Chapter 3 · The Jinxed Heiress: Instant Karma For My Malicious Family

I looked at Edward, kept quiet, and stepped forward, about to walk past him.

"Don't you dare!" Edward shouted, raising his hand as if he was about to push me.

Just as he raised his hand, the fancy plaster molding above the doorframe suddenly snapped with a sharp crack, and the whole piece came loose, landing right on his head.

With a dull thud, Edward's eyes rolled back in his head. He dropped like a stone, not making a sound before he passed out cold.

"Edward!" Richard and Grace cried out in panic and rushed over.

Richard frantically grabbed his phone to call for an ambulance, but the moment he pulled it out, the screen flickered twice and then went completely dark. It was dead.

Grace tried to help Edward off the floor, but she stepped on a chunk of fallen plaster, slipped, and lost her balance. With a shriek, she toppled right onto her knocked-out son, piling up with him in a heap.

The doorway erupted into utter chaos.

Charlotte looked like she'd seen a ghost, backing away from me at once. Her eyes were filled with a kind of fear she'd never had before.

I let out another sigh, skirted around the mess at the doorway, and headed straight into Charlotte's huge, princess-themed bedroom.

The room was filled with a sweet scent and decked out in a luxurious, princess-like style. Even better, it was in the best spot in the whole villa. It was bathed in sunlight and brimming with good energy.

As soon as I walked in, all that lingering tension and bad energy around me seemed to melt away.

This place was perfect for me to kick back and enjoy life.

I closed the door behind me, blocking out all the chaos from outside.

At the end of the hallway, Michael leaned against the wall, watching the whole thing go down. He gave me a silent thumbs-up in the direction of my door, then calmly pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

He said, "Hello, is this the emergency center? The address is..."

One freak accident after another left the Summers family in a dead, eerie silence.

No one dared to raise their voice at me anymore.

Edward lay in bed, muttering and moaning with a bandage wrapped around his head. Grace limped around on her sprained ankle. Richard had just gotten a new phone, but it always felt hot to the touch.

Michael was the odd one out in the family.

Early the next morning, Michael knocked on my door, holding two sheets of paper. One was a floor plan of the villa, the other looked like something from a book of fortune.

He looked at me with a dead-serious face and said, "Serena, I did some digging last night, and your energy is honestly supernatural. I checked your room. It's super lucky. But you should avoid going to the kitchen today.

"And Edward's room is in a really bad position. He's got disaster written all over him today. I already warned him not to get out of bed."

Then he handed me a black card. "This is a supplementary card. No password. Swipe as you like.

"If anyone in the family gets reckless and tries to mess with you, let me know ahead of time so I can steer clear and not get punished by any karma."

I looked at his sincere, slightly bootlicking expression and quietly took the card.

Michael was definitely more perceptive than the rest.

After Charlotte realized that all her petty schemes not only failed to mess with me but actually backfired on her and her family, she finally decided to make a ruthless move.

One afternoon after school, Charlotte didn't go home for a long while.

At seven o'clock, the landline rang. Richard picked it up, and his face went pale.

A distorted, raspy voice came through the phone. "Your daughter Charlotte is with me. If you want her back safe, get three million dollars ready. And don't even think about calling the cops.

"Oh, and tell that walking disaster who just came back to your family, this is only the beginning."

The line went dead.

The living room was dead silent.

Edward, barely able to stand, slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "It has to be Serena! She did this. She's jealous of Charlotte, so she got outsiders involved to kidnap her."

Grace totally lost it, lunging at me and grabbing at my clothes. "You evil bitch! You heartless monster. How did our family end up with a monster like you? Give me back my Charlotte!"

Richard's face was livid as he shoved me into the corner, yelling, "Call the cops and have her arrested. She's the mastermind!"

Chapter 3

I looked at Edward, kept quiet, and stepped forward, about to walk past him.

"Don't you dare!" Edward shouted, raising his hand as if he was about to push me.

Just as he raised his hand, the fancy plaster molding above the doorframe suddenly snapped with a sharp crack, and the whole piece came loose, landing right on his head.

With a dull thud, Edward's eyes rolled back in his head. He dropped like a stone, not making a sound before he passed out cold.

"Edward!" Richard and Grace cried out in panic and rushed over.

Richard frantically grabbed his phone to call for an ambulance, but the moment he pulled it out, the screen flickered twice and then went completely dark. It was dead.

The doorway erupted into utter chaos.

Charlotte looked like she'd seen a ghost, backing away from me at once. Her eyes were filled with a kind of fear she'd never had before.

I let out another sigh, skirted around the mess at the doorway, and headed straight into Charlotte's huge, princess-themed bedroom.

As soon as I walked in, all that lingering tension and bad energy around me seemed to melt away.

This place was perfect for me to kick back and enjoy life.

I closed the door behind me, blocking out all the chaos from outside.

He said, "Hello, is this the emergency center? The address is..."

One freak accident after another left the Summers family in a dead, eerie silence.

No one dared to raise their voice at me anymore.

Edward lay in bed, muttering and moaning with a bandage wrapped around his head. Grace limped around on her sprained ankle. Richard had just gotten a new phone, but it always felt hot to the touch.

Michael was the odd one out in the family.

Early the next morning, Michael knocked on my door, holding two sheets of paper. One was a floor plan of the villa, the other looked like something from a book of fortune.

"And Edward's room is in a really bad position. He's got disaster written all over him today. I already warned him not to get out of bed."

Then he handed me a black card. "This is a supplementary card. No password. Swipe as you like.

"If anyone in the family gets reckless and tries to mess with you, let me know ahead of time so I can steer clear and not get punished by any karma."

I looked at his sincere, slightly bootlicking expression and quietly took the card.

Michael was definitely more perceptive than the rest.

After Charlotte realized that all her petty schemes not only failed to mess with me but actually backfired on her and her family, she finally decided to make a ruthless move.

One afternoon after school, Charlotte didn't go home for a long while.

At seven o'clock, the landline rang. Richard picked it up, and his face went pale.

A distorted, raspy voice came through the phone. "Your daughter Charlotte is with me. If you want her back safe, get three million dollars ready. And don't even think about calling the cops.

"Oh, and tell that walking disaster who just came back to your family, this is only the beginning."

The line went dead.

The living room was dead silent.

Edward, barely able to stand, slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "It has to be Serena! She did this. She's jealous of Charlotte, so she got outsiders involved to kidnap her."

Grace totally lost it, lunging at me and grabbing at my clothes. "You evil bitch! You heartless monster. How did our family end up with a monster like you? Give me back my Charlotte!"

Richard's face was livid as he shoved me into the corner, yelling, "Call the cops and have her arrested. She's the mastermind!"