A tiny spark at the tip of William Knight's cigarette flickered in the wind, mirrored by the ink-like depth of the night in his eyes. He exhaled a slow cloud of smoke, his voice dropping to a low, distorted rasp.
"Cursing me? Does your brother look like the type to die young?"
"That's not what I meant." Diana opened her mouth to explain, but the words circled her tongue a few times before she ultimately swallowed them back down.
William turned his head to look at her, the evening breeze mussing the stray hairs on his forehead. He spoke with a touch of self-deprecation. "Our little Diana really has grown up. When you were small and felt wronged, you'd always dive into my arms. Now, you've learned to shoulder the weight of the world all by yourself."
A sharp ache stung the bridge of Diana's nose. It was the dull pain of having her protective shell forcibly peeled away. Emotions she had suppressed for so long surged like a breaking levee, quickly flooding her eyes.
She wanted to argue, but the facts were undeniable.
Ever since that one-way ticket to a foreign country five years ago, the pampered, sulky Diana had died in the silent power struggle of the Bell family.
She kept her head down. Large teardrops crashed into the shadows on the ground without making a sound.
William silently stubbed out his cigarette. His warm palm came to rest on the top of her head, rubbing it gently, just as he used to.
Diana had stunningly beautiful long hair—dark, heavy silk that felt cool to the touch. Naturally sensitive, she usually loathed anyone getting close. Once, back in the day, Julian Harrison had tried to copy William by patting her head and nearly had his sleeve shredded by her scissors. Only with William did she never lower her guard.
"If you don't want to enter the research institute, what do you want to do? Don't tell me you want to be a starving artist," William said, his tone softening.
Diana forced down the sob in her throat, trying to keep her voice steady. "I plan to partner with a senior from school. She has a liquid hydrogen drone project—Snow. I've done the research; it's core technology with a huge market gap in logistics and search-and-rescue. I want to give it a shot."
William didn't dampen her spirits. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle, his eyes full of indulgence. "Ambitious. Fine, then I'll be waiting for the day you ring the bell at your IPO and invite me for a celebratory drink."
Diana gave a muffled "Mm-hmm."
As the peripheral glow of the car's headlights brushed over her face, she remembered the topic interrupted by that sudden phone call. She spoke again, hesitant. "Brother..."
"If you want to move out, go ahead." William seemed to read her mind, cutting through her awkwardness. "That penthouse duplex on Pine Street—the deed is in your name. The keys have always been in the entryway cabinet."
A weight lifted from Diana's heart, but she still had concerns. "What about foster mother..."
William patted the back of her head reassuringly. "Maya's side is for me to handle. You just worry about packing."
One had to admit, William possessed a nearly cold efficiency when it came to handling family conflicts. Diana had expected Maya Wilde to make a scene, but her move-out process turned out to be surprisingly smooth.
Though the Pine Street apartment had been vacant, the interior was exquisite, if a bit lacking in the warmth of a home. Diana didn't let anyone from the Knight family help; she simply ordered a bunch of daily essentials on her phone.
She took very little from the Knight estate—just a few old cardboard boxes.
Those impractical custom gowns and dated socialite handbags were left behind in that specimen-box of a dressing room. They belonged to the polished puppet known as "Miss Bell," not to the woman she was now.
Before leaving, Diana wanted to take her pet turtle, Gui-Gui. She spent half the day crouching by the garden pond, her hands freezing as she poked around, but never saw a flash of green.
She tracked down the head housekeeper. "Where did Gui-Gui go?"
The servant looked puzzled. "I saw it sunning itself on the rockery just yesterday. That little thing is crafty; it's probably playing hide-and-seek in a drainage pipe again."
Diana sighed. That turtle was a serial escape artist.
"Keep an eye out for me. Call me if you find it."
On moving day, Aurora Brooks, who was supposed to be on paid leave at the hospital, couldn't sit still. She managed to sneak out behind her doctor's back.
Diana stood with her arms crossed, her voice cold as ice. "Miss Brooks, do you have a death wish, or do you just think this new apartment has great 'Feng Shui' for a lawsuit? Your body is more fragile than porcelain right now. If you get a single scratch, am I supposed to book you a luxury suite at the ER?"
Aurora's condition made external injuries dangerous; her platelets were terrifyingly low. A small cut could cost her half her life.
"Hey, don't say the quiet part out loud." Aurora slid onto the newly unpacked leather sofa with practiced ease, looking like a total layabout. "Fine, I'm precious. I'll be the mascot. You two get to work. I want the most expensive takeout later."
