Under the Heiress' Facade

Bernard's eyes flickered open in the dim light after a long silence. His gaze had regained its composure, but it remained deep, akin to an abyss.

"Douglas, how would you treat a treasure that's been lost and found?" he asked.

"I'd probably worship it."

Douglas sighed in relief when he saw Bernard return back to himself. He promptly ended the call to Johnson.

"I was being too anxious," Bernard muttered to himself.

Douglas was confused. He couldn't seem to keep pace with Bernard's thoughts. Relationships, he realized, were like a complex puzzle.

…

Hera hailed a taxi and directed the driver to an address on the outskirts. She owned a villa there that was purchased before her move to Norburgh. Conveniently situated on the border between Norburgh and Jedburgh, it served her future plans well.

As she did, a text message popped up on her phone.

"Are you still alive out there? If you don't return soon, your room will be gone!"

It was from an unknown number, but Hera recognized it as Gino's.

"Sir, please change the destination to No. 8 Oak Estates," Hera instructed.

That was the Everett residence's address.

Hera stepped out of the car at the villa's entrance 40 minutes later. The gate stood wide open, with two large trucks filling the yard and workers in uniforms bustling about seemingly moving belongings.

She wondered if they were moving.

"Mr. Gideon, what about the piano? It's worth a hundred thousand dollars. Perhaps Ms. Hera would still want to use it," Judy fretted as she watched the workers move the piano out.

"I'll get Hera a new one if she wants to learn the piano. There's no need for second-hand items," Gideon stated while seated on the sofa with his legs crossed.

He was busy designing the room layout on his tablet.

"Dad, there are still two pictures to take down on that wall. If it looks too empty, we can take some new ones for Hera another day."

"But... can we keep two of the pictures?" James said hesitatingly while caressing the photo frames.

The wall displayed family photos decorated by Lilith, mostly highlighting the children's achievements.

James was referring to the photos of Giselle's wins in the state piano competitions in primary and junior high school. They were images of James with Giselle and the governor.

It wasn't the photo of Giselle that James valued, but the honor depicted in the photo with the governor. NôvelDrama.Org is the owner.

"No!" Gideon rejected firmly.

"I want every trace of Giselle gone from here! Only then will Hera return to stay."

Upon reflection, Gideon realized Hera's reluctance to stay at home wasn't simply due to the family's favoritism toward Giselle. It was also because Giselle's presence had made her uncomfortable.

Thus, he aimed to remove everything.

"You heard him."

Lilith attempted to snatch the photo album from James, who held it tightly. Lilith failed to snatch it from his hands, so she decided to attend to other matters first.

"Gideon, I think the room you're designing isn't as good as my current study. That was the room she had taken from me before. She treasures it, so there's no need to change it," Gino remarked, pointing to the design on the tablet.

Gideon was redesigning the room where Giselle had been living for Hera's use. As it was a master bedroom, it had a better layout than Hera's current room in every aspect.

"Your study is too small. Girls have a lot of stuff, and there's simply not enough space. If Hera likes the decor of this room, I'll have it redone accordingly."

Gideon firmly insisted because the new room was closest to his.

"The air in Giselle's room still reeks of whore! She might not even want to stay there!" Gino added.