Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
Comforted by Chasel’s confirmation, Mirabella said, “Great, I’ll go check out the room Erik stayed in before, see if he left any clues. You guys catch up.”
She collected the earphones and was gone in a flash.
Sean didn’t even get a chance to say a word to her before she left.
No wonder the other brothers were so eager to get home first, to spend time with their sister.It seemed the only way to get some quality time with her was to beat the clock.
The more people there were, the less time she had for each of them.
He suddenly missed the days when it was just the two of them.
“What’s up with Erik?” Chasel asked in a low voice once Mirabella had left.
Hans had already shown him the surveillance footage from the abandoned building, and although he knew Erik was Serena’s biological father, he had no idea about what happened after that.
Sean, still feeling the sting of being overlooked by his sister, answered Chasel’s question with a hint of resignation, detailing the entire situation.
Chasel finally understood that Mirabella was setting a trap, waiting for the mastermind to walk right into it.”I’m gonna head upstairs to change,” Chasel said, seeing Mirabella wouldn’t be back for a while, intending to slip into something more comfortable, like the home attire.
His sister had designed that loungewear for him, which was no less stylish than the outfit Sean was wearing.
Once Chasel left, Sean felt even more bored, so he went to his room to fire up the computer and get some work done. But as he stepped in, his eyes fell on the sunflower field painting that Serena had given him.
It was a warm and vibrant oil painting.
Without a second thought, Sean took it down and disposed of it in the trash can, along with all the other gifts from Serena: a vintage ornament, a fancy watch, a lighter, camping gear, rock climbing equipment, and more.
A servant, alerted by the noise, thought something was wrong and hurried over to check.
Sean’s door was open, and the servant saw all the items related to Serena being discarded without a second thought.
Sean used to cherish these gifts, once throwing a fit when a servant accidentally broke a ceramic cup Serena had made for him.
Who would have thought these treasures would one day be junk.
“Take out the trash.” Sean ordered.
“Yes, sir,” the servant quickly complied, taking the discarded memories away.
With all traces of Serena gone, Sean’s room finally felt right again.Meanwhile.
After changing into his loungewear, Chasel’s gaze inadvertently caught the razor, men’s cologne, and skincare products on his dresser, all gifts from Serena last year.
He had been so happy to receive them that he hardly ever used them, wanting to keep them pristine.
Besides these, there was a photo in his bookcase of him and Serena, taken just after she won first place at a piano competition last year. They were at the venue, her holding the trophy and his hands.
Serena looked absolutely radiant with joy in that photo, her eyes filled with a happy glow.
Chasel then pulled out a thick photo album from the bookcase, filled with family pictures from over the years, many of them featuring Serena.
There were pictures of the two of them as kids, chasing each other around, riding bikes, having fun at theme parks.
There were photos taken at tourist hotspots after they’d grown up.
And there were their smiles captured from their birthdays past.
These memories played like an old movie, scene after scene flickering in Chasel’s mind.
That little girl from his past, she was so pure and kind, so simple and sweet. But why did she end up doing all those cruel, heartless things to Bella.
In the end, Chasel dumped everything related to her into the trash can.
The servant, tidying up the room, was surprised to find that Chasel had thrown away the group photos he treasured most.
In the past, if those photos ever gathered dust, Chasel would meticulously clean them himself, forbidding anyone else to touch them.
Serena had it all, a future bright as the stars, a life of luxury, adored by everyone. Yet she was never satisfied, choosing instead a path that broke the Collins family’s hearts. It was foolish, truly a case of reaping what she sowed!
Mirabella spent half an hour searching the room Erik once occupied but couldn’t find a single clue.
On her way back to the main house, she saw two servants carrying out trash bags to the gate. One of the bags, overstuffed, let a few picture frames spill out—photos of Serena and Chasel together.
The servants stooped to pick them up, noticing Mirabella and giving her a polite nod.
“Are these all-things Chasel doesn’t want anymore?” Mirabella asked in a soft tone.”Yes, as well as some of Sean’s,” one servant said, opening the bags to show their contents filled with items related to Serena.