The assistant, Summer, was currently acting like a squirrel in a palace, scurrying around the multi-hundred-square-foot apartment with constant gasps of awe.
"Oh my god! This open kitchen lighting makes me feel like I could cook a state banquet!"
"Boss! This view from the floor-to-ceiling windows... I feel like my net worth just hit nine figures!"
"Holy mother! This bathtub! You could fit four fitness models in there and still have room!"
Diana was unpacking a wooden crate of old belongings when Summer swept over like a whirlwind. "Little Boss, let me handle the heavy lifting! Your hands are for signing contracts!"
"I'm not so old I can't move. Calm down," Diana said, but before she could finish, Summer had already snatched the trophy from her hands.
"I'm young! I've got the energy!" Summer boasted.
From the sofa, Aurora added dryly, "Listen to her. She's throwing shade at me for being a delicate young lady. Diana, just give her the chance. She's dying to double as your maid."
Summer scratched her head, grinning sheepishly. "It's just that the boss's house is too nice."
"I don't need a maid." Diana thought for a moment, then said seriously, "But my empty fish tank needs a guardian. If you're willing to crawl in there, I wouldn't mind."
Aurora laughed so hard she nearly fell off the sofa.
As Diana got up to grab some bottled water, Summer pulled a heavy trophy out of the bubble wrap. "Boss! I didn't see this coming! You were a city-wide youth swimming champion?"
That was the only honor Diana had brought with her. She looked at the slightly tarnished metal trophy, her gaze softening. "I won that when I was sixteen. It was my only hobby."
To win that award, she had trained in secret for a year. William had even helped her hide it from the family by hiring a private coach.
"Wow! What happened after? Did you go pro?" Summer asked curiously.
Diana let out a short laugh, though the mirth didn't reach her eyes. "After? That trophy became my final medal. The day after the competition, I was 'banned' by the Bell family."
"Why? You're so fast, you should've been winning gold!"
"Because what the Bell family needed was a disciplined lady, not a 'Miss Bell' exposing herself in a swimsuit at a public pool." Diana's lips curled into a self-mocking smirk, her tone as flat as if she were telling someone else's story. "My father's position requires his family to be invisible. For me, being low-key wasn't a virtue; it was a survival tactic. After all, I am the Bell family scandal. It's best if I never appear in the public eye."
Back then, the front-page photo of her holding the trophy and smiling radiantly had earned her nothing but a freezing reprimand from Sebastian Bell from across the ocean.
It was the only time in those years he had bothered to call her.
Summer froze, stammering after a long pause, "But... in the photo, you're literally glowing. You weren't a scandal at all."
Diana blinked, then laughed. The gloom in her heart actually dissipated slightly at the clumsy comfort. "Thanks. That's a unique angle to look at it."
"Of course. My IQ is on another level."
The three of them joked around in the vast apartment until late into the night, finally getting everything in its place. For the first time since returning to the country, Diana felt like she could breathe freely.
After seeing Aurora and Summer off, Diana stood alone at the apartment entrance. Her long shadow stretched out under the streetlights.
A black stretched limousine sat silently by the curb, like a brooding beast.
A driver in white gloves stepped forward, bowing with cold respect before opening the rear door.
Diana's good mood plummeted. It vanished instantly, replaced by a feeling like falling into an ice cellar.
She sat in the car in silence.
The interior smelled of a faint, cold fragrance. The woman sitting opposite her was flawlessly elegant, dressed in a classic Chanel suit with not a single hair out of place. Even the folds of her skirt looked as though they had been measured with a ruler.
The matriarch of the Bell family: Skylar Miller.
Skylar was peering through the window, appraising the high-end apartment building with a look of condescending scrutiny.
"Good location. William certainly doesn't spare any expense for his 'sister'."
Diana leaned back against the seat, her voice thin and cold. "If you like it, I can introduce you to the sales department."
Skylar turned her head, her sharp gaze pinning Diana. "Your temper is becoming more like your short-lived mother's every day. If I want to see you, I have to come to your door myself. The Knight and Bell estates are only a few steps apart, yet you're in such a hurry to sever ties with the family?"
Diana's lips quirked into a sarcastic line. "Think of it as following the ancient tradition—passing my own door three times without entering."
Skylar's face darkened. Clearly losing patience for wordplay, she cut to the chase.
"When do you plan on going back to America?"