Chapter 293
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Selena and Justin were surprised to see Shirley too. Selena knew today was Shirley’s court day, but she had already heard that given the charges against Shirley, she’d be looking at least seven years.
During this time, even though she hadn’t visited Shirley, Selena had been working things out for her behind the scenes. She’d arranged for Shirley to have a private room in detention, and she’d ensured that her living conditions were better than
most.
Knowing the result and with Justin’s discharge from the hospital, Selena hadn’t attended the hearing herself.
She had no desire to witness Shirley’s outbursts. With Shirley’s personality, a few years in prison might do her some good; she needed to pay the price and learn a lesson.
Selena figured she could help reduce Shirley’s sentence after she’d served a bit.
But she hadn’t expected to see Shirley return home so soon. “How did you get out?”
Shirley grinned. “Disappointed? I was acquitted.”
Selena’s mind went blank. She wondered, ‘Did Cynthia get soft–hearted and drop the charges? But why wait until the trial?” Shirley continued, “Why are you so shocked? Were you hoping I’d be locked away? Let me tell you, I’m your daughter, and you’ll never get rid of me.” With that, she turned and ran into the villa.
Justin’s chest rose and fell with anger. “You ungrateful child! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
He had just been discharged, and she hadn’t even asked about his health, choosing instead to throw accusations.
“If you have a heart attack, it won’t be my fault–it’s because of your favoritism. I’m your real daughter, yet you treat Cynthia like she’s the only one who matters. If something happens to you, it’s simply the result of your karma,” said Shirley.
Selena couldn’t bear it any longer and scolded sharply, “Shirley! Watch your mouth!”
In the past, Shirley would never have dared speak to Justin this way. After all, he was the head of the family. But now, knowing they had given up on her, she felt no need to conceal her true nature.
“This is who I am. What are you going to do about it? I’m your flesh and blood, whether you like it or not. You want Cynthia as your daughter, but fate had other plans. People like you deserve a daughter like me–I’m your reckoning,” Shirley replied.
“You! If you had even a fraction of Cynthia’s good qualities, we wouldn’t treat you this way!” Justin barked.
He deeply regretted not turning Shirley away the moment she returned with the DNA test results.
“Cynthia this, Cynthia that… She’s married Jonathan and is now connected with the Xenos family. Just wait and see if she will ever acknowledge you two!” After saying that, Shirley turned and strutted into the villa, head held high.
Justin shook with rage, his heart aching. Selena glanced at him and said, “Alright, don’t get so worked up. You know your health condition better than anyone. Now that she’s back, we’ll just keep her in line
Despite everything, Selena still felt some motherly affection for Shirley. After all, Shirley was her biological daughter. Seeing how deeply Rachel cared for Shirley as her adoptive mother, promising never to abandon her, Selena found herself unable to do so either.
At the end of the day, Shirley’s return only meant one more person to support. Selena wouldn’t give her any money, aiming
to avoid further trouble.
Back in her room, Shirley was so angry she wanted to throw things around. But there was hardly anything left to destroy,
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which made her even more frustrated.
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She hated Cynthia. If not for Cynthia, she wouldn’t be going through all this; Justin and Selena wouldn’t have turned so indifferent. She wanted nothing more than for Cynthia to disappear for good.
As this thought crossed her mind, Shirley suddenly became calm. She slowly walked to the couch and sat down, thinking, ‘If only Cynthia could disappear, everything would be solved in one stroke.‘
– Just then, Shirley’s phone rang. She picked it up, and the contact name on the screen only fueled her irritation.
“Luke, will you just stop?” she snapped.
The call was from Luke, and although Shirley was incredibly frustrated, she didn’t dare ignore it. She feared he might reveal her secret in a fit of anger.
Luke was clearly irritated too. “Ms. Jones, what about that 2 million you promised? You said one week. It’s been three now. Are you planning to pay me back or not?”
Today, as Luke was walking down the street, someone approached him, mentioning that Shirley had been released. He was a bit puzzled but quickly realized he had his “cash cow” back, prompting him to call her immediately.
“When did fever owe you money? Don’t make things up!” Shirley replied sharply.
Luke said, “Ms. Jones, have you suddenly become forgetful, or did you leave your brain behind after spending half a month
detention?”
Shirley’s expression darkened. “How do you know I was in there?”
“That’s not important. What matters is that I want the 2 million dollars today. Otherwise, I’ll be telling your sister Cynthia everything.”
At the mention of Cynthia, Shirley felt a sudden pang of anxiety. She reminded herself that Cynthia could not know.
On the other end, Luke was actually testing the waters. He’d already betrayed Shirley, but he wanted to see if she knew that Cynthia was already aware of her secret.
He thought, ‘The fact that Shirley is out means Cynthia hasn’t reported her or pressed charges. Now, I just need to find out whether the sisters are on the same page. If not, I can still use the secret to extort Shirley.’
Shirley was scared, thinking, ‘If Cynthia finds out about that incident, she won’t let me go, and I’ll be spending the rest of my life behind bars.
‘Now there are two headaches in my life, Cynthia and this despicable man. If only they could both just disappear As this thought formed, a wild idea took shape in Shirley’s mind. She remembered what Ruben had said to her before: whatever she wanted to do, she should go ahead without worrying about the consequences–they’d take care of everything.
‘I don’t have to be scared of anything now that I have Ms. Bennett’s backing!‘ Shirley thought, her expression turning cold, a sinister smile playing on her lips. ‘Cynthia, Luke, you can both rot in hell.
Having made up her mind, Shirley suddenly chuckled into the phone. “It’s just 2 million; no big deal. Where are you, Luke? Let’s meet up.”
Soon, Shirley left her room. But right now, she was completely broke and didn’t even have money for a cab.
So, she headed to Selena’s room and said, “I’m out of money. Give me 62 thousand dollars.”
Selena frowned. “Why do
you need money as soon as you get back?”
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“Don’t you know what I’ve been through these past days? It’s just 62 thousand, not 600 thousand.”
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“You’re living at home. What expenses could you possibly have? Shirley, you better behave and just stay home for the next few months; I’m not giving you a cent.”
With that, Selena left the room.
Shirley was fuming. She couldn’t even get 62 thousand dollars from her own mother. Her gaze soon fell on Selena’s dressing . table.
Taking advantage of Selena’s absence, she opened the jewelry box and pocketed a gold bracelet and two gold necklaces. They wouldn’t fetch much, but it was better than nothing.
As she turned to leave, she noticed an envelope on the dressing table that looked like a greeting card. Glancing at it, she saw it was a wedding invitation from the Yates family.
