The Phantom Heiress Rising From The Shadows novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38 See You At The Competition

Isabella cast a disdainful glance at Brenna. In her eyes, there was nothing extraordinary about her. Sure, she had good looks, a bit of medical knowledge, and some design talent But beyond that, there wasn’t much to her

The Barrett family had raised Brenna for years, yet they had never invested in her growth–to extracurricular activities and no specialized training–nothing that nurtured her potential Given that, the fact that Brenna had achieved any level of success in both design and medicine was surprising

What irritated Isabella the most was Brenna’s so–called design talent. She had seen Brenna’s work, and opinion, it was mediocre at best. The Barrett Group specialized in mid–to–low–end auto parts, so naturally.

Brenna had experience designing within that range

But high–end automobiles? That was an entirely different level. There was no way Brenna could handle that

And as for Brenna’s medical skills, Isabella remained skeptical. It was probably just luck. Her parents had never even seen Brenna study medicine, so at most, she had a basic understanding Nothing significant

The thought of this made Isabella feel better. She eagerly waited for Brenna’s response and decided to push things a little further. With a smirk, she threw out a casual but pointed remark. “You can’t ride a horse, right?”

She then burst into laughter and looked at Brenna with evident disdain

Jordy, just as arrogant, chimed in arrogantly, “I knew it! You can’t ride a horse! You should just stay by Mr. Mitchell’s side and continue to be useless ”

Brenna caught the smugness in their voices and felt a sharp urge to put them in their place. She tilted her head slightly and asked, “Do you both know how to ride?”

She had no doubt that Jordy could. After all, he came from a rich family, where horseback riding was a standard social skill learned from a young age. But Isabella? Her background wasn’t as privileged. If the rumors were true, her family was fairly ordinary and likely hadn’t had the means to cultivate such expensive hobbies. Sure enough, Isabella’s confident smirk faltered for a split second. She exchanged a quick glance with Jordy, and something flashed in her eyes. But just as quickly, she lifted her chin and said, “Who says I don’t know how to ride a horse?”

The truth was, she had only started taking lessons last week. At best, she could manage a slow lap around the arena without falling off But she wasn’t about to admit that

Brenna raised an eyebrow “Really? If your riding skills are that good, why isn’t your name on the competitor list?” she asked.

She had no idea how skilled Isabella actually was, but she deliberately provoked her, knowing it would put her in a difficult position

100%

Isabella snorted and said, “I just didn’t want to waste m

my time competing with amateurs.”

Brenna saw right through her facade but pretended not to notice. With a sly smile, she said, “Is that so? You must be really skilled, then. In that case, I’ll sign you up, and we can compete. We’ll see who’s actually better.”

Isabella hesitated. Brenna was cornering her, but she didn’t want to accept the challenge. If she entered the competition, she would likely come in last. At this moment, she quickly glanced at Jordy for help.

Jordy immediately caught on to Isabella’s reluctance and stepped in, saying, “We asked if you could ride. Why are you dragging Isabella into this? If you can’t, just admit it. It’s no big deal. No one’s going to laugh at you”

Brenna found the whole thing amusing. Did they really think she was that foolish? That she would fall for their cheap provocations so easily?

She crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly. “Tell you what–if both of you participate, then I will, too. If not, I won’t, either. Why should I join the competition just because of a few words from you? I’m not that stupid.”

She met Isabella’s and Jordy’s gazes head–on and waited for their response.

Jordy and Isabella exchanged a glance. Knowing Isabella’s riding skills were lacking, Jordy leaned in and

whispered to her, “Why don’t we just do it? I’ll be by your side in the competition. Nothing will go wrong”

He lifted an eyebrow, giving her a subtle signal

Isabella hesitated, but the thought of seeing Brenna humiliate herself in front of everyone, especially Ethan, was too tempting. If Brenna embarrassed herself, Ethan might finally realize she wasn’t worth his attention and

abandon her.

But for that to happen, she had to participate in the competition.

“Alright,” Isabella agreed. She was confident she’d get to watch Brenna fail.

Brenna calmly took the tablet from a staff member, pulled up the registration screen, and handed it to Jordy. She watched as he filled in both his and Isabella’s names, then handed the tablet back.

With a smirk, Jordy said to Brenna, “Your turn to sign up.”

Brenna’s smile widened, and she was unable to hide her satisfaction. “Oh, I’ve already signed up,” she said. Jordy and Isabella froze. Their expressions then darkened as realization dawned on them. “You played us!” Brenna chuckled, completely unbothered. “You never asked if I had already registered, so it doesn’t count as tricking you. If you regret it, it’s fine. At worst, the local elite will hear that you both signed up for the equestrian competition but didn’t compete. No big deal. People might laugh at you for a day or two. But don’t worry. They will soon forget about the matter.”