Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“What do you mean?” Luna said earnestly, munching on a chip, “She’s your fiancée and my future sister-in-law. I can’t just watch people sling mud at her.”
Carl knocked and entered with a cup of tea in hand.
“Ms. Luna, here’s the coffee you like.” He set the freshly brewed cup before her. “Mr. Romeo, I’ve escorted the lady out. The receptionist tried to stop her, but Ms. Monroe was insistent, even got a bit pushy—just like Ms. Luna said.”
“Your staying out of it is the best help you could give.”
“Why?” Luna was puzzled.Carl explained, “Ms. Bella is playing a strategic game. Mr. Romeo doesn’t want you to mess it up.”
“What kind of game? It sounds thrilling.”
After a brief stay in Romeo’s office, Luna stepped out of the grand entrance of McMillian Corporation, her face reverting to its usual icy haughtiness.
As she waited at the entrance for her family’s chauffeur, a car that was the epitome of luxury pulled up before her. The window rolled down, and a frosty voice called out, “Luna, we need to talk.”
Her eyes were cool and dismissive, her voice even haughtier, “What makes you think you’re worthy of talking to me?”
“Is this the real you? Does Romeo have any clue you were just putting on an act earlier?” Harriet scrutinized her coldly from the car. “Hanging around Cathy has really rubbed off on you. I used to admire that aloof pride of yours.”
Luna’s gaze was as chilling as winter frost. “Your admiration is worthless to me.”
“Romeo hates being lied to, and your pathetic performance couldn’t fool him for a second. He’s just sparing you the embarrassment for the sake of your family ties. Don’t tell me you think you hold a special place in his heart?”
“At least I’m his real cousin. And what about you?” Luna looked down on her smugly. “You got kicked out, and yet here you are, yapping away.”
“What did Mirabella offer you? I’ll double it,” Harriet cut straight to the chase. “Ten times over if that’s what it takes.”
“You?” Luna’s gaze fell on her, filled with icy mockery. “You think you can afford it?”
“Of course!” Harriet was quite confident in her financial and social clout.
“Then get out of the car and let’s hear it. What can you offer me?”As Harriet stepped out, Luna grabbed her by the hair and kicked her away.
Not just Harriet’s driver, but several security guards at the McMillian Corporation entrance and the receptionists inside were stunned.
“I asked you to step out because you were cramping my style in the car.”
Luna advanced step by step toward her, delivering another kick. “This is the real me. You look down on Cathy’s methods, don’t you? You admire the real me, right? How does it feel now? Do you like me even more?”
“Luna—”
“In this day and age, to be a homewrecker with such brazen shamelessness, I’ve never seen the likes before. Trying to buy me off, to get close to my brother, are you living in some kind of fantasy? Don’t you have any mirrors at home to see what you look like right now? You think you’re worthy of being with my brother?”
Harriet’s driver moved to step forward but was blocked by Luna’s chauffeur.Harriet’s driver hesitated, no longer daring to approach, and stayed put. Read at “Luna—” Harriet glared at her venomously, “I will tell your parents about today!”
“My parents absolutely adore Mirabella. If they get wind of what you pulled today, I’d bet my bottom dollar they’d have a sit-down with your folks that’d be anything but pleasant. And let me tell you, my auntie is no pushover. If she hears about today’s shenanigans, it won’t just be a couple of kicks to the rear you’ll be getting!”
With those words, Luna flicked her luxurious mane back and rose to her full height, indifferent to the gathering crowd, and coolly slid into her ride. The chauffeur promptly whisked her away.
Harriet’s chauffeur hurried over to help her up, “Ms. Monroe, are you alright?”
“Where the hell were you? Didn’t you see me getting bullied?” Harriet snapped, landing a smack on him, and then barked at the onlookers, “What are you gawking at? Scram back to work, will ya?”
The crowd swiftly dispersed like scared rabbits.
Two days later.
The hashtag #DrBellBotchesUp was trending, and Mirabella was caught in a storm of controversy, with a barrage of skepticism online.
