Chapter 58 It Was Never Fair
The items listed on the sheet were undeniably valuable… and some of them, Adrian and Amanda knew, were indeed in their possession.
"Nonsense!" Amanda snatched the list from Adrian's hands, crumpling it without even glancing at the contents.
"What relics? When has the Ember family ever taken anything from your mother? Stop making baseless accusations. Even if we have something, it was given to us by your stepmother—my sister, Thea. Sisters give each other gifts all the time. Is that a crime? Does it warrant you storming in here with this kind of spectacle?"
Adrian steadied himself, his voice adopting a stern, paternal edge. "Bianca, your aunt is right. Some things were indeed gifts from your stepmother, offered out of affection."
"Gifts aren't something you take back. As for the rest, we've never seen them. We don't know where they are. Perhaps you've been misled by gossip."
"Misled?" Bianca repeated softly, and then she smiled—an expression that carried no warmth. She reached into her handbag and retrieved a small recording device, pressing play.
The room filled with Thea's voice, captured in crisp detail, speaking with Amanda about hiding those items and ensuring Bianca never found out.
The recording cut off abruptly.
Adrian and Amanda's faces drained of color. Amanda's hand trembled as she pointed at Bianca. "You… you recorded her? You set up your own stepmother?"
"I simply documented the truth," Bianca replied, her tone cold. "And as for gifts… if they were legitimate, why would my stepmother instruct you to hide them from me? That hardly fits the definition of generosity."
She gave them no time to recover. With a tilt of her head, she signaled Ralph, who stepped forward carrying a tablet. The screen lit up with high-resolution photographs.
One showed a relative of Amanda's wearing the distinctive jade hairpin. Another captured the Ember mansion's living room wall, adorned with a painting clearly cataloged in Daphne Morgan's private collection.
Bianca tapped the screen lightly. "Shall I bring in professional appraisers and the archivists who documented my mother's possessions? Or perhaps… we skip the formalities and take a look inside right now?"
"You wouldn't dare!" Amanda's voice shot up, shrill and defensive.
"This is the Ember mansion. You don't get to barge in here. Those things… they were lost long ago. Yes, lost. Who's to say you didn't misplace them yourselves?"
Adrian forced a calm expression. "Bianca, airing family matters like this is unseemly. Even if your stepmother mishandled a few things, you're married into the Anderson family now. You want for nothing. Why damage the harmony between us? Does your father know you're doing this?"
"Precisely because my father may not know the full truth, I have the responsibility to reclaim my mother's belongings." Bianca stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the Ember family members blocking the doorway.
"When you helped yourselves to her possessions and even sought to sell or destroy them, did the word harmony cross your mind?"
She didn't wait for an answer. Her head turned slightly. "Ralph. Take the team inside."
"Yes, ma'am."
Four bodyguards moved in, not with violence but with an unyielding presence, gently yet firmly separating the Ember family from the entrance.
Ralph led two assistants straight into the mansion, armed with the inventory list and necessary tools.
Adrian and Amanda tried to block them, but the guards intercepted politely. "Please cooperate to avoid unnecessary conflict."
Amanda's face twisted with panic. She clutched her chest, crying and cursing in the same breath. Adrian's jaw tightened, his complexion darkening, but there was nothing he could do.
They hadn't expected Bianca to arrive so prepared, with evidence impossible to refute. Nor had they anticipated her decisiveness, her utter disregard for the so-called family dignity.
In less than twenty minutes, several boxes—large and small—were carried out.
Bianca's eyes flickered with something unreadable as she looked at the recovered possessions of her late mother.
Her gaze shifted to Adrian and Amanda, now pale and defeated.
"What we're taking today are only the confirmed items. The rest on this list will be pursued. My lawyer will compile the evidence from today's events. If the remaining items are not returned to the designated location, I will not hesitate to file formal charges of misappropriation. At that point… returning them will be the least of your problems."
Her eyes swept over the lavishly decorated mansion, her voice carrying a pointed undertone. "The Ember family's ventures have benefited greatly from the Rodriguez Group's projects in recent years. I suspect the board will want to reassess the integrity and legal risk of our partners."
Adrian flinched. The last trace of color drained from his face.
No one knew better than he how much the Ember family's current business relied on its ties to the Rodriguez Group.
If Bianca truly decided to cut them off…
She didn't bother with further words. Turning toward the waiting car, she left Ralph to oversee the careful loading of the boxes.
"Handle the legal follow-up," she said before stepping inside.
"Of course. I'll make sure it's done properly," Ralph replied.
The door closed, and the convoy pulled away from the Ember mansion.
City streets blurred past the window. Bianca leaned back in her seat, but there was no relief in her posture.
The sudden vibration of her phone broke the quiet inside the car.
She glanced at the caller ID, her eyes narrowing slightly, but she didn't answer.
The buzzing persisted for ten seconds before falling silent.
Moments later, it started again—insistent.
Bianca drew a slow breath and swiped to accept, pressing the phone to her ear without speaking.
"Bianca!" Glenn's voice exploded through the line, low and tight with restrained fury. In the background, a woman's high-pitched sobbing bled through. "Get back here immediately and see what you've done."
Bianca's lips curved faintly. So soon… sooner than she'd expected.
Her voice was even, devoid of emotion. "What is it you'd like to say?"
"You dare ask me that?" Glenn's tone rose, sharp with outrage. "You stormed into the Ember mansion with your people, snatched property, and nearly sent your aunt into a faint. She's your elder. Do you have no respect? No upbringing?"
"The Ember family are your stepmother's relatives. What you did shames me. You've ruined her reputation. How will she face her own family now?"
Snatched property. No upbringing.
The words rang hollow, steeped in hypocrisy.
Even knowing, from experience, how biased and cold her father could be, hearing him pass judgment without a single question—taking their side as if it were fact—was almost laughable.
She felt a pang of pity for her mother. The woman who had poured her dowry and her entire heart into building his career… her body barely cold before her possessions were devoured by his new wife and her kin.
And her daughter, seeking to reclaim them, was branded a thief and accused of lacking manners.
Bianca closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, there was nothing left in her gaze but ice.