Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“You have plenty already,’ Belinda scolded gently, unable to suppress a laugh.
“Use those up first.”Serena felt a tinge of embarrassment, not expecting the elders to only think of themselves, completely disregarding her.
At that moment, a servant hurried over. “Miss Bella, the madam is looking for you.”
“Alright,” Mirabella responded to the elders. “I’ll be back soon”
“Bella, after your aunt is done with her business, could you ask her to come see me? It’s been ages since I last saw her. I do miss her so”
“Of course.”
Mirabella followed the servant down to the basement level. As she entered, the scent of iron and salt hit her nostrils. Before her stretched a dim corridor, flanked on either side by what could only be described as ‘cells’ Some held captives, others stood empty.
At the very end of the hall, Eunice commanded the space with an aura of sheer power, lashing a man with a short whip mercilessly.
The man was covered in wounds, yet none of the crimson stains seemed to touch Eunice.
At that moment, Eunice appeared both ruthless and imperious, a force to be reckoned with.
“Aunt Eunice.”
Eunice turned at the sound of the voice, her face breaking into a warm smile.
“Ah, you’re here?”
Mirabella walked in, her demeanor as nonchalant as if she were at a high society ball, not a dingy backroom where a man lay beaten within an inch of his life. Her expression remained unfazed.
Eunice admired her niece’s bravery and composure all over again.
“You wanted to see me, Aunt Eunice?”
“Do you recognize this man?”
Mirabella’s gaze swept over the barely conscious figure. “Nope, never seen him before.”
“Last night, I got a tip-off. Someone on the dark web put a pretty penny on your head.” Eunice’s eyes fell on the man before them. “I had some people trace his IP address, and we pulled him out of the shadows.”
Only then did Mirabella understand why her aunt had rushed off the phone last night, leaving her to entertain Romeo and Martin without a proper goodbye—it had been for this.
“Has he said anything?” Mirabella asked, her voice as cool as a breeze.
“Not a word,” Eunice replied, scrutinizing the man. She had been working him over for thirty minutes, yet not a peep. “Tough guy, it seems.”As Mirabella’s slender fingers brushed the man’s wrist, he instinctively tried to pull away, but the ropes held him fast.
He didn’t know what Mirabella was up to, and his eyes were filled with wariness and suspicion.
“Deprived of food and water, you’ve got two days to live, tops.” Mirabella looked into the man’s eyes. “I get it, you took someone’s money to cause trouble, but what’s the use of money if you’re dead?”
The man remained silent, his gaze shifting away.
“Or maybe it’s not for you.” Mirabella speculated. “Is it for your family? A friend?”
The man’s face was a mask, unchanging from the start.
“If I’m not wrong, this person means a lot to you. So much that you’d risk your own life for their well-
being. But if you die, would they grieve for you?”
The man’s silence was as solid as ever, seemingly resolved to await death.
“I guess I was wrong,’ Mirabella said knowingly. “So, you’re not doing this for your own glory or for someone close, and you’re not terminally ill. Normally, there’s no need to risk your life for a job like this.
That leaves two possibilities: you’re either repaying a debt of gratitude that’s worth more to you than your life, or you’re being coerced”
That last word made the man’s gaze flicker, but he quickly regained his composure.
“Is the other party powerful?” Mirabella continued, her tone persuasive. “You should know, here in Dawnstar, no one’s got more clout than my uncle and aunt.
The man remained mute, his eyes as empty as before, as if waiting for death’s embrace.”Is their reach even greater than my aunt and uncle’s?” Mirabella found this intriguing. “Who have I managed to offend that’s such a big shot? Doom?”
The man looked at Mirabella with a flicker of surprise before quickly hiding it, shifting his gaze away.
“Doom’s backbone is broken, and its remnants are too busy licking their wounds to bother with me. So, this person must be someone I know, and our enmity runs deep”
Mirabella smiled faintly and continued, “Since I’ve quessed this much, it’s only a matter of time before I find out on my own. A bit more effort, that’s all. If you spill the beans now, you’ll save me the trouble, and I might even help you fake your own death. Start a new life under a new identity. You’ve got two days to think it through.”
After making her offer, Mirabella glanced at her aunt. “Let’s go, Aunt Eunice.”
Eunice was taken aback by how her niece had managed to get the man to contemplate his choices with just a few words. As they left the basement, she couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “Bella, have you been interrogating people often? I’m suddenly very curious about your other talents. Do you have any secret identities I don’t know about?”
