My grandma was 50 when she found out she was the true heiress of a powerful family. My whole family buzzed with excitement, already plotting how to cash in on Grandma’s newfound status. Grandpa dreamed of using the money to find a younger woman to dote on him. Uncle Shane calculated how to land a cushy executive position where he could line his pockets. Even my cousin, Kevin, just seven years old, was demanding a sprawling mansion in the most exclusive part of the city. Grandma, as always, agreed to everything. She smiled, looking at me, “Lily, what do *you* want?” But a cold dread washed over me. Because I saw it clearly. A flicker of murderous intent in Grandma’s eyes. When we found out Grandma was Eleanor Albright, the long-lost daughter of the Albright Group’s founder, our entire family went wild. Grandpa immediately started scheming: “Audrey’s back with the rich folks, and as her husband, I’m certainly coming along. I don’t need much over there, just a dedicated driver and a few nannies to cater to my every whim. No problem, right?” “Dad, that’s nothing!” Uncle Shane chuckled, puffing out his chest with ambitious pride. “Mom is the Albright Group CEO’s own daughter! Me, as her only son, I should at least be made a Vice President, shouldn’t I? And Kevin, he *has* to go to the best private school!” Kevin is my cousin, seven years old this year, and the only male heir in our generation. Right now, he was tugging on Grandma’s sleeve, yelling at the top of his lungs: “Old hag, a mansion! Buy me a mansion in the city center!” No one objected to this address. Because that’s exactly how they’d called Grandma for years. “Alright, whatever you want.” Grandma smiled, agreeing to every request. Everyone was ecstatic, imagining their lives were about to take off, like a sudden lottery win for the whole family. Only I stood silently in the corner, saying nothing. “Lily, is there anything you want?” Grandma asked me directly. I shook my head, only asking: “Grandma, two months ago, how did you survive?” The moment I spoke, my family’s faces instantly changed.
Two months ago, Grandma fell ill. But no one in the family paid any attention. Just like before, when Grandma was sick, they’d accuse her of faking illnesses to get out of chores. “She’s just an old woman, so what if she’s sick?” “She can tough it out herself, why waste money on a doctor?” There was always farm work to be done, the pigs were squealing from hunger, and a large family was still waiting to be fed. Grandma had no choice but to endure, and keep busy. Only I would help Grandma shoulder some of the burden. I often snuck to the back woods to gather wild herbs, which Grandma would chew and swallow. It eased the pain. But it was a temporary fix, never a real cure. Until two months ago— Kevin fell from a tree and was injured, needing a blood transfusion. Uncle Shane and Aunt Brenda were too stingy to buy blood from the blood bank, so they directly pushed Grandma forward. “Take hers, she’s tough as nails! She can handle it!” Grandma was already very weak then. But she was still pushed out like livestock. Blood was slowly drawn from her frail, withered arms. And it also drained Grandma’s last bit of strength. Grandma suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. She collapsed like a helpless reed, swaying before it finally collapsed. “Worthless old woman!” “We were counting on you to take care of Kevin, and now you’re just being lazy again!” Even at this point, Uncle Shane and Aunt Brenda still refused to spend a single dime on Grandma’s medical care. They crowded around Kevin, showering him with concern. They left Grandma on the cold ground, left to her own devices. Ten days later, when Uncle Shane and Aunt Brenda returned from the county clinic, I found Grandma gone. “Where’s Grandma?” I asked them. “Don’t know, probably dead.” Aunt Brenda said indifferently. “She was coughing all the time, I was worried she’d infect Kevin.” Grandpa, upon hearing this, did show a flicker of concern. “If the old woman’s dead, who’ll feed the pigs? Who’ll cook? Who’ll take care of me?” Everyone’s eyes turned to me. “Daisy can do it. We’ve raised this good-for-nothing burden for so long, it’s time she did more work.” They all called me “Daisy.” Only Grandma called me “Lily.” She said I was a child they wished for. But in truth, no one wished for me, except her. My mother didn’t wish for me. Because she gave birth to a girl, she was constantly mocked in the village. She died in childbirth trying for a second baby. My father didn’t wish for me. After Mom died, he quickly remarried, dumping me on Grandma like unwanted baggage. Grandpa didn’t wish for me. He called me a good-for-nothing burden, wishing he could have just thrown me into the back woods to perish in the wilderness, like the other baby girls Grandma had given birth to. Uncle Shane and Aunt Brenda wished for me even less. Especially after Aunt Brenda gave birth to Kevin, I, this “superfluous” girl, wasn’t even fit to tie Kevin’s shoelaces in their eyes. Only Grandma truly wished for me and treated me well. I ignored my family’s curses, running out with my worn-out shoes. Gasping for breath, I ran for half a day. Finally, late at night, I reached the county clinic. I asked them if they had seen my Grandma. “A few days ago, an old woman did collapse here,” A nurse said. “Her family refused to pay for treatment. After she woke up, she walked off towards the mountains.” My heart sank. Some old people in the village, when they knew their end was near, would go into the mountains to wait for death. Was Grandma doing the same? “When did you last see her?” My voice trembled uncontrollably. “Roughly… seven or eight days ago.” Seven or eight days. If Grandma had had the strength, she would have returned home long ago. It was hard to imagine how she, penniless and severely ill, could have survived. I was filled with despair, believing I’d never see Grandma again. But unexpectedly, two months passed. Grandma not only returned. But also became Eleanor Albright, the true heiress of the Albright Group.
