Return of Auntie, Taking Back My Properties

I returned home for the holidays after being away for years.

Suddenly, I discovered that my house and my car had somehow become my niece's property.

I even spotted my limited-edition designer bags, which had been missing for a long time, sitting in her room.

How was I the only one who didn't know about this?

Because my company had been expanding overseas, I hadn't been home for the holidays in nearly five years.

If it weren't for the anniversary of my younger sister's passing, I wouldn't have wanted to come back at all.

As I approached the front door, I heard loud laughter and chatter coming from inside.

I knew immediately that my older brother, Arthur, his wife, Linda, and their children, Sienna and Silas, were all there.

This house only seemed to have any life in it when my brother was around.

I knocked on the door, and the laughter inside stopped abruptly.

My nephew, Silas, opened the door for me. He didn't even bother to say hello before turning around and walking away.

I softly greeted my parents, Arthur, and Linda, then dragged my suitcase straight to my old room.

Linda had never liked me from the very beginning.

"She always looks so cold and miserable, like everyone in the world owes her money," I heard her mutter.

Arthur did what he always didDhe tried to play both sides. "Alright, let it go. She won't be staying for more than a few days anyway."

I waited until the chatter outside died down before I ventured out to get some water.

On my way back to my room, something caught my eye on the sofa. It was a very familiar designer bag.

Suddenly, a memory from six months ago flashed through my mind.

Arthur had called me back then, sounding very casual.

"Avery, your niece Sienna is moving to New York for work. You have so many properties there, why not let her stay in one for a while?"

I didn't think much of it. I asked where her office was and gave her the keys to my closest apartment.

Later, she changed jobs three times and demanded a new place each time. I was in the middle of a massive overseas merger and didn't have time to argue.

I simply told my assistant to let her pick from my portfolio.

She eventually moved into the luxury villa where I usually stay. After a few weeks, I had my assistant move her out to a smaller condo.

But when I checked my inventory later, I realized about a dozen of my limited-edition bags were missing.

I assumed the housekeeper had taken them for professional cleaning and maintenance, so I didn't worry.

But here they were, in my niece's possession.

I didn't know if she had taken them by mistake or on purpose, but at her age, she definitely knew these were high-end luxury goods.

I decided to have a word with her. As I reached her door, I overheard her on the phone.

"Oh, I told you already, this house is mine. My mom bought it for me, so don't worry, just move in."

"What are you afraid of? I'll handle the utilities and the HOA fees."

"Our family owns so many properties in New York. You think I care about your little rent? Just stay there."

She paused for a second, and then her phone rang again.

"I got the rent money. You're way too polite! I told you that you could stay for free, but you insist on paying."

"It's fine! If it's broken, it's broken. I'll just buy a new one."

"This is pocket change to me. Anything in the house you like, just take it with you when you move out."

The sheer arrogance of it left me stunned. She was using my hard-earned properties to build her own social status.

I waited patiently until she finished her calls. From what I gathered, she had rented out five of my apartments.

There were two more units where people were staying for free, but I had no idea who they were.

I pushed the door open. She jumped, looking at me with pure terror.

"Aunt Avery? How... how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear you renting out my apartments. Long enough to hear you giving away my belongings like they're trash."

"Auntie... let me explain."

"Go ahead. I'm dying to hear this explanation."

"I just thought you have so many houses you never use. It's a waste to let them sit empty. I thought I'd rent them out to make some extra cash."

"Oh, I see. And where exactly is that rent money now?"

"Auntie, you know how it is. Girls need to look good. You're so rich, you wouldn't care about this small change. I spent it on makeup and clothes."

"So, you rented out all my properties and spent every cent of the income yourself?"

"I never knew such a convenient business model existed in this world."

My voice turned ice-cold, making Sienna tremble.

For years, I had built a corporate empire from nothing. I wasn't known for being soft or easy to push around.

I stared her down. "And the bags you took from my closet? Was that also to fund your lifestyle?"

Her face turned a deep, shameful red. She had been caught red-handed.

At that moment, Linda walked in. She immediately assumed I was bullying her precious daughter.

"Avery! What are you doing? Sienna is just a child. Whatever it is, you don't have to use that tone with her."

"Fine. Then let me ask you, Linda. Did you know what Sienna was doing?"

"What... what are you talking about? Don't you dare try to frame her for something!"

I let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Oh, Linda. I don't need to frame her."

"So you're telling me you knew she was renting out my houses and giving away my property to strangers?"

Linda rolled her eyes, looking completely unbothered. "Oh, please. You have so many houses. Losing a few pennies won't kill you."

