章 2: Chapter 2

A few weeks later, Ana was on the phone, and the voice on the other end asked, "Did you get custody of Lara?"

Ana gritted her teeth. "No, that old fox Winston managed it, along with control over all her assets."

"How could that happen?" the other person asked, clearly surprised.

"I'm surprised too," Ana admitted. "I tried bribing and threatening the court to give me custody, since it seemed they were going to give it to Winston, but they didn't budge. When I sent some guys to kill some targets from the court to send a message, they never reported back. The targets are still alive and kicking, so my men must have been killed."

She paused before continuing, "Also, that old fox poisoned Lara against me, telling her I'm a gold digger after the Croft wealth. That little brat believed him. Now she treats me coldly, won't talk to me, and even accuses me of making her father's mental state worse so that he'd kill himself for my gain." After she finished talking, she slammed her foot in the desk out of anger but accidentally hit her small toe. "Ouch!"

"What happened, Ana?" the voice asked.

"Nothing!" Ana replied, embarrassed.

As for Lara being poisoned by Winston to hate Ana, it was orchestrated by Lara so that Ana would not suspect that Lara knew she was from Trinity and would simply believe that Lara hated her because she thought Ana was a gold digger.

Back at Croft Manor, Lara was alone in the garden, practicing her bow skills. A few days after waking up, she had asked Winston to hire private coaches to train her in hand-to-hand combat, archery, marksmanship, gymnastics, and stealth. Knowing the dangers of this world, Winston agreed immediately.

"Swish!"

Lara loosed two arrows in quick succession, both landing close to the center of the target. 'Lucky this body is extremely talented,' she thought. Most of her coaches called her extraordinarily gifted. After learning she was training in multiple disciplines simultaneously and seeing how quickly she progressed, they labeled her a once-in-a-thousand-years genius.

Lara herself believed her body was more like the classic Lara Croft's than the survivor version. She was grateful for that because the survivor Lara was more realistically human in her abilities, while classic Lara was almost superhuman in every aspect. The classic Lara defeated not only trained humans and humanoids but also prehistoric creatures and mythological beings. She seemed to have strength measured in tons, able to move massive stones and boulders, and she displayed incredible durability, having survived blows from a monster stronger than a T-Rex and a sea serpent. Her speed was also superhuman, allowing her to outrun bears and velociraptors and even react to and dodge gunfire at supersonic speeds.

So, Lara was happy that her current body had such high potential—even before any enhancement by serums like Captain America's or other superhuman influences.

After finishing her training, Lara washed up before dinner. As they sat down, she watched Winston preparing the meal and asked, "Winston, can't you find some maids through your old contacts to help you?"

Winston responded, "I could, young lady, but I can manage the manor by myself."

"But you can't protect every part of the manor on your own," Lara countered. "What if someone tries to kidnap me?"

Winston paused for a moment before admitting, "You're right, young lady. I'll try to find some help in the coming days, but they might be costly."

"I know," said Lara. She had a strong feeling that any maids Winston hired wouldn't be ordinary staff. That was exactly what she wanted. Given his connection to Howard Stark, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders, Lara guessed Winston also had connections to the agency.

"Also, did you set up Croft Holdings?" Lara asked. After discovering there was no such entity, she decided to create it. It would give her more money and connections in the future—allowing her to acquire things like adamantium or vibranium more easily if she became the head of a large holding company.

"Yes, my lady," said Winston. "And I am monitoring British Telecom, as you suggested. I've heard there's a chance it may be privatized. Rolls-Royce got a government bailout and is losing profitability, just as you said. Right now, Croft Holdings is buying as many shares as possible."

"If you need extra money, you can sell some of the artifacts," said Lara.

"Are you sure, young lady?" Winston asked, surprised.

"I'm sure, Winston. Also, keep an eye on tech start-ups like those run by Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and buy as many shares as possible. And look for some guys named Larry Page and Sergey Brin to see if they can create a company under Croft Holdings," said Lara.

Winston felt a bit suspicious about how Lara knew all this, but he respected her privacy. Everyone had their secrets, and he did not want to pry. "Alright, young lady," he replied.

Lara smiled. "Winston, I feel you're more like a robot with how many things you can juggle at once."

"Also, young lady, you need to return to school," said Winston.

Hearing this, the color drained from Lara's face, and her chin hit the table. "Wimbledon High School for Girls," she said in a tone as if she had just tasted a lemon.

Winston sighed. "I know you're averse to it, young lady, but you need to finish your education."

"I know, Winston," said Lara.