Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Chapter 142

On the way back, Sophie instinctively frowned when she heard that Natalie’s birth parents had found her.

But Sierra just reassured her, “Don’t be upset. They’re old now. They’re no match for me anymore.”

Sophie asked, “Yeah, but what about when you were little?”

Sierra was taken aback for a moment. Honestly, that all feels like a lifetime ago. To be honest, most of it’s a blur now.

Sierra said, “I probably got beaten a lot when I was little. David was always smoking, drinking, and gambling, and Elouise would just do whatever he wanted.

“When David got drunk and hit me, she’d quietly close the door behind him, and sometimes she’d shove a rag in my mouth so I wouldn’t make a sound.”

She continued, “I didn’t have the strength to fight back before I started grade school. Then one day, this teacher showed up, trying to get kids to go to school.

“When he found out I was old enough but hadn’t enrolled, he trekked through the mountains just to reach my house. He said it didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl. Everyone deserved an education.”

Sierra couldn’t help but get lost in those memories. The teacher kept trying to convince David and Elouise.

She said, “David and Elouise didn’t dare to kill me, so they just kept me around like a dog they barely cared about. If I starved or got sick and died, they could just bury me, keeping their secret safe forever.”

Too bad for them, Sierra just wouldn’t die. David could never kill her.

Sierra shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable, and could feel Sophie’s eyes locked on her.

“So, did you end up going to school?” Sophie asked.

Sierra gave a wry smile. “I actually missed the first semester. But Mr. Carter just wouldn’t give up. Eventually, I finally worked up the courage to run away and told him David didn’t like me, so he wouldn’t let me go to school.”

She continued, “When Mr. Carter saw the bruises on me, he got really angry. He took my hand and went straight to David, saying he was going to report him to the police.

“David was already up to no good, so he had no choice but to let me go to school. That’s how I ended up joining first grade halfway through the year.”

Sierra still remembered how Mr. Carter crouched down when he saw her wounds, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He told her, “People aren’t put on this earth just to be beaten.”

She was a living, breathing person, not some livestock they could just beat whenever they wanted.

Sierra couldn’t help but laugh at herself. “I still got hit sometimes, but at least I knew how to fight back.”

Sophie’s heart felt like it was being crushed in someone’s fist. She rolled down the window, letting the noisy wind whip through the car. Her eyes narrowed. “I should’ve gotten there earlier today and hauled them off to the cops.”

Sierra said, “The team working my case is still searching for evidence. Even if you’d dragged them to the police today, it wouldn’t have changed anything.

“Natalie would pull every string to bail them out. And even if they finally get what’s coming to them, Natalie won’t suffer for

it at all.”

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Chapter 142

It was only after Sierra died and spent years wandering as a ghost that she finally learned the truth.

Natalie had secretly kept in contact with David and Elouise for years.

Back when David was young, he got into a car accident that left him unable to have children. He and Elouise were married for ten years and never had a kid.

While working in Amberty, Elouise became pregnant with Natalie.

Elouise worshipped her husband and would never cheat on him, so David was certain the baby was his.

David loved his child even more than Elouise did, but he was dirt poor back then. Not wanting his own kid to suffer through the same hardships, he had his eye on Sharon, who was due to give birth the same day as Elouise.

In the end, he swapped the babies so secretly that no one ever suspected a thing.

So, even if he had to face justice, David would shoulder all the blame himself.

After hearing Sierra’s explanation, Sophie couldn’t help but say, “You really are lucky. It’s like everyone’s always looking out for you.”

Sierra raised an eyebrow and replied, “If something isn’t truly yours, you’ll never really have it. Natalie’s not going to have it easy in the future, but I’m different.

“Everything I went through gave me a whole new life and brought me friends I never would’ve met otherwise. Compared to Natalie, I’m the real lucky one.”

Sierra tilted her head at Sophie. “Mr. Carter is wonderful, Vivian is wonderful, the captain is great, and you, Sophie, you’ve always treated me the best.”

Sophie came back to herself, tightened her grip on the steering wheel, and kept her eyes on the road. Her cheeks flushed.

She was used to getting compliments from people around her, but somehow, when she saw those honest, sincere eyes of Sierra, she couldn’t help but feel a little shy.

*****

After Sierra got back to WonderWild Zoo, she did her usual rounds, making sure everything was in order. At eight that night, the zoo’s management gathered, Sierra at the head, to talk about the grand opening date.

Thomas said, “The New Year is just half a month away. I consulted two masters, and they both said the first day of the New Year is perfect. Sierra, how about we set the opening for then?” Thomas’s eyes lit up.

Seeing Sierra’s confused look, Thomas added, “They’re both famous masters.” Sierra couldn’t help but smirk. Obviously, she didn’t believe his words.

Thomas grinned. “Seriously, it was dirt cheap.”

And the best part was that both masters swore the zoo would be packed with visitors if they opened on New Year’s Day. No way Thomas wouldn’t buy it.

Sierra glanced at Thomas, who was beaming, and said, “The opening date is up to you. For now, let’s talk about how many visitors we can handle each day and what our ticket prices should be.”

Most zoos don’t charge much for tickets, and since this is WonderWild Zoo’s grand opening, we probably won’t raise prices for years to come. So we need to set a price that’s fair, not too high, not too low.

Sierra had been mulling it over all day. “Our location is a bit off the beaten path compared to other zoos. With the System upgrade, we can handle up to 400,000 visitors a day, and maybe even more down the line.

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Chapter 142

“Plus, there are other zoos in Aville, so we should aim for a middle ground when it comes to pricing.”

In Aville, including WonderWild Zoo, there were two other zoos and an oceanarium. Tickets for the zoos usually went for about fifteen bucks, while the oceanarium was pricier at thirty bucks.

Sierra split the difference. “Let’s set it at twenty bucks. That way, it won’t mess things up for the other zoos.” Everyone in the room was caught off guard.

Honestly, this zoo was basically Sierra’s own private business. If it were anyone else, they’d probably charge way more for tickets. The managers had even been ready to step in and talk her down if she tried to set the price too high.

They’d been thinking ticket prices would be seventy-five bucks or seventy bucks, but never expected tickets would go for just thirty bucks. This was one of the top three zoos nationwide.

Thomas was the first to raise his hand. “Sierra’s right. We’re never going to be short on visitors, so as long as our animals are well taken care of, that’s all that matters.”

Thomas beamed. “If we get 400,000 visitors a day, just from tickets alone, that’s over ten million. Give it a month, and we’ll be rolling in cash, might just become the richest zoo on the planet.”

Sierra was speechless. ‘Yeah, keep dreaming, old man,’ she thought.

But once the decision was unanimously approved, Sierra had Alex start working on the grand opening posters.

But before the posters were even finished, Sierra’s phone suddenly rang.

A sweet, cheerful voice came through the line. “Is this Ms. Sierra Sterling? I’m the host of a local community show in Amberty. Are you at WonderWild Zoo right now? We’d like to interview you.”

Sierra frowned and didn’t hesitate. “I’m not doing any interviews right now. Thanks.” With that, she hung up.

But the very next day, a video from that local news program went viral online.

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12:19 Sat, Jan 10