Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
Cathy was left speechless. Romeo was true to his businessman roots, playing a “buy one, get one free”
game with her.
At the Earwood family residence, Harriet stormed home, fuming, only to find her father Addison on a call. Unable to contain her agitation, she whined, “Dad.”
Addison had no time to spare for her. He was answering a super important call at the moment; he signaled with his hand for her to keep quiet.Harriet, with frustration brewing inside her, noticed an elegant invitation on the coffee table. It was for a New Year’s gala hosted by a children’s charity foundation, inviting the Earwood family to attend.
This gala was known to invite many high-profile individuals, including the Collins family!
“Alright, alright, no problem. See you tomorrow night.” Addison wrapped up his call, his face beaming with excitement. He turned to his daughter, “Now, who’s got my little girl all riled up? What happened to your face?”
“Dad, I’ve been bullied! Look, even my neck were squeezed!”
Upon closer inspection, the slap mark on her face was evident, and the bruises on her neck were alarmingly clear.
“Who did this??” Addison’s anger flared, “I’m going to make them pay!”
Just as Harriet was about to name the perpetrator, she had a better idea. She tapped the invitation on the table, “That person will be at the gala tomorrow.”
The invitation included a list of guests, partly to showcase the organizer’s network and ability to draw such a high-class crowd at once, and partly to lure more attendees. Some wealthy individuals would otherwise snub such an event, but if they saw someone they wanted to network with on the guest list, they’d gladly attend.
“Who is it? I’ll take care of that person today! Attend the gala?! Not a chance.”Outside the police station, a swarm of reporters had gathered. Martin emerged from inside, the epitome of still poise and grace.
A barrage of flickering lights went off as all the reporters swarmed him, clamoring for a statement.
Exiting alongside Martin was his attorney, Lawyer Archibald, who addressed the reporters, “Mr. Cooper has provided audio recordings that prove he was unaware of his subordinates’ actions. They were coerced by someone else to take the fall. As for who that individual is, the police will reveal it once the investigation is complete. Please make some room.” Martin’s driver pulled up the car, and his bodyguards began to clear a path through the crowd.
“Mr. Cooper, could you shed some light on what you discussed with your two associates before their demise?”
“Mr. Cooper, are you allies or adversaries with the Collins family?”
“There’s a rumor on the internet that you’re dating Serena Lott. Is there any truth to this?”
At the mention of Serena, Martin’s stride halted. The press, sensing a juicy story, unleashed a barrage of queries.
“Do you mind Serena Lott’s past?”
“Do the Cooper family approve of your relationship with her?”
“She’s reportedly done some unsavory things to the Collins family. Is that true, or is she being framed?”
“Are you planning to marry her?”
“Are you and Serena Lott living together?”
Martin’s gaze settled on the reporter before him, “I’ve seen the online gossip. Yes, Serena and I are in a relationship, and we’re planning to get engaged soon.”
“Engaged???”
All the reporters were stunned. Despite the poor reputation the girl had, Martin still intended to propose? Was that for real??
“Mr. Cooper, is this true love, or are you using the engagement to deflect from the current scandal?”
“Are you trying to distract us from the investigation into your associates’ deaths?””Do you think Serena Lott is a good girl?”
“Do your parents support this marriage?”
“I love her deeply, and we’ll announce the engagement date in a couple of days,” Martin stretched out and signaled that he was done with the interview and then got into his car.
“Mr. Cooper, please, don’t go. Mr. Cooper.”
The reporters chased after the car, hungry for more details.
At For·ena Villa.
This led to the public digging into the wealth of the Cooper family and Martin’s prowess.
Serena’s lips curled into a smug smile; she couldn’t be pleased more, “These losers wouldn’t dare make a peep if actually threatened with legal action.”She took a bit of an apple joyously as she continued scanning the comments. Her social media was flooded with more than one message from the netizens asking for a tutorial on how to win over a wealthy heir and to have him proudly declare an engagement.
The words hit Serena like a dagger to the heart. It had to be someone she knew! How could she let Martin see such a comment?!
Serena deleted the message without hesitation. But that only seemed to fuel the commenter’s fire, who began to relentlessly paste the same message over and over, flooding her comment section with hundreds of copies, each followed by a taunting challenge. [Go on, keep deleting.]
Serena was fuming.
“Serena.”
Just then, Martin returned. In a panic, Serena logged off and locked her screen before wheeling towards him with open arms.
Martin wrapped her in a warm embrace.
“I’m just so relieved you’re back safe.” Serena hugged him as tears brimmed in her eyes, “It’s all good as long as you’re okay. I know someone’s been smearing your name. They’re so cruel. Why did they have to pick on you? If only I could get my hands on them, I’d tear them limb from limb.”
