Chapter 5

The clear skies darkened, descending into gloom in the blink of an eye. A sudden strong breeze whipped Sage's white blouse and her hair. Along with her icy voice, she looked very much like a ghastly ghost.

"Aaargh!" Yeva let out a terrified scream as she covered her ears, turned around, and shoved past the others. In fright, she tried to scramble away.

Julian, on the other hand, was still startled, and he stared blankly at Sage before murmuring, "It's not me, it's not me who harmed you… leave me alone…"

In a panic, he grabbed a pebble lying nearby him and threw it at Sage. Sage, however, caught the pebble in her hand and aimed it at Julian's head before launching the pebble at him.

"Aaargh!"

The two who stood by the door could hear the waves of shrieks. They were horrified to see blood streaming down Julian's head. They felt their legs weaken as they instinctively inched backward.

Covering his head with his hands, Julian felt as if his head was about to explode, and then he realized that his hands were covered in blood. Meanwhile, the woman in black high heels closed in on him.

He frantically looked up and met Sage's cold eyes. That was when he finally came back to his senses. "You… you're not dead… you're still alive…" he stuttered.

Sage stood in front of Julian condescendingly. She remembered the times when he used to relentlessly pursue her. However, his feelings soon turned to resentment, and in the end, he was even willing to destroy her for his own selfish gains. Sage looked at him indifferently.

"Julian Jefferson." This was the first time in three years that she had said his name. "I'm sorry, but I'm here to tell you that the good times have officially come to an end," she added, slowly.

It was Yeva and him who had schemed and plotted against her three years ago. They had tricked her into going for a hike in the mountains. They had wanted to make it look as if she had fallen off the cliff by accident. Of course, she had not died. This, however, did not render them innocent.

Karma always hit back harder.

Sage swore that she would make them pay for everything that they had done.

Today, chaos reigned in Rosa Garden.

Sage had not had any rest since she returned home. She had hired a team of cleaners to clean out all of Brexton’s and Yeva's belongings from the rooms that belonged to her parents and her.

"No! My jewelry, my dresses, and my bags! What do you think you're doing?"

Yeva was devastated when she saw all her precious belongings being tossed out as if they were trash. She pointed her finger at Sage and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Have you gone mad?! I've been living here for almost three years!"

Casually sitting on the sofa, Sage was going through the list of staff members who were currently working at her family's residence. She could not even be bothered to look at the cousin she used to adore.

"I was wondering why my room was filled with trash, but I got my answer now. A wretch has been living in my room for the past three years."

Sage turned to look at the cleaners and added, "Be sure to examine the room carefully to ensure that you have removed all the trash. Don't worry about damaging anything. I just want a clean house."

"Not a problem, Miss Norah." After receiving their orders from Sage, the cleaners started working harder. Yeva's branded bags were treated no differently than grocery store bags. The cleaners threw all of them into a big rubbish bag.

Yeva exploded in rage, "Oh gosh! Get your dirty hands off my bags!"

Yeva looked as if she was about to fight the team of cleaners, and this annoyed Sage. Sage ripped off the curtains and wrapped Yeva in them before tying her to her chair. Sage even stuffed Yeva's mouth with a sock. Only once had that been done was the house quiet.

Her parents' room and her room were returned to their original state only after an entire afternoon of cleaning. Sage paid the cleaners handsomely before sending them away.

Braxton's heart sank when he returned from work. He saw his precious collection of antiques and jade stranded in the hallway. Braxton almost burst into tears when he saw his tied-up daughter. "Oh sweetheart, how did you end up here? Who did this to you?!"

As soon as she was untied, Yeva rushed into her dad's arms and complained tearfully, "Daddy, it's her! She's thrown out all of our belongings!"

Braxton looked at Sage and said furiously, "Sage, what are you trying to do?!"

"I'm helping you move out."

Sage looked at them from the top of the staircase. "Uncle Braxton, this house belongs to my dad; it is his property. Please don't tell me that you intend to rob me of this place. I'm worried that your reputation might be affected if word of this gets out."

Braxton gritted his teeth. He was the first one to have laid eyes on the rose garden, but his older brother was one step ahead of him. At that time, he did not have sufficient funds, and he had been coveting the mansion for a long time. After Sage's death, he had quickly moved into the residence.

Braxton forced a smile on his face as he said, "Sage, we are still family, aren't we? After all, I am still the chairman of Norah Group. Besides, I have gotten used to staying at Rosa Garden…"

"One can change their habits if one is determined enough."

Sage interrupted Braxton without giving him a chance to finish his sentence. With a straight face and calm voice, she added, "We can always change the chairman. Uncle, if you ever plan on stepping down early, I'll make sure to make the necessary arrangements."