Transmigrated Into The True Heiress-Chapter 32: Half The Shit

Eliot turned to his secretary and gave her a look that made her stiffen. His secretary, a young woman named Gwen, shifted nervously, trying to avoid Eliot’s piercing gaze.

"Gwen," Eliot’s voice was cold, a sharp contrast to the fury he had just unleashed moments ago. "I trusted you to handle all my affairs, yet you failed to inform me about my daughter’s hospitalization. Care to explain why?"

Gwen’s face paled. She cleared her throat, taking a hesitant step forward. "Sir, I... I tried to inform you, but the situation was... complicated. I assumed it wasn’t urgent since Mrs. Marianna assured me everything was being handled."

Eliot’s jaw tightened. "You assumed?" he repeated slowly, his tone simmering with controlled anger. "You assumed that my daughter being in a coma wasn’t urgent enough to inform me?"

Gwen swallowed hard. "I’m sorry, sir. I should have insisted... but Mrs. Marianna—"

"You do not work for my wife," Eliot snapped. "You work for me, Gwen. When something important happens, I expect to be informed, no matter what anyone else says. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir. Crystal clear." Gwen’s voice wavered slightly as she bowed her head, her hands trembling at her sides.

Eliot turned away from her and glanced at the mother and daughter begging for his forgiveness. He glared at them before walking into the mansion, while Elma stayed put, making Eira smile.

She walked forward, and when Elma realized she was coming towards her, she stepped forward to meet her. "Miss Ephyra, is everything you said true?"

When Eira nodded, Elma started panicking. "Are you alright? I hope you didn’t get hurt. You sounded so fine on the phone; I couldn’t have imagined that something like this happened!" she said, searching Eira’s body for injuries, and when she saw none, she looked relieved.

Eira held her hands and shook her head. "Elma, I am fine. Take these," she said, handing her bag and laptop before coaxing her. "Can you please drop these in my room? I know you’ve been very worried, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’m perfectly fine. See?" she patted her face and twirled. "I look good, don’t I? So quit worrying already, or else your wrinkles will get worse. I have something to do, so you go first, okay?"

"Are you sure?"

"Come on, go. Go, go, go." Eira gently nudged Elma away with a smile, making sure her tone was lighthearted to ease the older woman’s concern. Elma hesitated, her eyes scanning Eira’s face for any signs of hidden distress, but finally, with a reluctant nod, she turned and headed into the mansion, clutching Eira’s bag and laptop.

Eira made sure they were far enough before dropping the act. She turned around slowly, stared amusingly at the two, and chuckled.

She walked leisurely towards them and stopped when the distance between them was up to a meter. Sighing dramatically, Eira cocked her head to the side and spoke, making the two glare daggers at her. "Oh, you pitiful little things... you don’t know how sad it was for me to watch you cry, beg, and get punished for only a tiny bit of your sins. Sigh, I wonder what would happen if Father found out everything you’ve done to me since I was a kid. Especially you, Marianna. I just wonder..."

At this point, both the mother’s and daughter’s expressions were filled with immense hatred, and their eyes revealed an urge to tear Ephyra into tiny pieces and make her existence disappear from their lives.

Marianna had learned over the years that acting rashly only led to deeper troubles, so she was able to hold herself back. But Myra was still young, and her rage consumed her. She stood up, pointing a finger at Ephyra. "You fucking bitch! How dare you! You fucking set me up against Dad, just like in school! I’m going to kill you, you fucking trash!" Marianna, who had stood up immediately after Myra, hurriedly held her back. "You should have just died during that attack! Why didn’t you fucking die and disappear?! Why the hell did you fucking come back?! You bitch."

Eira placed her hand over her mouth, stopping herself from laughing out loud as she stared at the crazed figure in front of her. Then suddenly, she stared alarmingly at them and held a finger to her lips. "Shhh! We do not want Father to hear you, do we? That would be very bad." She turned to Marianna with an innocent smile. "Wouldn’t it?"

