Chapter 49
Feeling the fury emanating from Rachael, Catherine halted and turned to face her.
Despite Rachael’s demeanor, Catherine’s expression remained indifferent and cold, seemingly unaffected.
She stared at Rachael with cold eyes, silently questioning her intentions.
In Rachael’s eyes, Catherine was an arrogant girl who thought highly of herself.
Rachael’s belief that Catherine was a troublemaker who could only cause distress only grew stronger, fueling her anger to the point where she couldn’t control her temper any longer.
She madly shouted at Catherine, “Who do you think you are, Catherine Swann? Let me tell you, you’d better start behaving yourself. You have no manners at all. Where the hell did you go after school? What were you doing, huh? Do you even know what time it is now? You’re nothing but a wild savage!”
Witnessing Rachael shouting at Catherine, Liana and Johnathan couldn’t hide the joy in their hearts. The bright smiles on their faces revealed their discontent with Catherine. Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
Liana, in particular, had developed intense hatred towards her after being overshadowed by her in school. She would have loved nothing more than to berate Catherine and kick her out of the house.
Audrey looked at Catherine with concern, wanting to help her. However, she knew how Rachael might react.
Any attempt to intervene without Korbin present would only further enrage Rachael.
Audrey feared that getting involved would fail to protect Catherine and might even result in her own punishment by Rachael. Therefore, Audrey refrained from speaking.
As Rachael saw Catherine remain silent, her anger intensified. She raised her voice again and yelled at her, “Who do you think you are? I’m talking to you! Can’t you hear me?”
Catherine raised her gaze and looked at Rachael, her eyes cold and her tone devoid of emotion. Her response instantly changed Rachael’s expression.
“I walked back home.”
Rachael was momentarily stunned, realizing that Catherine must have walked pretty fast to cover the distance from school to the Swanns’.
Catherine instinctively glanced back at Liana and noticed the guilt in her eyes, providing her with a clear understanding.
Rachael had initially heard from Liana that Catherine hadn’t returned home from school until this late hour, assuming she had been idling around the streets and tarnishing the Swanns’ reputation.
Driven by anger, Rachael had planned to teach Catherine a lesson while Korbin was away, but she hadn’t anticipated the situation escalating to this point.
Catherine understood Liana well. As a mother, Rachael knew exactly what her daughter had done. Liana must have reassigned the driver who was supposed to take Catherine back home.
Only Audrey knew the truth, and Catherine was not worried about being betrayed by her sister.
At that moment, Audrey gave Catherine a thumbs-up to commend her wit.
In Audrey’s view, Catherine had explained the reason for her late return and revealed what Liana had done to her, hoping to see her face the consequences. It was a clever response, killing two birds with one stone.
However, Audrey underestimated Rachael’s dislike for Catherine. Even after learning about Liana’s behavior, Rachael didn’t blame her daughter. Instead, she continued to scold Catherine.
“As I said, you’d better start behaving yourself. Can’t you walk faster and get home earlier next time?”
Upon hearing her mother’s words, Liana wore a smug expression.
She knew her mom would never punish her for the sake of this jinx. After all, in Rachael’s eyes, this jinx might be considered less important than the household servants.
They wouldn’t have tolerated this jinx if it weren’t for her grandfather’s unfortunate decision before his passing.
Liana didn’t want Rachael to stop berating Catherine, so she kept fueling the fire and informed Rachael about her bet with the teacher at school that day.
“Mom, I think Catherine’s bet is a terrible idea. Don’t you agree? What if she doesn’t perform well in the exam? What will people think of our family if she fails?”
Catherine glanced at Liana and her smug expression, looking down at her.
No wonder her grandpa had not wanted to hand over the Swanns’ property to them. With these brainless and scheming heirs, it would be better for him to donate everything that belonged to him.
Rachael’s anger, which she had just suppressed, surged up again after hearing Liana’s words.
Rachael thought she knew very well about Catherine’s ability.
Catherine was just a dumbass who could never excel academically.
She heard that this jinx didn’t even attend school in the countryside and was expelled for misbehaving in elementary school. How come she dreamed about being the first with such a background? That was
a ple in the sky!
It was mission impossible, yet Catherine still accepted the challenge.
Rachael couldn’t control the rage in her heart any longer and shouted in fury, her eyes gleaming with a desire to destroy Catherine.
“You’ve brought shame to the Swanns, Catherine. I warn you! It would be best to apologize to your teacher tomorrow and try to calm things down. Otherwise, I will ensure you regret returning to the Swanns.”
Catherine lifted her gaze and focused on Rachael.
Had Rachael just said that she would make her regret it? What a bold statement! Catherine couldn’t understand who gave Rachael the right to say such things.
Compared to Rachael’s frustrated and stomping demeanor, Catherine appeared calm, as if nothing had happened, causing Audrey to worry for her.
Finally, Catherine spoke and nearly made Rachael choke with anger.
“I look forward to seeing how you’ll make me regret coming home.”
After saying that, Catherine left without turning back.
Audrey heard the conversation and was stunned.
She had never imagined that someone could upset Rachael this effortlessly.
Rachael’s face turned ashen with anger, indicating that she was about to lose control. The next second, Audrey quickly left the living room to avoid further trouble.
Just as Catherine returned to her room, her phone in her pocket vibrated before she could event sit down.
She picked up the phone and saw that it was a call from Ronin.
There weren’t many people who could call her, and only a few who knew her number.
She answered the phone, and an excited voice came through from Ronin. “Boss…”
Catherine cut him off before he could finish his long and tedious speech.
“Stop it!”
Her words were like a wet blanket, immediately silencing Ronin.
After a brief moment of composure, he regained his composure and formally reported the situation.
“Boss, I completed the investigation you requested on the project. I didn’t come across any major issues. Based on my assessment, it seems to be a safe and profitable venture. Should we be take action to acquire it from the Duncan Corporation? Although confronting them may challenging, with you, nothing is impossible!”
Ronin continued expressing his admiration for Catherine.
In his eyes, she was like Wonder Woman, capable of achieving anything.
When Catherine received the document earlier, she had asked Ronin to investigate primarily to determine if Branden had ulterior motives.
After all, Branden had been looking into the Hacker Alliance and had grown suspicious of Catherine’s involvement.
“No need!” Catherine calmly rejected Ronin’s suggestion. “The Duncan Corporation has presented us with a gift. There’s no need to take action to wrest it away from them.”
“Send me the documents!”
After uttering those words, Catherine hung up the phone, knowing that Ronin wouldn’t stop talking if given the chance.
Not long after ending the call, Catherine received the documents sent by Ronin, along with an attached picture.
The picture displayed the back view of an attractive man standing outside the hospital, and Catherine immediately recognized him as Branden.
She stared at the picture for a moment, a slight smile forming on her delicate face as she sneered.
“Bitch!”