Chapter 489: Another One Gone

The Fourth and Fifth Aunts-in-law, along with the others, mulled it over. Wasn’t that just the way it was?

In other stories, the protagonists didn’t have to do a thing. People would be lining up to shower them with gifts, treasures, and affection. They could succeed without even lifting a finger. But the pair from their family? All they ever did was suffer.

Most importantly, it was one thing for the two adults to suffer, but they even dragged their children into it. They were completely useless.

As these thoughts crossed her mind, the Fourth Aunt-in-law glanced at the two children on a nearby sofa, her gaze dripping with disdain.

The targets of her disdain: “…”

Having spoken up for her cousin and his wife, Arabella Donovan couldn’t help but feel a wave of pity for them.

Among all the original plots—which were rife with subtle distortions and blatant lies—the events in their particular story had deviated the least.

The miserable protagonists were truly miserable, and the vicious supporting characters were truly vicious. One could only say that fate was dead set on destroying their family.

Even if they were lucky enough to escape their roles as cannon fodder and become protagonists, they could only end up in the “angst-fic” department. Life was just unbelievably gloomy and suffocating.

“So, I’m not too worried about Hugh and Sabrina. Even if they break bad, their ‘combat power’ is what it is.”

Everyone: Pfft…

The “trash-tier” couple: “…” ‘While it’s nice not to be the main focus, aren’t we being dissed right now?’

“What I’m more worried about are Leo and Sue.”

As soon as she said this, the hearts of the Fourth and Fifth Aunts-in-law’s families lurched.

Weren’t they right to worry? According to the original plot, one child’s latent genetic disorder was triggered by a blood transfusion from his own father. The other was simply given leukemia to sow discord between the two branches of the family.

If the plot were truly forced back onto its original track, who knew what kind of illness the two children might inexplicably be “assigned” next?

At this thought, the group, who had just been confidently chattering about placing Hugh and Sabrina under strict surveillance, began to panic as well.

At the critical moment, it was the elders, who had seen their fair share of storms, who remained steady.

“Don’t panic. Both children are still in kindergarten, right? For the time being, let’s have them take leave from school and stay home to lie low. Make sure an adult is with them twenty-four hours a day. The second anything seems off, take them to the hospital.”

“Right, right. The big hospitals in the city all have partnerships with our family. I’ll call the hospital director in a bit and have them reserve a private room just in case. It’s best if we don’t need it, but if something does happen… at least we won’t be caught flat-footed.”

“And make sure the children are wearing those little protective charms Serena gave them. Don’t let them take them off for any reason.”

There’s a reason for the saying, “An elder in the home is a treasure.” The moment the elders stepped in, everyone felt a renewed sense of confidence. Others also began to chime in, offering their own ideas and pooling their wisdom.

Although the Fourth Aunt-in-law and the others were still worried, they were at least not as panicked as before.

“Besides the two children, we also need to consider the people who harmed Hugh and Sabrina in the past. That woman who had a crush on Hugh, Miss… Miss who was it again?”

“Rowena Churchill.”

“Right. And Sabrina’s best friend.”

“Evelyn.”

“Yes, yes, and Hugh’s second cousin on his aunt’s side. They could all stage a comeback.”

The miserable young couple: “…” ‘Our lives are so hard!’

It wasn’t just the couple; the expressions of the elders, especially the Fourth Aunt-in-law, also grew complicated upon hearing these names again.

Back then, they had relied on Arabella Donovan’s inner voice to foresee these people’s malicious plots, nipping the danger in the bud.

Afterward, the family had decisively cut ties with these troublemakers.

Sabrina Donovan had broken things off with her “fake” best friend, Evelyn. Hugh Donovan had gone so far as to terminate a business contract just to make a clean break from Miss Churchill. The Fourth Aunt-in-law had even gone home and raised hell, cutting off all contact with Hugh’s cousin’s mother—her own sister.

It had taken so much effort to sort out that whole mess and eliminate those hidden dangers completely. But now, they discovered these people could stage a comeback at any moment.

It seemed the ancient saying “if you don’t pull out the roots, the weeds will grow back in the spring” truly had a point. If they had dealt with it more thoroughly before, the existence of these people wouldn’t feel like a fishbone stuck in their throats now.

Disgusted or not, what mattered most right now was handling the business at hand.

The Fourth Aunt-in-law felt she couldn’t just sit back and wait for disaster. She had to take the initiative. Tomorrow, she would go back to her family home to sound out her sister and eldest nephew.

Arabella Donovan knew her intention and didn’t stop her. As someone involved in this incident, the Fourth Aunt-in-law should now have plenty of surveillance and protection personnel around her.

If her sister and nephew really were up to something, her safety would be guaranteed.

Besides, Arabella herself was genuinely curious if anyone else besides Summer Vance was experiencing a similar situation. So she didn’t stop her, only reminding the Fourth Aunt-in-law to be careful and to retreat immediately if she noticed anything wrong.

The Fourth Aunt-in-law wasn’t an idiot. She was going to probe the situation, not offer herself up on a platter. Of course she knew her priorities.

Just as the Fourth Aunt-in-law was rubbing her hands together, eagerly preparing to make a big move, another piece of unfortunate news came from Ron Cole.

“Miss Donovan, another one of the people you had us keeping a close eye on is dead.”

Arabella’s heart jolted. “Who is it?”

“It’s the lawyer. His manner of death was identical to Mr. Quincy’s.”

‘Just as I thought! According to the original plot’s arrangement, the order in which the protagonist group gets killed off was: the rich heir—the lawyer—Terence Lewis—the female lead (university professor)—the reporter—the male lead (doctor).’

‘The rich heir’s family is already gone, and the lawyer has met the same fate. The next one is…’

‘Wait a minute, Terence Lewis…’

“That Mr. Lewis I had you watching, is he still alive?”

“Mr. Terence Lewis, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Lewis passed away at home a month ago. The cause of death was an infection triggered by multiple organ failure. The scene was a complete mess when he died, like a crime scene. To be thorough, we requested a forensic autopsy. The results indicated he must have suffered immense pain before his death, and all the marks in the surrounding area were from his own struggles. There was no possibility of homicide.”

‘A month ago… That’s much earlier than I expected.’

‘The state of his death as described by the staff wasn’t surprising, though. Terence Lewis died from a magical backlash. Back then, his parents stole the fortune of a Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, then turned their only son into a ghost-child, sealed it in a box, and siphoned its luck for Terence’s use. The suffering that entity endured over so many years is far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.’

‘For Terence Lewis to die so easily was letting him off lightly.’

‘But with Terence Lewis dead, the protagonist group, which was supposed to lose its third member, was now missing a piece.’

‘So what’s next? Will ‘it’ harm another person to fill this gap? Or will it just move on to the next in line, causing the original female lead—who is now still a nominal professor at Brynn University—to fall ill and further accelerate the plot?’