Filed to story: The Heiress Rises From Ashes Book PDF Free
With a slight smile, she continued, “I didn’t want Brenna to feel neglected, so I asked my secretary, Lilian, to take care of the matter for me. I made sure to tell her that Brenna is our parents’ biological daughter and that she might face some difficulties adjusting to the situation due to her lack of formal education. I told Lilian to take good care of her. I think Lilian misunderstood my intentions and thought I meant to teach her a lesson.”
She looked at Brenna, her voice deliberately gentle as she said, “I’m so sorry my secretary misinterpreted my words and caused you trouble. I sincerely apologize to you on her behalf. Please, let’s put this behind us.”
To further solidify her innocence, Rosie pulled out her phone. “I’m in meetings, my secretary handles all my messages. If you don’t believe me, Ethan can confirm it.”
Brenna watched her with a knowing smirk. Rosie was clever, that was certain. With just a few well-placed words, she had effortlessly distanced herself from blame. But did Rosie really think she was that easy to fool?
Brenna tilted her head slightly. “Oh? That’s interesting. Because, if I recall correctly, your secretary had just messaged me, saying she’d take care of the bill. And just-
After that, the waitress showed up, causing trouble for me. And then, what do you know? You arrived right after. Barely five minutes later. Tell me, Rosie… How far is your company from here? It’s not just around the corner, is it? How could you have gotten here so fast from the company?”
Ethan’s eyebrow lifted ever so slightly. A flicker of admiration flashed in his eyes before he turned his gaze to Rosie. He said in a calm voice, “As far as I know, the Harper family doesn’t own a company nearby. Rosie, you are lying.”
Rosie’s heart pounded. Ethan was siding with a stranger? She knew that if she didn’t regain his trust now, it would be nearly impossible to do it later.
She exhaled sharply and quickly said, “I was already on my way here earlier! I promised my parents and my brothers I’d pick up Brenna-I couldn’t just leave her waiting! This is just a misunderstanding. Brenna, let me cover the bill for you. We’ll talk properly when we get home. Look around-so many people are watching. Let’s not embarrass our family like this. It’s your first day back. You don’t want to make a bad impression on Mom and Dad, do you?”
Rosie thought that Brenna, being barely acknowledged in the Barrett household, wouldn’t dare risk offending the Harper family, not when she had nowhere else to go.
She studied Brenna’s expression, confident that Brenna would take the hint.
However, Brenna didn’t even flinch. If anything, her expression sharpened. She had spent twenty years in the Barrett family, learning how to read people to survive. She understood what Rosie meant perfectly.
She had already made up her mind-if the Harpers were anything like the Barretts, she wouldn’t hesitate to leave the Harper family and live on her own.
Humming softly, Brenna glanced up at the surveillance cameras. “Seeing as there are cameras everywhere, I suppose it’ll be easy enough to get to the truth. Are you still not going to be honest?”
Turning to his assistant, Nevile Blake, Ethan said coldly, “Go and retrieve the surveillance footage.”
“No!” Rosie quickly said, flustered. If Ethan saw the footage-if the truth came out-everything would be over for her. She wouldn’t be able to become Ethan’s wife anymore.
A lump formed in her throat as she realized just how close she was to losing everything. Her nails dug into her palm as she stomped her foot, a look of wounded innocence on her face.
“Fine! I admit it! I just wanted to play a prank on my sister. That’s all!”
She turned to Brenna with a pleading look. “I was only messing around with you! I am sorry. You won’t really hold this against me, will you? I’ll make it up to you in the future-I swear! Isn’t that enough?”
Brenna arched a brow, unimpressed. She believed Rosie’s apology was empty-she didn’t mean a word of it.
She knew Rosie was trying to guilt trip her. She looked away, refusing to be manipulated.
Rosie’s jaw clenched. She yanked a bank card from her purse, shoving it toward the waitress. “I’ll pay the bill.”
Brenna’s attitude made her angry. What did she want? An apology on her knees or something? This was too much!
Rosie was furious now, hating Brenna to the core. Over something so trivial, Brenna had humiliated her in front of Ethan, in front of the entire restaurant. Brenna clearly didn’t care about her or the Harper family’s reputation!
