Filed to story: The Heiress Rises From Ashes Book PDF Free
Hackett exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “There’s nothing I can do. Colt is not just any doctor-he’s a professor. I’m just starting my career, he doesn’t even know me. You need to figure something out fast, or once he gets here, it’ll be too late.”
Rosie nodded, but no solution came to mind.
Seeing no way out, Hackett grabbed his medical box and hurried away. If Colt discovered he was involved in falsifying medical records, his entire career would be at risk.
It wasn’t worth it for something so trivial.
“Hackett!” Rosie called, watching as he slid into his car. “Where do you think you’re going? You promised to help me!”
Hackett lowered the window just enough to look at her, an apologetic look on his face. “Rosie, I can’t go up against someone like Colt. I won’t risk everything for this. You should find someone else to help you.” From the passenger seat, he grabbed an envelope and gave it to Rosie-the same twenty thousand dollars she had given him as payment.
“I’ll double it!” Rosie tried to shove the envelope back through the window, but Hackett refused to take it. Without another word, he rolled up the window and drove off.
Rosie clenched her fists in frustration. Time was running out, and she had no backup plan. Furious, she muttered curses under her breath.
Soon, Colt arrived. He was a distinguished scholar, his hair streaked with gray. He looked dignified and gentle.
Dalton personally opened the car door for him and greeted him with genuine respect. “Mr. Guzman, I really appreciate you taking the time to come,” he said.
Colt offered a polite nod before stepping inside. He carried none of the arrogance one might expect from a man of his reputation.
Rosie, observing from a distance, frowned. He looked too plain, too ordinary to be the renowned expert Hackett had feared. She scrutinized his every move, unimpressed.
She settled into her seat, convinced that Brenna was moments away from humiliation. Even with Hackett no longer involved, she felt no concern. She would just insist that Brenna had definitely undergone plastic surgery.
Colt wasted no time. He assessed Brenna’s face with a keen eye, checking the common surgical points where incisions were typically made. After a brief but thorough examination, he declared, “Miss Harper has never undergone plastic surgery.”
Rosie’s jaw tightened in disbelief. She stepped forward desperately. “That can’t be right! No one looks that perfect naturally.”
Colt’s eyes settled on her. “I’ve been in this field for decades. I can detect surgical alterations immediately. For instance, I can tell that you’ve had your nose augmented, your eyelids enhanced, and your lip line adjusted. The work wasn’t done flawlessly-there are still visible surgical marks.”
Brenna chuckled softly. “I also noticed that. I wonder if her full chest was also enhanced.”
Colt replied with a faint smile, “That’s simple enough to confirm. A quick check for incision scars beneath the arms would tell us everything.”
Rosie’s entire body tensed. Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest, then quickly fled upstairs, embarrassed.
She had spent years dissatisfied with her appearance, convinced her nose was too flat, her breasts too small, her eyelids unappealing. Determined to perfect herself, she had traveled overseas for surgical enhancements. When she returned, people said she looked prettier, although they couldn’t exactly tell what had changed.
She had been certain that no one could detect the work she had done. Yet, this old man had seen right through her in mere seconds. The humiliation was unbearable.
Downstairs, Brenna called out teasingly, “Why the sudden rush to leave? Plastic surgery isn’t anything to be ashamed of, right?” After going upstairs, Rosie didn’t return to her room. Instead, she stayed around the corner, eavesdropping.
Colt turned his attention back to Brenna. “Your facial proportions are naturally well-balanced. There’s no need for surgery. In fact, altering anything could disrupt muscle coordination, leading to unnatural expressions as time passes.”
Just then, the front door opened, and Ernst entered, accompanied by Shepard, Giselle, Luther, Tessa, Ableson, and Jillian.
Everyone greeted Colt warmly when they saw him.
Luther, who knew Colt, asked, “What brings you here today?”
Colt offered a casual smile. “Dalton asked for a favor, and since I was available, I came here.”
“Young people these days have no sense of propriety. How could you trouble an elder so easily like this? This is unacceptable.” Luther’s eyes narrowed as he turned toward Dalton.
Colt replied, “It is nothing at all. Dalton is a rare gem in the entertainment industry. Three years ago, before his career took off, our hospital had a patient from a remote village-a child in desperate need of multiple cleft lip and palate surgeries. The family couldn’t afford the treatments, and Dalton covered the expenses for the child. I admire him for that.”
After Colt left, the Harper family gathered on the sofa. Luther sat rigid, his face set in a grim expression. His gaze drifted toward the staircase, where Rosie stood frozen at the top. In a deep voice, he ordered, “Come here.”
Rosie’s pulse quickened. She hesitated for a brief moment before making her way down the stairs. Her eyes darted to Ernst, silently pleading for help.
Ernst spoke up without hesitation. “Grandpa, just because Brenna hasn’t had cosmetic surgery doesn’t prove she’s related to us. That proves nothing. There are plenty of people in the world who resemble each other but aren’t related by blood. We still need a DNA test to be sure.”
Rosie caught Ernst’s eye and gave him a discreet thumbs-up. If there was anyone who knew how to handle situations like this, it was him.
Ernst turned to Brenna. “What do you think?”
Brenna let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “How do you think I returned to your family? My information was in the missing persons database. They ran a DNA comparison, and it was a match. That’s how your family found me.”
The room fell into an awkward silence.
Ernst stared at Shepard, unable to believe what he had just heard. “Dad, is that true? Did you upload the DNA information?”
Shepard’s expression darkened. He had kept that detail to himself as he wanted to see how his children felt about Brenna before revealing it. With a curt nod, he said, “Yeah. Do you think we’d be so careless as to accept her just because she looks like your mother? Do you think we are foolish like that?”
Ernst and Rosie both looked unsettled, and Rosie was especially unwilling to accept this. She said, “What if there’s a mistake? What if she stole your information and faked the DNA report? It’s better to verify it again.”
She locked her gaze onto Brenna and contemptuously said, “I don’t trust you. Unless I personally choose the testing agency and deliver the samples myself… Brenna, you wouldn’t object to this, right?”
Brenna knew Rosie wouldn’t back down until confronted with undeniable proof.
She met Rosie’s gaze and saw that the latter wasn’t even trying to hide the hostility in her eyes anymore. Rosie clearly didn’t care how the family saw her anymore.
Dalton had had enough of this. “What’s the point of another test, Rosie? I think you just don’t want my sister back. Isn’t her return a good thing? Why are you always looking for reasons to make things difficult for her?”
He hadn’t forgotten how Rosie had thrown a fit earlier over the gifts. It didn’t make sense. Why did she dislike Brenna so much?