Chapter 312: The More You Think About It, The Angrier You Get
Eloise Donovan had heard Arabella Donovan mention this before, so she wasn’t particularly surprised. It was just that Arabella hadn’t been so specific back then, so Eloise had only listened casually and hadn’t given it much thought.
Hearing about this despicable thing Cassandra Lynch had done now, she could feel her fists clenching.
The rest of the Donovan family felt the same. They already had a poor impression of Cassandra Lynch—that two-faced schemer who had harmed Eloise and loved to pull tricks behind the scenes.
Now that they knew she wouldn’t even spare a kindergarten-aged child, their contempt and disgust grew, and they all silently cursed her as a monster.
’The poor kid was born premature. His family has been struggling financially for years, so he never received proper care, and his health was already fragile. It’s a miracle he didn’t die after what she put him through. Thank goodness our cousin Zane brought them home; otherwise, who knows what horrors that inhuman monster would have inflicted on him.
And speaking of which, Cassandra Lynch is absurdly lucky. In the original plot, the only reason she even met Henry Lynch and his mother was because the main investor in that kids’ reality show was her boyfriend, Ian Jennings. But now that her "fake heiress" status is public, a guy like Ian, who puts his own interests first, would have dumped her ages ago.
Even if they hadn’t broken up, their relationship would be nowhere near as rock-solid as it was in the story. So how in the world did she manage to track down Henry Lynch and his mother under these conditions? Isn’t the plot armor The Providence gave her a little *too* powerful?’
After hearing her sister’s internal rant, Eloise gritted her teeth in fury. ’So her plot armor comes at the cost of another family’s child’s health?’
She hadn’t had a chance to meet her little nephew yet, but she had seen videos and photos sent by her foolish, love-struck cousin.
The little guy had truly inherited the best features from his parents. He was fair-skinned and delicate-looking. No wonder her second cousin’s daughter was always going on about "Ethan, Ethan." Who wouldn’t love such a well-behaved, adorable, and cuddly little treasure?
Perhaps because he was sick so often, he looked smaller than other children his age. His pale, palm-sized oval face was heartbreaking to see.
The thought that such a tiny child had been abandoned in the wilderness, left to freeze for an entire night, all for someone’s selfish gain... Even Eloise, who considered herself good-tempered, felt a surge of rage rush to her head. Her expression became utterly grim.
Arabella quickly noticed her sister’s strange expression and asked, confused, "Sis, what is it? You look terrible."
"It’s nothing. I was just thinking... if it weren’t for your warning, my uncle’s family wouldn’t have even known about them. Cassandra Lynch would have gotten to them first. Given how much she despises my uncle’s family and me, she would have undoubtedly targeted my sister-in-law and the child."
"Whether she decided to harm them directly or use them to threaten me and my uncle’s family, the consequences would have been unbearable. I can’t help but feel terrified just thinking about it."
Arabella nodded in understanding, letting out an imperceptible sigh.
’You’re right to be scared, Fourth Sister. In the original plot, the storyline about the mother and son ends with Zane Lynch giving up everything for their safety and surrendering without a fight. But that was after *you* abandoned the already-frail child outside to freeze for a whole night. Even if he was rescued, he was bound to suffer a major illness.
On top of that, his father went bankrupt at that exact moment. Not only would he have been unable to provide a good environment for the boy to recover, but he’d also have been forced to flee from his debts. How could the child’s fragile body have possibly withstood that? I don’t want to be so pessimistic, but if the story had played out as it was supposed to... that child probably wouldn’t have made it...’
Eloise: "..."
’Great. My fists are clenched.’
"Sis, what’s wrong? I think I see smoke coming from the top of your head."
"I’m fine. I just keep getting angrier the more I think about it, until I’m literally fuming. I’ll be fine once I cool down."
Arabella: ?
"Sis, that’s not good. You know the saying: ’Patience may bring temporary peace, but taking a step back just makes you angrier.’ When you get this mad, you have to vent. Otherwise, you’ll fall apart from bottling it all up."
Eloise paused, stroking her chin in thought. After a moment, her face lit up with sudden understanding. "Serena is right. I know what I need to do."
The rest of the Donovan family: "???"
They all had the same thought: ’It feels like Serena’s advice just flipped a very dangerous switch in Eloise.’ How... how terrifying!
"Ahem," Mrs. Donovan interjected. "Eloise, you just said that your uncle and aunt wanted to meet Serena."
Mrs. Donovan’s reminder brought Eloise back to the original topic. "Oh, right. After my sister-in-law and the child were brought home, my uncle and aunt were overjoyed. They were both relieved and frightened to hear that Cassandra Lynch had recently tried to contact them, which made them even more grateful for Serena’s help."
"Coincidentally, my second cousin returned before the New Year. She had planned to visit and thank you in person during the holidays, but then it turned out we weren’t even in Stroven City for the New Year."
"Your second cousin is back, too? Do you mean the one who wrote that fantasy series based on your second brother, which he later starred in? But because she was studying abroad, she had to ask Mr. Rhodes to get his autograph for her like a total fangirl?"
The description was a bit of a mouthful, but it was accurate...
"Yep, that’s the one."
Arabella, however, suddenly went quiet, her brow furrowing.
’Damn it. I knew I was forgetting something.’
Eloise’s heart skipped a beat. She had a gut feeling that something bad was about to happen to this cousin of hers.
’This cousin of Fourth Sister’s is one of those people destined for misfortune! She’s a talented, beautiful, and wealthy heiress who has it all. Yet because of that venomous viper of a "sister," Cassandra Lynch, she was kidnapped at a young age and nearly killed.’
A flicker of understanding crossed Eloise’s eyes. She’d heard Zane Lynch mention this before.
It was because he had uncovered this incident that Zane Lynch finally saw the true nature of the "sister" his family had raised for eighteen years. He easily accepted the truth and hardened his heart, severing all ties with Cassandra Lynch.
’Back then, her escape was discovered. She only managed to get away from the kidnappers because a young man helped her hide. Afterward, though, she came down with a high fever from the trauma and had to see a therapist for a long time to deal with the post-traumatic stress. By the time she recovered enough to look for her savior, he was long gone.’
The Donovans, Eloise included: "..."
’Oh, here we go. It’s this classic trope again!’
Arabella was clearly thinking the same thing, as she subconsciously arched a brow.
’Thinking about it, the story of Fourth Sister’s cousin and her savior could be its own book. It would definitely be more interesting than the main plotline. Too bad that in this novel starring Cassandra Lynch and her man, this cousin is just a cannon-fodder side character. She never gets to be the protagonist.’
And if she was just cannon fodder, their story was destined to be anything but perfect.
Sure enough, the next second, Eloise heard Arabella’s inner voice mutter...
’Her savior’s identity was stolen. And the impostor was none other than Cassandra Lynch’s number-three sycophant, Howard Gallagher!’