Chapter
Cordelia stood frozen, her mind a whirlwind of disbelief as Rachelâs seemingly rational but ultimately twisted words filled the air. âYou nailed the national first place in the Galaxy Math Whiz Competition, so acing that math league and getting that scholarship is a given. Diving into the physics contest is the icing on the cake. But if Juliana breaks into the national top sixty in physics, she can snag a scholarship, too. Imagine the Delaney sisters both getting a free ride to college. Itâll be the talk of the town.â
Laurinda was quickly convinced. âExactly! That way, our family can finally shake off the nouveau riche label. Cordelia, drop that physics prep class tomorrow.â
Cordelia gave the three a detached glance, paused a little, and then drawled, âTop sixty all get scholarships.â
It meant aside from her, there were fiftyânine other spots up for grabs.
Juliana was good at physics but wasnât anywhere near number one in the country. So Cordelia didnât need to give up this competition at all.
Rachel cut in with a sly grin. âIsnât it true that one less competitor means a better chance? Lia, do you agree? How about I sweeten the deal with a new Hermès?â
âNo need! With that kind of money, weâd better get Juliana a new dress!â Laurinda scolded. âWeâre family. We should help each other. Itâs settled! Did you hear, Cordelia?â
Cordelia responded leisurely, âYeah.â
Laurinda managed a rare smile. âThatâs more like itâ¦â
âBut I donât agree.â
Laurindaâs smile froze. âWhat?â
Cordelia didnât look at her again, returned the gift box to Rachel, and headed upstairs.
Laurinda cursed, âSuch an ungrateful little bitch, I knew it. Sheâs nothing but trouble to this family! And her mother canât even keep the books straight. Now that youâre back, Rachel, you should take over the household!â
Rachelâs eyes flickered. âLetâs talk about later, Laurinda.â
Halfway up the stairs, Cordelia paused upon hearing that. She turned to the maid cleaning on the second floor, asking, âWhereâs my mom?â
âIn the back garden.â The maid replied.
With a thoughtful nod, Cordelia went upstairs to drop off her backpack and headed downstairs toward the back.
Lornaâs head was pounding.
The breakfast fiasco in the kitchen had everyone pointing fingers, and in the end, they couldnât pin down the culprit. Lorna decided to dock everyone half a monthâs wages and promoted Fiona to the new kitchen
supervisor. Any future issues would be her responsibility, a tactic she borrowed from Sanderson Management that proved equally effective.
But the house seemed to have descended into chaos throughout the day. She didnât even have time to catch her breath.
Then, she was reconciling Augustâs financial statements with Septemberâs expenses.
The familyâs financial affairs were managed by Laurindaâs nephew, Hank, a man in his forties who didnât think much of Lorna. He was reporting with a smug grin. âLady Lorna, this page details the daily expenses. Eggs were at $1.8 each, with the family consuming fifty a day and the staff another fifty. For the party at the beginning of the month, we used eightyânine for the cakes. Eggs donât keep well, and thereâs always some
breakage in transit, a two percent loss. Thatâs the cost for eggs, and then thereâs the greens, beef, chicken⦠Lorna, are you following?â
Lorna massaged her temples âJust give me the total
Hank announced an outrageously inflated figure.
Lorna frowned, suspecting the household didnât need to spend so much But Hank either itemized everything meticulously or lumped it into a total that demanded , utterly uncooperativel
He even threatened, âLorna, this is how managed things, and there were no issues for years Itâs getting dark. Please approve next monthâs budget so I can make the arrangements Otherwise, if we delay it, Mr. Steward would have another fit
Tomorrow was the first of September. If didnât approve on the spot, Hank would dare to hold back provisions and blame her!
Lorna was fuming.
Hank smirked triumphantly. Heâd been skimming from the familyâs expenses for years.
A newcomer like Lorna thought she could get him to reduce daily costs. Impossible!
As Lorna hesitated, his contempt grew. âMadam, please hurry up. Everyoneâs waiting for their money. If you canât handle it, youâd better hand the reins back to Lady Laurinda.â
Her face flushed with humiliation and anger. Just Hank was basking in his arrogance, a cold voice interjected. âThe total for eggs is $5,825.71.â
Hank was dumbfounded. He turned to see Cordelia walking toward them.
In her school uniform with a ponytail swaying behind her, Cordelia exuded an inexplicable sense of authority as she approached.
Cordelia stood beside Lorna like a guard and at Hank. âYou can continue with the greens.â
Hank, skeptical, rattled off a complicated list of organic vegetable costs, varying by day.
He went on for five minutes, expecting Cordelia to be lost. But when he finished, she delivered an exact figure. Stunned and sweating, Hank faltered under Cordeliaâs relentless scrutiny. One by one, she addressed the discrepancies in his numbers.
In an hour and a half, Cordelia had recalculated the books and exposed Hankâs monthly inflation of $10,000 Lorna walked off with the ledger, leaving Hank slumped on the floor.
Cordelia didnât concern herself with what followed.
After finishing dinner, she faintly heard a commotion downstairs. Stewardâs furious voice was booming through the floorboards, followed by Laurindaâs pleading tones.
The following day, Lorna told her that Hank had been let go.
Laurindaâs direct influence had been stripped away, and no one in the Delaney family dared to stir trouble again.
Cordelia nodded in acknowledgment and headed off to school.
As usual, she got off the car at Midnight Scent, and after eating breakfast, she held hands with Everard for two- minutes, not once meeting his gaze.
Once the tightness in her chest eased, Cordelia stood up to leave with a stoic expression, but then Calvert suddenly broke the silence. âCordelia, that weird thing that happened to you wasnât the bossâ doing!â
Hearing that Condella slowly tuned around âWhat?â
Calvert couldnât hold back any longer
Since Cordelia started giving Everard the cold shoulder, heâs been sulking around, making Calvertâs life at Midnight Scent unbearablet
He had to set things straight no matter what He couldnât let Cordelia continue with this misunderstanding!!