She Returned as the Real Heiress They Feared

Chapter 3 Blinded by His Golden Radiance

"Our family sent me to pick you up. They said our first meeting had to be done properly, so I borrowed a helicopter fleet at the last minute. It's not much, but it'll do."

Serena looked at the overwhelming formation of aircraft and personnel nearly blocking the entire entrance to the villa complex and said nothing.

'This is his idea of making do?'

Then Adrian lifted a hand and gestured to the people behind him. "Say hello."

"Welcome home, Miss Cole." The pilots, all dressed in identical uniforms, spoke in perfect unison, their voices so synchronized it sounded like a military chant.

Serena fell silent. Why did this feel so embarrassingly theatrical?

Perhaps because she had grown up in the coldness of the Vale family, Serena had no idea how to handle this kind of warmth. She parted her lips and finally managed, "Let's… go."

The sooner the better.

The security guards were already running over.

Adrian smiled at her reaction. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he narrowed his beautiful eyes and gave her a careful once-over. "But why are you here by yourself?"

At this hour, standing alone outside the villa gates, she clearly was not out buying groceries.

Serena pressed her lips together. She had no intention of telling him she had already been thrown out by the Vale family. She was still trying to think of a way to brush it off when another voice suddenly cut in.

It was low and cool, like spring water flowing over stone, calm and refined, pleasant to hear, yet edged with impatience. "Are we leaving or not?"

Serena turned toward the sound and realized there was someone else in the helicopter. She looked once and nearly got her eyes burned out.

The man sat partly concealed in the shadow of the open cabin door, one long leg bent slightly. From her angle, she could only see half of him. His wrist rested lazily against the handrail, his posture elegant yet steady. Even the folds in his suit somehow seemed attractive.

But none of that was what dazzled Serena. What nearly blinded her was the golden radiance around him.

Ever since childhood, she had been able to see things other people could not. Human fortune came in many colors. Gold was rare. She had only seen it before on people who had contributed greatly to their country.

But this man's golden aura was so blinding it was almost outrageous. Had he stolen the fortune of a nation?

The instant the man spoke, Adrian stopped asking questions. "Right, right. We're going now."

As he spoke, he nudged Serena toward the helicopter and muttered under his breath, "The tyrant has no patience."

Then Serena was led right up to that so-called tyrant and placed in the seat beside him.

Up close, the golden light was even stronger. Enduring the assault on her eyes, Serena finally got a clear look at his face.

Just like his voice, his features were cold and sharp, carved with clean, decisive lines. He was undeniably handsome, but there was a hard chill to him, as if he had stepped down from some frozen mountain peak. That coldness sank into the depths of his dark eyes.

As if noticing the force of her stare, he turned slightly. One glance from him made it feel as though every thought and question she had was already laid bare.

Serena was intensely curious about that golden aura, but she did not want him thinking she was insane. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Are you my brother too?"

The question made Adrian burst out laughing from the seat across from them.

The man beside her shot him a cold look before withdrawing his gaze again. "No." That was all he said.

Fortunately, Adrian was still there to explain. "This is Dominic Shaw. He's not your brother. You only have one of those, and that would be me."

Serena found the name strangely familiar, though she could not place it. Still, two of Harbor City's four great families were the Coles and the Shaws. Was it a coincidence?

Adrian went on, "I came to pick you up today, and he just happened to hitch a ride."

Serena nodded in understanding, but before she could respond, the man beside her turned his gaze sharply toward Adrian. "You're using my helicopter fleet."

As head of the Shaw family, he certainly was not the one hitching rides.

Adrian only spread his hands. "What can I do? The company's whole car fleet was already sent out. Out of everyone I know, you're the only one with a full private helicopter setup."

Dominic was the kind of perfectionist who demanded that even his subordinates wear socks of the same color and style. His helicopters, naturally, were no exception. He probably required even the floor mats inside them to match exactly.

As the three of them spoke, the black helicopters slowly lifted off, escorting the luxury chopper in the center as they departed in the same grand formation in which they had arrived.

Only after the fleet disappeared did the nearby security guards finally start whispering among themselves.

"Wasn't that the Vale family's eldest daughter who got picked up?"

"Yeah, that was her. I heard two days ago she wasn't their biological child. And now she's been kicked out. Supposedly her real parents live up in the mountains."

"In the mountains? Did you see that display? That doesn't look like some mountain family to me. Her real family must be somebody important."

"If that's true, Mr. Vale must be regretting it already."

The guards were supposed to keep things professional, but gossip about wealthy residents was one of the few entertainments available to them.

They were still talking when one of them suddenly fell silent and turned to bow respectfully toward the gate.

Speak of the devil. The Vale family's car had arrived.

Eleanor and Lydia sat in the back seat, not even sparing a glance for the guards bowing outside. As wealthy residents, they had never regarded people like them as worth noticing.

"The final list for the city ambassador campaign has been decided, but it hasn't been officially submitted yet." Eleanor spoke to Lydia with a faint smile. "I found out the person responsible for turning in the final list is someone from Cole Group."

Eleanor turned to Lydia beside her, speaking as if no one else were there, a faint smile on her lips. “Perfect timing. Your father just struck a deal with Cole Group the other day, so we can go straight through their connections.”

Lydia's eyes lit up. "Cole Group? That's backed by the Cole family, one of Harbor City's four great families. Dad actually managed to work with them? That's incredible."

Eleanor was equally pleased, though she still tried to sound restrained.

"Exactly. That Cole family. So many people go to them waving money around and still can't get a single response. But they approached your father first. That should tell you something about the Vale family's standing in Harbor City. From now on, more and more people will be coming to us for cooperation."

Excitement spread across Lydia's face. If they could connect with the Cole family, that meant the Vale family was about to enter the highest level of Harbor City's elite circle. And that meant the caliber of men she could choose from in the future would rise with it. Sure enough, ever since Serena left, the Vale family had started getting lucky.

"That's wonderful," Lydia said, forcing a modest tone into her voice. "But if we ask them for help directly, what if they refuse?"

Eleanor looked entirely unconcerned. "They came to us asking for cooperation. Since we're now partners, helping with a small matter like this is only natural."

She took Lydia's hand and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll make sure the city ambassador position comes back to you. This is about Harbor City's public image. That ungrateful girl thought she could steal it from you? She should know her place."

Lydia was already gloating inside, convinced the title was as good as hers. Outwardly, though, she still wore the expression of a sweet, modest girl who wanted nothing for herself. Then she asked, "So where are we going now? Cole Group headquarters?"

"Not the headquarters," Eleanor said. "We're going straight to the Cole Estate."