CHAPTER 51: THE SOLE HEIRESS OF THE HOUSE

Author’s POV

"Your things were stolen?" Asher cut her off with a lifted brow as his voice was flat, but his eyes were sharp. "Who could have done that?"

Asher hadn’t come downstairs for this nonsense, but when he heard that even Melissa’s belongings were being stolen by maids... he couldn’t help but think:

If they dared to do this with Melissa, the one they always pampered, what did they do to Sera all these years?

Melissa nodded with a pout, pretending to be hurt. "Yes! Someone stole things I asked the maids to keep aside after my birthday. And now they’re saying... that Seraphina took them. That she snatched it all."

Asher leaned back on the couch and let out a small, amused scoff.

So that’s the story now.

"Call Sera," he said coldly.

The atmosphere in the living room changed instantly. A few maids flinched before they quickly bowed and dispersed in panic to bring Seraphina.

They were heading toward the old storage room when Asher’s voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Why are you going there?" he asked, his tone still calm, but his eyes colder than the snow.

The maids froze mid-step. None of them dared speak. They looked at each other, then toward Melissa, unsure of what to do.

Melissa’s eyes darted as she cleared her throat and forced a smile. "Brother... Sera’s not at home. She... she must’ve gone back to the dorms."

She knew that Sera was at home, and yet she was bluffing.

What she wasn’t aware of was that Sera was in Asher’s room.

When Asher brought her home last night, most of the regular staff had already left. Morning staff didn’t even know Seraphina had returned.

Only a few night shift members had seen her come in, and Melissa was clearly not at home.

Melissa came back knowing all these things.

So she lied...right to his face.

And Asher just sat there quietly, watching her every move in silence.

"Brother, I... There’s no need for her to come," Melissa said quickly, almost as if she was scared Seraphina would really show up and ruin everything. "I mean... Sera, she’s my sister, after all. There’s no way she could have done something like that."

Her voice was soft and sweet, but Asher saw through that sugar coating.

"Is that so?" he asked. His voice was lazy but sharp. He leaned forward just a little, resting his elbows on his knees and narrowing his eyes. "Then why are you making a scene in front of the entire house?"

Melissa’s lips twitched. Asher had never used a cold and rude tone on her before.

And that sudden shift in Asher’s attitude was a huge blow to her. But she forced herself to stay calm, hiding the fury boiling inside her.

"I... I didn’t mean to accuse her," she said, looking down like she was trying to play innocent. "I didn’t believe the maids at first either. But... then I saw the security camera footage."

Asher’s stare didn’t waver. He said nothing and just waited to see how far Melissa was willing to go with her lies.

Melissa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and continued in a soft tone, acting all innocent. "I didn’t want to believe it at first... I really didn’t. But when I saw the footage, I couldn’t ignore it anymore."

Asher raised an eyebrow, but he still didn’t say anything.

"What did you see in the footage?" he asked at last as his voice sounded dangerously calm.

Melissa blinked. "I—I saw Seraphina near the staff wing... one of the maids said she had barged in and taken some stuff from them."

Asher’s jaw tightened.

If it were before, he would have believed Melissa and thought that Seraphina might really have done something like that.

But after last night... There was no way he would believe anyone but her.

"And did the camera show her stealing anything?" he asked. "Or are we just pointing fingers based on someone’s mouth again?"

"I..." Melissa faltered.

Asher’s stare turned sharper and colder. "You saw her walking past the wing and assumed she stole something? Or were you so desperate to pin something on her that you stopped using your brain altogether?"

He didn’t look at Melissa but at the staff, though his words were clearly directed at her, and everyone present there could feel that.

Melissa looked like she’d been robbed of something. "N-No! I... I just thought it was suspicious..."

"I don’t care what you thought, Melissa," Asher spat, but his tone was low and laced with fire. "Do you know where Seraphina is right now?"

Melissa flinched. "At her dorm, isn’t she...?"

"No," Asher cut her off. "She’s here. In my room"

The color drained from Melissa’s face.

She had expected her to be in the mansion, but in Asher’s room?

Where she wasn’t allowed to go?

How could that be? She clenched her fist tightly and controlled her raging anger.

Asher stepped forward, as voice was low but as stern as steel. "You say you love her like a sister and believe in her, yet you want to accuse her based on some security footage?"

He turned to the maid nearest to him. "Bring Seraphina here. Now."

Soon, Seraphina was brought into the room.

She looked pale and weak, like she could barely stand straight, but there was a fire in her eyes that didn’t match her thin and tiny body.

Her expression cold and proud—as if nothing in this goddamn world could shake her anymore. As if she didn’t give a single damn about the people sitting there, staring at her like she was some criminal.

"Is there something wrong?" Sera asked the moment she arrived. "Why did this maid push me out here like a criminal?"

Asher narrowed his brows as he glared at the maid. "Is that how you treat your sole heiress? The only Young Miss of the house?"

Everyone was stunned at Asher’s statement, and some of them couldn’t even digest it.