The Heiress They Lost Came Back Overpowered
Chapter 6 - 5: What Kind of Monster is This?

Chapter 6: Chapter 5: What Kind of Monster is This?

Yvonne Lowell’s phone chimed with a DING. She looked down and saw it was a message from Zachary Jacobs.

He had sent screenshots of The Lowell Group’s and Harrison Lowell’s social media posts, along with some of the nasty comments. "Lowell, are you going to let this slide? Should I have the company get involved?"

Yvonne Lowell’s heart softened seeing what her two brothers had done. ’Being protected by family... it’s actually a pretty nice feeling.’

But she wasn’t the type to only ever take. Relationships were a two-way street.

"Okay."

After sending the message, Zachary Jacobs was on edge. He regretted it the moment he hit send, unsure if Yvonne Lowell would agree. She might even chew him out for it.

But even if Yvonne Lowell said no, he could always retaliate secretly in other ways.

’First, have Legal file lawsuits. Then, dig up dirt on their entire family history. If I find anything fishy, I’ll report them for everything I can find, hehehe.’

A DING from his phone startled Zachary Jacobs so badly he almost threw it. He covered the screen with his hand, peeking through a small gap between his fingers.

’Huh? "Okay"? Lowell agreed?! Well, I’ll be! You really do see something new every day!’

He immediately slammed the button on his desk intercom. "Get the legal and web departments in here for a meeting, now. We’ve got a job to do."

Then, he logged into the Pluto Consortium’s official social media account and reposted Harrison Lowell’s post.

[Pluto Consortium ✔: Congrats to our boss on finding her family! [Confetti] As for all you darlings who’ve been bad-mouthing our boss, you might want to purify yourselves and get ready to receive a little something from our lawyers. [Finger Heart]]

[Holy crap! Is that the Pluto I think it is? The Pluto Consortium, the number one conglomerate in the world?!]

[So, before the heiress returned to her prestigious family, she was already a powerhouse in her own right?!]

[Girl, what kind of overpowered-female-protagonist life script are you living?! I can’t take it!]

[They could have just slapped you with a lawsuit, but they called you ’darling’ instead. Count your blessings.]

[Thank god I kept my mouth shut. I’m so jealous of you guys getting letters from both The Lowell Group’s and the Pluto Consortium’s lawyers.]

And so, the trending topics on social media became:

#LowellGroupHeiressReturns #VIRAL

#HarrisonLowellFindsHisSister #VIRAL

#LowellHeiressIsSecretBossOfPlutoConsortium #VIRAL

Caleb Lowell’s phone rang. It was Assistant Grant, reporting on the trending topics. Caleb stared, dumbfounded, at Yvonne Lowell.

Meanwhile, Harrison Lowell, who had been busy arguing with trolls online, snapped his head up and pointed a trembling finger at Yvonne Lowell. "Nola, you... you... this..."

"What do you think you’re doing? Why are you pointing at your sister like that?" Charles Lowell, who had just come out of the kitchen to call everyone for dinner, saw his second son pointing at his precious daughter and slapped his hand away.

Harrison Lowell winced, then shoved his phone right in his father’s face. "Dad, just look."

"What is this nonsense? Are you all useless? You’re just letting your sister take this abuse! And you, Caleb, if The Lowell Group’s legal team is this incompetent, fire every last one of them." Charles Lowell was furious as he scanned the comments on the screen.

"No, no, that’s not it. Look at this," Harrison Lowell said, pulling up the post from the Pluto Consortium.

Charles Lowell froze, then looked up at Yvonne Lowell. "Nola, this... is this about you?"

"Yes, Dad. It’s a company I founded a while ago," Yvonne Lowell said with a small smile.

The men in the living room were overcome with a complex mix of emotions. If The Lowell Group and the Grants were at the apex of Aurelia’s corporate pyramid, then the Pluto Consortium was at the apex of the world’s.

In the four years since its founding, it had already become the world’s number one conglomerate, with branches in numerous countries.

Four years ago, she was only fifteen, yet she had to face the sharks of the business world.

Yet she just casually said it was something she "founded a while ago," never mentioning the hardships she must have faced.

It was only in that moment that they all truly understood. She really could live perfectly well on her own. If she hadn’t chosen to come back, they might never have seen her again.

They could also tell that Nola didn’t yet have a strong sense of belonging to this family.

But that was fine. All that mattered was that she was willing to come home.

Seeing their strange expressions, Yvonne Lowell wondered if she had been too blunt. She was just about to say something to smooth things over.

