Chapter 1

"Elodie wants you to bring Catherine Spencer back home? Didn't we agree to pay her off so she'd take Catherine away and never bother us again?"

"Didn't we give her enough money? How about a hundred grand to get her out of my house?!"

In the luxurious, spacious mansion, the crystal chandelier cast a bright light, but the atmosphere was suffocating.

Elodie, an elderly woman with graying hair and tattered clothes, sat nervously on the sofa. Her cloth shoes were caked with mud, and there was a hole near her toes.

She carefully lifted her feet, as if afraid of dirtying the pristine floor. The servants around her looked at her with mocking eyes, and the sharp, loud voices coming from the open door of the study on the second floor made her expression even more miserable.

"When I married you, you promised me! We sent Catherine to the countryside, and apart from the alimony, we had nothing to do with her. She's 21 years old now, why should we take care of her?"

"I don't want to either, but Elodie says she's in poor health and can't take care of Catherine anymore. And Catherine is... well, she's not all there..."

"Why should we take in a fool? Catherine's mother died giving birth to her. What if bringing her here endangers me and Amara? I won't allow it!"

Elodie's face turned even more ashen, her eyes reddening. She glanced at the servants' mocking expressions and couldn't help but stammer, "Amara is not a fool, she's a good child. She's also a Spencer family heiress..."

The servants coldly interrupted her, "Elodie, don't make a fool of yourself. Mrs. Spencer said she doesn't want Catherine back. You should leave now, or we'll have to call security to escort you out."

A flash of defiance crossed Elodie's eyes, but she could only stand up dejectedly, hunching over as she slowly walked out of the mansion.

On the second-floor hallway, Amara Spencer, dressed in an elegant gown, narrowed her eyes, watching Elodie's retreating figure with a mocking smile.

'A Spencer family heiress? The Spencer family only has one heiress now, and that's me. A country bumpkin like her? What a joke. Just like that useless Smith family member, both of them are delusional.' She thought.

As she turned to go back to her room, a thought crossed her mind, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. She quickly ran into the study.

"Dad, Mom, I think we should bring Catherine back."

Amara paused, then spoke softly, "Isn't the Smith family pushing for the marriage alliance?"

Clara Jones and Oliver Spencer were taken aback.

The marriage alliance between the Smith family and the Spencer family was supposed to involve Amara. The two families had arranged the engagement long ago, with the Spencer family seeking to climb the social ladder. The Smith family was wealthy and powerful, a dominant force in Harmony City.

Simon Smith, the head of the Smith family, doted on his grandson Richard Smith, who had shown remarkable talent from a young age. By thirteen, he had secretly made millions in the stock market.

But at sixteen, Richard was in a car accident that left him paralyzed and mentally impaired, turning him into a shadow of his former self.

Nowadays, Clara and Oliver were reluctant to marry Amara to such a person, but breaking off the engagement would be an insult to the Smith family. As the wedding date approached, their anxiety grew.

But now, hearing Amara's suggestion...

Amara saw her parents' uncertain expressions and spoke with a mocking smile, "Two fools together, isn't that a perfect match?"

Meanwhile, in a small village near another city...

Catherine felt cold all over, with murky water flooding her nose and mouth. She could hear children laughing nearby.

"This fool is pretending to be dead! Wake her up!"

Catherine's eyelids fluttered, and after a long moment, she opened her eyes to see several children clapping their hands and mocking her. An older child was holding a foul-smelling bucket, about to dump its contents on her face.

Catherine's eyes turned cold. Before the child could act, she kicked the bucket over, spilling its contents all over the children.

The adults who had been watching the scene unfold angrily approached, scolding her, "How dare you bully the children! You've got some nerve! If your grandmother gets back, we'll see what she does..."

A barely perceptible coldness flashed in Catherine's eyes.

Since her mentor Aurora Scott disappeared when she was six, she had pretended to be a fool after a high fever to avoid attracting the attention of Aurora's enemies. She had been biding her time, investigating what had happened.

Now that she had grown stronger and founded Summit Group, those enemies couldn't be able to threaten her easily. There was no need to keep up the act any longer.

It was time to fight back against those who had bullied her.

"Are you done talking?"

Matter of factly, Catherine looked at the short, plump woman and said in a cold tone, "If you can't control your own children, don't blame others for doing it for you. I haven't even punished them yet, and you're already yelling at me. How about I call the police and have them assess my injuries? Let's see how society deals with your children."

"Call the police? The police won't believe a fool like you!"

The woman didn't notice Catherine's clear and coherent speech, pointing at her and cursing, "You're a waste of space, even killing you would be a good deed. The police won't care about you!"

"Is that so?"

Catherine raised an eyebrow, suddenly broke into a gloomy smile, and slapped her across the face.

"Mentally ill or intellectually disabled individuals who cause harm when they can't recognize or control their actions are not held criminally responsible. So if you can't control your children and your mouth, and I beat you up, you have nowhere to complain."

Catherine's eyes were cold and devoid of warmth, her voice chilling, "Do you want to test that?"

The woman was intimidated by Catherine's cold gaze, stumbling back a step and stammering, "Who are you trying to scare? Crazy person! Baby, let's go home!"

The child who had been about to dump the bucket was also frightened, muttering a few words before leaving quietly.

The group of children, clearly scared, followed suit.

Catherine snorted and went home, unaware that two people were watching her from a distance as she entered the house.