The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 153

Chapter 153

At Baker Villa, the butler rushed into the living room. “Sir, Madam, something’s wrong!”

“What is it? Why are you panicking? Mind your manners!” Gemma snapped.

“Miss Lauren’s been arrested. The latest from the station is, she confessed to everything. Now she’s just waiting for the court to hand down the death sentence,” the butler reported.

Winston’s expression turned grim, and Gemma’s irritation disappeared instantly. “Got it. You can leave now.”

“Aren’t you… going to bail Miss Lauren out?” the butler asked in a small voice.

“We don’t need you telling us what to do!” Gemma barked. “And don’t you dare breathe a word of this to Jasper.”

‘So they’re really not going to bail Lauren out,’ the butler thought.

“Yes, ma’am,” the butler replied, bowing his head and backing out.

He’d been with the Baker family for over twenty years, watching Lauren grow up from a little girl. Sure, Gemma always doted on Jasper, but Lauren was still her own daughter. Even the fiercest parent wouldn’t turn on their own child.

Even as a servant, he couldn’t help but care about Lauren after all these years. Still, he just couldn’t wrap his head around how Gemma could be so cold.

“Do we really have to sacrifice Lauren? Isn’t there any other way?” Winston asked, lighting up a cigar, his tone full of frustration and sorrow.

He was well aware of what Gemma had in mind.

“What, getting soft now?” Gemma shot him a sharp look, her voice hard as steel. “Everything I do is for the Baker family!

“Sometimes you have to sacrifice the innocent to catch the real threat. Lauren’s doing this willingly for us. We’ll just have to make sure we never forget what she’s done for the family.”

Winston almost wanted to correct her, “That’s not how the saying goes’, but he kept his mouth shut and just grumbled inwardly.

To the world, Winston was the big boss, but at home, he was just Gemma’s puppet, doing whatever she ordered.

And he couldn’t deny it, ever since Gemma got back in the game, the company’s fortunes had clearly turned

around.

“Everything’s unfolding just like I expected. Tell the media to push out the press release we had ready. Next, at the company’s annual gala, we’ll crush the Scott family and rise back to the top,” Gemma declared, brimming with confidence.

In her mind, the only reason that country bumpkin Hannah managed to flip the script last time was because she hadn’t taken down the whole Scott family. This time, she was dead set on making every last one of them pay for what Hannah did.

That night, news of the Baker family’s eldest daughter getting thrown in jail for murder blew up all over the gossip columns and trending topics online.

The headlines dug up old stories about Yvette and her mom’s disappearance, plus reports from a few small outlets in Southmart about their deaths, and finally named Lauren as the killer.

Meanwhile, influencer accounts jumped in to spin the story. Not only did they clear Gemma of any suspicion, they painted her as a devoted mom whose kid just went off the rails, saying she was only involved because she was trying to fix Lauren’s mistakes.

Hannah was scrolling through the latest news about the Baker family in the car on her way back to Scott Villa when her phone lit up with a call from Vincent.

She picked up, and Vincent’s voice came through, urgent and worried.

“Ms. Carter, something happened to Ethan. He had to hand over all his cases to another colleague. That colleague already arrested Lauren.

She confessed to everything, killing Yvette and her mom, and even kidnapping you. The case is closed now, and she’s awaiting sentencing, likely the death penalty,” Vincent said.

“I saw the news,” Hannah replied, her tone flat. “How’s Ethan doing?”

“He got hurt during a drug bust a few days ago, and the traffickers forced drugs into him. It’s pretty serious. He’s in isolation right now, getting treatment,” Vincent said, his voice thick with worry and regret.

Hannah’s eyes were half-lidded, her long, thick lashes casting a shadow that made her expression unreadable.

“I know. When he’s a bit better, I’ll visit him,” she said.

Seeing that Hannah didn’t seem too concerned about the case, Vincent tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry too much. Ethan is strong, he’ll pull through. I’m sure he’ll recover soon.”

“Mm,” Hannah replied.

‘If I hadn’t met Hannah in person and felt that icy aura of hers, I’d almost think she was unnaturally calm about all this,’ Vincent thought.

But since she didn’t seem to have any questions about the case, Vincent didn’t say anything else. He just said, “I won’t keep you any longer. Get some rest,” and hung up.

Hannah glanced at her phone, the news page back on the screen, a hint of mischief glimmering in her eyes.

“Ms. Carter, we’re here,” the driver said, pulling up to the gate of Scott Villa.

Hannah thanked him, got out of the car, and rang the doorbell. While she waited for the gate to unlock, her phone buzzed with a WhatsApp message from Barnaby,

Barnaby: [Home yet?]

Barnaby: [What am I supposed to do? We just parted, and I already miss you. When are you coming back to Skycrest?]

Hannah’s lips curled into a faint smile as she replied with just three words: [Depends on my mood.]

“Did you find some cash on the street or something? You’re grinning like you hit the jackpot,” Lucian joked as he opened the door. It was rare to catch Hannah in such a good mood.

Hannah tucked her phone away and shot Lucian a look, he’d run out without even a jacket. “What, you missed me that much?”

As soon as she said it, Hannah realized Barnaby’s cheesy lines were starting to rub off on her.

The gate at Scott Villa was automatic, but Lucian had spotted Hannah coming and dashed out to open it himself. After hearing her tease, he suddenly felt a bit childish.

7

“If you say so, I’ll admit I missed you… just a little,” he replied, chin held high like he was trying to act cool.

Hannah just stared at him, speechless.

They walked inside, and found Felicity and Aurelia eating in the dining room. Arthur and Dorian were nowhere to be seen.

The Scott family usually had dinner around seven and never did late-night snacks. But now it was already ten, and they were only just having dinner.

“Hannah, you’re back! Are you hungry? Want to sit down and have some more?” Felicity asked, putting down her fork and getting up to grab a plate and utensils for Hannah.

Hannah waved her off. “No, I’m good. Why are you guys eating so late?”

“We were waiting for your dad and Arthur to get back, but they’re still working. We figured we’d go ahead and eat,” Felicity explained.

Hannah picked up on the subtext in her mom’s words. “Did something happen at Arthur’s company?”

Felicity didn’t want to worry Hannah, but before she could say anything, Aurelia started ranting. “It’s all because of the Baker family!

“That witch Gemma! Why didn’t the police just sentence her to death?

“The moment she got out, she started causing drama again, always going out of her way to mess with us.

“First, she sent people to poach Arthur’s new big client, and now she’s fighting us for the venue he booked for the annual gala, even scheduled it for the same day as ours!

“The Baker family just has a bit more cash than us, and now they think they own Brynlock, strutting around like they run the place!

They don’t even bother to respect the Scott family! I’m furious! Hannah, hurry up and call Barnaby, let him put them in their place!”