Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Chapter 63

No one could imagine how heartbroken Mrs. Berenson was right now.

She was hurting, really hurting inside.

Her daughter had disappeared.

Even her only granddaughter was nowhere to be found.

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She had nine children in total, and Charlotte was the youngest of them all. She was 15 years older than Tiffany Sullivan.

Tiffany was 62 years old.

Mrs. Berenson was already 77 years old.

She was approaching her eighties, the twilight years of life.

Her body was showing its age, and the thought that she might never see her daughter or granddaughter again haunted her.

Every time she thought about the possibility of never seeing her daughter or granddaughter again, her heart ached.

No one could possibly feel the pain she felt.

It was a pain far worse than any wound to the flesh.

Seeing their mother breaking down, the eight Berenson brothers quickly gathered around her, trying to shield her from the pain. “Mom, don’t say that. We’re going to find Arie, I promise!” one of her sons said.

“That’s right. As long as we keep trying, we’ll definitely bring Arie home,” another son said, his voice full of determination.

All her other sons chimed in, doing their best to comfort their mother with words of hope and reassurance.

But the more Mrs. Berenson listened, the angrier she got. Her voice was rough with emotion as she snapped, “Search, search, search! All you ever do is say the same old comforting lines over and over. But my poor Arie is just a little girl, and she’s out there all alone, suffering! Tell me, what’s the point of having eight sons? What did I even raise you for?”

“What are you doing as Arie’s uncles?”

With that, Mrs. Berenson grabbed a pillow from the couch and hurled it at her eight sons.

Just thinking about her precious granddaughter out there, suffering all alone, made her feel like there was no point in going on.

Some nights, she’d lie awake, her mind racing with worry, unable to sleep.

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Because of all this, her health was way worse than others her age. She hadn’t had any major illnesses, but she was always needing medication for one thing or another. Good thing the Berenson family was loaded, if not, she probably wouldn’t have made it this far.

The eight brothers just stood there with their heads hung low, not one of them daring to talk back. They simply let their mom vent, taking it all in without a word.

The Berenson family basically ruled the Minttown, and they had the city in their pocket.

The eight brothers owned every piece of the business pie in Minttown, and five of them even had their reach go global. Over the years, they’d tried every trick in the book, pulled every string they could, but still, they couldn’t find their little sister or Arie.

Their little sister and Arie had just vanished into thin air, like they’d never even existed.

‘Mom was right, each of the brothers thought.

‘We’ve really failed as uncle. We haven’t lived up to our responsibility,’ they admitted to themselves.

All eight brothers were wracked with guilt, wishing they could bear the suffering for their little sister and Arie.

“Mom, please don’t be upset. Arie’s got such good luck in her stars. Even the fortune teller said she’s got the fate of a big shot, and that she’ll rise from the ashes. She’s going to be fine, really. Her time just hasn’t come yet. When her time comes, we’ll find her for sure,” the wife of her eldest son Verena said.

Verena walked out and sat down beside Mrs. Berenson, softly comforting her.

The Berenson family were true Minttown locals, born and bred in the city.

People in Minttown were all about feng shui. When Ariel was born, Mrs. Berenson brought in the top feng shui master in town to read her fortune.

The moment the master saw Ariel, he was blown away. He declared she had the fate of a big shot, destined to bring honor and glory to the family.

After Charlotte and Ariel disappeared, the Berensons consulted the master again. He assured them that Ariel

would be reborn from the ashes.

At this point, Verena changed the topic, “I just got word from Kindowen. Mrs. Sullivan is having a headaches again. Maybe we should send someone over to check on her.”

Even though Charlotte and Ariel weren’t around anymore, Lane was still there, so the families were still related by marriage. All these years, they’d kept in touch.

Mrs. Berenson immediately grew anxious. “Her headaches are back? I need to go to Kindowen myself.”

Tiffany had a life just as tragic as hers.

One lost both her daughter and her granddaughter.

The other lost both her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter.

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Lane was still alive, but after all these years, he was pretty much a vegetable now. He could breathe on his own, but that was about it.

As Mrs. Berenson missed her daughter and granddaughter, her heart went out to Tiffany as well.

At least she had eight sons and a dozen grandkids at her side.

But Tiffany only had two children.

After Lane was bedridden, she was left with just Luna.

She spent her twilight years in loneliness.

Verena thought for a moment, and then said, “I’ll go with you, and Eliana will come along too.”

Eliana was the wife of Mrs. Berenson’s third son.

Since Mrs. Berenson was still around, by local custom, the whole Berenson family had to stick together under one roof in their big estate, and they weren’t allowed to split up.

But with five of the eight brothers spending most of their time abroad for business, they rarely came back except during the New Year holidays. So usually, it was just Verena and the other two sisters-in-law living with Mrs. Berenson.

Even though the Berenson family had many sons, they were all super close, no drama, no scheming. The sisters-in-law were like real sisters too, always united. So when the brothers splurged on a private jet for Ariel, everyone was totally on board, and no one objected, because that was just how tight-knit they were.

