The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59

After what felt like an eternity in the gloom, Barnaby’s eyes opened abruptly. The earlier turbulence was gone, replaced by a deep, unsettling calm, his gaze now as profound and unreadable as an abyss.

He asked, “Ronin, how would you treat a treasure that was lost and then recovered?”

“You keep it safe. Treasure it, I suppose?” Ronin replied, relief washing over him as he registered Barnaby’s lucid tone. He quickly ended the call with Percival.

“Maybe I rushed it,” Barnaby murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

Once again, Ronin found himself struggling to follow Barnaby’s train of thought. When it came to matters of the heart, nothing ever seemed straightforward.

Hannah hailed a cab and gave an address on the outskirts of town.

It was a villa she’d purchased before coming to Brynlock, strategically located near the border between Brynlock and Kinswood for future convenience.

Just then, her phone buzzed with a text. [Did you die out there? Your room’s gone if you don’t get back soon.]

It was from an unnamed number she recognized as Lucian’s.

“Change of plans, sir,” Hannah told the driver. “Take me to No. 8 King’s Bay Villas.”

It was Scott Villa’s address.

*****

Forty minutes later, Hannah stepped out of the taxi to find the wrought-iron gates wide open.

The courtyard was crowded with two large moving trucks, and uniformed workers hurried in and out, carrying furniture and boxes.

“Sir, are you certain about the piano? It was quite expensive when you bought it. Perhaps Ms. Carter might still have use for it,” Cici suggested, her voice tinged with regret as she watched the workers maneuver the instrument toward the truck.

“If Hannah wants to learn piano, we’ll buy her a new one. She doesn’t need someone else’s cast-offs,” Arthur declared without looking up from his iPad, where he was designing new room layouts, one leg crossed casually over the other.

He turned to Dorian. “Dad, there are still two photos left on that wall. If the blank space bothers you, we can always take some new pictures of Hannah to hang there later.”

“Can’t we… just keep these two?” Dorian asked quietly, his fingers gently tracing the edge of one frame.

The wall had once displayed Felicity’s carefully curated collection of family photographs, mostly capturing the children’s proudest moments.

The two photos in question showed Susie after winning provincial piano competitions in elementary and middle school, each featuring Dorian and Susie posing with local officials.

It wasn’t really about Susie. What Dorian couldn’t bear to part with was the glow of importance that came from being photographed with those distinguished figures.

“No.” Arthur’s refusal was absolute. “Every trace of Susie’s presence here must be completely erased. Only then would Hannah consider coming back to live with us.”

He had come to realize that Hannah’s previous reluctance to stay at home wasn’t solely due to the family’s favoritism toward Susie. The constant reminders of her presence had been equally unsettling for Hannah.

Thus, everything would have to go.

“Did you hear that?” Felicity reached for the photo album in Dorian’s grasp, but his fingers tightened around it stubbornly.

When it became clear he wouldn’t relinquish it, she sighed and turned to organize other belongings.

“Arthur, this design you’re working on is not even as nice as my current study. You know, the room she took from me before? She’s always been fond of that space.

“There’s really no need to change it,” Lucian commented from nearby, gesturing toward the iPad displaying the room layout.

Arthur was redesigning Susie’s former bedroom, a master suite far more spacious and well-appointed than Hannah’s current room, intending it for her use.

“Your study is too small. Hannah would need more space for her things. If she prefers the style of her current room, we can recreate the decor in the new one,” Arthur stated firmly.

Besides, this particular room was closest to his.

“But that was Susie’s room. What makes you think Hannah would even want it?” Lucian pressed.

“That’ll be Hannah’s decision to make. Why are you so concerned?” Arthur shifted the iPad away. “And do try to speak of her with some respect.”

“Whatever,” Lucian retorted, turning his head away with a deliberately haughty lift of his chin.

Just then, Cici’s voice carried in from the entrance. “Ms. Carter, you’re back.”

Instantly, all four pairs of eyes in the living room turned toward the doorway.

Dorian immediately dropped the photo frame he had been caressing into a nearby trash bin.

Felicity could only shake her head at the abrupt gesture.

In a swift movement, Lucian slipped past Arthur and positioned himself in front of Hannah, crossing, his arms and lifting his chin.

“Back already? Worried I’d claim your room, I suppose? I knew you always had your eye on my study, he declared, his tone a mix of challenge and conceit.

‘If she doesn’t pick my study, he thought, ‘that’s it. I’m cutting her off. Not another penny of my allowance goes her way

Hannah could only stare back, completely speechless.

“Hannah, ignore him. Come see the room plans I designed for you” Arthur pushed Lucian aside with a firm hand and presented the tablet to Hannah, his expression cager.

She studied the detailed renderings. Every aspect had been carefully considered, revealing, the depth of thought Arthur had invested.

“It’s lovely,” she said.

Arthur’s face brightened at her approval. “If you like it, I can have the contractors start tomorrow.”

This newfound attentiveness from her usually reserved brother felt unfamiliar, yet Hannah couldn’t deny the warmth spreading through her at her family’s visible efforts to welcome her.

The lingering tension from her difficult evening began to case.

“Alright,” she agreed softly.

Lucian seethed in silence. ‘She didn’t choose me? That’s the last straw.

*****

“Three days, and still no one has taken the job?” Gemma stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, a glass of red wine poised in her hand as she addressed Lauren.

Lauren shook her head. “We’ve posted the task on every available platform, domestic and international. No takers.”

“Useless cowards. Turning down good money. What idiots,” Gemma cursed, slamming her glass down on the side table.

“Mom, I apologize. I underestimated Raven’s influence. I’ve only just learned that Raven is Shadow’s only protégé,” Lauren admitted, her voice heavy with regret.

“What?” Gemma and Winston, seated in the CEO chair, exclaimed in unison.

They remembered Shadow well, the national hero who single-handedly repelled Veridia’s cyber invasion eight years ago.

Within twenty-four hours, Shadow had not only defended their systems but launched a counteroffensive that crippled Veridia’s national security infrastructure for a week.

The operation had shaken the global cybersecurity community, earning Shadow legendary status.

When health concerns had forced Shadow’s retirement two years ago, the loss was felt across the industry.

His sole student, Raven, inherited the weight of that reputation. The connection alone was enough to command respect and fear throughout the hacker world.

And yet the Baker family, in a moment of carelessness and misplaced anger, had somehow managed to offend precisely the kind of person they could least afford to provoke,

“Why am I only hearing this now?” Gemma’s glare at Lauren sharpened, heavy with reproach.

田

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