Chapter 535 - 534

Chapter 534

….

Susan’s questioning brought a sudden silence to the scene.

Everyone turned to look at her.

James instinctively began, “How can you say such a thing? It was an accident! Keira didn’t know there would be a fire!”

Charles also nodded. “Yeah, how can you blame Keira?”

Peter was stunned, and he tugged at Susan. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Yet Susan pushed Peter away, tears streaming down like rain. “Don’t you all think the same? Or is what I said incorrect? If Mary had forgiven Ellis sooner, and they were living at the Olsen residence, how could such a thing happen?”

She wiped her tears. “Peter, you always tell me how great and admirable Ellis is. You should be the one who respects him the most! But what about now? It’s because of her that Ellis and Mary died in the fire!

“You are all grieving and in pain here; surely you must blame her too, right? You’re just too afraid to say it or to resent her. I am merely voicing what you all are thinking!”

Susan looked angrily toward Keira. “Why, during the fire, was your entire family away, including the nanny? Why was Mary at home alone?”

Keira looked at her coldly. “What do you mean by that?”

After scheming against Peter and instigating a rift between him and Keira, was Susan now trying to use Ellis to divide Keira from the rest of her brothers?

Susan indignantly said, “I didn’t want to think too much either, but now that Ellis, the head of the Olsen family, is gone, a new heir must be chosen. You are the daughter of our third uncle, while the rest of us are just cousins. Your father had already designated Ellis as his heir before, so you didn’t stand a chance, but what about now? Aren’t you the most likely to inherit everything in the family?”

Keira didn’t speak but looked toward her brothers, “Do you all think this way, too?”

James was the first to speak up. “Definitely not. I believe in my senior sister!”

As the senior sister of the Freeman Sect, Keira was also the heir, but since her return, she had made it clear she had no such intentions. James was going to marry into the Freeman family and inherit the Freeman Sect instead.

James, having misunderstood her in the past, had had the most contact with Keira.

Though she seemed cold, she was actually a considerate person; otherwise, she wouldn’t have helped Matias and Nara. Moreover, the Olsen family had already given her a substantial share, so she could earn money without doing anything… She was soon to be married into the Horton family. Why would she covet the Olsen’s inheritance?!

Charles immediately chimed in as well. “I believe in Keira as well!”

Even the rest of the brothers nodded. “Right, Keira isn’t like that! None of us even want that inheritance; if she wanted it, all she had to do was say the word or even subtly hint at it, and Ellis definitely wouldn’t have contested her! What my brother really yearned for was freedom…”

In the end, Keira looked toward Peter.

Peter’s face darkened. He tugged at Susan and said, “Don’t spout nonsense here. Keira isn’t that kind of person!”

At that moment, Keira felt a warmth she hadn’t felt in a long time.

She scoffed, turning her gaze to Susan.

Susan’s eyes flashed with panic. She didn’t expect the brothers to trust Keira so implicitly. Not only did her words fail to drive a wedge between them, but they also left herself looking bad.

But she quickly regained her composure, lowering her head. “I was speaking out of turn. I was thinking too much, and it was my fault. I just felt sad, and I felt it was unfair to Ellis and Mary! They trusted Keira so much, and Mary was even Keira’s best friend… But now, they perished in the fire. Everyone is crying so painfully, yet Keira remains so composed, without even shedding a tear…”

Susan gave a bitter smile. “So, in my haste and desperation, I spoke without thinking…”

As soon as she finished her sentence, several brothers immediately looked at Keira.

At this moment, Keira indeed seemed terrifyingly calm. Although her pretty face was tense, there genuinely were no tears in her eyes, and she was very sober.

She indeed appeared to be somewhat heartless.

Here were all these people crying and wailing for their elder brother, yet she was like that…

James immediately said, “Keira must be very sad, but her character has always been aloof, and her emotions are always restrained…”

Charles chimed in meekly. “Right, that’s just how Keira is…”

Just as the two of them finished speaking, Peter suddenly shouted, “You two, stop deceiving yourselves! Aloof? To put it plainly, she doesn’t care about us!”

Peter looked straight at Keira and angrily asked, “What are Ellis and Mary to you? What are we brothers to you? We treat you like a sister and hold you in the palm of our hands, but what about you?!”

He wiped away a tear and shouted, “Do you even consider us your real brothers?!”

James and Charles grabbed him, and James scolded him. “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Susan was just beside them and said, “Keira, at least cry a little to make everyone feel a bit better.”

Keira was speechless.

Even if she cried now, it would seem forced. After all, how could she possibly cry when she was coerced like this?

Keira scoffed. “I can’t cry.”

Susan continued to provoke her. “How is that possible? Your brother has been so good to you. Are you not sad at all? You’ll upset your other brothers!”

Keira stared at her, enunciating each word. “I am not sad.”

Hearing this, a look of delighted surprise appeared on Susan’s face. “Not sad? How can you be like this? Ellis was, after all, your brother! How can you say such cruel things? How will your other brothers live with themselves in the future?!”

This made all the brothers turn their gaze toward Keira.

Peter clenched his fists, and with each word punctuated, he asked, “Are you really not the least bit heartbroken? The people who died in the fire were your elder brother and your best friend! How can you be so cold?!”

Susan looked at Keira, her eyes flashing with a hint of triumph. “Yeah, Keira, you’ve really disappointed us all. Ellis and Mary were so good to you, yet you can’t even muster a bit of sadness. What kind of sister are you? What kind of member of the Olsen family are you?”

Peter was trembling with rage as he glared at Keira.

James and Charles exchanged glances, both equally puzzled as they looked at Keira.

In the next moment, however, they saw Keira suddenly laugh. “They’re not dead, so what do you want me to be sad about?”