Rosie couldn’t help but conclude that people with no proper education really were unable to see the bigger picture.
Yet on the surface, she wore a remorseful expression, her voice soft and pleading as she looked at Brenna. “Please don’t take it to heart. I was just trying to joke with you a little. Maybe you don’t know this yet, but I’m actually your parents’ niece. Even though I call them Mom and Dad, I’m still just their niece. Now that you, their real daughter, are back, I can’t help but worry they won’t love me anymore. I swear, I meant no harm. From now on, I’ll treat you like my real sister. Can you forgive me this time?”
Of course, Rosie wasn’t seeking Brenna’s forgiveness. Her only concern was maintaining a flawless image in Ethan’s eyes-kind, graceful, and irreplaceable as his future wife.
Only now did Brenna realize that Rosie wasn’t even the Harper couple’s daughter. She had to admit, Rosie was good at changing her attitude. Now that Rosie had framed things this way, she knew refusing to forgive Rosie would make her seem petty.
Brenna said, “Alright. From now on, we’re sisters.”
Then, she flung a glance at Sylvie and Vivian. “But these two just humiliated me. One wanted me scrubbing toilets in her home; the other wanted me on my knees polishing her shoes. What do you think about that?” she said.
Rosie resisted the urge to lash out. Did Brenna have to drag this out? Didn’t she just say she forgave her? Then why was she refusing to let the matter go? When would this end, for God’s sake?
Ethan’s lips pressed into a thin line, his displeasure evident. He said, “Rosie, as far as I know, Miss Higgins and Miss Morrison are your close friends. You share everything with each other, don’t you?”
Seeing Rosie remain silent, Ethan continued, his tone sharp, “The Mitchell Group has business partnerships with the Higgins Group and the Morrison Group. But since the Higgins family’s and the Morrison family’s daughters lack character, I see no reason to continue collaborating with them.”
Sylvie and Vivian stiffened, their faces draining of color. They exchanged panicked glances but couldn’t openly communicate with Rosie. For now, all they could do was stare at her in shock.
Brenna leaned back slightly, watching Rosie, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
She knew exactly what was happening. Rosie, Sylvie, and Vivian were inseparable, always in sync.
The three women exchanged silent looks, and after a beat, Sylvie took the lead. She scoffed, her expression dripping with disdain.
“Miss Harper, I hate to disappoint you, but this was all our idea. Rosie had nothing to do with it. Think about it. Rosie was always the Harper family’s little princess. But now, suddenly, you’re back, taking away the affection that was hers. If you were exceptional, maybe we’d let it slide. But let’s be honest-you didn’t even finish grade school. You don’t belong in the Harper family. So we decided to humiliate you a little, just to give you a push. We figured you would realize on your own that you don’t belong and just leave the Harper family.”
Vivian folded her arms, her expression equally smug. “That’s right. The Harper family is full of exceptional people. Your father runs the Harper Group, your mother is a professor at Laguna Bay University, and your brothers-one is a vice president, and the other is a top-tier celebrity. Even Rosie graduated from a prestigious foreign university with a master’s degree. And then there’s you, a girl who never even finished grade school. Do you really think you fit in with them? You’re like an outsider trying to live among elites. Completely out of place.”
Rosie watched the scene unfold with satisfaction. This was perfect.
Her two friends had openly humiliated Brenna. Surely, after this, Brenna would be too ashamed to step foot into the Harper family.
And Ethan? He wouldn’t look twice at a woman with no education. Rosie felt reassured-her place was safe. Whatever obstacles stood in the way of her marrying Ethan, Brenna certainly wasn’t one of them.
Still, she had to play the part of the understanding sister now.
Rosie sighed dramatically and held up a hand. “Alright, that’s enough. I know you’re just trying to look out for me, but she’s still my cousin-my uncle and aunt’s real daughter. No matter what, she has to come back to the Harper family. After all, she carries the Harper bloodline. I’ll make sure to help her improve so she can catch up with the Harper family’s standards and avoid embarrassing us in high society.”