Everyone at the Norris Family's recognition banquet were prominent figures from Fleur City, though some were simply there to watch the drama unfold.
"Look at her, skinny as a twig. I heard she started collecting corpses from the river to earn money when she was just ten years old."
"Apparently, she's mute and can't speak."
"I also heard that this girl is jinxed. Whoever gets close to her ends up with bad luck... Quite a few accidents happened the day the Norris Family brought her back."
"Ah! The young lady has fallen into the water!"
The servant's shout immediately drew everyone's attention to the swimming pool area.
Splash!
Someone jumped in; it was the Norris Family's eldest young master, Ivan Norris.
At this moment, a servant suddenly stepped forward to confront the young girl at the edge of the pool.
"Why did you push the young lady into the water! The young lady had already given up her position as the Norris Family's eldest daughter to you, why do you have to target her!"
Bertha Haines stood by the swimming pool, staring blankly at the water. Hearing the servant's accusation, she quickly waved her hands to deny it.
It wasn't her!
She didn't do it!
She gestured anxiously, but no one present understood sign language, so they had no idea what she was 'saying'.
Nancy Norris got out of the pool, her eyes red, and explained to everyone with grievance.
"It wasn't my sister who pushed me, it was... I just lost my balance myself..."
Ivan Norris looked at his newly acknowledged sister with a stern expression: "I hope what happened today doesn't happen again in the future!"
Faced with this sudden false accusation, Bertha's nose stung with a rush of emotion, but no one cared about the truth; they just wanted gossip to chat about.
"This little girl really seems to be jinxed."
"I thought someone raised in the village would be an honest child, but turns out she's quite cunning."
Though Bertha couldn't speak, her ears worked perfectly well. The unfriendly voices around her filled her with fear, making her long for home, for her grandfather.
She quietly returned upstairs, intending to call her grandfather if only to hear his voice, but the message from the phone stunned her for a moment.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is no longer in service. Please check and dial again."
No longer in service?
Although she didn't know why she couldn't reach her family, she had a vague premonition that perhaps her grandfather and adoptive parents didn't want her anymore.
She wasn't someone prone to crying.
But now, her tears fell like broken pearls, pattering down one by one.
—
Jerry Moore had just gone out for a bit, and upon returning heard that Bertha had pushed Nancy into the swimming pool. Naturally, she believed Bertha, so she planned to go upstairs to see her, but as she reached the stairway, she saw Bertha running down with swollen, red eyes.
Seeing Bertha gesturing urgently, she didn't understand sign language, but she roughly guessed her meaning.
"Bertha, the Norris Family's intention is that now you're back, you should completely cut off ties with them."
Bertha's eyes widened in disbelief. Once she snapped out of it, she shook off her birth mother's hand and ran out of the mansion.
"Screech—"
Just as she left the Norris Residence, a car suddenly blocked her path.
The window rolled down, revealing a handsome face. She remembered it—it was one of the guests invited by the Norris Family.
"Little sister, where are you heading? Big brother will give you a lift."
Marvin Howard had another party to attend and was just about to drive off when he saw the star of today's banquet running out of the Norris residence.
Always one to stir up trouble, he decided to "help the little sister out."
Naive and with little sense of security, Bertha saw the Haines Family's bodyguards chasing after her and without hesitation opened the car door, jumping into the back seat.
Marvin glanced at the rearview mirror, then hit the gas, and the car sped off.
"I heard you're a corpse collector? That you started diving for bodies when you were just ten years old—weren't you scared?"
Marvin had heard a few things at the banquet and suddenly developed an interest in this little girl.
"I also heard you have a nickname, Jinx, and that anyone who gets close to you ends up tripping. Is that true?"
Bertha initially thought Marvin was a good person, but she didn't expect he was also making fun of her. She pointed outside, indicating she wanted to get out.
Marvin, selectively blind, ignored it: "Running away from the Norris house—where do you plan to go? Back to your adoptive parents?"
Bertha ignored him.
