The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After leaving Jett’s office, Hannah finally exhaled a little.

‘Mr. Thole? It really was him. Everyone in the Thole family seems outwardly friendly and harmonious, but in reality, they’re ruthless and unforgiving,’ she thought.

“Miss, I’ll take you to the exam room,” a smooth, charming voice came from behind, pulling Hannah back to the present.

She stopped and turned around.

Down the long corridor stood Barnaby, tall and slender, his handsome face framed by a faint smile, bathed in the autumn sunlight, radiating graceful poise.

“No need,” she began to decline, but before she could finish, Barnaby’s long legs closed the distance beside her.

“No trouble at all, I’m on the way,” he said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

For a moment, Hannah was at a loss for words.

Ronin, waiting in the hallway, couldn’t help but call out, “Barnaby?”

‘You’re not really on the way, are you? Mr. Croft’s still waiting for you,’ Ronin thought.

Barnaby glanced sideways at him. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses were sharp, piercing eyes.

“Nice weather today,” Ronin tried to start, then quickly changed his tune, scratching his head and looking around awkwardly.

“Let’s go,” Barnaby said, looking at Hannah.

His handsome features softened by a subtle smile, as if the earlier cold glare was just Ronin’s imagination.

Ronin grumbled silently, ‘Boss, can you be any more obvious with your favoritism? But I gotta admit, that girl is really pretty!’

Unaware of their thoughts, Hannah followed close behind Barnaby.

A handsome guy and a beautiful girl made a striking pair walking down the corridor.

At the stairwell’s turn, Barnaby suddenly stopped. Hannah immediately halted, avoiding a collision.

“Have we met somewhere before?” Barnaby turned, his gaze intense as he looked at her.

Hannah’s heart skipped a beat, but her face remained expressionless as she stepped back. “Mr. Thole, that’s an outdated pick-up line.”

Barnaby was momentarily stunned.

He stepped forward, eyes fixed on her, his expression growing complex. ‘Does she really not recognize me? Or is she choosing not to?’ he wondered.

Barnaby’s tall stature naturally exerted a suffocating pressure on Hannah.

He was a stark contrast to the polite and gentle one moments ago.

She instinctively took two steps back, but Barnaby closed the distance with two deliberate strides, and when she tried to retreat further, her back hit the wall.

“Really, don’t remember me? Calista Thole,” Barnaby said, one hand braced against the wall as he looked down deeply at her, eyes full of complicated emotions.

Hannah’s heart trembled slightly. ‘So I really have been recognized,’ she thought.

Seventeen years ago, she had been switched at birth and lived six years as the heiress of the Thole family.

Eleven years ago, the ex-head of the Thole family, Leopold Thole, died, naming Alastair Thole as successor. But on the eve of Alastair’s ascension, he was suddenly murdered.

All evidence at the scene pointed to her then-father, the sixth son Lysander Thole.

Everyone accused Lysander of fratricide to seize power, and he was subsequently imprisoned.

Her mother never believed Lysander was capable of such cruelty and investigated for months. Just as she found a lead on the way back to the Thole estate, she died in a car accident, along with the driver, who died on the spot.

If not for her grandmother sensing something was wrong, setting fire to the house to fake her own death, and escaping with Hannah to the slums to protect the bloodline of the sixth branch, she might never have survived safely.

Recalling those events stirred a swell of emotion inside Hannah.

Though she now knew Lysander and his wife were not her biological parents, she remained forever grateful for their upbringing.

She had returned to Brynlock to gather power, find the truth, and then head to Kinswood to clear her foster father’s name and avenge her late foster mother.

Until she found the real killer, she wouldn’t easily trust anyone in the Thole family, even if the man before her was once the closest person in her life.

“I’m not Calista. My name is Hannah Carter,” she said, steadying herself and looking up, meeting his blood- red eyes head-on.

“No, your last name should be Scott. You’re the heiress of the Scott family,” Barnaby growled through clenched teeth.

Hannah’s thick lashes fluttered, but then she thought, If anyone had bothered to look, this wouldn’t be such a

secret.

“Since you already know, you should understand we have nothing to do with each other now. Step aside, please.”

His bloodshot eyes reflected her icy expression. ‘She used to be so close to me, and now she’s this cold, he thought, confused.

Something inside his mind seemed to be fracturing. His brow furrowed deeply, and the handsome features twisted with pain.

Hannah’s brow twitched slightly. Her eyes flicked to his hand braced against the wall, veins bulging as if he was struggling to hold back.

‘Is he sick? Is this a flare-up?’ she wondered.

“You’re sick,” Hannah started to say, but the next second, a strong hand clamped down on her throat.

Barnaby’s eyes burned even redder, his breathing heavy and ragged, his face contorted in anguish. “Why did you leave me?”

The grip didn’t loosen; Hannah gasped for air, her small face slowly flushing.

She tried to pry his hand away, but it was useless. Panic rising, her cheeks reddened like raw liver.

Ronin, turning the corner, froze at the sight of Barnaby choking Hannah. He bolted down the stairs in alarm. “Fuck, Barnaby. Let go. You’re going to kill her.”

The air grew thinner and thinner; Hannah’s face was already deep purple.

At this rate, she was about to lose consciousness.