Reborn Heiress: Taking Back What Is Rightfully Hers!-Chapter 612: Who Pushed Me?

"What do we do? We can’t find the way back, and there’s no signal on our phones! No wonder no one comes to this temple anymore—this place is way too easy to get lost in!" Autumn cried out anxiously.

Aurora remained calm, taking in the surroundings. The towering trees blocked most of the sunlight, and the scenery had an ancient, almost solemn atmosphere. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

She had never seen anything like this in her twenty-six years, so she reassured herself—it was a price to pay. If she wanted to see something beautiful, she had to accept getting lost along the way.

"Let’s not panic. We should stay put and wait. The director will come looking for us," Aurora said as she casually sat on a large rock nearby.

Everyone was exhausted from walking and took the chance to rest, but Autumn was restless. "Stay here and wait? What if... there are wild animals? That would be terrifying!"

"There aren’t any wild animals here. It’s not a jungle. I’ve been staying at my Grandma Carter’s place for a while, and I’ve never heard of any large beasts roaming around," Brown said coolly.

With that reassurance, the group agreed to wait. Caroline, however, was visibly irritated, pacing back and forth. "Ugh, what now? I’m thirsty and hungry, and I ran out of water."

Autumn quickly handed her a bottle. "Here, take mine."

Caroline was surprised for a moment but quickly understood. Autumn had always treated her like a servant back at the villa. And now, suddenly acting like a friend? It was obvious—she was just putting on a show for Brown.

Caroline shook her head. "No thanks. Keep it for yourself. I can manage."

Aurora silently pulled an unopened bottle from her backpack and handed it to Caroline. "Take it. I brought two."

Caroline was stunned. She had been cold toward Aurora the entire trip, yet Aurora didn’t seem to care at all. Her expression remained as calm as ever.

"Thanks." Caroline didn’t hesitate this time, taking the bottle and drinking deeply.

By the time 11:00 AM rolled around, there was still no sign of anyone coming for them, and the group started to grow uneasy.

Aurora and Brown remained composed. They both understood that while this was a dense forest, it wasn’t an endless jungle. If they really had to, they could pick a direction and eventually find their way out.

The real challenge was that they had no water or food left. If they wandered too far from the edge of the forest, things could get tricky.

So their best option was still to wait.

But things rarely go as planned. Just as they were trying to stay put, some people had other ideas.

At 10:11, the sound of footsteps broke the silence. Excited, the group thought their team had finally come to rescue them.

But when they saw who it was, they instinctively huddled together, their expressions turning cold.

The newcomers wore masks, revealing only their eyes. From their clothing, they looked like locals.

"Who are you? Get the hell out of our land!"

"Leave now, or we won’t be so nice!"

The men glared at Aurora’s group with nothing but hostility.

Aurora felt someone grab her hand. Turning to her left, she saw that it was Brown.

His grip was firm, his eyes steady yet gentle. Then, switching to the local dialect, he began speaking with the masked men.

They remained wary, but the sharp hostility in their eyes softened slightly.

Autumn, who had been on edge, started to relax. But when she saw Brown still holding Aurora’s hand, her gaze darkened instantly.

This woman was infuriating!

She took everything from her—now even the man she liked?

Aurora subtly pulled her hand away. She had started to sense Brown’s feelings for her, but now wasn’t the time to think about relationships.

After some tense back-and-forth, one of the men finally waved them off and said coldly, "Leave."

"We should go," Autumn said bitterly. They had only been here for a short while, yet they were already being kicked out?

At least they weren’t robbed or harmed. That would’ve been a real disaster.

Brown sighed, realizing the men weren’t willing to compromise. Turning to Aurora, he explained, "I tried speaking to them, but they said we’re outsiders—we just come here and ruin their land without bringing them any benefits. So they told us to get lost."

The group exchanged glances but said nothing more. Aurora gave a slight nod. "Let’s go before we provoke them any further."

Everyone agreed and followed the path to the left. Once they had put some distance between themselves and the masked men, Caroline finally muttered in frustration, "What was their problem? Are they really just hostile mountain folk? The director said we paid the village over a thousand bucks in fees!"

Brown’s expression darkened. "Those villagers have it rough... The government took their land for development, but they weren’t properly compensated. They’re stuck with little income and nowhere to vent their frustration except on outsiders."

Aurora remained silent. She didn’t want to comment on something she hadn’t experienced firsthand. She had no right to speak on matters she didn’t fully understand.

Autumn, on the other hand, kept voicing her dissatisfaction, criticizing the local situation.

After some time, they reached a slope, and the group felt a surge of hope. They had taken a slope like this on their way to Sansheng Temple, but something about the surroundings still felt unfamiliar to Aurora.

Then, out of nowhere, a forceful shove from behind sent Aurora tumbling down!

Dominic gasped in shock, and Brown immediately lunged after her, managing to grab hold of her just in time.

Aurora was momentarily stunned. She rolled down the rocky incline, hitting her forehead hard. A painful lump had already formed. The ground was covered in jagged stones—if Brown hadn’t caught her, she would have slammed straight into the massive boulder at the bottom.

"How could you be so careless? Are you okay?" Brown asked, his voice filled with concern as he looked at the swelling on her forehead.

Aurora was still catching her breath. Instinctively, she glanced back. Dominic had already rushed to her side, with Autumn and the others quickly following.

Who had been standing behind her just now?

She didn’t want to cause trouble while they were lost, so she forced a calm smile. "I’m fine... Just slipped, that’s all."

Dominic patted his chest in relief. "You scared me to death! If Brown hadn’t reacted so fast, you would’ve—" he glanced at the large rock below—"you definitely would’ve hit that!"

Autumn and the others reached her and asked if she was okay. Aurora remained composed, so no one suspected that she had actually been pushed.

But another problem loomed—they were still lost. They had been wandering in circles for hours, exhaustion setting in. With no food left, they had no choice but to drink water to stave off hunger.

The crew member, Uncle Diego, shouted several times in hopes of being heard, but there was no response.

"What do we do? We’re completely lost. We can’t get out. This is hopeless..." Autumn collapsed onto the ground, despair creeping into her voice.

It was already 4:00 PM. Everyone was too exhausted to move, so they sat down to rest.

Aurora remained silent, but deep inside, she knew something had changed. Autumn was no longer the person she thought she was.

Leaning closer to Dominic, she lowered her voice and asked, "Dominic... when I fell down that slope, who... who was standing behind me?"