The True Heiress's Return

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The sudden voice startled Jessie, making her shiver. She turned around to see an old man, so emaciated he looked like he was made of skin and bones.

"Dad!" Jessie pressed a hand to her chest, "Why didn't you say anything? You scared me to death."

Modis Joyce didn't even glance at her, hunched over as he entered the house. In the center of the gloomy living room, on the table, lay a black-and-white photo of a gentle-looking young woman. Modis bent down, laboriously pulling out a small chipped porcelain cup from a drawer still muddy from the yellow dirt.

Jessie pouted, "I traveled all the way back, and there's not even a decent cup in the house?"

Modis remained silent, rinsing the small cup two or three times, confirming it was clean before pouring a cup of warm water and placing it, precisely in front of the black-and-white photo.

He lowered his voice, with a tone full of lingering tenderness, "I caught a loach in the back river today; do you want it braised or steamed?"

"Deep-fried? That won't do; you have pharyngitis. Be careful, or your throat will itch again at night after eating fried food."

Ignored after a long day of travel, Jessie felt a surge of annoyance. She walked over to Modis, her voice sharp, "Mom made you promise to take care of me before she died. Now you and your granddaughter are struggling to get by, and you still want to play dumb?" Modis slowly turned around. His wrinkled face and murky eyes fixated on Jessie. "Back then, when I helped you, it was you who was never satisfied, becoming greedier and greedier, which led to today's situation."

"Dad! People aim for higher places. If it weren't for my husband's idea, relying solely on us farming and growing fruit in the countryside, how would we raise Yvette? Now she gets the best education, enjoys everything, and becomes a superior person Our family has also settled in Crescentville, and our life can only get better!"

"I also said, if you want to seize someone else's fate, you

will face retribution."

"Retribution for what? What heinous acts have we committed? Did we kill someone or set fire to something?" Jessie sneered, "Isn't Shakira doing well? If she hadn't caused trouble and refused to donate a kidney to Yvette, we wouldn't be in such a bad situation!"

Modis watched his daughter's face, twisted with jealousy and malice, like a beast with sharp fangs and an ugly visage. He turned away again.

He looked at the woman in the photo, who smiled gently, and after a long while, slowly spoke, "What do you want?"

Jessie's eyes lit up as she briefly recounted the events following Shakira's fallout with the Nelson family, causing Modis to frown deeper with concern.

"Yvette has no items from that girl left by her side?"

"None! They've all been taken back!" Jessie replied angrily.

Modis shook his head. "If you want to harness her good fortune, you'll need a medium for the spell. Without any items, I'm powerless."

Jessie grew anxious. "This won't do! You have to think of something! We're really having a rough time; everything we do is going wrong! Debtors are coming to our door, yelling and threatening to cut us down!" She added. "And Yvette, she's in an awkward position with the Nelson family too, overshadowed by Shakira. Yvette is the only granddaughter! She loves children so much; if her mother were still alive, she would be heartbroken for Yvette... Mom, you saw it, right? Dad is ruthless; he won't help us!"

Modis's face was stern. Enough! Don't disturb your mother's rest!" He shot Jessie a glare and slowly moved into the house.

After a while, he came back out holding two talismans. "If you manage to get that girl's personal items, place them with these talismans under Yvette's waist; it should help calm things down for a while."

Jessie quickly grabbed the talismans. However, she was still unsatisfied and continued to press, "How long is 'a while'? What will we do afterward?"

Modis fixed her with a serious gaze, his eyes slowly gathering an eerie darkness, almost ghostly. "Her fate is growing ever stronger; just a kidney swap isn't enough... If you want Yvette to be free of this burden for good, you must bury a drop of her heart's blood along with a strand of Yvette's hair on the highest mountain in Crescentville, to replace it completely!"

The next morning, Shakira was awakened by the sound of heavy rain outside. The sky was hazy, and when she glanced at the time, it was already past eight.

She quickly finished washing up and went downstairs, finding Walter and others already seated in the dining room, with her being the last to arrive. "Sorry, I overslept."

Elvis emerged from the kitchen, placing oatmeal on the table. "You didn't oversleep; the timing is just right."

Skyla also smiled warmly. "I was just about to come get you; hurry and sit down for breakfast."

"Okay." Shakira took a seat beside Walter, who was unusually dressed in a white suit with a black silk handkerchief in his pocket.

Noticing her staring, Walter's eyes twitched slightly. "We're taking the mountain path today; make sure to eat more." Shakira blinked. "Sure."

Skyla observed the two and couldn't help but laugh, "Walter actually cares about people now."

Walter scoffed. "I'm just worried she'll hold us back."

Shakira shook her head. "You don't need to worry; I always rank high in physical tests at school. It's just a mountain; I'll be fine!"

Walter glanced at her again and snorted.

An hour later, Shakira felt like her body was going numb. Her physical strength was decent... but no one mentioned that she had to carry the ceremonial items up the mountain.

Brian was also carrying a load, but he moved swiftly and soon vanished from sight.

Shakira leaned on her knees, breathing heavily.

Walter, behind her, was effortlessly climbing the steps in his high-tech wheelchair. He easily passed Shakira, then turned back to check on her, asking, "Ranked high in physical tests, huh? How are you holding up?"

"I can do it!" she stubbornly clenched her fists and took two more steps, only to stop and rest again...

Skyla and Elvis each held a trekking pole. "Shakira, take a break; let us handle it."

Hearing this, Shakira quickly straightened her back and walked forward. "No, no! I'll manage! You guys take your time; I'll go ahead!" She said this and quickly climbed ahead.

The two shared a helpless smile.NôvelDrama.Org owns all content.