Written Off as Trash, I Activated My Hidden Queen Mode novel Chapter 3

"Mom!"

Jasmine turned pale, her eyes wide with panic, her lips trembling.

Derek stared in shock. He'd known Stella was an uneducated country girl—but he never expected her to be this violent.

"Let my mom go!"

The more they panicked, the tighter Stella's grip became. Ruby's already red face turned purple, veins bulging on her forehead.

"Stella, let Ruby go! Or I'll call the cops," Derek snapped.

Instead of backing down, Stella pulled out her phone calmly. "Want me to dial the number for you?"

Derek was lost for words. "I'm your father!"

"The law doesn't recognize that. What kind of father are you?"

Derek frowned, confused. "We're listed as father and daughter on the official family registry."

"Are you sure about that?"

The cold smirk on Stella's lips made Derek's heart race.

Could she know she was an undocumented child?

"Dad! Mom can't breathe!" Jasmine cried, watching Ruby's purple face.

"Claude, get the ashes!" Derek ordered.

"Right away, sir!"

Claude Cole rushed over with an urn.

"Stella, you lunatic! Let my mom go!" Jasmine screamed.

"Open it," Stella said.

"Are you crazy?" Jasmine stepped back in fear. Derek was just as confused.

"Open it," Stella repeated.

At Derek's nod, Claude unwrapped the cloth covering the urn. Stella let out a sigh of relief when she saw the urn—she'd painted it herself as a child.

"Now let my mom go!"

Stella shoved Ruby away. Thud!

Ruby crashed into the sofa, coughing violently. "Cough... cough cough..."

Breathing in fresh air felt like being reborn. Tears streamed down Ruby's face as she clutched her sore stomach.

Stella picked up the urn and turned to leave.

"You ungrateful brat! Stop right there!" Derek shouted.

Stella didn't look back. She walked out of the Harlow Villa without hesitation.

"This is rebellion! Pure rebellion!" Derek roared, smashing a vase to the floor.

"Mom, let's call the police! Lock Stella up!" Jasmine begged.

"No," Ruby said firmly.

"She's just a country bumpkin—illiterate, a former nun! Who in Azure Peak City would marry her? She must be dead set on Silas!" Jasmine ranted, furious and anxious.

Ruby patted her arm gently, then turned to Derek. "Honey, what if she refuses to end the engagement?"

Ruby didn't want the police involved. After all, they'd dug up a grave and stolen the maintenance money. If the police investigated, they'd be the ones embarrassed.

She'd never thought Stella would be so hard to control.

"That engagement promise Arthur wrote to Luna is long gone," Derek said.

"But Arthur still acknowledges the engagement," Ruby argued.

Derek scoffed, "I bet he doesn't want to either. He just needs an excuse to call it off."

"Dad, what are you saying?" Jasmine asked.

"Crank up the public opinion. Make everyone think Stella's worthless."

"But Mom suffered for nothing today?" Jasmine's eyes blazed with hatred. She clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood.

"Jasmine, Mom's fine. But Stella seems to know she's undocumented—legally, she's not part of this family. Do you think she'll listen to us and agree to the arranged marriage?" Ruby worried.

They'd already taken 100 million dollars from Marcus Reed to marry Stella off to him. She planned to use that money as Jasmine's wedding gift.

"I'll sweet-talk her. What could a little nun do to stop me?" Derek's eyes glinted with greed.

No—I've covered my tracks too well. No one will find out about my past, or Luna's.

Stella's just a former nun. She can't stir up any real trouble.

Stella will come begging for my forgiveness soon.

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