“You could ask Uncle Bard,” Mirabella said with a mischievous smile, not revealing anything directly.
Previously, due to a mix-up, Jack had been detained by Uncle Bard’s men, only for them to later find out she was the big boss of Mafia Flame.
“You’re making me even more curious now,’ Eunice chuckled as she whipped out her smartphone and shot off a text to her husband. Then she asked, “You even know about The Doom? Did they give you trouble before?”
As far as she knew, the Doom was a force to be reckoned with, yet her niece seemed to handle them quite well, not letting them get the upper hand. Quite impressive!
“As far as I’m informed, there’s still a faction of their remnants scattered around Dawnstar. Leave it to me. I’ll make sure they all come out of hiding, hot a single one spared.”
“Those small fry pose no threat to me, Aunt Eunice, no need to trouble yourself.”
Without their main pillar, Mirabella wasn’t worried about those small factions.
“But these people are like flies, buzzing around and disturbing your life now and then. I know you’re tough and won’t let them take an inch, but it’s annoying over time. Let’s just have Aunt Eunice take care of it once and for all, no refusals!”
Eunice sent another message, instructing her people to team up with those from Bard’s side and uproot those remnants once and for all.
“Thanks, Aunt Eunice.””Silly girl, no need for thanks with family” Eunice said fondly as she patted her head.
In the living room.
Belinda took a gift from May’s hands and lovingly passed it to Serena.
“I heard from your grandfather that you won first place in the piano competition. This is a little something from me.”
“And I’ve got something for you too!” Darren added quickly, instructing the house staff to fetch his gift.
Serena opened Belinda’s gift to find a lavish diamond bracelet, and then Darren’s present, a platinum diamond pendant.
The value of the two gifts combined was at least $100,000!
She was over the moon, “Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa! I knew you loved me the most!”
Seeing Serena so happy, Eunice’s voice, filled with excitement and joy, broke into their conversation.
“Mom!”
Belinda looked up and saw her beloved daughter-in-law!
When she had heard about her falling off a cliff, Belinda cried for a whole month, losing nearly six pounds. She even visited the church to pray, hoping her daughter-in-law would be alive.
And as if the pray worked, here she was, standing alive and even more beautiful than before, running towards her.
Belinda’s eyes welled up with tears, “Eunice!””Mom!” Eunice, shedding her ruthless demeanor from the basement, transformed into a sweet little girl and threw herself into Belinda’s arms, exclaiming, “Mom, I missed you so much!”
Her tone was filled with a girl’s coyness, and Belinda, as always, was a sucker for it, loving her as if she were her own daughter.
“Mom, I’ve missed you too. Seeing you safe and sound before me, it fills me with joy. It’s good to have you back, that’s all that matters.”
“Mom, it was my fault for worrying you before.” Eunice reached out to wipe away Belinda’s tears, explaining, “I was investigating the whole Calvin and Arlen situation and didn’t dare reveal that I was alive. I feared tipping off our enemies. Rest assured, I was well taken care of by Alexander, nothing happened, and he didn’t take advantage of me in the slightest.”
Not like the rumors that were swirling about her virtue being compromised.
“Silly child, what are you talking about! As long as you’re alive, even if you were missing an arm or a leg, our Griffith family would still embrace you!”
Belinda caught herself, realizing her words might have come off wrong, and quickly corrected, “Tut-tut-
tut, what I mean is, no matter what happens, you will always be a part of the Griffith family. We will never abandon you, no matter the circumstance.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Eunice said, moved as she snuggled closer into her arms.
Mirabella noticed the contrast in her aunt’s demeanor and found the change from strong-willed woman to this gentle figure quite endearing.
However, Serena didn’t share the sentiment. She had been enjoying a warm Moment with her grandparents just before her aunt’s arrival shifted the attention, leaving her feeling sidelined.
“If it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t have known that Calvin, Arlen, and those heartless cousins of yours were up to such despicable acts behind our backs!”Belinda was so furious when she heard the news that she felt her blood boiling. Luckily, Mirabella had left some medicine with May before she left, which saved Belinda from a potential stroke.
“It’s all thanks to Bella. If it weren’t for her being with me that night, I couldn’t have handled it alone.”
Eunice recounted the events of that night succinctly. When Belinda learned that Mirabella could hack into phones, dismantle surveillance without detection, knock out security guards, and was an exceptional medic who could preemptively counteract drugs slipped into their drinks.
“Exactly! If it weren’t for Bella, we wouldn’t have realized that the dangers we faced in the past were all orchestrated by them!” Darren chimed in.
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.