As I stepped into the greenhouse, the sunlight filling the room made me feel a long-lost warmth. The flowers and plants were indeed well cared for.At this season, the orchids exuded a delicate and elegant fragrance throughout the room.Surprisingly, butterflies were flying around in the greenhouse, which was a wonderful sight I could hardly imagine.I couldn't wait to go in. My mind was only focused on the pond full of water lilies, without stopping to appreciate the other flowers and plants.Sure enough, I could see the little pond, but sadly, not a single water lily could be seen—all that was swimming in it was koi fish!I stood by the pond in a daze, and Atlas hugged me from behind, "What's wrong?"I turned my head, pointed to the pond, and said to Atlas, "There used to be water lilies planted here! They looked beautiful when they bloomed!"Atlas looked a bit bewildered. He asked in surprise, "Do you remember?"I shook my head and said softly, "No, it's just from my dream!
We didn't know what Uncle Kenny wanted to do, but seeing his urgency, we were certain that something important was going on.He rushed forward, making his way quickly to the other side of the flower house with wobbly steps.There was a small room in the corner, just outside the side door of the greenhouse. It was dim and narrow, with only a bed and a broken table. The area was somewhat messy, with various gardening tools within.He reached the door of the room and turned back to stop us. "It's dirty inside. Please wait!"Uncle Kenny blocked us from entering, then his frail figure turned and disappeared into the room. Soon, we heard a clattering sound from inside. Although we couldn't see his actions, the sound conveyed his urgency.Before long, he came out with his face covered in dirt, and he held a dirty metal box in his hand.His eyes glanced vigilantly towards the entrance of the greenhouse from a distance.Then, he anxiously tried to open the box right in front of us, but h
This was an unexpected delight. It seemed like the heavens were playing a joke on us. An incredible opportunity had appeared just as we were utterly desperate.When Kenny saw that we were both bewildered, he quickly added, "The master also told me that if he didn’t come to retrieve them in the future, I should wait until you grow up, then give them to you."After hearing that, Atlas’s eyes suddenly grew moist as he looked at Kenny.I was moved too. Could Louis have sensed that something was going to happen to him back then?Regret tore at my heart. I couldn't imagine the pain Atlas must have been feeling."I was terrified. I asked the master why he had entrusted such an important thing to me for safekeeping; it didn't seem right. I... I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep it safe! But the master told me he believed in my loyalty and said I was a trustworthy person," Kenny said. He started crying again, "The master said I was very loyal and trustworthy!"Atlas nodded solemnly. "
"I don't know who told her about it later, but she came here with some people, asking me what the master had said to me. I didn't know what she wanted to know, but I refused to admit that I had any private dealings with the master, even if she wanted to beat me to death. I insisted that I was just a gardener." Kenny wiped his eyes, then continued, "So she beat me half to death and ordered some people to ransack my place. But they found nothing, so it ended there.""What a viper!" I cursed, then asked, "What happened afterwards?""Even though I was seriously injured, she refused to let me get any medical attention. I think she didn't care whether I lived or died. I was just an insignificant ant to her. She wanted me to perish!" Kenny gritted his teeth."I persisted, telling myself I couldn't die because I had to fulfill the task the master had entrusted to me. I had to keep the keys he had given me safe, so I would be worthy of the master." He looked at Atlas with a face full of joy.
Atlas immediately said "Kenny, we need to go now. Take care of yourself. I'll get you out of here."Then he pulled me with him back into the flower house, briskly crossing it until we stopped by the edge of the pool.I glanced back at Kenny. He was trembling, and quickly disappeared into the cottage. He was reluctant to see us leave.The butler came over when Tris arrived, glanced at the flower house, and smiled. "Mr. Atlas, Miss, please come over. The guests have arrived."Atlas gave him a cold glance and asked indifferently, "What guests?""Miss Celine invited some distinguished guests here to celebrate Mr. Atlas's return. After all, it's been a long time since the mansion had a lively event like this," The butler responded obsequiously.I ignored him and asked while pointing to the pool, "Where are the water lilies?"The butler immediately respectfully replied, "Madam, the water lilies we used to have were all precious varieties that no one could care for properly, so... they
I looked up toward the source of the voice.I couldn't help but smirk as my eyes fell on the long-lost phony Stella White, who I had been keeping an eye on.She had dared to come here in public, which was astonishing.She was blatantly trying to provoke me, the real Stella White.I glanced at Atlas, and we exchanged a smile. It seemed that I couldn't just let things slide today. I couldn’t let someone provoke me to my face. I had to play along.I remained composed and smiled at her, curious to see how she would start this drama.She took the initiative to speak first to show off.The people around us looked over and smiled. Their smiles told me many things, but they were definitely not kind.The hall was a perilous place at the moment.I watched as the impostor Stella eagerly began her performance.With a pleasant expression, she continued, "Cousin, you're finally back! We agreed to come back together, but I've been waiting for you for a long time."After saying that, she li
Stella laughed recklessly but soon understood that her attitude was inappropriate. She quickly restrained herself and nodded. She said, "That's right, you're returning home."I noticed a deepening mockery on Celine's face. I met her gaze unabashedly and asked, "Oh... by the way, shouldn't you reintroduce this Miss Stella to me, Celine?"I passed the ball to Celine, who was standing beside Atlas.When I saw Celine stifle a laugh, I said, "You’ve always treated her as your adopted daughter, and she even introduced herself as Stella, Rory’s daughter. I’ve been meaning to ask you, Celine, if she’s Stella, then... who am I? I didn’t know my father had two daughters."As soon as I said that, everyone turned to look at Celine.Atlas's hand had been around my waist all this time. When he saw me questioning Celine, he looked at her with apparent interest as he waited for her response.My question may have been too sudden. I had slapped Celine in the face with that question, and no one in
Celine’s face was filled with sorrow and distress."As the only surviving bloodline of the Pierce family, I had to shoulder the responsibility. Rory's wife passed away suddenly from grief, leaving two children in the mansion. As their aunt, I took over the care of the children and temporarily stayed in this mansion."I seized on the loophole in her words and asked, "Temporary?"She glanced at me, not responding directly, and continued, "It was chaotic at that time."Celine calmly recounted the events, and if I didn't know the whole story, I might have been moved by her kindness.Suppressing my inner anger, I maintained a faint smile, watching her continue performing.Meanwhile, everyone in the hall nodded and sighed intermittently, their eyes filled with admiration for her."Little did we know, that night, someone took Rory's daughter away during the chaos. It wasn't until morning that she was discovered missing, and the Pierce family immediately sent people to track her down. M