Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“Good,” Eunice liked Hans’s straightforward manner. After hanging up, she turned to Serena with a commanding presence. “From now on, you’re Serena Lott.”
Serena hadn’t expected her aunt to inform Hans so quickly. Once Hans knew, her other brothers would soon find out.
The thought of them reacting with the same fury as her parents, or even worse, being disappointed in her made Serena’s heart ache.
At first, all she wanted was to keep her parents and brothers’ love.
“Lock her in the basement. Spread the word her father can pay a ransom for her,” Louisa suggested, seemingly overcome with grief and anger, her steps unsteady as if she could hardly walk.
“Mom.” Serena started to move towards Louisa to help her, but Eunice stepped in first, steadying Louisa just in time.Louisa had passed out, and Eunice looked to Edith with a calm command, “Call the family doctor.”
“I’ll carry her.” Kenneth, who seemed to have aged a decade in a moment, was about to lift Louisa when his vision blurred, his heart clenching tight as a rock, struggling to breathe.
“Let me handle this,” Bard hoisted his sister into his arms, taking the stairs one by one.
“You okay to walk?” Eunice whispered to Kenneth.
Kenneth clutched his chest, gasping for air for what seemed like an eternity before he finally nodded through his tears. With a shaky hand on the banister, he began his slow ascent.
As Serena watched his frail and despairing figure retreat, a twinge of conscience pricked her heart, and she was suddenly consumed with regret.
What had she done to bring everything to this point.
Eunice gazed at the young woman before her. Her forehead, cheeks, and chin were covered in blood;
her clothes were damp, her hair a tangled mess, and her eyes, once vibrant, now dull with remorse. It seemed she truly comprehended her mistakes.
“This family, from the start, has treated you as one of their own. If you hadn’t done what you did, you’d be just as important to us as before. In Kenneth and Louisa’s eyes, you and Bella are their dear daughters. Bard and I, we’ve always seen you as our beloved niece, and to your brothers, you’re their cherished sister.”
Eunice’s casual words made Serena lift her tearful eyes in shock, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“But it’s too late for any of that now.” Eunice cut through her fantasies and aspirations with a cold finality. “Your whole family has to pay for your mistakes.”
“Auntie.” Serena sobbed, trying to say more.”Bella survived – that’s her own doing. But that doesn’t absolve you of the consequences of your actions.”
Eunice’s indifferent figure continued up the stairs, leaving Serena crying out in desperation, “Auntie.
please, one more chance, I promise it’s the last time.”
She truly regretted her actions.
She longed to return to the past.
She wished she could turn back time.
The house staff dragged her down to the storage room in the basement.
Calling it a storage room was generous; it was nothing but a small space with a few scattered items, a stark contrast to the luxurious princess room she was accustomed to.
She crashed to the floor, the shards of glass digging deeper into her palms and the back of her hands, the pain making her entire body tremble.
The cut on her forehead throbbed, her jaw ached, and the bruises from her mother’s blows –
shoulders, arms, chest, back – all ached in a way that cut her to the core.
Tears streamed down Serena’s face as she sat lost and broken, unsure of what to do next.
She had always harbored some resentment toward Eunice, feeling she favored Mirabella. But after hearing Eunice’s words, Serena realized she had misunderstood her.
Eunice might have seemed cold and stern, but deep down, she cared.
And then there were her parents.The memory of their disappointed, furious faces twisted her heart. She never imagined Erik and Martha would turn out to be her biological parents, let alone that one would abandon her in a crisis, and the other would fall from the eighteenth floor. What was she to do.
In the master bedroom.
Louisa wasn’t sure how long she had been unconscious, her dreams haunted by the image of her daughter being slapped by Martha. She shook her head, tears streaming down, before suddenly crying out—“No!”
Eunice sat at the edge of the bed, stirring a bowl of medicine with a concerned look on her face. As she saw Louisa bolt upright, she asked in a gentle tone, “Awake now? Bad dream?”
Gasping for breath and still shaken, Louisa surveyed her surroundings, realizing she was sitting in her bed, with Eunice by her side. The bedroom was bathed in a warm, yellow glow, and it was pitch dark outside.
“How did I fall asleep.” Louisa’s mind was still haunted by the image of her daughter being bullied, and her voice trembled as though she hadn’t quite escaped the clutches of the nightmare.
