Chapter 3 The Helicopters

Lilah's lips curved into a faint, deliberate smile. "You're really leaving with just that?" she asked lightly. "Or are you hoping Mom and Dad will pity you if you look miserable enough, Katherine?"

Before Katherine could react, Lilah reached out and yanked the canvas bag from her hand.

The strap slipped loose. Its contents spilled across the marble floor-simple necessities, nothing extravagant.

Yet among them, something gleamed. A small jewelry box rolled aside, its lid falling open, revealing a bracelet studded with deep-blue diamonds that caught the light in a sudden, dazzling flare.

All eyes were drawn to it. Lilah's breath hitched.

She recognized it instantly. It was the debut piece of Katrine, the legendary jewelry designer-a creation once valued at five million dollars, now rumored to be worth twice that.

Lilah had admired it countless times in glossy magazines, never imagining she would see it here... much less in Katherine's possession.

Her eyes lit up with undisguised desire. "Katherine, this is a Katrine original," Lilah exclaimed, her voice sharp with accusation. "It's worth ten million dollars! How could you just take it without saying a word?"

Katherine bent down calmly and picked up the bracelet.

Resting in her slender palm, the diamonds shimmered softly, their light shifting with every slight movement.

Around her, greed flickered unmistakably in the Warren couple's eyes.

They both knew the bracelet had once belonged to Hazel Warren, Roger's mother. She had given it to Katherine shortly before her death. But none of them had ever known its true value.

Ariella's expression darkened at once. "Exactly. What right do you have to take it? You're not even our biological daughter. That bracelet belongs to Hazel's real granddaughter. Give it to Lilah-now."

Roger's face hardened as well. He had no intention of letting a fortune walk out the door with someone he no longer acknowledged as family. "Katherine, you shouldn't take that bracelet with you," he said sternly.

For the first time, Katherine felt genuine disbelief-not at their greed, but at the depth of their shamelessness.

She lifted her gaze, her voice icy. "And what makes you think it was Grandma who gave me the bracelet?"

The bracelet had never been a purchase. It had been a creation.

Hazel was the only person in the Warren family who had ever treated Katherine with genuine kindness. She had been her shelter, her warmth, her quiet refuge in a cold household. Inspired by that bond, Katherine had designed the bracelet herself, naming it "Guardian of Stars."

After Hazel's passing, it had naturally returned to its creator.

As Katherine spoke, Lilah's face stiffened.

She quickly lowered her gaze, her voice softening into something fragile. "If you really don't want to give it back, I won't force you. I just... regret that I came back too late. I didn't even get to see Grandma."

Katherine paused. Then she looked straight at Lilah. "When did Grandma pass away?"

The question landed like a blade. Lilah froze, her mind blank. She didn't know.

Roger and Ariella stiffened as well.

They remembered. Hazel had died five years ago-long after Katrine had already risen to fame.

Back then, the Warren family's business was barely surviving. Even possessing a million dollars would have been unthinkable, let alone five.

That meant one thing. Hazel could never have bought that bracelet.

Still, Lilah refused to concede. Her voice rose sharply, almost desperate. "Even if it wasn't Grandma who bought the bracelet, it was still paid for by the Warren family!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed the strange expressions on her parents' and Katherine's faces.

Katherine let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "I can't believe I wasted my breath arguing with someone this foolish." Without another glance, she turned and walked out of the house.

Lilah instinctively moved to follow her, but Roger stopped her with a hand.

"There's no point," he said. "That bracelet can't be real."

They were convinced the bracelet had to be fake. Otherwise, how could Katherine possibly own something so valuable?

Ariella scoffed, curling her lip in disdain. "She probably bought a cheap imitation to show off. Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll buy you plenty of real jewelry."

Lilah nodded, though disappointment lingered in her eyes.

The bracelet had looked real-too real.

Still, she reassured herself. She was the only daughter of the Warren couple now. Anything she wanted would eventually be hers.

Just then, a thunderous roar shook the air. The three of them rushed to the window as a line of helicopters swept across the sky, their engines deafening. "Who could be that extravagant?" Ariella murmured in disbelief.

Outside, Katherine was already walking down the hillside, her small bag slung over one shoulder, when the roaring sound made her stop.

The helicopters were heading straight toward her.

Powerful gusts of wind whipped through the grass as they descended, landing smoothly nearby. Katherine instinctively closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, a man had stepped out of one of the helicopters.

He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, his presence commanding, unmistakably striking. With long strides, he approached her, a faint smile playing at his lips.

"You must be my little sister," he said smoothly. "You were waiting for me, weren't you?"