CHAPTER 327: CHAPTER 327: DOWNFALL

Rose’s face twisted with fury. "You know nothing! You are talking nonsense!" she screamed.

The girl chuckled bitterly. "Maybe. Maybe I am talking nonsense. But the truth is right in front of us. Your family is falling, Rose. And not the Waters family, like you said. It’s the Lancasters who are being crushed."

Rose’s chest heaved with rage. "No! The Waters family will be destroyed, too! Isabella’s family will take care of them, and when they fall, I will take my revenge. You’ll see!"

The two friends only shook their heads. "You are pathetic," one of them said coldly.

Then, without another word, they walked past her and left the house.

Rose did not chase them this time. She stood frozen in the hallway, her fists clenched so tightly her nails dug into her skin. Her whole body shook with anger. She muttered to herself, "Fine. Leave. When you come crawling back, I will make sure you regret it. I will punish you both."

Her voice was filled with hatred, but deep down, fear was crawling inside her chest. She stomped back to her room and slammed the door shut.

Her first thought was to call her parents. They would fix everything. They always did. She dialed her father’s number, but he didn’t answer. She tried her mother’s, but again there was no reply.

Just as panic began to grow, her phone buzzed with a message. It was from her father.

"Ask your two friends to help us."

Rose’s heart stopped. She stared at the words in disbelief. Her proud father, the powerful head of the Lancaster family, was asking her to beg her friends for help?

Her face turned pale. With trembling hands, she typed back, "They left. They are opportunistic. They abandoned me."

She waited, but no reply came from her father.

Instead, another message arrived, this time from her mother.

"Then ask your other classmates. We cannot stand alone. You must get them to help the Lancaster family."

Rose’s vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, though she quickly wiped them away. She clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white. For the first time in her life, she felt powerless. Her parents were asking her for help. Her so-called friends had abandoned her. And the whole world was laughing at her family.

Her mind swirled with panic and hatred. She whispered to herself, "No. I will not let this happen. The Lancasters will not fall. I will find a way. And when I do, I will make them all pay."

.............................

The next morning, the Waters family woke up to shocking news. The whole internet was buzzing about the Lancaster family.

Their business was collapsing, and they were being boycotted by almost every company in the city. It was as if the entire world had turned against them overnight.

Mary, Olivia’s mother, sat at the dining table staring at her phone with wide eyes. "This... this can’t be real," she whispered. "The Lancaster family? Finished? Just like that?"

Adam rubbed his chin and looked at the phone screen too. "It’s all over the news. I don’t think it’s fake. The Lancaster family is ruined."

Olivia, who had just woken up, blinked in surprise. "What?" she asked. "The Lancaster family?"

Right at that moment, Emily arrived at their house. She walked in calmly, her heels clicking against the floor. Everyone turned to her at once.

"Emily!" Adam said, standing up. "You... was this your doing? Did you punish the Lancasters for us?"

Emily only gave a small, mysterious smile. "Not me. Someone else wants to protect you, and they made this happen."

Hearing those words, Olivia froze. In her heart, one name appeared right away...Alex.

Her eyes became complicated, and she lowered her head. Was it Alex? Did he do this for us? she thought. If it were true, then it meant Alex had gone to great lengths just to protect their family.

But in reality, if Alex, who had been sitting in his office and heard her thoughts, he would have laughed.

He had wanted to do something, but before he could even take action, someone else had already taken down the Lancaster family.

Olivia misunderstood, and even Emily did not know the full truth.

Emily’s serious face brought everyone’s attention back.

"Listen carefully," she said. "For safety, you should cancel all your appointments for the next week. I will arrange bodyguards for you."

The Waters family looked at each other in shock. "Bodyguards? But why?" Mary asked, confused. "We don’t even know who we offended to the point of being in danger."

Emily’s eyes darkened. "The Hawthorne family," she said grimly. "The famous billionaire family. They are behind this."

The Waters family froze as if struck by lightning. Their faces went pale.

Adam’s lips trembled. "The... the Hawthornes? One of the richest families in New York? Why would they target us?"

They had always considered themselves ordinary compared to such powerful people. Compared to the Hawthornes, they were nothing.

"But don’t worry, someone powerful is protecting you all," Emily assured.

Olivia whispered, "You don’t mean... Alex?"

Emily hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Alex did try to protect you. But before he could act, someone else stepped in. A mysterious person is supporting you, and it seems that person will continue to protect you in the future."

The family gasped. "A mysterious person?" Adam repeated. "Who? Why would they protect us?"

Emily shook her head. "I don’t know much about them. But you should be grateful. Without that person, the Hawthorne family might have already crushed you."

The Waters were stunned, but slowly, their hearts filled with relief and gratitude.

"If we ever meet this person," Mary said softly, "we must thank them properly. They saved our lives."

"Yes," Adam agreed. "We should prepare something in return. We can’t just accept such kindness without showing respect."

Emily smiled faintly but shook her head. "It’s not necessary. They don’t want anything in return."

But the Waters insisted. "Still, we want to," Adam said firmly.

Just then, Olivia remembered something important. "Wait," she said quickly. "Aurora... she was sick last night."

Everyone immediately turned to her in alarm. "Aurora?" Mary asked. "What happened to her?"

They rushed into Aurora’s room together. The girl was still asleep, her small body curled up under the blanket. Mary hurried to her side and touched her forehead. Her eyes softened with relief.

"Her fever has gone down," Mary said, letting out a deep breath. "She’s better now."

She gently shook Aurora’s shoulder. "Aurora, wake up, dear. How are you feeling?"

Aurora opened her eyes slowly, blinking at everyone crowded around her bed. She stretched and gave a tiny smile. "I feel much better," she said weakly.

The family let out a collective sigh of relief. Theodore walked up and crossed his arms. "Next time you get sick, tell us immediately. Don’t hide it," he said firmly.

Aurora nodded quickly. "I will. But... I’m hungry," she admitted.

Lucas and Adriana both laughed. "Good," Lucas said with a grin. "That means you’re really better. I already made breakfast. Come eat."

Aurora’s smile grew brighter. "Thank you," she said sweetly.

The family slowly left her room, their worries easing. But as they walked back to the living room, Adam frowned. "Wait. We didn’t ask Emily more about this mysterious person."

But by the time they looked around, Emily had already left the house quietly.

Adam sighed. "I guess it doesn’t matter for now. What matters is that Aurora is healthy."

They all agreed. In fact, Aurora’s health was more important than anything else at the moment. They quickly decided to cancel all their appointments for the week and stay together as a family.

Aurora was the only one who needed to go out, to school. The Waters were so worried that they asked Theodore and Lucas to go with her.

Aurora groaned a little. "You two don’t need to come. I can go by myself."

But they were firm. "We’re going," Lucas said. "Don’t argue."

So, in the end, Aurora left the house with both Theodore and Lucas by her side.

When they arrived at school, the reaction was instant. Lucas and Theodore were both tall and strikingly handsome.

Students in the courtyard immediately noticed them. Whispers spread quickly, and then girls started rushing over.

"Aurora!" one girl called, staring at Theodore. "Who are they? Your brothers?"

"Introduce us!" another begged, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lucas.

Aurora sighed, feeling her head ache. "They’re just my cousins," she muttered. But the crowd of girls didn’t leave. They kept asking more questions.

Mia stood quietly nearby, calm and unaffected. She didn’t seem interested in all the fuss.

Aurora did her best to handle the crowd until, finally, their teacher walked into the classroom. "Everyone, take your seats," she said sharply.

The students rushed back to their chairs, but their eyes kept darting back to Lucas and Theodore.

The teacher cleared her throat. "We have a new student joining us today."