[Did you hear? She visited a car crash victim, thinking she’s the bee’s knees in medicine, and decided to perform surgery. Ended up killing the guy!]
[How does a kid her age waltz into a hospital and play surgeon? Even if she’s some sort of medical prodigy, that doesn’t give her the right to bypass hospital rules and regs!]
[Is her medical prowess for real? I remember Phillip raving about how she cured him and his wife, but it sounded fishy.][Mirabella’s so-called gift? No way it’s as miraculous as they say. This incident proves it. She can’t even save a life, much less work miracles. All that fame? Bought and paid for by the Collins family!]
[And poor Serena, tossed aside by the Collins family now that they’ve found their long-lost daughter, left to deal with the fallout and badmouthing.]
[I think I may have been wrong to blame Serena.]
As the online vitriol against Mirabella swelled, Louisa was fuming with indignation.
All Kenneth could do was offer consolation, “We can’t expose Martha’s kidnapping scheme right now.
First off, if people find out Bella’s crew calls her ‘boss,’ they’ll say she’s running a gang, demanding an official probe into her activities.”
Kenneth continued, “Secondly, if it comes out that Bella staged the whole kidnap to expose Martha and Serena, folks online will say she’s too sly for her own good.”Louisa, biting her lip with worry, said, “So what do we do now? We can’t just sit on our hands after all this time.”
“Didn’t Bella say she’d handle it? Let’s not torture ourselves with the online hate. Trust Bella, she’ll sort it out.”
The internet was abuzz with a trending hashtag that soared to the top of the search list —
#TheTruthBehindMirabella’sFight#
Curious netizens clicked to discover that a swarm of reporters had besieged the headquarters of Molly’s corporation, waiting to catch the CEO Molly after work, demanding an explanation. True to the plan she had made with Mirabella, Molly revealed what really happened.
“At that time, Mirabella had already founded her own startup, QY, but to support me, a junior designer, she willingly played the role of my assistant and accompanied me to a design competition. The day before the contest, she was still teaching me design tips and tricks. That night, to show my gratitude, I wanted to treat her to a late-night snack, but we ran into some troublemakers.”
“Without any reason, those thugs came after me. Bella, trying to protect me and the food truck owner, injured her hand. Later, I found out it was my cousin Myra who had set it all up. She intended for me to get hurt so I couldn’t compete. All of this was confirmed during police interrogation, with recordings to prove it. If you don’t believe me, ask the police.”
“When it comes to my cousin, I have to talk about the drama within the Cooper family. It used to be my grandfather who called the shots, but after he passed away, and Grandma left us shortly after. The company was managed by my dad until he too left us, leaving everyone looking up to my uncle as the new head.”
“In the entire Cooper family, no one stood up for my mom and me. My uncle and his wife often bullied us, and even their kids, my cousins, would walk all over us. Even after my mom and I moved to a rental, they would still come to bother us from time to time, as if making our lives miserable was some kind of sport.”
“Two years ago, on the anniversary of my dad’s death, Myra and a few bodyguards kicked away the offerings at my dad’s grave and even dumped trash on it, uttering disrespectful things. My momcouldn’t stand it and confronted her, only to be injured by Myra’s bodyguards.”
“Last year, around the same time I met Mirabella, she was like a beacon of light in my life. I remember it was also the anniversary of my dad’s passing when Myra once again desecrated his grave with trash and paint, intending for her bodyguards to abuse my mom in front of his resting place. When I arrived, she wanted her bodyguards to do the same to me. If Bella hadn’t been there to help, my mom and I would have…”
Molly’s eyes reddened as she spoke, but now, after spending so much time with Mirabella, she quickly regained control of her emotions, returning to her usual strong and brave demeanor.
She addressed the crowd of reporters, saying, “You all know what happened next. My cousin Harry came forward to say that their family was haunted by dreams of my dad, leading to their mental breakdowns, and he chose to end his life, leaving only him behind. He decided to return the company and the house to me, begging for my father’s forgiveness from beyond the grave.”
The incident had made headlines before, and now it was being brought up again, linking Mirabella’s defense at the food truck to this family drama.
