Reborn Young Miss: Phoenix Burning Red-Chapter 54: One Step Forward (1)

Early in the morning, the air around the Jiang estate was extremely refreshing. As Adrienne returned to the front lawn, sparrows pecked their meals from the tree branches. The sun seemed brighter as it had rained the night before, and the grass and tree leaves appeared moist as drops of water dripped from them.

As usual, Adrienne woke up to an early start. After having her morning run and a simple breakfast, she took a stroll in her mother’s garden, noticing that the bushes had thickened and hadn’t been trimmed for some time. As it wasn’t the flowering season, the place was filled with dense, lush foliage instead. When the weather becomes warmer, the remaining buds that survived the previous season will surely bloom completely.

Adrienne smiled faintly. When she was younger, she spent a lot of time with her mother here, digging soils as Rosemary planted the seedlings. This was the only place she could feel at ease at the estate. Being in the same place as her father and the rest of the Jiang family felt suffocating. Thinking about it, Adrienne didn’t feel safe in her home. No wonder Lennox had sent someone to look after her, but who could it possibly be?

There weren’t any new hires at the estate, so it could only mean Lennox had bribed someone who had been working here for some time now. It made Adrienne uncomfortable as she didn’t like the feeling of being watched. She had enough of it in her previous life.

Lennox said it was for her safety, but didn’t Alistair say the same thing before? He used this excuse to confine her inside his mansion, keeping her away from everyone else.

’Your father and stepmother are out there waiting for the right chance to hurt you, you better stay here for your own good.’

Adrienne rested her forehead on one hand. She didn’t know why she was thinking of that person again. She knew she couldn’t avoid meeting him in this life, but she needed some time to prepare for it.

As she pondered it, her phone rang, and Samantha’s name flashed on the screen. Adrienne immediately answered the phone and hurriedly left the garden.

"Addie... Addie..." Samantha was crying nonstop at the other line, and Adrienne had a gist of the reason why the young girl was wailing like this. She must have been hurt by someone again.

"What happened? Where are you? I’m coming for you."

In between her sobs, Samantha admitted that she took a video of her mother beating her and reported her to the authorities. However, she never knew that her mother would be sent to prison and she would be brought into foster care.

"Addie, did my brother change his mind? Didn’t he want to help me anymore?" Samantha tried to stop her tears but couldn’t.

Adrienne called Uncle Mo and asked him to take her to the police station where Samantha and her mother were being held.

"No, Sam. Lennox and I have been waiting for your call. I’m on my way now. You aren’t going anywhere or with anyone except with us." Adrienne insisted.

Once she assured Samantha, she immediately gave Gavin a call. They agreed to meet in an hour at the police station and to settle Samantha’s custody. Since Samantha didn’t have any living relatives to support her, it would be easy for Lennox to take over her custody and become her guardian until she reached legal age.

As soon as Samantha saw Adrienne, she wrapped her arms around Adrienne and cried helplessly. It took some time before the young girl calmed down. Adrienne sighed in relief when Gavin arrived with a lawyer.

"Addie, I don’t want Mom to go to jail. Is there another way to do this?" Samantha begged her.

Adrienne considered the options. She glanced at Gavin, and they tacitly understood the situation. Gavin answered Samantha’s question instead.

"Sam, the only other option is for your mother to stay in a psychiatric ward. She’s clearly not in the right mind - beating you up like this. Her frequent drinking also doesn’t help. Your mother needs medical intervention, though there’s no assurance she would regain her sane mind after this." He explained, but his eyes showed cold fury that was new to Adrienne.

Adrienne thought Gavin must have been enraged seeing the state Samantha was in. Samantha’s lips were busted, and her face was a bit swollen from the heavy beating she received from her mother last night.

"Mom must have been really sad when she heard about Dad’s passing." Samantha murmured as she looked down at her dirty hands. "She has been drinking more lately. I should have tried harder to stop her."

But Gavin and Adrienne knew it would be impossible for a young girl like her to stop her mother. Samantha bit her lip as new tears sprung from her eyes.

"But why does she need to beat me? Why do I have to take the blame for all her misfortune? I didn’t ask her to give birth to me. I would rather not exist if I knew I’d live this miserably." She cried. "But she’s my mother... I don’t have anyone else but her, but even she has forsaken me!"

Adrienne’s heart broke hearing Samantha’s cries. She didn’t think any child should suffer like this. However, this world was unfair to begin with, and there weren’t many options a child like her could have.

"Regardless of what you choose, it’s certain that you’ll be under Lennox’s care now. Your mother isn’t the only one who needs help, but you as well." Gavin said. "If ever your mother recovers her sane mind, I hope she would regret what she’d done to you and reflect on it. However, it’s also time to stand up for yourself."

"Then please send my mother to the psychiatric ward." Samantha looked at him decisively. "Please make her regret and apologize to me someday. I’ll be waiting for it."