Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
Dominic seemed upset. “What the heck is wrong with the Barretts? Even a maid has the gall to knock you over! Are they doing this on purpose?”
A tight knot formed between Nathan’s eyebrows. “Mia just has ill luck with the Barretts.
“Exactly,” Claude chimed in. “They brought her misfortune for three whole years! Terrible luck indeed!”
Mia was amused by their ruthless insults. She knew they behaved that way because they cared for her. Their loathing for the Barretts was intense because they mistreated her. Eva had her fair share by mocking Sharon as well, rendering her speechless.
A maid brought her another clean dress promptly. She entered the washroom to change into the dress. and she suddenly recalled its origin.
It was when Laura urged Timothy to buy her a gift when he went on a business trip.
This was the dress Timothy bought for Mia. She was constantly occupied with other tasks during the banquets hosted by the Barrett family, so she hardly had any chance to wear the dress.
This was her first time wearing a dress he bought. She wondered whether he had the maid bring it on purpose.
Still Mia changed into the dress. It resembled a ball gown, and its neckline revealed her delicate collarbone. It wasn’t tight around her lower belly since the skirt was loose.
All her brothers gaped at her when she strode out in her new outfit. Slightly embarrassed, she asked, ” What is it? Is there something wrong with the dress?”
Eva exclaimed gleefully, “No! It suits you perfectly. You look like a princess.”
Mia was fairly surprised. She thought Timothy’s purchase was merely meant to fulfill Laura’s orders.
Just then, the maid rapped on the door. “Ms. Bowen, Mrs. Barrett Senior is asking for you.”
“Now?”
“Yes. She’s waiting for you in her bedroom on the second floor.”
Mia nodded. ¡®I’m coming.
Dominic suddenly furrowed his eyebrows. “Do you need us to come with you?”
“No. Perhaps Grandma Laura wants to have a chat with me in private.” She knew the tiara Timothy showed her earlier was probably from Laura’s personal collection. It was impossible for her to believe.
that he’d own something like this.
She might’ve refused his gift, yet she still wanted to clear things up with Laura. She left the lounge with the maid, and headed to the familiar elevator. There was a sign indicating that it was under maintenance.
The mai maid began politely. “The elevator isn’t working. Let’s take the stairs.”
Bewildered, Mia glanced over at the elevator. “What happened?
The elevator only malfunctioned once in the three years she was married into the Barrett family. The storm caused a leak, thus the elevator broke down. Nonetheless, the technician performed maintenance frequently since Laura used it often.
In fact, a thorough maintenance should be performed in advance, given that a banquet was hosted today.
The maid’s gaze dropped as she mumbled, “I’m not quite sure either. There were some minor operational issues, so they disabled the elevator for safety purposes.
“Isn’t it a huge inconvenience for Grandma Laura to take the stairs?”
“The technicians are working on it now.”
Mia felt relieved that it was a minor operational issue instead of the elevator being entirely out of service. She ambled toward Laura’s room on the second floor. Before she could knock, the maid opened the door for her.
She strode right in. “Grandma Laura.”
There was no sign of Laura in the room. What was this?
Mia sensed that something had been off since she noticed that the elevator broke down. She halted, and was about to leave when a sharp jolt of pain struck her at the back of her head. She blacked out for an instant and collapsed to the ground.
Instinctively, she clasped her arms around her belly as she curled herself up on the ground. She couldn’t care less about the throbbing pain in her head. The most she could manage was to protect her belly.
Little did she expect that she’d be attacked in Laura’s bedroom. Who was it?
She spotted a pair of heels before she completely lost consciousness. There was a tattoo on the individual’s ankle.
Stretching her hand out, she attempted to grab the person’s foot. She tried to glance up, trying to make out who the attacker was, but her vision blacked out immediately.
“There’s a murder! Help!”
Amidst her grogginess, Mia heard a clamor of noises around her. She struggled to open her eyes, but her vision swam. She couldn’t see anything clearly. Pain hummed in her head as she was overwhelmed by dizziness.
She sat up and leaned against the railing behind her. Her hand paused midair. What was she doing outside?
She vividly remembered she was in Laura’s bedroom when she was attacked. She fainted after the attacker hit her head. Why was she outside after she regained consciousness?
Locating the noises around her, she chanced a glance at the weathered figure lying in the puddle of blood at the end of the staircase. The color drained from her face as she shrieked, “Grandma Laura!”
What happened? How did Laura fall from the stairs?
