The Hive Mind Heiress Chapter 2

While we were unconscious, Prez called a meeting.

Prez: [Listen up, squad. We exist as souls inside Holly. That means we all have admin rights to this body.]

Prez: [But if we all drive at once, we crash like we just did.]

Prez: [Forget going home—we’ll end up in a psych ward.]

Prez: [We don’t know the exit condition yet, but we definitely can’t follow the original bad ending.]

Prez: [So, I propose a schedule. Only one person drives the body at a time.]

We all agreed.

When we opened our eyes again, Bella was in the driver’s seat.

We had been changed into clean clothes.

The butler knocked, telling us to come down for dinner.

Before we even got to the dining room, we heard Lyla sobbing. "Mom, does Sister hate me?"

"Is that why she acted crazy in front of me..."

"Mom, please don't kick me out. I don't have to be the young miss. I can be Sister's maid. I'll do laundry, sweep the floors... just treat me like a servant."

"Boohoo, please don't send me away."

Mr. Lynn was wiping Lyla's tears with heartbreak in his eyes. "Silly child, how could we kick you out? Don't overthink it."

"Holly is just too immature. I’ll have a word with her when she gets here."

Nerd: [Omg, I’m gonna puke.]

Me: [We need a plan. If the plot follows the book, we’re going to The Ranch.]

Bella: [Relax. Watch me clutch this. Only a Queen Bee knows how to handle a Pick-Me Girl.]

Bella put on a terrified, timid expression and walked toward the table.

Mrs. Lynn nudged Mr. Lynn to shut him up.

He grunted coldly.

Mrs. Lynn stood up and ladled some soup for Bella. "Holly, sit. You scared us earlier. How do you feel? Do you want to go to the hospital for a checkup?"

Bella wrapped her arms around herself, shivering violently, and frantically apologized. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry. I was having a somatic symptom episode."

Mrs. Lynn paused, ladle in mid-air. "Somatic symptom?"

"I... I have depression. When I get triggered, my body reacts physically..."

"How did you get that kind of illness?"

Bella whispered, "When I was little, if Nanny Zhang thought I ate too much, she’d hit me with a hot fireplace poker. Sometimes it left a welt, sometimes it took a strip of flesh... The doctor said it’s PTSD from childhood trauma..."

Mrs. Lynn’s eyes turned red.

Lyla immediately interrupted. "Sister, the past is the past. Why bring that up now? You know Mom has a weak heart. You’re making her sad. She won't be able to sleep tonight."

Bella looked horrified and bowed her head repeatedly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

Mrs. Lynn looked conflicted but stopped her. "It's okay, Holly. You don't need to apologize. Let's eat."

Bella said "Okay," took the soup, and turned to walk away.

Mrs. Lynn asked where she was going.

Bella pointed to the front door, voice trembling. "I... I’ll go squat by the entrance to eat."

"Silly child, why would you squat by the door? Sit and eat with us." Mrs. Lynn grabbed Bella’s hand to pull her to the chair.

Bella looked terrified. "Am I really allowed at the table? Nanny Zhang said I was a little animal, only fit to squat by the door and eat with the dogs."

Mrs. Lynn froze. Then she couldn't hold it back anymore and hugged Bella, sobbing.

Me: [Bella, you are a legend. Three sentences and the billionaire’s wife is bawling.]

Bella: [EZ. Light work. The original Holly was too tough. She never talked about the abuse and hid her scars.]

Bella: [If you don't show it, nobody hurts for you. It’s not weakness; it’s strategy.]

Inside the mind palace, we all gave Bella a thumbs up.