Chapter 47
Apparently, Narissa’s words failed to convince anyone. They all just stayed silent for two seconds and didn’t take her seriously.
“Narissa, come on,” Cressida sneered, unable to hide her contempt. “If you don’t know how, just say so. No one here will laugh at you. Why are you lying?”
‘Field survival? Does she even know what that entails? It’s complex. It even took us a long time to master it. Her experience? Probably just scraping the surface, Cressida thought.
“Exactly,” Dario chimed in, his voice dripping with disapproval. “An Everton must be honest first and foremost. Seems the one raised outside brings nothing but flaws.”
“Dad,” Amanda protested, tears welling again. “Narissa had a tough time. And it wasn’t her choice to be away from us.”
Hector added his defense, “Dad, she just doesn’t want us to look down on her. A bit of pride isn’t a bad thing. She’ll improve
as she learns more.”
“Save it. More likely she’ll just get worse,” Dario retorted, unmoved.
Cressida saw it as another ploy for sympathy. She thought, ‘Narissa has more tricks up her sleeve than a magician.’”
Cressida said sweetly, “Well, Mom, Dad, since she’s so capable, clearly she doesn’t need my help. We’ll just have to wait and see her performance.”
“Performance? More like another chance to disgrace the Evertons,” Dario snapped. “Hector, Amanda, stop dawdling. Get her participation revoked. Now!”
Narissa’s patience finally snapped. She snatched an apple from the fruit bowl and bit into it with a sharp, loud crunch.
The sound, coupled with the sudden, icy intensity in her gaze, made Cressida flinch and look away involuntarily.
“See? No manners. Eats like a stray cat,” Dario muttered.
Before the echo of his words faded, Narissa flicked the apple core. It whistled past Cressida’s cheek and landed precisely in a small trash can over twenty meters away with a solid thunk.
This movement stunned everyone into silence. Cressida froze in fright. Amanda gasped, and Hector stared, dumbfounded. Dario’s jaw tightened.
Narissa hadn’t uttered a word, but her deadly calm action showed that she had lost her patience.
It took a while for everyone to come to their senses. Cressida clenched her fists, thinking to herself, ‘No way! It must be a
coincidence.‘
Dario also thought it was a coincidence. ‘A wild child raised outside couldn’t possibly have such skill, he mused.
But Narissa was done. She turned her back on their shocked faces and walked upstairs without another word.
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Back in her room, Narissa quickly activated her communicator and got in touch with Octopus.
Narissa: [008, are you there? Report.]
Octopus replied instantly: [Boss! You’re online. Almost missed you! Hey, did you see the latest…]
Before Narissa could text anything, the chatty Octopus started rambling on, leaving no room for Narissa to cut in.
Narissa interpreted: [Shut up and get to the point.]
Octopus: [Right, Boss. What’s the matter?]
Narissa: [Delivery window for the Blood Ruby secured.]
Octopus: [Seriously? Secure? This delivery is crucial for us. If anything goes wrong…]
Narissa: [Regality Academy has a week–long survival exercise on an uninhabited island. Coordinates: Skylark Isle. I’ll hide the Blood Ruby there. Retrieve it after we depart.]
Octopus: [Great idea. Low profile, zero risk of exposure during handoff. Only you could think of this. Brilliant! Hey, Boss, while you’re there, maybe you could also–1
The line went dead. Narissa had cut the connection mid–sentence. Listening to Octopus ramble for potentially hours held zero appeal.
Looking down at the communicator components in her drawer, a satisfied smirk touched Narissa’s lips.
‘Uninhabited island. Perfect cover. Fortune smiles. Even you, Bastien Harlow, with all your resources, can’t track me to the middle of the ocean,’ she thought.
*****
On departure day, Amanda and Hector packed mountains of supplies for Narissa and Cressida, dispatching a car to drive them to the seaside dock.
Traffic near the dock was congested with families seeing off their kids. Impatient, Narissa grabbed her backpack and got out, walking the last stretch.
Cressida, ever the poised heiress, was impeccably dressed but hopelessly impractical for travel, let alone carrying luggage.
Seeing Narissa stride off with her gear, Cressida stamped her foot in frustration. “Typical country bumpkin. Only good for manual labor.”
She turned to the driver and bodyguard. “You two. Take my things to the dock.”
“Yes, Miss Everton,” they replied. Cressida followed them, hands free, radiating privilege.
Cressida wasn’t alone. Most heirs from prominent families had entourages hauling their luggage. In this sea of pampered youth, Narissa, carrying her pack, became a glaring anomaly.
A group of society brats who already despised her seized the moment for snide remarks. “Well, well. Look at the country bumpkin hauling her own sack. How embarrassing!” someone sneered.
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“Has Everton’s fortune dried up? Can’t afford a porter for the long–lost heiress? Where are the maids?” another echoed.
“Come on. Foundlings never learn true refinement. A duckling stays a duckling, never a swan,” someone else chimed in.
Narissa tuned them out completely. She wasn’t here for their petty judgments.
“Narissa! Over here!” A familiar voice called out just as Narissa reached the dock. Jaylen and Gilbert were waving, flanked by their usual circle of elite friends.
Jaylen’s family and Gilbert’s clan stood significantly higher than the Evertons in the social hierarchy. Their immediate convergence around Narissa sent waves of envy through the lesser heirs nearby.
They wished they could be part of Jaylen’s circle, as it would elevate their status. But they didn’t have the privilege.
What they couldn’t understand was why Narissa, the scandal–ridden second daughter of the Everton family, was allowed to be with Jaylen. ‘Why her? Why does she have this privilege?‘ they all wondered.
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