Chapter 21
21:
Still, Rachael kept her expression cold, almost condescending. “Who are you looking for here?” she asked Brenna.
Brenna remained polite. She wasn’t the type to look down on anyone, no matter their status. “I’m the daughter the Harper family lost twenty years ago. Let me inside now.”
Rachael scoffed, her eyes scanning Brenna’s outfit—frayed denim shorts, an oversized shirt, and scuffed sneakers. By her estimation, the entire ensemble wasn’t worth more than two hundred dollars.
Even she was dressed better than that. “How dare you pretend to be a Harper?” she sneered.
Brenna assumed she genuinely didn’t know, so she kept her tone patient. “I really am the Harper family’s daughter.”
But she believed something about the situation felt off. Even if she weren’t a Harper, she was still a guest. Yet this maid was speaking to her with open disdain. What did that say about the Harper family? Her patience thinned. If this was how they treated people, she wanted nothing to do with them.
Rachael rolled her eyes. “Impossible. Miss Rosie Harper personally went to pick up Miss Brenna Harper. They should be arriving together. You probably heard about Miss Brenna Harper’s return and thought you could fool us by pretending to be her.”
She gasped suddenly, pointing at Brenna. “Wait! Did you kidnap Miss Brenna Harper?”
Brenna let out a laugh, dry and unamused. She then turned, ready to walk away.
But before she could take a step, Rachael’s shrill voice rang out. “Help! Someone come quickly! She’s kidnapped Miss Brenna Harper! Stop her from leaving!”
“What’s with all the noise? Is Brenna back?” A deep male voice cut through the tension.
Brenna looked up to see a man approaching the gate. His graying hair gave him a refined air, and though age had softened his face, his steps were steady.
𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕦𝕡𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕘𝕒𝕝𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤.𝕔𝕠𝕞
As the man got closer, his eyes settled on Brenna’s face, and his brows furrowed with recognition. He believed she looked uncannily like his sister-in-law, Giselle.
“You are Brenna, right? Come in,” he said.
Rachael stiffened, panic flashing across her face. She had failed to carry out Rosie’s instructions. She had missed the chance to teach Brenna a lesson.
But as a servant, she couldn’t afford to be caught. Forcing a bright smile, she quickly said to Brenna, “Oh, you are Miss Brenna Harper! My apologies—I didn’t recognize you at first. I’m so sorry for making you wait outside for so long.”
The man, Ableson Harper, turned to Rachael and said sharply, “From the fifth floor, I heard the doorbell ringing. Yet you took this long to answer the door. Are you deaf?”
Rachael quickly lowered her head. “Sir, I was just following orders. We have strict rules against letting in strangers, and I wasn’t sure if she was really Miss Brenna Harper…”
Ableson snorted, unconvinced. Rachael had been working here for years. She had seen Giselle countless times. And now, she expected him to believe she hadn’t noticed the resemblance between Giselle and Brenna?
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