Chapter 49: Settling Accounts One by One
"Help me manage them?"
Bianca looked up at Thea, her eyes cold. "Ms. Ellis, I'm married now. I'm not a child anymore."
Bianca took a step forward. "Besides, if I remember correctly, my mom's apartment is now registered under your nephew's name? That villa by the beach—Blair borrowed it for three months last year and never returned the keys? Those jewelry pieces—I've seen them on your and Blair's dressing tables more than once. As for the paintings..."
Bianca paused, her gaze shifting to an expensive painting hanging on the living room wall.
It was one of Bianca's mother Daphne's favorite pieces from her collection.
"Where are they hanging now? Who's wearing them? Do I need to point them out one by one?"
Blair shot up from her seat, her voice sharp. "Bianca, what are you trying to say? Dad agreed to let us use those things. We're all family—why make such a big deal about it?"
"Family?"
Bianca repeated the words and suddenly laughed, the sound dripping with sarcasm. "Blair, you're an Ember, not a Rodriguez. Before your mom married in, you and I were not family."
Bianca turned to Glenn. "Dad, I didn't come here today to fight. I'm here to take back what my mom left me. Everything. Including all of my mom's paintings."
Thea said anxiously, "Bianca, what's gotten into you?"
Bianca took another document from Ralph and slammed a copy of the will onto the coffee table.
The moment Glenn saw the will, his expression completely changed.
Of course he knew about Daphne's will. Over the years, swayed by Thea's sweet talk, he'd chosen to turn a blind eye.
He'd always thought that since everything belonged to the Rodriguez family anyway, and Bianca was still young, they could deal with it later.
But now, Bianca had laid this will out before him in this manner.
Thea tried to argue. "This—this will might be fake. Daphne was so sick back then, maybe she wasn't in her right mind..."
"Thea Ellis!" Glenn suddenly shouted.
It was the first time Glenn had yelled at Thea using her full name, his chest heaving violently. "Shut your mouth."
Thea flinched at his outburst and didn't dare speak again, only glaring at Bianca with venomous eyes.
Bianca remained unmoved by Glenn's anger.
Glenn took several deep breaths. When he turned to Bianca, his tone had softened. "Bianca, I know I didn't handle some things well over the years, but we're family. Can't we talk things through? Why make such a scene?"
Bianca looked at him quietly. "A scene?"
"Dad, when outsiders took my mom's things one by one, you didn't think it was a scene. Now that I want to take back what belongs to me, you think it's a scene?"
Glenn's face turned iron-gray. "Bianca, watch your words."
Bianca laughed. "My mom's only been gone fifteen years, and there's already no place for her in this house. Even the things she left me have become other people's property, and you're telling me to watch my words?"
The living room fell into dead silence.
"Ralph."
"Mrs. Anderson."
"Send a formal letter demanding they return everything within three days. If they're late, I'll file a lawsuit to recover the property and pursue legal action for misappropriation."
"Yes."
Thea's legs gave way and she collapsed back onto the sofa.
Blair's voice was shrill. "Bianca, are you crazy? Those things are already worn out."
Bianca turned to look at Blair, her eyes cold as ice. She took a step forward, closing in on Blair. "Three days. I'm only giving you three days."
"After three days, if I don't see everything returned to me intact, I'll show you what the Anderson family's legal team looks like in action."
With that, Bianca stopped looking at their varying expressions and turned to leave.
At the door, she stopped without turning around, her voice drifting back lightly.
"Dad, my mom is watching you from heaven."
"Don't forget who got you where you are today, who built the Rodriguez Group into what it is."
Bianca lifted her foot and left.
In the car, the street scene flew backward past the window. Bianca closed her eyes, and Daphne's gentle smile from when she was alive appeared before her.
The things Daphne left her—she had to get them back.
Three days passed in a flash.
The morning of the deadline's last day.
Bianca woke earlier than usual.
She lay on her side, her gaze tracing Terrence's sleeping features.
Bianca curved her lips slightly.
All of this felt too good to be real.
Just as she was about to quietly get up, having moved only slightly, the arm around her waist instinctively tightened.
"Sleep a bit more." Eyes still closed, his voice carried the huskiness of just waking, pulling her back into his embrace.
"I can't sleep anymore. I need to go to the Rodriguez Mansion today." Bianca obediently leaned back, her fingers lightly playing with the buttons of his pajamas.
"You sleep more. You have to go to Dr. Graves for a follow-up this afternoon."
Terrence opened his eyes. Though his vision was still blurry, he raised his hand to stroke Bianca's cheek. "I'll go with you."
Bianca shook her head and held his hand. "You don't need to. I can handle this small matter myself. Your afternoon follow-up is more important. Ralph and the bodyguards will be there—nothing will happen."
She paused, then added, "You taught me that some things you have to fight for yourself to win completely."
Terrence looked at her silently, his thumb rubbing across the back of her hand. "Alright. If there's any trouble, come to me immediately."
"I know, Mr. Anderson." Bianca smiled and leaned in to kiss his chin before getting up efficiently.
At nine in the morning, Bianca stepped into the Rodriguez Mansion again.
Compared to three days ago, today she wore an even more simple and sharp black dress with a matching blazer. Her long hair was pulled back without a strand out of place, revealing her smooth forehead.
Ralph followed closely behind carrying a briefcase, while two bodyguards stood silently outside the door, their presence imposing.
The atmosphere in the Rodriguez Mansion's living room was so tense you could wring water from it.
Glenn sat on the main sofa, his face dark, the ashtray in front of him piled with cigarette butts.
Thea sat diagonally across from him, her eyes evasive, occasionally glancing toward the stairs with obvious unease.
On the coffee table sat several open velvet jewelry boxes containing some jewelry, but they were clearly incomplete sets, and their luster varied considerably.
"Is this everything?" Bianca glanced over.
Glenn snorted heavily but said nothing.
Thea forced out a smile that looked worse than crying. "Bianca, take a look. Some of your mother's jewelry has been around for so long—some pieces are lost, some are a bit worn. I'll compensate you in cash, okay?"
Then Thea pushed over a check with a substantial amount, but compared to the value on the inheritance list, it was clearly a drop in the bucket, an obvious attempt to muddle through.
Bianca didn't even glance at the check and walked straight to the coffee table.
Ralph immediately stepped forward, took out a copy of the list and a portable detection device, and began checking items one by one.
Ralph unrolled a painting scroll and examined it carefully, his brow furrowing slightly. "Ms. Rodriguez, this painting's mounting shows signs of recent tampering. There's a slight crease in the lower left corner of the canvas—it appears to have been clumsily repaired after accidental damage."