“Silly child, your Grandma has a strong will to live.” Facing my tearful questions, Grandma simply stroked my head calmly. She slowly explained— That day, she truly believed she wouldn’t make it, so she wanted to go into the mountains, to find a quiet place to lie down. But she hadn’t walked far before she was rescued. “The people who rescued me were sent by the Albright family. They said I left a record when my blood was drawn at the county clinic – something called Rh-negative blood, which is very rare. My biological parents’ genealogical agency had been searching for women with this blood type for years.” Subsequently, an emergency DNA comparison confirmed that Grandma was indeed the Albright Group CEO’s biological daughter, lost for fifty years. This experience left everyone gasping. Aunt Brenda’s eyes darted around, then she let out a sharp, fawning laugh, slapping her thigh in realization: “Oh my! So Mom being recognized by the wealthy family is all thanks to our Kevin, then! If it wasn’t for giving Kevin a blood transfusion, Mom would never have had the chance to leave a blood type record!” “Exactly!” Uncle Shane immediately puffed out his chest, as if he had performed a monumental service. “Mom was even hesitant about the blood draw! If we hadn’t been decisive and insisted on it, this staggering fortune would have been missed!” “That’s right, Audrey.” Grandpa knocked his pipe against the sole of his shoe, concluding self-righteously: “People shouldn’t forget their roots. Ultimately, our family was the reason you could return to a wealthy background, wasn’t it? You should really repay us well!” I couldn’t stand it anymore: “That’s nonsense! You never let Grandma see a doctor, otherwise, how could she have waited until she was 50 to be found? She was discovered the moment her blood was drawn, which means the Albright family had been looking for her all along! You’re the ones who held her back!” “You good-for-nothing brat, what do you know?!” Aunt Brenda immediately put her hands on her hips, spittle practically flying in my face. “Which woman in the village didn’t go through the same? Get a headache or fever and lie down like a lady? Who doesn’t just grab some wild herbs to deal with it? It’s still all thanks to Kevin! Otherwise, her?” She sneered, glancing dismissively at Grandma. “She could rot in some forgotten ditch and no one would even care!” I was shaking with anger. But Grandma gently raised a hand, stopping the argument. “Alright, alright, we’re family, let’s not fight.” She paused, her gaze slowly sweeping across their greedy faces. “The Albright family said that to thank you for taking care of me all these years, they specially booked a banquet at an exclusive restaurant in the city, and want our whole family to come.” The moment her words fell, the four pairs of eyes opposite her lit up instantly. “Go! Of course, we’ll go!” Uncle Shane rubbed his hands excitedly. “This is an invitation from the Albright Group!” Grandpa slapped his thigh: “Let’s go! Let the whole village see, our family is about to become rich and powerful!” Aunt Brenda was already planning what to wear. Even Kevin shook his head, clamoring to eat lobster. I looked at their ecstatic, greedy faces, and then at Grandma, calm as still water. Suddenly, I felt something was off. The Grandma who returned seemed different from before. Her eyes were no longer that numb, murky dead water. Instead, they were like a bottomless ancient well. Calm, yet holding a chilling, deep coldness.
That afternoon, the Albright family’s motorcade arrived on time. Three black Rolls-Royces lined up in front of our dilapidated village entrance. Half the village ran out to watch the spectacle. “Wow, this car must be worth tens of thousands!” “More than that! Look at the emblem, it’s easily over a million!” The chauffeur, impeccably dressed in a suit, respectfully opened the car door. Grandpa was the first to scramble in, flopping onto the leather seat, his hands running over the armrest: “This leather is softer than our cowhide!” He turned and shouted at the chauffeur: “Young man, how much is this car? Get me one too!” The chauffeur smiled politely: “Sir, this is a custom model, globally limited edition.” “Limited is good!” Grandpa laughed. “The more limited, the more prestigious! It matches my status!” Uncle Shane pulled Kevin into the second car and immediately pulled out his phone for a selfie: “Come on, Kevin, smile! This will be our standard ride from now on!” Kevin pressed his face against the window, showing off to the kids outside: “See? Luxury car pick-up! It’s all mine!” Aunt Brenda rummaged through the car’s mini-fridge, gasping in surprise: “Champagne! Imported chocolates! Oh my god, one bottle of this wine is enough for our family’s entire year’s expenses!” She unceremoniously opened a bottle and gulped down a few mouthfuls. “Drink slowly,” Uncle Shane pretended to caution her, but then reached out and grabbed a handful of chocolates, stuffing them into his pocket. Grandma and I sat in the third car. The car was quiet. Grandma closed her eyes, resting, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest. “Grandma,” I whispered, “Are you really… taking them back to the city?” She opened her eyes, her gaze calmly falling on my face. “Lily,” she said, “Have you ever seen a monkey show?” I shook my head. “The monkeys jump and prance on stage, and the more delighted and ridiculous they are, the happier the audience becomes.” She paused, the light and shadows from outside the window flickering across her face. “They are performing a show now. We just need to watch carefully.”
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