— "Avery… she's your biological aunt."
— "But she was adopted into the main family when she was young."
Rita's expression went blank for a few seconds, then suddenly, it all made sense.
No wonder Avery was the leader of Eclipse Vanguard in this life.
In her past life, Rick was also strong, but his rise wasn't this fast.
Back then, he spent his early years fighting for power in S City, building his influence. It wasn't until he roped in The Taylor Family, The White Family, and The Lopez Family that he finally dominated S City—enough to suppress the Special Affairs Bureau there.
And as a live-in son-in-law, Rick had to stay in the shadows until he was strong enough to flip the table.
His strength wasn't dazzling enough to shock people.
His ambition was plain as day.
And he was too deeply entangled with The Lopez Family, The White Family, and The Taylor Family.
With all of this baggage, Rick's very existence was more of a hindrance than a help to Avery.
No matter how distant their ties became, some bonds couldn't be severed just because of adoption.
Now, compare that to Rita.
She only focused on herself, her strength far outpacing everyone else.
Even though she remained wary of Eclipse Vanguard in private, she had no ambition. She was a solo player—powerful, well-regarded, and free of political ties.
She even had BS's only dragon.
Even though she never joined Eclipse Vanguard, she had repeatedly shown goodwill toward them.
Add all these factors together, and it was inevitable that Rita's existence had helped Avery secure her leadership position.
But whether it was in her past life or this one—
Avery never acknowledged their family ties.
Rita asked B80234615, "Do you know anything else about Avery's relationship with my family?"
B80234615 replied, "I can only retrieve digital traces from the internet. But there's a major issue between Avery and Samuel."
"Your grandmother, Eleanor, repeatedly asked Samuel why he hated Avery so much—
Hated her so much that he even projected that hatred onto his own children.
Was it just because she was the one adopted instead of him?"
Rita's fingers twitched slightly.
Maybe it was because B80234615 had already analyzed her true feelings, but it never bothered adding any respectful titles when mentioning Samuel or Rick—only Eleanor received that courtesy.
B80234615 paused briefly before continuing.
"Samuel's response was this:
'You don't understand a damn thing.
Even if I wake up one day and the whole world spits on me,
Even if everyone calls me worse than a pig or a dog,
Even if my parents and children never acknowledge me again,
Even if I die alone, my corpse rotting in the wild,
I will never forgive Avery.'"
Rita set aside everything else she was doing.
"…You've analyzed it, haven't you?
Even with just a few scraps of information, you've pieced together the truth.
B80234615: "Yes. The probability of accuracy is above 87%."
"When Avery and Samuel were children, they found a strange artifact from Lania Kaia.
That artifact ended up in Avery's hands.
Using its abilities, she entered the main family.
Over time, she gained influence and eventually controlled the household."
"The artifact was only a stepping stone.
But Samuel convinced himself that everything Avery gained was because of it."
"For years, Samuel didn't even realize it was an artifact.
He thought it was just some ridiculous 'golden finger' luck boost from a fantasy novel.
Now that he finally understands? It only makes him more bitter."
Rita's voice was sharp. "Was the artifact something Avery stole from him?"
B80234615: "Avery has never addressed this online.
It's always been Samuel complaining about it alone."
"According to Samuel, he was the first to discover the artifact and bring it home.
At the time, Avery even told him not to bring 'ocean trash' back."
Rita immediately understood why Samuel harbored so much hatred.
In his mind, he was the protagonist of a novel…
The "chosen one" who got his destiny stolen.
Every misfortune in his life, he blamed on Avery.
No matter how much wealth or power he accumulated, the moment he looked at Avery—
He could never be satisfied.
His hatred was an unquenchable fire.
He didn't care how hard Avery worked or how capable she was.
To him, everything she had should have been his.
The more successful she became, the more he hated her.
And somehow, Rita got dragged into this grudge.
She sneered. "So why didn't Samuel just flip the table?
If he couldn't have it, why didn't he make sure Avery couldn't either?"
As soon as she said it, she realized it was a dumb question.
She quickly reframed it to get to the heart of the matter.
"…What was that artifact?
Can you find details on its abilities?"
B80234615: "It was an artifact that gave one's voice a bewitching effect.
Not only did it contain a small storage space, but it also produced a single drop of ocean elixir daily, which had healing properties."
Rita understood immediately.
Once Avery realized its power, she must have used it on Samuel first.
Even if she was ruthless, she wouldn't have been so cold-blooded as to kill her own brother over some artifact—not as a child.
But why didn't she just completely erase his hatred?
Was it because no matter how much she suppressed his emotions, the root cause remained?
And no matter how many times she "killed" his hatred, it would always grow back?
Rita chuckled at the thought. "…Let me guess.
That artifact—did it look like a jade pendant?"
B80234615 didn't get the joke. "No. It was a dried-up starfish.
Avery still carries it with her. Probability of identification: 97.6%."
Rita smoothed out her smirk.
So Samuel had a tragic backstory.
Did that mean she forgave him?
Whatever happened between him and Avery was their business.
Samuel projecting his hatred onto her, forcing her into servitude for Rick—
That was unforgivable.
A new thought struck her.
"Can you track their meeting history?
Did Avery have anything to do with my family leaving B City?"
B80234615 flashed rapidly, processing.
It took several minutes—enough that its battery dropped by 2%—
before it finally answered:
"I've reconstructed surveillance footage from that year.
Yes. Samuel and Avery did meet."
Rita let out a slow breath.
She didn't know how to feel.
Would she suddenly sympathize with Samuel? Hell no.
Would she start hating Avery for it?