Martin chuckled and stroked her back, “Don’t worry. I had a recording of a call with one of my guys at the time, and although another guy only managed to send me a text before he died, previous call records can prove my innocence.”
“As long as you’re okay.” Serena released him and flashed a bright smile, though concern quickly creased her brow, “You announced our engagement so quickly. What if your parents see?”
“The reporters were already asking about us; I had to clarify things and give you a proper status.”
Martin said, gently patting her head, “Don’t worry about my parents; I’ll continue working on them. I heard from Dora that you didn’t eat a bite of dinner after I left.””I was worried about you.” In truth, once the servants were out of sight, Serena had indulged in a fair amount of snacks. With the abundance at home, a few missing packages would go unnoticed for a while.
At that moment, Dora knocked and brought in the dinner freshly prepared in the kitchen. Martin had asked her to bring it up.
“I’ll feed you,” Martin told the girl in the wheelchair tenderly.
“You haven’t eaten either. We can eat together. Don’t worry about my hand, I can still manage a spoon.”
Martin was amused by her again, “If you’re worried about me, I’ll eat while feeding you.”
Serena feigned to blush at that.
Dora set the meal on the coffee table in the room, smiling knowingly, “Well, I’ll leave you two alone then.”
She exited to give them privacy.Standing under the shade of the trees, Cathy was sharing amusing stories with Bella when suddenly, the lights of the restaurant dimmed, and all the street lamps and illuminations went dark. “What’s up with the power outage?” Cathy’s words were cut short as Mirabella yanked her back.
If it weren’t for Mirabella’s lightning-quick reflexes, that knife would have sailed through the air and pierced her heart.
Suddenly, from every direction, a slew of assailants appeared, their faces obscured by black masks, each one wielding a switchblade, lunging swiftly towards the two women.
“Ah. Who the hell are you??” Cathy cried out in terror.
What shocked her even more was the realization that Mirabella was faster and more precise than any of them.
As two blades aimed for Mirabella simultaneously, she kicked the attacker in front of her and deftly grabbed his knife, slashing at the arm of the assailant behind her, who immediately started bleeding profusely.
The perilous moments flashed before Cathy’s eyes as Mirabella pushed and pulled her around like a puppet on strings, until finally, Cathy’s gaze settled on the scene – all the attackers were down, sprawled on the ground.
Cathy was utterly astounded; there must have been at least a dozen of them, each clutching their wounds, writhing in pain on the ground. Blood was everywhere.
“Leaving you all alive is a message. Go tell your boss I’m definitely coming for him. And tell him to pony up for some real talent next time; you guys are just amateur hour.”
Cathy was stunned, her eyes wide with shock as she looked at Bella, who was too cool for school, throwing down such badass lines to the defeated hitmen.
“Take your toys and scram,” Mirabella tossed the switchblade in front of them, a gesture that was more insulting than injurious.A few attackers would have left if they could, but Mirabella had been ruthless; they couldn’t even stand without help. Eventually, they managed to stagger away with the aid of others.
A beam of headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the gruesome trail of blood on the ground.
Romeo stepped out of the car swiftly and saw the retreating figures, “What happened here?”
“Nothing much, just asking them to send a message for me.”
Cathy was in shock again, Mirabella’s tone was just too casual. She nonchalantly opened the car door, gesturing for Cathy to get in first.
For Cathy, it was her first encounter with a scene straight out of a thriller movie, and she found herself frozen in place. Seeing her like this, Romeo uttered helplessly, “Buck up.”
Since Bella wanted to send a message, he decided not to pursue, only asking, “You hurt anywhere?”
“Playing with rookies, how could I get hurt?”
Cathy felt like she’d been sucker-punched hearing Bella’s comment. Such a terrifying ordeal, and to Mirabella, it was like playing with kids.
“Glad you’re okay. Seems like the mastermind couldn’t wait any longer and wanted to silence us.” As Romeo spoke, he turned to Cathy, “Still not over it?”Reflections Villa.
“Fantastic, I’ll have some gowns delivered for you,” Louisa exclaimed with joy.
“No need, Mom. My walk-in closet is already bursting at the seams. I’ll pick something out tomorrow.”
“Well, you might want to check with Romeo about his outfit. If your colors and styles complement each other, you’ll look like the perfect pair.”
Kenneth, lounging on the armchair and glancing up from the evening news, chimed in with a chuckle, “Your mom is hinting that she wants you to flaunt your fiancé at the gala.”
“Why put it so bluntly!” Louisa playfully scolded her husband before muttering to herself, “But it’s not a bad idea anyway. Romeo’s such a catch; there are plenty of women out there eyeing him. If they see how well he treats Bella, the sensible ones will back off on their own. As for the rest, Jennifer and I will step in to ward them off one by one.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.