in agony. She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, and managed to find a semblance of calm.
Kenneth’s anger was palpable, a darkness edging his vision, nearly causing him to faint.
Their ‘beloved daughter’ of eighteen years had conspired with an outsider to harm their long-lost blood!
“To say her conscience has been eaten by dogs would be an insult to dogs.” Louisa seethed with rage.
How could she? How could she conspire with Martha to have Bella killed? What had that poor child done wrong? After suffering for eighteen years, she finally came home, only to have someone wish for her death.
“She doesn’t deserve to be part of the Collins family. Even the name Serena is ours to give, and she does not deserve it! Someone fetch that wretched girl.”
Perhaps due to her anger, the veins on Louisa’s hand stood out starkly against her skin as she slapped the coffee table.
Edith was about to summon Serena.
“Hold on,” Louisa suddenly added, “bring more people.”
Just in case Serena tried any tricks, played dead, or attempted to flee.
They had to be cautious!
Meanwhile.
Images of Martha falling from the eighteenth floor flashed through Serena’s mind over and over. She couldn’t believe that the person who had loved her for eighteen years was gone.
From her initial anguished cries to her now subdued sobs, she had wept for what felt like an eternity.Her tears flowed incessantly like a faucet that couldn’t be turned off, and she couldn’t accept that a living, breathing person was just gone.
It was Mirabella!
Mirabella was the cause of her death!
Even as Martha lay dying and bloodied, Mirabella showed no mercy!!
That vile girl was a murderer!
