The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 42

Chapter 42

“I’m your niece,” Hannah said, trying hard to keep a calm expression.

“No, you’re not. You’re the Scott heiress,” Barnaby denied, tightening his hold on her.

Hannah’s damp eyelashes fluttered slightly. “You’ve watched me grow up like your niece. You wouldn’t be such a beast, right?”

Barnaby looked down at Hannah in his arms, nervous, wanting to resist but afraid to move, so much more approachable than his usual cold, untouchable demeanor.

He set Hannah down on the sofa, resting his long hands on the backrest and seat, trapping her between his

arms.

“I never thought about it before, but now that you’ve grown up, and we’re not actually related by blood, things feel different,” he smiled.

His eyes held a gentle glow, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he leaned close to whisper in her ear, “Especially since you’re the one who saved my life.”

Barnaby’s soft, charming voice was so pleasant.

The warm breath brushing against her ear made Hannah’s heart skip a beat, her whole body involuntarily trembling.

The tension was subtle; inside, she seemed to be expecting something, yet also afraid of what might happen.

“Well, I’m struggling at the Thole family. How about I become your husband?” Barnaby stared at her without blinking.

If anyone overheard Barnaby, the man holding shares second only to the head of the Thole family, utter such bold words, their jaws would probably drop in shock.

Hannah immediately pushed him away.

She didn’t understand why Barnaby was teasing her like this. By all logic and status, there was no way between them.

But the power difference was huge. Though her hands pressed against his chest, she couldn’t push him away completely.

Barnaby lowered his head, forehead touching hers. “Promise me something. Either say yes, or kiss me. Your choice, and I’ll let you go.”

“That’s obviously a choice,” Hannah said, slightly annoyed.

“Smart girl,” Barnaby chuckled when he saw her about to get upset, stopping his teasing. Then he added, “Don’t do these self-destructive things anymore.”

Hannah thought to herself, ‘So he actually knew what happened tonight and waited for her by the door on purpose?’

Barnaby handed her the clean clothes, then turned around politely and walked out.

Hannah felt oddly like she’d just been toyed with and then tossed aside.

She was a bit irritated.

After changing and drying her hair, she faintly heard Barnaby’s voice outside the suite, speaking on the phone.

He deliberately lowered his tone. “Take down the Scott family.”

*****

When Barnaby returned, his expression was unchanged, holding a cup of milk.

After she drank it, Hannah’s face finally regained its color.

“You don’t need to worry about the Scott family,” Hannah said.

Barnaby glanced at her subtly, surprised she’d overheard what he said outside.

“I want to, but I’m just an illegitimate son of the powerless Thole family,” he said with a low chuckle, refusing to admit it.

Hannah froze for a moment.

After washing up, Hannah told him she was going to bed and urged Barnaby to leave.

He tucked her in, then, as he left, his hand hit the light switch. Click, the lights went out.

Hannah immediately sat up. “Don’t turn off the light.”

Her voice trembled uncontrollably.

Barnaby turned the light back on. Hannah lay on the bed, pale, clutching the covers tightly.

‘Since when did she start being afraid of the dark?’ he wondered.

“Are you okay?” he said.

He stepped closer, but before his hand could touch her, she stopped him. “Don’t touch me.”

Hannah looked up, eyes red, still haunted by fear.

Seeing Barnaby’s face clearly, she realized and covered her face with her hands, taking a deep breath. “I’m fine. You should go.”

Barnaby looked at her fragile state, a vague ache stirring in his chest. ‘What exactly has she been through all

these years?’ he wondered.

“Alright, I’ll be in the living room. Call me if you need anything,” he said.

He lowered his hand, frozen mid-air, and as he turned away, the gentle light in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, steely gaze.

The door closed behind him, dividing the room from the living area.

Inside the room, Hannah took a deep breath, gathering herself. Her delicate face soon regained that aloof, icy

composure.

Tonight’s ordeal was all thanks to Susie.

Hannah could have ignored her status as the Scott heiress, brushed off the Scott family’s double standards, and overlooked Susie’s repeated provocations.

But this time, Susie had crossed her bottom line.

‘Wanna play? Fine, Hannah wondered, ‘Then I will play right back; let’s see if Susie can handle it.

Hannah got out of bed, opened her laptop, pulled a tiny USB drive from her phone case, and plugged it in.

Her fingers danced swiftly over the keyboard as lines of code streamed across the screen.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Barnaby sat on the sofa with a laptop on his lap. His long, slender fingers tapped rapidly across the keys.

His face was unreadable, eyes narrow and icy as he stared at the fast-moving code on his screen, his cold gaze dropping the room’s temperature by several degrees.

*****

The next morning, the first thing Susie did upon waking was check the news from last night.

What she saw shocked her.

Top trending news, first headline: [Jasper wins third place in the Chopin International Piano Competition.]

Second headline: [Jasper’s fiancée caught cheating.]

The scandal involving her from last night wasn’t taken down; instead, the media amplified it by pairing it with Jasper’s award news.

After a night of simmering, gossip-hungry netizens had even dug up her past scandals from the school forum.

Now, it would be impossible for the Baker family not to know what had happened.

“Wade, why hasn’t last night’s news been taken down yet?” Susie immediately called Dorian’s assistant, Wade.

“Ms. Scott, I had people try to delete it last night, but it’s impossible. I even hired the top-ranked hacker in Brynlock, but they all refused,” Wade explained cautiously.

“Ms. Scott, did you offend someone? The hacker community says no one dares to take your case because they’re afraid of Raven,” he added.

“What’s Raven?” Susie asked.

“Raven is a hacker codename. A disciple trained by the international top hacker, Shadow, and recognized as a big shot in the domestic hacking scene. But no one really knows who Raven really is,” Wade clarified.

Wade didn’t know, and Susie had no clue, either.

‘I didn’t even know who Raven was. How could I have offended Raven?’ she wondered.

But the person most eager to see her embarrassed last night was definitely Hannah.

‘So it must have been Hannah who hired someone to mess with me,’ she wondered. ‘I have seriously underestimated that bitch.’

“I’ve had our lawyer issue a public denial about the rumors. Entertainment gossip changes fast; you don’t need to worry. As soon as a new story breaks, the trending topics will be replaced,” Wade advised.

As the scandal’s main target, Susie wasn’t nearly as optimistic as Wade.

Even with the denial issued, the longer the news stayed trending, the more the Baker family members would believe it.

She couldn’t just wait passively; she needed to find a new scandal quickly to replace it.

And the perfect candidate was Hannah.

She had slipped a potent drug into that juice, just to keep Hannah from escaping.

Even if Hannah got away by some miracle, she’d have to come to Barnaby for the antidote.

Thinking this through, Susie immediately headed to the Deaxen Hotel to get someone to tamper with the security footage.