Fake heiress Real heroine

Chapter 197 Chapter 197 Having gone through hardships and life-and-death situations since childhood, Quinlyn understood one thing clearly: taming people required patience, On the third morning, she cto cell 402 and found a few people had already fainted. Quinlyn opened the door, loosened their bonds, and gave them food and water.

The ones who were awake got up and quickly wolfed down the food. The boys who were slower to wake up forced themselves up to shove bread down their throats.

Quinlyn sat by the bed, calmly feeding Jareth. "Learn how to cook today, and don't waste food, she told the boys. She couldn't stand seeing anyone waste food.

It was a simple sentence, yet it felt like an evil whisper to everyone.

After gobbling down the food, everyone rushed back to the kitchen and found Quinlyn had not thrown away the knives.

Quinlyn wasn't afraid of another sneak attack as she was confident, But they sure didn't want to go through that pain again. From that day on, the kitchen got cleaner day by day. Cooking went from being a careless chore to serious learning. They knew it was the only way to avoid another beating.

The people in the left and right lines were always changing. Sfolks might be playing games and snacking today, but tomorrow they could be pulling weeds in the garden or cleaning the restroom.

Quinlyn seemed to choose people based on her mood, which made many minor offenders try hard to please her. But Quinlyn didn't accept their offerings and sent them to work. No one could figure out what she wanted. Gradually, everyone in the juvenile detention center called her the Demon.

This isolated prison's true ruler, Quinlyn, was the boss. But as tpassed, salways remained in the right line. After spending enough twith Quinlyn, those on the right began to understand her way.

After lunch, Quinlyn was sunbathing on the steps in front of the playground. White clouds drifted across the blue sky. By the tshe counted to the tenth cloud, Bella Denny sat beside her.

"Quinlyn, you seem bored," Bella said in a gentle, clear voice.

Unlike her early days when she was always hunched over, head down, too scared to even look up when being pulled into the cafeteria, Bella was now second-in-command. She'd becmuch more confident and outgoing.

Quinlyn was indeed feeling bored and homesick. "Have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?" Many people in the juvenile detention center wanted to be close to Quinlyn, including Bella. But Bella genuinely liked Quinlyn and depended on her.

Quinlyn turned to look at her, her eyes reflecting the colors of the sky. "Do you want to leave this place?" "No, I never thought that." Bella instinctively denied it, then looked down and smiled bitterly. "Even if I got out, I wouldn't know where to go. At least here, I get enough to eat.

"When I was little, I was left at the orphanage entrance. My parents didn't even bother to givea name. The orphanage director namedBella because there was a tree where I was found and a bicycle bell ringing by the entrance that day.

"But life in the orphanage was tough. Other kids always took my stuff. I was so hungry that I stole a bread roll from a shop. That one theft turnedinto a habitual thief. It felt weird not to steal.

1/3 Chapter 197 11 "After I was sent to juvenile detention twice, the police found my parents. They had divorced, and each had a new family. I couldn't even go back to the orphanage.

"To break my habit of stealing, they tiedup and even broke one of my fingers. Several times, I wondered why they even broughtinto this world. Maybe it would've been better #j died" Bella was already fifteen, old enough to understand the harsh realities. She realized that her parents had abandoned her. reluctantly took her back, and then despised her for developing bad habits. That was when the felt the was hopelen.

Quinlyn sat up and noticed neat scars on Bella's wrist that she'd been touching, "What's this?" Quinlyn asked. "I cut myself with a knife. Every tI felt like stealing, I'd cut myself. The pain keptfrom reaching out. I even thought that if I accidentally cut too deep and died, it'd be better, Bella explained.

Bella touched those scars, her expression filled with a sadness that Quinlyn couldn't understand.

Maybe because Quinlyn had no parents, she always clung to fantasies of kinship. Bella felt despair because the found but lost her parents again.

Quinlyn reviewed Bella's file. Bella had stolen an expensive diamond necklace, but that crshouldn't have landed her a five-year sentence. Bella's parents had testified in court, saying she was worse and unmanageable, which upped her penalty.

"Abandoninghere is probably a relief for my parents too." Bella knew she was a burden.

Everyone finally gathered in the conference room. Glenn was listening to the progress report from the juvenile detention center. He was satisfied with Quinlyn's effective and intensive reforms.

A month had passed, and they were discussing whether it was tto conclude. When they heard what had happened to Bella, everyone fell silent, engulfed in an indescribable discomfort.

"If I remember correctly, there was a murderer here whose powerful family got the victim's family to forgive him. He only got a five-year sentence," Howard said in a raspy voice from the center of the room.

Over the past month, Howard practically lived here, feeling deeply everything happening at the juvenile detention center. Sof the kids on the right side were even more well-behaved and sensible than those who hadn't committed crimes.

Glenn flipped through the records. Most of the kids cfrom troubled families-either facing violence and abuse or simply being abandoned. With no one to defend them, they ended up in the juvenile detention center, only to face bullying all over again.

"Kids like Bella aren't rare," Glenn said, his gaze fixed on her wrist, his eyes sad.

A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a slight chill to the air. Quinlyn, looking at Bella sitting for her side, thought for a moment and took a black pen from her pocket, starting to draw over the scars on Bella's wrist. Quinlyn drew a circle, three little dots, and a mouth. With a straw hat on top, it instantly beca kind old man.

"This is Matthew. He raised me. He didn't have much education and didn't know a lot of words. When of words. When things were going well, we'd sell handmade baskets and have enough to eat. But when it rained, we had to dig up roots on the mountain just to survive. "The day Matthew was killed, I hid under the bed. He was covered in blood, lying on the floor, always looking at me, not lettingcout.

"He always said he wasn't capable and was too poor to get a wife. He didn't want to be a burden to anyone. He foundat the village entrance and saved my life. Raisingwas his proudest achievement.

"I believe everyone has their worth. Even if others don't want you, you should live well, and find something or someone you want to protect," Quinlyn said.

2/3 16:24 Wed, 2 Apr NN Chapter 197 69% 450

Bella listened to her in a daze. Then, she looked at the little figure on her wrist and suddenly felt that the scars looked like wrinkles on Matthew's forehead, making the scars seem cute. "Have you found what or who you want to protect yet?" Quinlyn nodded right away and smiled. "Yeah. I want to protect anyone who needs help and deserves it. You're one of those people, so you're really important. Don't give up. I'll help yoy." O mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliIofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1