The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 50

Chapter 50

“But dear,” Felicity replied gently, “you’re not actually family.”

“Not family?” A bitter laugh escaped Susie as she collapsed onto the floor, her eyes sweeping the room in despair.

She had lived in this household for seventeen years, only to be told she didn’t belong.

She thought, ‘If I wasn’t family, why did they take me in the first place? If it was a mistake, why couldn’t they just let it slide? It’s all Hannah’s fault. If she hadn’t shown up, everything would still be mine.’

Her vision tinged red with rage, Susic glared at Hannah until her gaze snagged on the fruit knife resting on the coffee table. A dark impulse surged through her.

“Ms. Carter,” Arthur addressed Evelyn, “I must ask you to take your granddaughter home.”

“Of course. Thank you for caring for her all these years. Please take good care of Hannah from now on,” Evelyn replied, rising to help Susie

rising to help Susie up. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”

“Get away from me! I’m not going with you.” Susie shoved Evelyn aside and snatched the knife from the table, lunging at Hannah.

The room froze. Even Hedy, asleep on Hannah’s lap moments before, jolted awake and bared his teeth, sensing the threat.

Then, a gunshot cracked through the air.

Hannah remained seated, unshaken, calmly finishing her coffee.

Susie crumpled to her knees before Hannah, the knife clattering uselessly at Hannah’s feet.

A searing pain shot through her leg, and when she tried to stand, she found she couldn’t move.

She looked down as crimson soaked through her skirt.

Hannah set her cup down and stroked Hedy’s fur. “Don’t worry. Your father’s here.” Her eyes lifted toward the two tall figures in the doorway.

Barnaby stood foremost, his presence commanding and cold. Beside him, Magnus casually wiped down his firearm.

Arthur stiffened. Guns were strictly forbidden here, yet these men wielded one so openly.

But what stunned him more was their identity. Barnaby and Magnus, men of immense stature, were here in Scott Villa’s living room.

“Apologies,” Magnus said, noting the stares. “I forgot the silencer.” His tone held no remorse at all.

At the sound of Magnus’ voice, Susie turned and her eyes fell upon Barnaby. A desperate hope ignited in her

gaze.

She dragged herself toward him, ignoring the searing pain in her leg, leaving a smeared trail of crimson across the floor.

Evelyn instinctively reached for her medical bag, pulling out a roll of bandages. “Susie, stay still. You’re losing too much blood.”

“Get away from me, you old crone!” Susie snarled, slapping the bandages away before continuing her pathetic crawl.

“Barnaby! I knew you’d come. I saved your life once. Now it’s your turn to help mine. Don’t let them send me away from Brynlock…” Her voice cracked with desperation.

Barnaby’s expression remained impassive. He sidestepped her grasping hands with effortless grace and continued toward the sofa.

Watching the pathetic scene, Magnus felt his initial flicker of guilt extinguish.

‘Some people truly deserve their misery,’ he thought.

The woman was still delusional enough to believe she held some claim over Barnaby.

Barnaby slowed his pace as he passed Evelyn. “For Rosalie’s sake,” he murmured, his voice barely audible, “I’ll let her live.”

“How do you know…” Evelyn stared at Barnaby in shock, never expecting that he would know her daughter’s

name.

Studying him more closely, she began to see the boy she once knew in the man before her.

This was Leopold’s bastard son. The truth was dawning on her belatedly.

She’d failed to recognize him earlier, even foolishly revealing Hannah’s whereabouts when he’d come asking.

Her eyes darted anxiously toward Hannah.

After passing Hedy to Barnaby, Hannah moved to her grandmother’s side. “Let me walk you out,” she said, linking arms with Evelyn.

In the courtyard stood a black jeep waiting to transport Evelyn and Susie back to the countryside.

Hannah explained her deal with Barnaby and said, “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

Evelyn knew better than to argue with her granddaughter’s stubborn resolve. With a resigned sigh, she offered only a few words of caution before accepting the situation.

Under Magnus’ direction, servants lifted the bloodied, unconscious Susie into the vehicle.

Evelyn approached briefly to examine her. Susie had lost consciousness from severe blood loss.

After performing some swift bandaging to stem the bleeding, Evelyn boarded the vehicle without further delay.

Before their departure, Hannah pressed a bank card into Evelyn’s hand.

“Come to me if you need money,” she said firmly. “Don’t travel all over looking for work anymore.”

Evelyn accepted without protest. “I’ll decline the offer from the Baker family.”

There was a time when Evelyn had been celebrated as a miracle healer, but after her daughter’s tragedy with the Thole family, she had withdrawn from society with Hannah, abandoning her renowned practice.

The Baker family had eventually tracked her down, inviting her to treat Winston’s father, Malcolm Baker.

She had accepted mainly to visit Hannah in Brynlock, only to witness Susie’s disastrous behavior that revealed the family’s true nature. Now she had no intention of treating anyone for them.

“Will she be all right without hospital care?” Felicity watched the departing jeep with concern, referring to Susie, who had been forcibly loaded into the vehicle.

“She’ll be fine,” Hannah assured. She trusted Evelyn’s medical expertise could handle a simple gunshot wound.

Inside the villa, the bloodstains had already been scrubbed from the floor.

Barnaby and Magnus now sat comfortably on sofas, sipping coffee while Dorian and Arthur attended to them.

“Thank you for saving my sister, Mr. Thole and Croft,” Arthur began cautiously. “If I may ask, how do you know Hannah?”

Dorian was also burning with curiosity. He couldn’t understand how Hannah, having grown up in what he considered provincial isolation, could have formed such a significant connection with these wealthy scions.

Had he known, he would never have publicly declared her as an adopted daughter.

“That’s irrelevant,” Barnaby said as he set his cup down. “All you need to know is that she’s under my protection.”

Dorian choked on his coffee, coughing violently while Arthur maintained slightly better composure.

“Mr. Thole,” Arthur managed, “my sister is underage.”

“We’re aware,” Magnus interjected, clapping Barnaby’s shoulder in a gesture that made Dorian flinch. Only someone of Magnus’ status would dare such familiarity. “Don’t worry. Barnaby knows his boundaries.”

Arthur found the assurance anything but reassuring.