"You two… what’s that supposed to mean?"

"I know I’m not your birth mother, but I raised you for most of your lives. I bought you a home, cars, even scraped together money so you could start your own business. What did I ever do to deserve this from you?"

"All these years, I never felt I owed you anything. Back in those ten brutal years, just so you could drink a little milk powder, I bowed and scraped everywhere I went. I even knelt to the person I hated most, just to get you two a couple of cans."

"I never asked you to repay me. But how could you burn the bridge after crossing it? How could you turn around and bite me like this?"

Serena Jenner sat tied to the chair, her gaze sharp as a hawk’s as she locked eyes with Gabriel Fletcher and Holly Fletcher standing in front of her.

Those twins had been brought home by Benjamin Fletcher not long after she married him, claiming they were the orphans of a fallen soldier. The Fletcher Clan insisted on raising them, so she had no choice but to agree.

At first, she didn’t feel much for them. After all, what young woman would be thrilled to suddenly become mother to two kids that weren’t hers? She’d been upset, sure.

But she had a conscience. Since they were her children in name, she had to raise them right.

Back in 1966, getting imported milk powder was nearly impossible. Yet just so the twins could have milk, she’d even gone down on her knees begging a woman she hated in the Qiaohui Store.

After a few years, when she learned she couldn’t have children of her own, she treated the twins like flesh and blood.

All these years, whatever they wanted, she almost always agreed.

And now? They’d actually tied her up, trying to force her to sign the courtyard house over to them. They even claimed they’d arranged a luxury nursing home abroad for her.

She wasn’t a fool. She knew exactly what these two were plotting.

Once she signed the property over and they shipped her overseas, they would have countless ways to make sure she never came back alive.

But when confronted with her questions, Gabriel Fletcher and Holly Fletcher didn’t show a flicker of guilt. Both wore looks of pure indifference.

Gabriel fiddled with his phone, voice lazy as he said, "Why’re you stressing yourself out? We’re doing this for your own good. Look at you, living alone in this old courtyard… it’s so empty. The nursing home abroad is way nicer. Big place, good air—you’ll be living comfortably. And relax, we’ll bring the kids to visit you every year."

Holly quickly chimed in, "Exactly. You raised us all these years—don’t you know what kind of people we are? How could we ever harm you?"

Serena Jenner let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Not trying to hurt me? Then why tie me up like some criminal?"

Gabriel Fletcher was already losing patience. His foot tapped restlessly against the floor as he snapped, "Stop being stubborn, will you? Just sign these papers. Once everything’s settled, we’ll send you abroad. You’ll live nice and easy, I promise."

"Get out!" Serena spat the words through clenched teeth. "Get out of my sight. If you’ve got the guts, kill me. Want my courtyard house? Keep dreaming!"

Gabriel shot to his feet, stormed over, and slapped her hard across the face. "You old witch, I told you to sign. If you don’t, I swear I’ll finish you today."

The five‑courtyard siheyuan under Serena’s name wasn’t some ordinary place. It sat right by Silver Shoal Bridge in Houhai—back in the old days, only princes or top officials could afford to live there.

Just a few days ago, Gabriel had met an overseas Chinese investor through a business connection. That man had been looking everywhere to buy a siheyuan. By coincidence, he had taken a fancy to Serena’s very house.

And he was offering eight billion.

Eight. Billion.

With that kind of money, their family’s future generations wouldn’t have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of their lives.

So they had to force Serena to transfer the property to them. Only if the deed was in their hands could they sell it fast—and money only felt real when it sat in their own bank accounts.

After that slap, Serena turned her head back slowly and spat right on Gabriel’s face.

Gabriel froze, eyes wide, completely blindsided. In his memory, Serena had always been a refined, proper woman—someone who would never do anything so crude.

But Serena no longer cared about being proper. Not today. Right now, she wished she could strangle the two ungrateful brats with her bare hands.

Disgusted, Gabriel rushed into the bathroom to scrub his face.

Holly Fletcher let out a long sigh. "Why make things harder? If you just go abroad, you could still live another ten years. But if you push my brother too far… who knows what he might do."

Serena suddenly burst out laughing. "Go on then—kill me! I dare you! But you won’t. You know exactly what happens if I die. That courtyard house will never be yours!"

This siheyuan had come from her own family.

With all those relatives on her mother’s side, if she died without a will, they’d swarm in like flies, each one ready to fight over the place.

Worse still, they had enough paperwork on hand to drag the whole thing into court—and with those documents, they’d almost certainly win and wipe her side of the nameplate clean.

So if Gabriel Fletcher and Holly Fletcher wanted this house, they had only one option: force her to put her signature on a will.

Gabriel came out after washing his face, jaw tight, voice sharp. "You really won’t sign it?"

Serena Jenner kept her face expressionless, not saying a single word. She didn’t have the patience to waste breath on an ungrateful brat like him.

Gabriel seemed ready to swing again, but Holly quickly grabbed his arm. "Gabriel, maybe Aunt Serena just needs time to figure things out. Let’s give her a moment. We should head out first."

Inside, Serena let out a cold, bitter laugh. Wouldn’t even call her "Mom" anymore.