But Caleb Lowell broke the tension first, teasing, "Looks like I’ll have to work harder to get The Lowell Group on par with the Pluto Consortium someday."

"Alright, alright, let’s eat. Your mother has finished cooking. She made braised pork ribs for you, Nola," Charles Lowell added.

"I’ll go get Yancy!" Harrison Lowell exclaimed, jumping up and running upstairs.

Sensing their thoughts, Yvonne Lowell linked her arm through Charles Lowell’s. "Dad, no matter what, I’m your and Mom’s daughter first and foremost. Everything else comes second."

"Yes, yes, your father understands." Charles Lowell felt his nose prickle with emotion and patted the hand resting on his arm.

Nearby, Caleb Lowell watched the scene, moved.

"Nola, come and eat! I made a huge portion of braised pork ribs for you," Wendy Sutton said, emerging from the kitchen with a tureen of soup.

"Coming," Yvonne Lowell and Charles Lowell exchanged a smile and walked toward the dining room.

All three brothers wanted to sit next to their sister, but they were no match for their own parents.

Yvonne Lowell sat between her parents. Wendy Sutton looked at her complete family of six, beaming. It had been far too long since they were all together like this...

Harrison Lowell pouted as he looked at the feast spread across the table. ’When it’s just us at home, forget a spread like this, the number of times Her Majesty our mother personally cooks can be counted on one hand... This is blatant favoritism! Double standards! She clearly prefers her daughter over her sons!’

Since they couldn’t sit next to their sister, they settled for constantly piling food into her bowl. Soon, Yvonne Lowell’s bowl was overflowing.

"Okay, okay, I can’t eat this much..."

Seeing this, her brothers reluctantly stopped.

The Lowell family didn’t have a rule against talking at the dinner table, so Charles Lowell turned to Yvonne Lowell.

"Nola, are you focused on your work right now?"

"Dad, I rarely go into the office, so I have a lot of free time," Yvonne Lowell replied after swallowing a piece of pork rib.

Wendy Sutton, who had been listening, was confused. "Nola, you started a company? That’s amazing! What’s it called?"

"Pluto."

Wendy Sutton froze. Even though she didn’t follow financial news, she knew what the Pluto Consortium represented. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

"Ahem, so, Nola, are you in school right now? Which one?" Caleb Lowell asked.

"I’m not. I graduated with my doctorate three years ago, from Loster Academy in Country M."

The air suddenly went still... Yvonne Lowell looked up to see that everyone had frozen, staring at her with wide eyes.

’Yancy was in a program for gifted kids, and he’s only in his second year of his master’s program now, but Nola already has her doctorate? At sixteen, no less? From Loster Academy, the best university in the world?!’

Caleb Lowell had even applied to that school back in the day, but he hadn’t been accepted.

’What kind of freak of nature is she?! This is just unfair!’

But none of them felt a shred of jealousy. They were simply proud of her. Their Nola truly was the best!

A hint of worship even appeared in Yancy Lowell’s eyes. He had always admired the strong.

Yvonne Lowell rubbed her nose awkwardly. ’They’re already this shocked? And I even managed to snag a lifetime honorary professorship there... Oh well, better keep that to myself.’

Little did she know, that particular secret would be exposed at the family’s official welcome banquet.

"You’re truly amazing, Nola. You’ve made up for my old regret," Caleb Lowell praised.

Wendy Sutton’s face was a mixture of pride and heartache. "You’re wonderful, Nola. Your mother will always be proud of you."

"Thank you, Mom. For now, I’m planning to stay at home and just relax for a while."

"You can relax at home for the rest of your life if you want. Your mother and I can support you," Charles Lowell chimed in immediately.

The others quickly voiced their agreement.

They chatted idly. Perhaps because Caleb Lowell had given them a heads-up beforehand, no one mentioned the seven years of her life before she turned eleven.

Charles Lowell suddenly spoke up. "Nola, your grandparents on both sides know you’re back. We’ll go to the family estate tomorrow to have a meal with them."

"Okay, that’s fine with me," Yvonne Lowell nodded.

"Don’t worry. They’re all very kind, and they’ve all missed you very much," Caleb Lowell said, patting her head. He then began to tell her about the different family members.

...

Early the next morning, Wendy Sutton pushed open Yvonne Lowell’s door, hoping to see her daughter sleeping peacefully. But the bed was empty, the covers perfectly smooth without a single wrinkle.