Marvin continued on his own: "From what I know about the Norris Family, your adoptive parents were probably forced to move. You can try calling them to see if you can still reach them."
Bertha's tears began to well up in her eyes again upon hearing this.
Marvin couldn't stand to see a woman cry, so he consoled her, "Hey... don't cry! How about I take you somewhere fun for a day?"
—
At the resort on the outskirts of the city, Oswald Thompson was standing on the villa's viewing deck, wearing a bathrobe, holding a wine glass, and leaning lazily against the railing.
"How does that girl look? Just graduated from high school, hasn't even had a boyfriend yet, so pure. And key point, she's got a fantastic body."
"Not interested?"
He glanced at his friend next to him, noticing that he wasn't even looking at the little beauty, and teased him.
"You're just too boring, always working all the time. Even if you're thinking of not getting married, you've still got physical needs, right?"
His friend, a childhood buddy, is the CEO of the Smith Consortium, with excellent business acumen. He joined the family business right after becoming an adult and in just five years, he managed to push the family business into the top ten nationwide.
Nowadays, the Smith Consortium holds a monopoly in several domestic fields, perhaps because he's been too busy, he remains single to this day.
"Screech—"
Suddenly, a piercing screech of brakes was heard, followed by the sound of a car crashing into a wall and falling into a river.
Oswald's attention immediately shifted to the accident site.
"Oh my!"
"Isn't this bend a death trap? Last time there was an accident here too."
"The car will probably sink in a few minutes. Should we meddle?"
"Huh? This car looks familiar..."
Amos Smith had good eyesight: "It's Marvin Howard's."
Oswald's eyes widened abruptly, "Oh damn!"
Equally cursing was Marvin Howard, trapped inside the car.
Actually, he wasn't driving fast, but at a sharp turn, he had to avoid an oversized speeding truck, causing the car to flip into the river. After a dizzy spell, he found himself in the river, with water slowly seeping into the car.
"I've been driving for nine years, and this is my first accident."
He glanced at the little girl in the backseat, seeing a cut on her forehead, taming his anger quite a bit. He pulled at the door, only to find it wouldn't open, and the window switch was also not working.
"Once we're safely out of here, let's strike a deal. I can help you find your adoptive parents, but you have to do me a little favor."
Marvin wasn't flustered because he had already spotted Amos.
With him around, he wouldn't die.
In such conditions, trying to escape becomes an instinctive reaction. Bertha skillfully grabbed the lifesaving hammer and started calmly knocking against the car window edges.
As the window shattered, water gushed in.
Fortunately, she was a strong swimmer and quickly wriggled out of the car.
As Marvin tried to climb out, his clothes suddenly got snagged on something. In his struggle, the car seemed to sink even faster, and the waters soon went over his head.
"Help... help me!"
Holding her breath, Bertha dove back into the car.
Calmly, she took a knife from her waist and sliced Marvin's hooked trousers free.
In a drowning situation, people instinctively cling to their lifeline; Marvin was no exception. Luckily, Bertha had worked as a corpse collector for seven to eight years, making her rescue skills quite adept.
After dragging him out of the car, she hooked her arm around his neck and swiftly swam for the shore.
Once ashore, Marvin lay on the ground, gasping for air.
"A narrow escape... must mean good luck is coming."
Oswald was already waiting by the shore.
"It's my birthday today, a day destined for good fortune, and you've gone and done this on me!"
"Lucky for you, you didn't kick the bucket, or how would I celebrate my birthdays in the future!"
After Marvin coughed up the water in his stomach, he quickly spat a few times.
"What's all this about dying or not, I've got a long life ahead of me; stop cursing me!"
Oswald looked towards Bertha and asked, "Who's this kid? Quite a pretty face, are you into this kind of thing now?"
Marvin snapped back, "Are you blind? Can't even tell if it's a boy or girl!"
Oswald's eyes immediately shifted to Bertha's flat chest and then to her head.
"A girl? Her chest is so small, no wonder I couldn't tell, and a little girl with a buzz cut..."
Marvin hurriedly interrupted him, "Alright, you better just shut your mouth!"