Reborn, She's Back for Revenge novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

System: [Mission complete. Reward: A proper heiress needs presence. Host’s presence has increased by point]

Edith drew closer. Her presence grew increasingly intense, radiating a palpable sense of power.

Joseph suddenly felt uneasy. Something about Edith made him want to shrink away.

Edith stopped right in front of him, her voice flat. “Are you hurt?”

Joseph shook his head. “I ran fast enough.”

Why were they chasing you?” Edith pressed, colder now.

Joseph frowned, confused. After school, he’d just popped over to a friend’s to play games for a bit. But as soon as he left. those guys started tailing him.

He recognized them–seniors from school, and they’d never bothered him before. He had no clue why they’d suddenly gone after him. All he knew was, he’d hauled ass to get away.

Edith knew she wouldn’t get much out of him. “I told you to finish homework before fooling around,” she said, her voice irm. “Tonight, you’re doing double your usual homework before you even think about sleeping.”

joseph was about to shoot back, but one glance at her balled fist, and he shut right up. ‘Damn, she’s way tougher than Dallas. Like, three times–no, five times stronger!‘ he thought.

He forced a smile and mumbled, “Zachary texted me to game, so I crashed at my classmate’s place.”

Edith let out a sharp laugh. “Real mature, Joseph. Can’t even own up to your own choices, huh? Fine–make it triple the homework, then.”

orph glared at her, ticked off. “Triple? Just like that? Why should I listen to you?”

replied coldly, I’m not answering that again.”

shur her eyes and rubbed her temples. Joseph could be a handful, but he was only nine–still manageable. The real rache was Zachary, who was four years younger than her, a ninth–grader living in the dorms, home only once a month.

Between classes and cramming, she couldn’t even squeeze in a trip to his school.

Maybe it was time to have him move back home. That way, she could keep an eye on both him and Joseph and get them back on track sooner rather than later.

Zachary let out a huge sneeze right in the middle of typing. He rubbed his nose and grumbled, “Who’s bad–mouthing me?”

A roommate said, “Our head teacher rips into you every day. You still not used to it?”

“Cut the chatter. Dorm lights out in ten. Focus on taking the tower–now! Another one cut in

The guys in the dorm dived back into their game, going all out to capture the tower.

Just then, a girl’s voice yelled up from the dorm courtyard. “Zachary, get down here!”

One of Zachary’s roommates nudged him. “Hey, Zachary, some girl’s looking for you.” 1/3

8:18 pm; SDD.

Chapter 18

Zachary didn’t even glance up. “Too busy.”

“Zachary, come out,” the girl shouted through a megaphone from below. “I need to tell you something Zachary, I like you!”

“Whoa!” The roommate’s jaw dropped. “Dude, you’ve got a girl yelling her heart out for you.

Only when the game ended did Zachary stand up, heading for the balcony.

Downstairs, the girl had drawn a crowd, everyone hooting and cheering like crazy.

You’re finally out, Zachary!” The girl’s voice lit up with excitement. “I like you very much. Will you go out with me?”

Zachary just scratched his ear, grabbed a pot of water from the balcony, and dumped it over the edge.

Downstairs, the girl’s scream pierced the air.

Zachary turned around to find his four roommates staring at him, eyes bugging out. “What’re you gawking at? Go to sleep.” he said.

With that, he climbed into bed, pulled the covers over his head, and tuned out the chaos downstairs.

Edith and Joseph got back to the Lovett Manor around 11:30 that night.

Vincent and Karen still weren’t home. Only Hallie was in the living room, practicing piano. She jumped up when she heard them come in.

When she saw Joseph was back unharmed, her mouth dropped open. ‘Noreen said that plan was foolproof. Why’d it fail?” the thought.

Her mind raced, but her face showed only concern. “Joseph, you’re home. You hungry? Want something to eat?”

he could finish, Edith dragged Joseph upstairs and kicked open his bedroom door.

om was huge, but every inch–closets, desk, floor, balcony–was crammed with gaming consoles.

Which one have you been playing most lately?” Edith asked, her voice cold.

Joseph looked a bit nervous. He pointed at the metallic gaming console on his desk. “Mom just got me this.”

Edith walked over, picked it up, and crushed it in her hand with a light squeeze. In seconds, this expensive device crumbled into a worthless heap of scrap.

Joseph’s eyes went wide. He’d only owned the console for two days, and most of his games were still locked. Now, it was trashed.

“What a psycho” he thought. Too scared to fight back, he just glared at her, furious

“Edith, how could you? Hallie burst in. ‘My mom got that for Joseph, and he loved it You-

Edith shot Hallie a cold stare, and the latter’s words dried up in her throat.

“This is your punishment for coming home late, Joseph Edith tossed the shattered console into the trash and then clapped her hands. “Memorize three poems. I’ll check in an hour. If you don’t finish, no sleep.”

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