Chapter 2 Brother
"Amelia..."
Grant Richardson's voice was trembling, not from fear, but purely from excitement.
"I'm your brother! Do you remember me?"
"You got separated from us when you were three. We've been looking for you all this time but never found you."
"Luckily, the Phoenicia database was upgraded a few days ago, and we finally found you through it."
"But I was afraid it might be false hope, so no one else came. They just sent me."
Grant excitedly said all this, but Amelia remained expressionless, the wariness in her eyes.
She had almost been sold just now—she wouldn't trust anyone here.
"I don't care who sent you. Get lost before I make a move!"
Her principle was simple: if people didn't bother her, she wouldn't bother them, but if someone crossed her, she would definitely fight back. Still, she wouldn't kill someone before they made a threatening move.
Seeing she didn't believe him, Grant grew more anxious.
"Amelia, I really am your brother! Our family, the Richardsons, are the richest in Goldenvale. That New Year's Eve, there were too many people and you got separated from us. We've all been looking for you!"
Amelia looked Grant up and down.
"Richest family? The kind that rides tricycles?"
Grant instinctively looked down at himself and quickly explained, "No, my car broke down on the road, so I borrowed a tricycle from a local to pick you up. The Richardson family really is the richest!"
"Stop talking nonsense. Get lost!"
Grant was very anxious.
Fortunately, he quickly thought of something and pulled out a fish-shaped pendant from his pocket.
"Look, this is the twin fish pendant Dad had custom-made for you. When you got separated from us, you were wearing the other half around your neck."
When Amelia saw the fish-shaped pendant in Grant's hand, her eyes flickered, and she finally lowered her sickle.
The pendant she pulled out from around her neck was indeed a match to the one in his hand.
Seeing the pendant she took out, Grant was even more certain she was Amelia.
Originally, he had only identified her by her face, which resembled Natalie's. Now he was completely sure.
He quickly continued, "Isn't 'Amelia Richardson' engraved on your pendant?"
Amelia narrowed her eyes. The words "Amelia Richardson" were engraved in a hidden spot that even Piper hadn't noticed.
Could this man really be her brother?
Her guard dropped halfway, and she asked, "Where's your car parked?"
"At the entrance of the next village."
"Take me there! And remember, don't try anything funny. If I find out you're lying to me, today will be your last day!"
"Okay," Grant nodded quickly. When he reached the door, he clumsily climbed onto the tricycle and called for Amelia to get on.
Amelia was about to say no when her head spun with dizziness again.
After a moment's hesitation, she still held onto the tricycle and flipped herself onto it.
Grant was stunned. "Amelia, you're so agile."
"Stop talking! Go! Take that road."
"Okay."
Amelia was really nothing like the delicate, helpless sister he had imagined.
She was so bold and spirited!
He took a deep breath and pedaled energetically toward the next village.
With Amelia giving directions, they didn't run into anyone from the same village along the way.
Half an hour later, the tricycle finally reached the next village.
While on the tricycle, Amelia had already sealed certain points on her body, temporarily suppressing the effects of the drug.
She flipped off the vehicle and actually saw a black luxury car with Goldenvale license plates.
However, the car's front wheel was broken, and the front was clearly tilted to one side.
"Amelia, don't worry. I've already called the nearest mechanic. They should be here in about two hours."
Before he finished speaking, Amelia had already gone to the trunk, skillfully pulled out the spare tire and tools, and moved to the broken tire.
"Amelia, what are you doing?"
"Fixing the car!"
Two hours was too long.
Folks in that village were bad news. If they showed up, trouble would follow.
"You know how to fix cars?"
Amelia ignored him, using the jack to lift the car.
In less than ten minutes, the tire was changed.
She kicked away the broken tire and pulled open the car door to get in.
Seeing the dazed Grant standing outside, she immediately frowned impatiently.
"What are you standing there for? Get in!"
"Okay."
Grant snapped back to reality and quickly went around to the passenger side.
"Amelia, you're amazing! You can even change tires. I can't do that. By the way, what were you going to do with that sickle earlier?"
Amelia was brief. "Cut grass to feed the pigs."
Grant felt a pang of sadness.
"Amelia, I didn't know you had it so hard. Don't worry, once you come home with me, you'll never have to do these things again!"
Before he finished speaking, the car had already shot forward like an arrow, making Grant scream in fright.
"Slow down! Amelia, I'm scared, slow down."
"Noisy."
Grant's voice was making Amelia's ears hurt.
When his second round of screaming started, Amelia didn't say much—she freed her right hand and chopped down with a hand strike.
The world was finally quiet.
The car sped up again, weaving between lanes on the road, causing a chorus of honking.
Meanwhile, on a plane about to take off, Piper hung up the phone with a dark expression and yanked off Isaac's eye mask.
"Something happened."
Isaac opened his eyes impatiently. "What happened?"
"Evangeline and the others' house caught fire. Everyone burned to death."
Only then did Isaac sit up straight.
"What about Amelia?"
"What do you think? She burned to death too!"
There wasn't a trace of sadness in Piper's eyes, only irritation.
"You haven't seen her in years, but let me tell you, she's grown up to be beautiful! I felt like thirty thousand dollars was too cheap! According to the agreement, after they verified she was a virgin, they were supposed to give me the remaining fifteen thousand dollars! Now it's all wasted!"
Isaac, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's fifteen thousand dollars? Once I marry Maeve, fifteen million dollars will just be pocket change."
Besides, that skinny little Amelia from childhood—no matter how pretty she became, could she be prettier than the pampered Maeve Sullivan?
"But fifteen thousand dollars is still money." Piper said with regret.
Isaac shook his head.
"You're so short-sighted! If you ask me, I was always worried while she was alive. If Maeve found out I had a fiancée from an arranged marriage, she'd definitely throw a fit. Now that she's dead, she'll never know about Amelia's existence."
Hearing this, Piper's chest finally felt less tight.
"You're right. When we get to Goldenvale, I'll pay my respects to her. That way I won't feel too guilty."
Isaac frowned disapprovingly.
"Maeve's family isn't superstitious. Don't do that stuff—they don't like it. Dead is dead. Paying respects or not doesn't matter. Besides, if she hadn't died and had been sold to the village chief's family, she could have had a good life too. So her death isn't on us—it's just her bad luck."
Piper agreed, then suddenly felt hungry.
She remembered she had brought sandwiches from home and quickly opened her bag.
A card fell out and landed on the floor.
"You dropped something." Isaac noticed and reminded Piper.
Piper picked up the card from the floor and looked at it, remembering what it was.
"After Amelia went out to work, she sent money back every month. It takes me an hour and a half to get to the bank in town. Amelia was deliberately making things difficult for me by not sending cash. When we get to Goldenvale, I need to see how much is in there."
Isaac looked disgusted.
"She dropped out at twelve to work. How much could she have earned? Don't be so short-sighted. If the Sullivans find out about this card, just throw it away!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the card from Piper's hand and tossed it.
"Don't throw it!"
Piper quickly ran to pick it up. "However much it is, it's still money! After all these years, even if she only sent a thousand dollars a month, that's over a hundred thousand dollars."
Isaac couldn't be bothered with her anymore and put his eye mask back on to rest.
When they got to Goldenvale and saw Maeve, he'd have a lot of sweet-talking to do—she didn't like him bringing Piper to Goldenvale.
Just as they arrived in Goldenvale, Grant suddenly opened his eyes, the sting of Amelia's strike still lingering in his mind.