Chapter 33

Suzan and Barton’s faces dropped the second Winnie mentioned the phrase “shield Kathryn from misfortunes.”

Suzan’s pupils dilated, and she instinctively wanted to ask, “How do you know that?” Yet, as her lips parted to speak, she suddenly realized the gravity of the situation and the curious glances of those around. Swiftly masking her shock with a look of bewilderment and disbelief, she turned to Winnie, saying, “Winnie, where on earth did you hear such nonsense? How could you believe in such superstitions?”

Her voice then took on a saddened tone. “I understand you’re now Ms. Bryant, with your fancy new status, and if you don’t want to recognize us as your family anymore, I get it. But to make up such a ridiculous excuse… it’s just heartbreaking!”

Winnie looked at Suzan with a cool gaze, knowing that if she didn’t resolve this today, the Henderson family would never stop hounding her. She’d finally broken away from them and had little interest in further entanglements.

Just as Winnie was about to take action, a voice from the entrance rang out, “I believe Ms. Bryant!”

Everyone turned to see Malcolm and Carola striding through the crowd with gift boxes in hand. heading straight for Winnie.

Carola glared directly at Suzan, then she said, “Ms. Bryant is nothing like the ungrateful person you’re painting her to be. If she says you adopted her to improve your own fortune, then you must’ve done it! Stop playing these games and acting like we’re all fools,” Carola snapped.

The guests invited by the Bryant family were close acquaintances, and the Sanchez family was well–known among them. Carola had a reputation for being kind–hearted, so her fierce defense of Winnie caught everyone by surprise.

Did they know each other before? Even the Bryant family was perplexed, suspecting Malcolm and Carola’s stance related to their hasty visit the night before.

Suzan, interrupted by Malcolm and Carola’s sudden entrance, was seething and ready to argue further. Winnie, observing Suzan’s agitation, didn’t wait for her to speak. With a switt movement. of her fingers, she drew a spell in the air and swept it towards Suzan with Unaware, Suzan blurted out the true ideas that were hidden in her mind, “So what if I did it? Kathryn’s fate was troubled, and the seer said we needed someone with a good fate to ward off her misfortune. She had a good fate, what’s wrong with using it to protect my Kathryn?”

The room gasped, including Barton, whose face turned ashen.

Kathryn shrieked, “Mother!”

Realizing what she’d said, Suzan clapped a hand over her mouth. But the words kept spilling out uncontrollably, “Don’t think you’re special now that you’re Ms. Bryant. You were nothing but a tool in our house, charm for Kathryn’s fate. The seer said as long as Kathryn kept absorbing your good luck, by the time you both turned eighteen, your fates would completely swap. Did you really think I’d let you go off to find your real parents so easily?”

“What did you just say?!” Horace’s face turned icy upon hearing this, and even the younger Bryants looked grim.

Winnie belonged to the Bryant Family, and while they could deal with internal disputes, it was an insult when outsiders treated one of their own in such a manner.

The Henderson family had gone too far!

The surrounding guests were in disbelief. What they had thought to be ridiculous stories from Winnie suddenly seemed plausible. They didn’t believe in swapping fates, but they found the Henderson family‘ superstitions rather bizarre.

Barton, sensing the tension, quickly tried to escort Suzan out, his face dark with anger but his voice calm, “Suzan, are you having one of your episodes again, spouting nonsense?”

He then apologized to the crowd. “My wife suffers from mild hysteria. When she’s agitated, she can become irrational I’ll take her home now.”

Barton’s few words cast Suzan’s outburst as a symptom of hysteria, but as he tried to leave. the younger Bryants, led by Springer and Hobson, blocked their path.

Horace sneered, “Mr. Henderson, why the rush? Seems a bit guilty, don’t you think?”

He suspected Winnie’s hand in Suzan’s slip and wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip by.

The Bryant family would stand with Winnie today and strip the Henderson family of their hypocritical facade!

Winnie was acutely aware of the power her spell held. As she watched Springer and his buddies confront the intruders, she stepped forward and directly addressed Suzan. “Mrs. Henderson, are you truly suffering from hysteria?”

“Of course not!” Suzan blurted out without a second thought, her face on the verge of tears, yet her words remained shockingly honest, “It’s my husband–he doesn’t want me to speak the truth. He’s always so hesitant, unlike us women who are more decisive.”

Barton’s face turned pitch black. Was it not enough to expose Winnie’s secrets, now she had to spill his too? And to think, this was her opinion of him?

Clifford had been seething with anger since he learned that the Hendersons had been using Winnie as a shield against misfortune for their daughter. He stepped forward, his voice icy as he demanded, “What else have you done to my daughter?”

“What could I possibly do to her? She’s always been too blind to see her place.” Suzan replied uncontrollably, “When she was little, she brought home a wounded bird, saying she wanted to take care of it. A foster child like her, who lives off our charity, has no right to keep pets. I killed the bird right in front of her.

12:21 Always a handful, she even dared to fight Kathryn over toys as a child. I locked her in the attic and left her hungry for two days. After that, she learned to behave.”

The Bryants and the surrounding guests wore expressions of utter disgust. They had assumed that although Ms. Bryant had been abandoned as a child, she must have had a decent life in a wealthy household. Little did they know she had been taken in by such a heartless family.

Despite the looks of pity and shock from the crowd, Winnie remained unshaken, her gaze steady on Suzan as she continued her inquiry, “What did you come here for today?”

Suzan didn’t hesitate. “To claim what’s ours, of course! We raised you; now that you’re Ms. Bryant, don’t you owe us a debt of gratitude? The Bryant family’s fortune is vast; it wouldn’t be too much to ask for half to thank the Henderson family, would it?”

Her words sent a chill through the guests. The Hendersons‘ audacity was staggering. demanding half of the Bryant family fortune while they treated Winnie like a tool!