Mirabella hadn’t expected that Chasel and Sean would throw away even their photos together.
“Bella!”
At that moment, Sean, who had been pacing in front of the main house window, finally saw his sister emerge and hurried outside, carrying an umbrella.
“It’s started to snow; I brought an umbrella for you,” Sean opened the umbrella over her head. “You didn’t get wet, did you?”
“No, Sean.” Mirabella gave a small, warm smile, “You’re not too busy today?”
“Yes, I’ve been quite free lately, just staying at home keeping you company. Any luck finding clues?”
Sean angled the umbrella to shelter her more.
“No, he’s been careful not to leave anything behind.” Mirabella held a tablet in her hand.
“Here, put your hands in your pockets and warm yourself up.”
“You’re not dressed warmly enough for this cold weather.” Mirabella noticed he was only wearing his thick loungewear, although plush, they were hardly suitable for the chilly outdoors. “I’ll have someone bring over some more jackets.”
Sean was elated at the offer, pretending to protest the expense, but inside he was overjoyed.
As they entered the main house, his smile froze.
For there was Chasel, also in loungewear, plush and thick, looking even more dashing.”You’re back?” Chasel greeted Mirabella with a gentle smile. “Did you find anything?”
“Nothing was left behind.” Mirabella noticed his loungewear. “They look good on you, Chasel.”
This was the first time Mirabella had seen Chasel in the loungewear she had designed, as he was usually away on missions.
“They’re specially designed by you, so of course, they look good,” Chasel said, fondly ruffling her hair.
Specially designed?
Sean felt a sting of envy at that revelation!
Mirabella could sense Sean’s mood shift and chuckled as she explained, “Back then, I didn’t know you were my brother, Sean, so I didn’t get a chance to design clothes just for you.”
It was just by chance that she passed by QY and picked out a few outfits for him, nothing specially designed.
“I’ll make time to design some clothes especially for you.”
“Well, you’d better make a bunch!” Sean didn’t want to be outdone by Chasel. That guy was way too scheming, deliberately wearing the clothes designed by his sister to show off in front of him. Childish!
“You want to work your sister to death? She’s got tons to do every day; it’s good enough that you have something to wear.”
“If you don’t want your sister to overwork, then hand over a few of those outfits she made for you!
You’re always on the go for work, and you hardly have any time to wear them at home anyway.”
“As if you’re always lounging around the house.”
“I would take them to Belloria!”
Seeing the two men bickering, Mirabella interjected, “Alright, I’ll make time for both of you, no one will be left out. But now, I really need to go upstairs and work on the audio.”
“Bella.” Chasel called out to her urgently, “I’m sorry for the tough times you had to endure. If I’d known she was such a nightmare, I would’ve kicked her out of the Collins family back during your school days.”
Back then, Serena’s friends were badmouthing Mirabella behind her back, and it just so happened that Myrna overheard them. Myrna told Chasel, and when he rushed to the school, he was deeplydisappointed by Serena’s actions.
Serena had wept bitterly, and Chasel didn’t tell the family ultimately, giving her a chance to turn over a new leaf.
If he’d only known she would become so twisted and unrecognizable later, he would never have been so lenient. He shouldn’t have been swayed by the sibling bond of eighteen years!
But it was too late for regrets now; his own sister had been put in danger, even risking her life.
“Let’s not dwell on it, Chasel. No one in the family could have predicted she’d turn out this way. It’s alright, I wasn’t hurt.”
“Who says? Your arm’s still healing.” Sean immediately called her out, “Have you been applying the ointment properly these past few days? If it’s too much trouble for you to do it yourself.”
“Don’t worry, Sean, Romeo’s been helping me out.”
Sean felt a sting at the mention of that name.
“Did you hurt your arm, sis? When did this happen?” Chasel had only seen the surveillance footage in front of the unfinished building and the explosion aftermath. He was unaware what had happened how Sean rescued Mirabella and got her out of that building.