Mia clenched her jaw as she hauled herself up, but her effort was in vain. She crawled her way toward the staircase. She glanced over at Laura, who was drenched in blood, and screamed, “Somebody! Please help!”
Soon, a group of people emerged from the first floor, with Timothy in the lead. His expression darkened. once he saw Laura lying unconscious on the ground.
“Call the ambulance! Hurry!”
Sharon screamed in terror. “Oh my god, what happened? How did Mom fall from the stairs? Are you guys blind?”
One of the maids knelt on the floor as she explained, “Mrs. Barrett Senior said she wants to have a private chat with Ms. Bowen. She didn’t want us to be present. We heard some quarreling, and Mrs. Barrett Senior was already on the floor when we rushed over to the scene.”
Sharon was flabbergasted. “Are you implying that Mia pushed Mom off the stairs?”
“It’s not me! I did not push Grandma Laura!”
Mia gritted her teeth, mustering all her might to heave herself up. She could barely manage to steady herself as she gripped the railing. Her vision was swimming when she stood up, and she was on the verge of throwing up.
Still, she recomposed herself and said in a strained voice, “I went to meet Grandma Laura, but I was attacked in her bedroom. I blacked out, and Grandma Laura was already there when I woke up.” She glanced over at Timothy, hoping that he’d believe in her.
He looked like someone had punched the living daylights out of him. “Get the bodyguards to seal off the residence. No one is allowed to leave or enter before this case is cleared.”
Laura was hauled onto an emergency stretcher and brought away. The sight of the blood puddle was jarring.
Mia did not expect something this terrible to happen after she woke up. Who was trying to frame her? The audacity of that person to harm Laura!
Shelly snorted. “Timothy, I think you can’t leave Mia out as a suspect. She’s the only one who’s with Grandma when it happened, after all. The maids also heard them quarreling before Grandma fell from the stairs. Grandma couldn’t have fallen off the stairs on her own, could she?”
“Shut up!” he snapped. A glint of murderous intent gleamed in his eyes.
Just then, the Lane family arrived at the scene. Mia’s brothers darted toward her when they saw how pale she was. She was standing alone at the staircase.
“Mia, are you alright?”
Dominic noticed a metallic scent wafting in the air. His expression changed drastically. “Mia, are you hurt?”
Connor discovered a wound at the back of Mia’s head. He brushed her hair to the side, and she inhaled sharply. Her face paled instantly.
His heart ached at her predicament. Anxious, he rambled, “Why didn’t you call us when you’re hurt? We wouldn’t even know you’re injured if it weren’t for Mrs. Barrett Senior’s incident!”
Mia forced a smile. “Someone accused me of pushing her down the stairs. I was knocked out cold when I went to meet Grandma Laura. When I woke up, she was already found unconscious.” She had to catch the culprit.
Jason assured her instantly. “Mia, don’t worry. No one’s gonna falsely accuse you with me backing you up.”
In fact, Jason was capable of proving Mia’s innocence even if she was guilty.
Dominic said grimly, “Mia, let Jason handle this. I’ll take you to the hospital!”
Connor was equally petrified. She was pregnant, and her condition might be lethal after the attack.
Yet, some members from the Barrett family interrupted, “Are you just going to let her leave?”
“Yeah, aren’t we supposed to stay here until the culprit is identified? Others will surely be unhappy about it if Mia gets to leave.”
Dominic glared at them. “I dare you to stop me.”
Palpable tension hung in the air as the Lane Brothers leered at the Barretts from the stairs.
Connor glanced over at Timothy. “You should be aware of Mia’s condition. She’s having a concussion now. This is serious!”
Timothy, of course, noticed Mia’s pale complexion and the blood seeping out from the wound at the back of her head, staining her white dress. He swallowed hard, and he finally spoke, “You guys can go to the hospital, but I hope you won’t leave Bern City for now. At least not until this case is closed.”
Mia glanced at him, who was standing next to the pool of blood. “I know.” She didn’t need him to remind her¨Cshe was equally determined to capture the culprit.
Just then, Kaleb hurried over and whispered to Timothy, “The security footage has been deleted.”
Infuriated, Timothy bellowed, “Get the experts over here now to retrieve it!”
Mia grabbed Nathan’s hand. “Nathan, can you do that?”
“It’s a piece of cake. Rest assured, Mia. Go to the hospital, and leave this to me.” Nathan spun around and glared at Timothy. “Prepare a laptop for me, and take me to the surveillance room.”
Sharon exclaimed in bewilderment, “Can he handle this?”
Mia immediately said, “He’s an incredibly talented IT expert!”