Ariel wasn’t just the apple of her eight uncles’ eyes, she was a little princess to all her eight aunts as well. None of the sisters-in-law had daughters of their own, so when Ariel came along, they absolutely doted on her and spoiled her rotten.

Mrs. Berenson rubbed her temples, her voice gentle but firm. “Verena, you stay home. There’s a whole family here that needs you. Eliana and I can handle the trip.”

Verena was the eldest daughter-in-law.

She had a ton of responsibilities to handle.

“Sure, Mom. I’ll let Eliana know right away,” Verena replied.

Mrs. Berenson nodded. “Alright, go on.”

*****

As soon as Luna got word that Mrs. Berenson was coming to Kindowen, she started bustling around, making sure everything was just right.

The Berenson family were practically royalty in Minttown, and their power stretched far beyond the city, reaching international shores.

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These days, the Berensons were way ahead of the Sullivan family when it came to status.

With Mrs. Berenson coming to visit Tiffany herself, Luna knew she had to pull out all the stops.

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Luna told her daughter, “Anna, you’re coming with me to the airport the day after tomorrow. Make sure you look nice. You’ve got to leave a good impression on Mrs. Berenson.”

Mrs. Berenson’s thirteen grandsons were all the best of the best. If Anna managed to impress Mrs. Berenson, her future would be wide open.

Anna looked puzzled. “But Mrs. Berenson isn’t my grandmother. Does it really matter if I try to win her favor?”

“Of course it matters!” Luna replied, narrowing her eyes with a knowing look. “Ariel’s gone, and now you’re the only child left in the Sullivan family. You may not be related to the Berensons by blood, but you share blood with Ariel, and you’re about the same age. Mrs. Berenson is someone who values old ties. If you make a good impression, seeing you will remind her of Ariel. Besides, she’s got thirteen grandsons, but not a single granddaughter she truly likes!”

Luna gently patted Anna’s hand, her voice earnest. “Anna, not being related to the Berensons by blood could actually work in your favor. Think about it. All thirteen of Mrs. Berenson’s grandsons are still single, and every one of them is outstanding. If you get close to them and end up marrying into the Berenson family, and even bear the first grandson, you’d have all of Minttown in the palm of your hand!”

Anna nodded, a flicker of jealousy flashing in her eyes.

‘Seriously, Ariel was born lucky,’ Anna thought, feeling that envy bubble up inside her.

She was born into two very super influential families, with eight powerful uncles who treated her like a princess, and thirteen amazing cousins who always had her back. Even her aunts, who weren’t even related to her by blood, absolutely adored her.

But so what if Ariel was the little princess everyone adored?

Ariel was dead. Gone for good.

Seriously, what could a dead girl possibly steal from her now?

Anna was determined She’d make all of Ariel’s connections and opportunities hers, one by one. Her mom was right. If she could impress Mrs. Berenson and marry into the Berenson family, she’d soar to the top. No one could stop her.

Then both the Sullivan family and the Berenson family would be hers.

At that moment, Anna’s eyes lit up with ambition. She was dead set on claiming it all for herself.

Luna gave Anna a gentle pat on the head and handed her a bowl of chicken soup. “Alright, go ahead and take this to your grandma Tiffany.”

“Why do I always get stuck with this?” Anna muttered, holding the soup, her eyes full of annoyance. “All the grunt work gets dumped on me. But when it comes to anything good, I’m never even in the running. She’d

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rather let the family’s private jet rot at the airport than let me use it for once.”

Anna was in the middle of getting her pilot’s license these days.

She’d wanted to use the family’s private jet for her training.

She’d just casually mentioned it to Tiffany.

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But Tiffany’s face turned sour right away, and said straight up that the jet was bought by Ariel’s uncles for her, and nobody else could even think about using it.

Anna was already fuming. Hearing that just made her even more pissed off.

All these years, she’d been the one busting her ass, taking care of Tiffany.

And Tiffany? Did she even appreciate it?

She’d rather let the jet sit and collect dust at the airport than let Anna use it even once.

And to make things worse, Anna had already bragged to her friends that her family had a private jet just sitting there, and she could use it whenever she wanted.

Now Tiffany wouldn’t even let her touch it. How was she supposed to show off in front of her friends?

The more Anna thought about it, the angrier she got.

No matter what Anna did, it felt like Tiffany would never dote on her the way she did Ariel.

Tiffany always played favorites.

Luna smiled gently at Anna. “Anna, I know you feel upset, but your grandma’s getting old and a little confused. Sometimes she says things that sting, but that’s just part of aging. As a junior, it’s no big deal to let it slide. And really, it’s just a plane, isn’t it? Your uncle Lane is in a vegetative state now. When he’s gone, everything in the Sullivan family will end up yours. Do you honestly think I’d ever fight you for it?”

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21:06 Wed, Jan 21