Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Ellie pressed her lips together, her expression sour.

She had noticed Charlotte was in a bad mood over the broken watch and figured it was a good chance to show off her connections — but Charlotte made one phone call and solved the whole thing just like that.

Ellie was seething inside, but couldn't find a single thing to say.

"Wow, you're incredibly capable.," Ellie forced a smile. "The watch is fixed, so I'll head back to my room now."

She turned away, and the smile vanished instantly. Only one thought ran through her mind —

She wasn't going to let Charlotte get away with this.

After Ellie went upstairs, Helen glanced at the closed door and lowered her voice. "Darling, doesn't something about this feel a little off to you?"

Charlotte had already walked away to put the watch back, so no one heard their hushed exchange.

David frowned, a strange feeling nagging at him too.

Something about this whole thing wasn't sitting right.

"How did this even happen? How did the watch get damaged in the first place? Do you think Ellie—"

"Shh." Helen quickly waved her hand, signaling him to stop there.

Both of their expressions turned serious.

After a moment, Helen let out a quiet sigh. "I'm not sure giving her the shares was the right call. It feels like Ellie isn't the same as before — she used to never fight for anything. Do you think bringing Charlotte back stirred something up in her? Maybe she's been pulling these little stunts behind our backs because she feels like she's losing out?"

David scoffed. "We raised her. If it weren't for us, she'd still be stuck in that orphanage. We never treated her badly — so what does she have to feel bitter about?"

"Well, blood is thicker than water. An adopted daughter can't really compare to your own flesh and blood, can she?"

Hearing that, Helen felt he had a point.

She nodded and sighed. "Forget it. I can't make sense of it anyway. No use overthinking it."

David said flatly, "This is the last time I'm letting her get away with something like this. If it happens again, I won't be so easy on her."

Upstairs, Charlotte had just put the watch away when her phone rang. It was Richard.

"Got some time? I want to take you somewhere."

"Sure," Charlotte agreed without hesitation. "But before we go anywhere else, there's somewhere I need you to take me first."

Richard was curious. "Where?"

"My grandfather's grave. He's been gone so long — I need to go see him."

She had returned to the Brown family now, settled into her new identity, and things had mostly calmed down.

Charlotte wanted to visit her grandfather — to let him know how she was doing.

Richard understood without needing more explanation. He drove over quietly to pick her up and headed to the Smith family cemetery.

But the moment they arrived, they ran into a group of bodyguards.

The men were blocking the entrance, clearly not letting anyone through.

Charlotte frowned. "What are you doing here?"

One of the bodyguards in black looked Charlotte over with obvious contempt.

"We've been hired by the Smith family to guard this cemetery. Our instructions are clear — no one is allowed in without permission, except for Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith, and their daughter, Ms. Stella Smith."

Charlotte's expression went cold the instant she heard that.

After everything she'd done to Thomas, his reputation was in ruins and he'd failed to use the antique watch to take back the company. He clearly couldn't swallow that, and with no other moves left, he'd resorted to this — blocking her from the cemetery.

He must have known that once she got the watch, she'd come here to see her grandfather.

Charlotte almost laughed at how pathetic it was.

"Working for the Smith family won't end well for you," she said, her tone flat and cold.

"I'll pay you double whatever they're paying. You can walk away right now."

The bodyguards didn't even flinch. One of them looked at her blankly. "Our company has a strict policy — once we take a job, we see it through. No matter how much money you offer, we won't take it. Please leave."

Richard's voice turned icy. "I'd suggest you step aside now. You don't want to deal with what comes next."

That only made the bodyguards more dismissive.

"We don't respond to threats. We're just doing our job."

"Fine."

Richard pulled out his phone and made a call, his face unreadable.

The bodyguards could tell he wasn't someone ordinary. They exchanged a glance, and one of them quietly slipped aside to call Thomas and fill him in.

Thomas and Vivian showed up shortly after, rushing over in a hurry.

The moment they saw Charlotte and Richard standing at the cemetery gate looking ready to force their way in, neither of them looked pleased.

Thomas especially — he still hadn't gotten over what Charlotte had done to him, and the anger hadn't gone anywhere.

Seeing her now, he stormed over. "You've got all the power and connections you want, I can't match that — but you're not getting into this cemetery. This is Smith family ground, and here, I'm the one who decides. You want in? Beg me."

He stared at Charlotte with a smug, challenging look, as if he had her completely cornered.

Charlotte didn't bother with him. She turned to Vivian instead.

"You're the one holding the key to the Smith family cemetery, aren't you? Hand it over."

"And why would I do that?"

Vivian let out a cold laugh — then her eyes caught the antique watch on Charlotte's wrist, and she went still for a moment.

She genuinely hadn't expected Charlotte to actually get the watch back.

Her expression darkened even further.

Richard kept his patience, but his voice was firm. "Last chance. Are you going to let us in or not?"

Seeing Richard speak up, Thomas felt a flicker of nerves, but he spread his hands and played the victim.

"It's not that I don't want to — it's just that Charlotte and I are done. She destroyed my reputation and never treated us like real parents. How am I supposed to just forget all of that and let her walk into the Smith family cemetery like nothing happened?"

He said it as if Charlotte had wronged him terribly.

Charlotte's expression turned sharp, and she was about to say something when Richard's phone rang.

He answered it. Whatever the person on the other end said, Richard just replied with a quiet "Bring the documents over now."

Thomas blinked. "What documents?"

Richard ignored him. When he turned to look at Charlotte, his expression softened completely.

"Don't worry. I'll get you in there — and you'll be able to come and go whenever you want after this."

Thomas didn't like the sound of that at all.

Come and go whenever she wants.

How was that even possible?

This was the Smith family cemetery.

Thomas laughed, stretching his mouth into a grin. "Mr. Davis, I know you're looking out for Charlotte, but no matter how much pull you have, you can't decide who gets into my family's cemetery, can you?"

"Your family's?"

Richard's lips curved slightly. "Are you sure this cemetery still belongs to your family?"

The words had barely landed when a car pulled up in front of them.

Thomas felt a sudden, sinking dread.