"So you did know. You all knew, and you kept it from me on purpose."

"Is that it? Because I have money, I'm just a target for your little schemes?"

"I was kind enough to let you stay, and you treated me like a personal ATM?"

Linda's eyes widened, as if I were the one saying something offensive.

"Avery, how can you be so petty with a child? Besides, it's not like you actually need the money!"

"I might not lack money, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with my things."

"Sienna, I'm giving you two months. Fix this mess."

"If everything isn't resolved in two months, I won't hesitate to handle this my way."

I turned to leave, but I couldn't help glancing at the bag on the sofa one last time.

"Sienna, I'm sure you know the market value of the bags you took from my house."

"You better return every single one of them, in perfect condition, within the deadline."

I didn't finish the sentence. I thought I should at least leave her with a shred of dignity in front of the family.

But Linda reacted like I had stepped on her tail. "Who took your bags? Sienna bought those herself!"

"Linda, do you really believe that? She just graduated. How could she afford bags that cost fifty thousand dollars each?"

Linda's voice lost its confidence. "There's no way a bag costs that much. You're just trying to scare us."

My brother and my parents walked in at that moment. Seeing the tension, my father frowned. "What's going on now?"

Linda immediately threw herself toward Arthur, wailing.

"It's your sister! She's attacking poor Sienna just because the girl stayed in one of her houses!"

"She's accusing our daughter of stealing her bags! She's treated us like garbage since she walked through the door!"

Linda managed to squeeze out a few fake tears.

My parents looked at me with pure annoyance. "Why is it that every time you come home, you bring nothing but drama?"

"Your brother and his family have been here for days, and we've been perfectly happy."

"Sienna stayed in your house for a bit and used a few bags. Is that really worth this kind of interrogation?"

I looked at them. I listened to the way they said "we" and "our family," clearly excluding me.

"Right. You're a family. Well, don't forget what I told you, Sienna!"

"I didn't come here to ruin your 'perfect' family. I'll be leaving as soon as I visit Lily's grave today."

My father was so angry his finger shook as he pointed at me. "You... you! Listen to the way you talk!"

I didn't want to deal with them anymore. I grabbed my suitcase and walked out.

Back in the city, I buried myself in work. My days were packed from sunrise to sunset.

A few days later, my assistant showed me Sienna's social media profile.

It was filled with posts painting her as a victim.

"I'm so heartbroken. I was staying with my own aunt, and now she's kicking me out on the street."

"She threatened me. She said if I don't leave in two months, she'll throw all my belongings into the trash."

The comments section was a toxic mess of people attacking me.

"What kind of aunt does that? Has she no heart?"

"Finding a place to live is so hard right now. And this is her own blood relative!"

"Exactly! Even if it's a relative's house, you don't just kick someone out like that."

Sienna replied to the comments with fake humility. "Maybe she just doesn't want me bothering her."

"Sigh, it's fine. This is just the struggle of being a working girl. I'll move out."

Her words tapped into the frustrations of every young worker out there. The internet was coming for my head.

My assistant asked if we should intervene.

"No. I want to see exactly how far she's willing to go with this performance."

The next day, my assistant ran into my office, looking panicked. "Ms. Sterling, the internet is turning into a mob."

"Your niece posted a long article. People have already doxxed your home address."

My assistant hesitated. I took the phone and read the post myself.

"Growing up, my grandparents always favored my aunt. They chose to send her to college instead of my dad."

"But after she graduated, she came back and stole the company my dad built with his own hands."

"I did borrow those bags, but I felt they were rightfully ours to begin with."

There was even a video of a news interview attached.

In the video, my parents were crying in front of the camera.

"We treated her and her brother exactly the same. We never expected her to be so cruel behind our backs."

"She hasn't come home in years. We don't even know who she is anymore."

"We don't want to ruin her. We just want her to return her brother's company."

Arthur and Linda were standing there, looking like grieving saints.

"We didn't want to fight her. We know it's hard for a woman to succeed on her own," Arthur said.

"But then she seduced my business partner and conspired to steal the company from me."

"Now she's threatening my daughter. I couldn't stay silent anymore. I had to speak up."

"As long as she leaves my children alone, we don't even care about the money or the company."

Wow. What a masterpiece of lies.

The video was edited perfectly to trigger public outrage.

My assistant was terrified. "Ms. Sterling, this is hurting the company's stock. We can't ignore this."

I looked at him calmly. "Why are you shaking? You've been with me for years. We've seen worse than this."