Heiress Returns Family Shocks (Nina Swanson) novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5 A Smart Move

Vivian was so angry her chest hurt.

She pointed at Nina, unable to get a single word out for a long moment, before finally turning to Sarah. “Sarah, this is the wonderful granddaughter you insisted on bringing home.

“Look at her. She’s been back for not even an hour and the whole house is in chaos, and now she’s bold enough to lay hands on her sister. Do you really want to keep such a troublemaker here?”

Sarah gave Nina a glance. “Nina doesn’t have a sister. Aren’t you a professor? Aren’t you the one who always says people should be punished when they make mistakes?

“When Nina does something wrong, you would punish her. But when Lily does it, you think she shouldn’t be punished?”

“That’s different!” Vivian roared. “Lily is the daughter I raised with care. She excels in every subject and is about to attend Betrico University. How can Nina compare to her?

“And besides, Lily didn’t intentionally give Nina a fake necklace. It was just a tiny mistake. Why punish her for that?”

Sarah let out a laugh from sheer fury. “People who mess up should face the consequences. Lily made a mistake, and as her mother, you’re partly to blame.

“Haven’t you always covered for her? Well, if she can’t afford the compensation, you can pay it for her.”

“Sarah, how can you say that?” Vivian couldn’t understand why Sarah had never liked Lily. “Lily is your granddaughter too. She loves you so much. Do you really have to break her heart like this”

Sarah’s expression didn’t change. “Since you refuse to discipline Lily, the Riverdale Correctional Facility’s staff will do it for you.”

Lily, terrified, clutched Vivian’s hand. “Mom, I don’t want to go to jail.”

Vivian nearly fainted from rage. She felt she had never been this furious in her life.

But seeing how unmoved Sarah was, she could only give in. “Fine. I’ll pay the money for Lily.”

Vivian reluctantly transferred 2 million dollars to Nina. “This money is for Lanelle. You’re not allowed to spend it. Do you hear me?”

Nina stuffed her phone into her pocket without even looking at her.

Vivian felt her blood pressure spike, but there was nowhere for her anger to go.

Sarah rubbed her temples. “I’m tired. Nina, help me upstairs to rest.”

Nina nodded and helped Sarah up the stairs. Ethan shot a cold look at the rest of the Swansons before following them.

The remaining family members let out a few awkward laughs and hurried off, leaving only Vivian, Lily, and Martin behind.

Lily stared in the direction of the staircase, a flash of hatred crossing her eyes.

She thought, ‘Nina, I worked so hard to get everything I have. Why should I give it up just because you came back? Everything in the Swanson family is mine. Don’t think you can take even a fraction of it.’

*****

The next day, when Nina came downstairs, the first person she saw was James Swanson, her father, sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.

Nina scoffed and kept walking.

Sarah was already waiting for her at the dining table. When she saw Nina coming down, she waved with a smile. “Nina, come here, sweetheart.”

“Grandma.” Nina greeted her and sat down beside her.

Ethan came down after Nina. He immediately took the seat right next to her.

Sarah held Nina’s hand, her eyes filled with affection that was almost overflowing. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.” Nina was sweet and well-behaved in front of Sarah.

Martin happened to catch this scene. He couldn’t help letting out a cold laugh.

Girls raised in nightclubs really are different,’ he thought. ‘Nina is clearly great at using pretty words to charm people, reading faces, and knowing exactly who runs this house.’

The Swansons arrived one after another. Only then did James fold up his newspaper. When he saw Nina, he froze for a second before giving a cool nod. “You’re back?”

He was on terrible terms with Vivian, so he didn’t care much about any of their children.

“We all know she’s had a crush on Ryan, and now you want her to hand over her fiancé to someone else? Have you considered her feelings?”

Then Vivian turned to glare at Nina. “And even if you favor Nina, you should at least think about whether she’s qualified to marry him. She was raised by a nightclub hostess. If you let her marry Ryan, wouldn’t that ruin the Foster family’s reputation?”

Nina was texting. When she heard Vivian mention her name, she finally looked up at her.

Seeing Nina’s careless expression only made Vivian angrier. “What are you looking at? Do you really think just because you’re back in the Swanson family, you’re some highborn heiress? You think you deserve Ryan Foster? You better drop these ridiculous thoughts.”

Nina felt like she recognized the name, but she wasn’t entirely sure.

“Who are you talking about?” she asked.

Vivian’s face turned red with fury. That was when she realized, after going on and on, Nina hadn’t been listening at all.

“Nina, we’re talking about your engagement to Ryan Foster,” Sarah said. “This engagement was meant for you from the start. It only fell to Lily because you weren’t home.

“Now that you’re back, it’s only fair that the engagement returns to you. What do you think?”

Hearing Ryan’s name, Nina paused for a moment.

She looked down at her phone silently. She had just blocked Ryan and saved him as “ex-boyfriend.”

Nina quietly put her phone in her pocket. “Engagement tomorrow.”

“What?” Vivian was furious, thinking Nina actually wanted to marry Ryan. “Nina, you…”

“Tomorrow is a good day for an engagement. Lily and Ryan’s wedding should happen sooner rather than later.” Nina stood up, cutting Vivian off. “It’s decided. Make sure you tell me the time for the engagement party.”

She wanted to use this opportunity to push Ryan and Lily together so he wouldn’t keep bothering her. She figured it was a smart move.