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Novel Catalog
Chapter Title: The Unseen Power
After receiving the will, Catherine calmly made her way back to the Swann family living room. The tension in the room was palpable, with most of the family gathered, watching her every move.
Johnathan Swann, her younger brother, was the first to speak up, his voice thick with disdain. “I don’t care what you bumpkin have done. But you’re dreaming if you think you can inherit the Swanns’ fortune!”
His words dripped with contempt, and it was clear why. Johnathan, the only son of the Swanns, had long expected to inherit the family’s vast wealth. But now, it had all shifted to Catherine, the girl they had labeled a jinx. From the start, Johnathan had never respected her—seeing her as nothing more than an uneducated country girl. Now that she had inherited everything, he was seething with frustration.
He turned to his mother, Rachael, gripping her hand tightly, his voice rising with anger. “Mom, you can’t let that jinx inherit the family’s fortune! She should give it up and go back to the countryside where she belongs!”
The other members of the Swann family, knowing full well that Catherine had been sent away as a child, shared Johnathan’s bitterness. They had all heard the rumors about her birth being an omen of calamities. When Catherine had been younger, her mother, Rachael, had seemed to believe in this superstition—especially after the death of Laura Swann, and the priest’s ominous warning.
Rachael, cold and indifferent, looked at her daughter with disdain, her eyes narrowing. She turned to Catherine and ordered with an icy voice, “Catherine, did you hear your brother? Call Leonel now and tell him you’re giving up the Swanns’ fortune. Transfer it to your father, and I’ll have him compensate you with some money. Then, you’ll go back to the countryside where you belong.”
Catherine, standing calmly before them, took in her mother’s harsh words as though she were a distant observer. She didn’t flinch, not in the least. When Rachael finished, Catherine spoke slowly, her voice unwavering, yet with a cold edge.
“Okay,” she said, and then added, “If you can, take it.”
Her words were clear and unyielding. It was as if she had already washed her hands of the matter. Her indifference to the family’s anger left everyone momentarily speechless. How could she not care? How could she reject everything that had been handed to her?
The family stared at her in stunned silence, unable to comprehend her reaction.
Liana, always eager to see Catherine humbled, was the first to recover. A victorious smile stretched across her face as she addressed her mother. “I’m glad you know your place,” she said smugly, clearly pleased that Catherine had seemingly accepted her defeat.
Liana had always looked down on Catherine as an unrefined country girl, and in her eyes, this was all for the best. If Catherine handed the fortune over, they wouldn’t have to deal with her interference. It would be easier to take everything from her later. No need for schemes or deceit—Catherine would hand it over willingly.
Liana turned to Rachael, her voice sharp. “Mom, what are you waiting for? Call Leonel and have her sign the hand-over agreement. Let’s get this over with so we don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
But before Rachael could act, Korbin Swann, the head of the family, walked into the room and stopped the conversation with a single command. “No. The will can’t be changed.”
The room fell silent, everyone frozen in shock. Liana, her face contorted with disbelief, let out a scream of frustration. “Dad, why? Why are you letting a bumpkin like her inherit the Swanns’ fortune?”
Korbin’s face darkened as he glanced at Catherine. His voice held a heavy weight of resignation. “I don’t want this either, but I can’t stop her from inheriting it.”
He turned to Catherine, who still stood there in her shabby white T-shirt, clearly out of place among the opulence of the family. A flicker of disdain passed through his eyes, but his voice softened as he spoke to her. “Catherine, you must be tired from today. Go upstairs and rest.”
Catherine, recognizing the subtle dismissal, didn’t hesitate. She nodded and turned to leave, her steps steady as she ascended the stairs. As her back was turned to the family, an eerie smile tugged at her lips—a smile filled with mocking amusement and quiet disdain.
Once Catherine had disappeared upstairs, Rachael, unable to contain her frustration any longer, turned to her husband. “Korbin, why don’t we just have the girl transfer the fortune to you?” she asked, her tone dripping with disdain for her own daughter.
Korbin sighed heavily, a look of helplessness in his eyes. “Vicente made it clear in his will. If Catherine abandons the inheritance, the Swanns’ fortune will go to charity. And there’s more—Branden has agreed to marry her. They are already engaged.”
The news struck the family like a thunderclap. The Duncans were not to be trifled with. Branden Duncan, heir to the wealthiest family in Casier, agreeing to marry Catherine—this was a turn of events none of them could have predicted.
Liana’s face turned pale. She stood frozen, staring at her father in disbelief. “Dad, you’re joking, right? Branden would never agree to marry the jinx…!”
Korbin’s expression hardened. He knew that his daughter’s long-standing crush on Branden had turned into an obsession, but now, it seemed, she would have to watch someone else take him as her husband.
“Liana, there’s nothing I can do,” Korbin said, his tone final.
Liana sank into the sofa, her mind a blur. Her dreams of wealth and marrying Branden Duncan were shattered in an instant. The world she thought she controlled was slipping through her fingers.
Her gaze turned cold, filled with a deep, seething rage. The hate she felt for Catherine now burned brighter than ever.
“I hate you, Catherine,” she swore silently, her fists clenched as she stewed in the bitterness of her loss.
The Swanns’ fortune, once within her grasp, was now irrevocably tied to Catherine’s hands—and nothing, not even the power of the family, seemed able to take it from her.