What a fine pair she’d raised.

Just like that, Holly dragged Gabriel out the door.

Serena was still tied to the chair. She knew perfectly well the housemaid must’ve been sent away by the Fletcher siblings.

A few hours later, Gabriel and Holly returned—and this time, they brought someone with them.

To be specific… an elderly lady.

But the woman had taken such good care of herself that, at first glance, she almost looked like a woman in her forties.

Jennifer Sinclair shoved her hands in her coat pockets, looking down at Serena from above.

"Long time no see, old classmate."

Serena pressed her lips together and stayed silent.

Her gaze rested on Jennifer for a moment, then shifted to Gabriel and Holly.

A sudden thought struck her—so sharp and terrifying that her mouth parted slightly, breath hitching in her throat.

Seeing her reaction, Jennifer burst out laughing. "Looks like you’ve guessed it. Serena… thank you. Really. Thanks for raising my kids all these years."

"…!!"

Of course.

So that was it.

Serena Jenner was shaking all over, her breath coming hard. "Benjamin Fletcher told me those two were orphans of a martyr."

Jennifer Sinclair threw her head back and laughed, sharp and cruel. "Otherwise what? You think you’d willingly help me raise my kids? Serena, Serena… Back in school I couldn’t beat you in grades, and I really thought you were brilliant. Who’d guess you’d be this gullible? All these years and you never once wondered who Gabriel and Holly really belonged to?"

She leaned forward, her eyes full of mockery. "You lived with the Fletcher Clan for so long. Benjamin’s parents were selfish to the bone, yet right before they died, they put everything in a will… and handed it all to Gabriel and Holly. Don’t you wonder why?"

Serena’s eyes reddened, her voice rough as sand. "So those two brats were the illegitimate spawn you and Benjamin had!"

The word “spawn” made all three of them stiffen.

Gabriel Fletcher strode up and slapped her again, the crack echoing in the room. "You old hag, say one more word and I’ll finish you right here!"

Serena let out a laugh—raw, hoarse, almost hysterical.

Decades.

She had actually raised her husband’s children with another woman for decades.

Her laughter faded, and suddenly her gaze snagged on the jade bracelet around Jennifer’s wrist. Her face changed. "Why is that bracelet on you?"

Jennifer lifted her hand, studying the emerald curve with a smug little smile. "Oh, this? Benjamin gave it to me… the night you two got married."

"…!!"

Serena froze, disbelief written across her entire face.

That bracelet had been her grandmother’s dowry.

She’d searched for it all night after the wedding.

So it hadn’t been lost at all.

It had been Benjamin Fletcher who secretly took the jade bracelet and handed it to Jennifer Sinclair as some kind of gift.

All those old memories surged up at once, and Serena Jenner felt anger boiling all the way to the top. She shut her eyes hard, trying to force everything back down.

After a long moment, she opened them again, her expression suddenly calm, as if nothing could stir her anymore.

She looked over at Gabriel Fletcher and Holly Fletcher and said, “I’m already old. I don’t want to drag out the past. You’ve called me ‘Mom’ for decades. You both know I never had children of my own. Everything I own was always going to end up with you anyway. If you hadn’t pulled this stunt, this siheyuan would’ve gone to you in the end for sure. Fine. I’m tired. Do what you said—send me overseas. I’ve only got one condition. Give me back the bracelet.”

Gabriel and Holly lit up instantly, rushing over to untie her.

But Jennifer Sinclair kept feeling that Serena wouldn’t give in this easily.

Even so, she slid the bracelet off her wrist.

Just as Serena reached out to take it, Jennifer flicked her hand on purpose. The bracelet hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

A flash of fury cut through Serena’s eyes. Before Jennifer could react, Serena shoved her hard.

Jennifer wasn’t ready at all. She fell backward, the back of her head slamming right into a nail sticking out from under the table. Blood spilled out instantly.

“Mom!”

“Mom!”

Gabriel and Holly panicked. Dropping everything else, they grabbed Jennifer and rushed out the door.

Serena slowly crouched down and began picking up the broken pieces one by one.

At that moment, a streak of golden light slipped out from the shards and shot straight into her body.

In the blink of an eye, she realized she could summon some sort of space with her mind.

Serena might’ve been old, but she’d read plenty of novels over the years. New ideas didn’t scare her one bit.

Gathering every last fragment from the floor, she stood up and headed out right away.

She went straight to the law firm first and had her will rewritten, making it clear that when her time eventually ran out, everything she owned — including that priceless siheyuan — would be donated in full to the military.

Once all that was settled, she didn’t dare step foot near the siheyuan again. She knew perfectly well that once the Fletcher siblings figured everything out, they’d be banging on her door in no time.

So she headed directly to the apartment Ethan Gallagher had once given her. The Fletcher siblings had no idea this place even existed, so there was no chance they’d track her down anytime soon.

But the moment she arrived, she felt something was off. Her body was giving her quiet warnings, like it was telling her her days might be numbered.

Still, she was sure that mysterious space hadn’t appeared for no reason. Just like those heroines in the stories, she needed to start stocking up on supplies — and fast.