Public opinion quickly turned around.
[Who knew Molly had such a troubled life?][Yeah, I think she must have had some professional training. How else could one person take on so many thugs, especially since those guys were street-hardened.]
Soon after, one of Mirabella’s eight grandfathers, Uriah, was surrounded by reporters as he left the tearoom after a gathering with old friends.
Uriah spoke with a serene air, “Thank goodness I taught her some self-defense when she was a little girl. I saw that video online; it was dangerous. I’m so relieved she could protect her friend and ensure her own safety. As her grandfather, I’m comforted and proud of her. I’d like to take this chance to encourage everyone to teach their kids some self-defense. It can really make a difference when it counts.”
When the crowd learned that Mirabella’s self-defense skills were taught by Uriah, they were taken aback. Before his retirement, he was a political big shot, but a deeper dig revealed that in his youth, he was a legend in the Special Forces.
His team used to say he was an all-terrain, multi-skilled captain, nicknamed “Tiger on Land, Dragon in the Sea, and Falcon in the Sky”. Not only was he adept at parachuting, sniping, and hand-to-hand combat, but he could also draw, load, aim, and shoot in just 0.5 seconds, earning him the title “King of Guns”.
Such a versatile talent, it’s no wonder Mirabella, at such a young age, had such skills.
It figured that Mirabella could take down those thugs that night; it was only natural.
Consequently, public opinion swiftly shifted in Mirabella’s favor.
Meanwhile, the Collins family’s raffle event coordinator, a high-ranking executive, came forward to announce the investigation results.
The data showed that the ninety-nine cars had rigorous inspection certificates proving they were problem-free before the winners drove them away. However, after they left, several cameras in the vicinity of the victim’s parking lot coincidentally broke down.Mirabella restored the surveillance and had the relevant footage uploaded online. It clearly showed several masked figures tampering with the cars in the dead of night.
The internet was in an uproar!
The company involved with these masked saboteurs was also exposed. It was StoryStyle Co., led by Esther, who had held a grudge against the Collins family for ages.
Because the Collins family had ceased their partnership with her in the new year, she was irate and orchestrated this plot to take them down.
Before long, the police arrived and took Esther, the head of the charming fashion company, into custody.
But Mirabella knew it wasn’t that simple.
“Esther wouldn’t resort to such despicable tactics, jeopardizing so many lives, just because the Collins family stopped working with her. She must be taking the fall for someone else. I did some digging, and the person she was in contact with belonged to a film company.”
“Listen, a guy working for Martin made a call to the vice president of a film studio four days ago. The call lasted seven minutes,” She said, unfolding the mystery like a seasoned detective. “That very night, the VP phoned Esther. Now, I can’t say for sure what they discussed, but right after that call, Esther had someone tamper with a car.”
Louisa’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You mean to say, Martin had this done? All because of that ingrate Serena? He wanted to get back at her, so he quietly had his goons do the dirty work to smear the Collins family’s name?”
“But Martin’s not the type to stoop so low,” Mirabella chimed in, her voice steady, exuding confidence in Martin’s character. “Sure, he’s got a soft spot for Serena, but he knows what shouldn’t be done. My guess is that one of his lackeys got bought off.”
“So, what you’re saying is someone paid off Martin’s guy, hoping to pin the blame on Martin?” Kenneth asked, visibly shaken. “That must be someone big, to be able to sling mud at Martin. How could he just take this lying down?”
“Who could it be? Could it be an enemy of both Martin and us?” Louisa speculated.
“Maybe it’s Serena’s enemy.” Mirabella pondered. “Right now, Serena’s biggest support is Martin. If he goes down, it’s like clipping her wings, right?”
“What do you mean?” Kenneth was puzzled. “Who would have a grudge against Serena big enough to take down Martin, and why would they want to clip her wings?”
“Maybe this person doesn’t have a beef with Serena directly, but with her biological parents,” Mirabella suggested. “Remember, her parents were leaders within the organization. Who’s the big boss? Could it be the mastermind behind the fire?”Kenneth and Louisa exchanged a look of shock. It was all starting to come together.