Marianna glared at Ephyra, realizing that the stepdaughter she knew was totally different from the girl standing before them. Then, a faint smile appeared on her face as she spoke with venom. "I do not know what made you change this much, Ephyra, but whatever it was, just think of it as your luck. And when your luck runs out, trust me, I will enjoy making you suffer for the humiliation you made me and my daughter go through. You think you know everything. Well, I want to remind you that you’re still a kid and you have no idea what you’re up against." Marianna’s smile twisted into something dark.

Eira rolled her eyes and met her gaze without flinching, her expression unbothered. "Is that so, Marianna?" She dropped her voice to a whisper and stepped closer, pulling out her phone. "Then let me tell you something too—no, the both of you." She tapped her phone screen, and a familiar male voice rang out.

’You... you’re still alive?’

’Lucky, I guess,’ Ephyra said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The man let out a bitter laugh. ’Lucky? You? You were the legitimate daughter turned into a bastard, mistreated your whole life, and now your stepmother wants you dead. Some luck you’ve got.’

Eira tapped her phone again, and the audio stopped playing. She twirled it and smiled, appreciating the horror-stricken, pale faces of Marianna and Myra.

"You didn’t think I’d just come back after that attack with nothing, did you?" Eira pouted and then smiled.

"Can you guess, huh? Can you guess how your husband will react when he finds out that you hired someone to kill the daughter of his first late love? You can’t. Do you know why? Because you dread imagining how he will react, not to mention it happening. It is the predecessor of all your hidden dirty secrets, isn’t it?" Eira’s voice was laced with dark amusement as she watched Marianna’s and Myra’s expressions shift from rage to fear.

"And my dear little step-sister... I hope you didn’t forget that I still have the video of what happened in school. Oh, and all the drama that took place here—" She pointed at their surroundings—"is in here." She waved her phone. "Meticulous, right? Well, I could show it to everyone, but where’s the fun in that?"

Myra’s trembling hand dropped from where it had been pointing at Eira. "Y-you," she stammered, her voice barely a whisper, though her eyes betrayed the panic rising within her.

Marianna, however, though visibly shaken, was not as easily rattled. She straightened her posture, her smile still in place. "Ephyra," she began, her voice calm but laced with venom, "you’re far more cunning than I gave you credit for. But this little game you’re playing won’t last forever. You think a mere recording will be enough to bring me down?"

Eira shrugged. "Maybe it won’t. But it’s enough to ruin you in Father’s eyes. And I think we both know that’s what really matters to you." She paused, allowing her words to sink in before continuing. "You’ve built this life around being the perfect wife, the devoted stepmother. But if he finds out what you both have been doing, it’ll all come crashing down, won’t it?"

Marianna’s smile wavered ever so slightly, but she remained composed. "You forget, Ephyra, I have ways of handling things. I’ve been doing this long before you were old enough to understand what real power is."

Eira chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Marianna, Marianna, Marianna... you’re not even half the shit I’ve dealt with. So, allow me to remind you of something, too. I’m not the weak, silent girl you used to manipulate."

She stepped forward, her voice dropping even lower, barely above a whisper. "The next time you or your precious daughter even think about coming after me, I’ll make sure your worst fears become reality. And trust me, Marianna—I’m far from done with you. If you think you can kill me, come at me then, because I won’t stop until you’re begging for death."

Marianna clenched her fists, trembling with barely contained rage, but she remained silent. She could feel the shift in Ephyra—the power she now carried in her words and movements. This wasn’t the same girl she’d been able to intimidate for years.

Myra, still seething, opened her mouth to fire back another insult, but Marianna tightened her grip on her daughter’s arm, silently warning her to stay quiet.

Eira’s smile widened, noticing Marianna’s restraint. "Good," she said lightly, turning away as if the entire confrontation bored her. "Enjoy your punishment. It’s just the beginning, after all."