“You fainted from stress. The doctor prescribed you some medication. It’s a bit hot, but you can drink it in a bit,” Eunice said as she set down the bowl and gently rubbed Louisa’s back. “What nightmare did you have?”
“I dreamed that Bella was being tormented by that old hag.” Louisa’s voice cracked, and tears welled up in her eyes once again. Even though it was just a dream, the mere thought of Bella actually having been mistreated by that woman in real life filled her with self-loathing. She despised herself for not seeing through the old woman’s facade sooner, for not protecting her own daughter, for letting her child suffer right under her nose.
The more she thought about it, the more sorrowful she became, tears falling like pearls off a string.
“Stop blaming yourself,” Eunice whispered soothingly. “What’s done is done. You have to look forward.
You treated that heartless wretch like your own daughter; of course, you wouldn’t suspect her of doing something so vile behind your back. Who would think so ill of their own child without reason, linking them with poisoning or hiring a hitman.”
Louisa’s face was streaked with tears. Because they had trusted that wretch so much, based on past impressions of her innocence and kindness, they ended up allowing their own daughter to be wronged,nearly losing her life.
“Where’s my phone?” Louisa choked out, “I want to call Bella.”
“Her phone’s broken, call Romeo instead.” Eunice navigated through her contacts, found Romeo’s number, and handed over the phone. “I’ll let Kenneth know you’re awake, so he won’t worry.”
“Where is he now?” Louisa lifted her gaze to ask.
“He’s just like you, heartbroken and angry. Bard’s trying to console him.” Eunice stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Louisa nodded and dialed Romeo’s number.
He picked up quickly.
“Romeo, are you with Bella?” Louisa tried to suppress her sobs, attempting to sound normal. “What about that old witch Martha? I sent people to fetch her.”
“She’s dead,” Romeo’s calm voice came from the other end. “Her own goon knocked her off the eighteenth floor.”
He knew about it from Bella; it was Martha’s man who accidentally hit Martha, sending her plummeting.
No one to blame, really.
And of course, she got what she deserved.
“That’s what they call poetic justice.” Louisa gritted her teeth, “But it’s too easy a death for her, without giving her a good thrashing first.”
“Bella did,” Romeo said softly. “After the explosion at the derelict building, she was probably burned to ashes.”At this news, Louisa felt a slight sense of relief. “Where’s Bella now? I need to talk to her.”
. For some reason, she longed for her daughter, yearning to see her.
Romeo glanced at the person next to him, “She’s asleep.”
“Is she unwell? Or did she faint from her injuries?” Louisa couldn’t help but worry. “Where are you now?
In a hospital?”
“It’s past three in the morning here; she’s just a little sleepy,” Romeo explained. “We’re in the car, planning to catch a flight back home soon.”
At that moment, Louisa remembered the time difference between them!
She had completely forgotten!!
“Did I wake you up, hon?” Louisa suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
“No, I wasn’t asleep.”
“Well, you better catch some Z’s. Tomorrow, you’re bringing Bella home. We can talk then.”
“Alright.”
Just as Romeo was about to hang up, he heard Louisa’s voice choke up, “Romeo, thank you, thank you for saving Bella.”
If it weren’t for him, Bella might not have made it.
And they would’ve been tormented by regret for the rest of their lives.
“It wasn’t me who saved her,” Romeo admitted truthfully. “Bella mentioned there were others on the scene, but she didn’t say who.”
She was exhausted, so he had his guys bring around the RV, giving her a comfy bed to catch some proper sleep in.
Seeing her deep in slumber, he stepped outside the room to talk, keeping his voice down so as not to wake her.
“Luckily someone was there for her. I’ll find a way to properly thank them another day. I won’t keep you any longer. Get some rest yourself, and drive safe tomorrow. Godspeed, Romeo. We’re waiting for you at home.”
“Okay, and don’t you worry about Bella. She’s in good spirits, strong as an ox. It’s you and Mr. Collins I’m concerned about. Don’t go making yourselves sick with worry.””Okay.” Louisa’s eyes misted over again. After ending the call, memories flooded back, and her tears fell freely.
In Belloria Private Hospital, Sean was struggling to keep his eyes open, his vision flickering between light and dark. It took a while before he could make out that he was in a hospital room.
“Sean, you awake?” Steward noticed him stirring and immediately approached. “The doc got the bullet out of your back, and your head’s all bandaged up too. Also.”