Chapter 28
Ivy’s face turned bright red with anger as she stormed forward and shouted furiously, her spit practically flying on their faces. “Mind your own business, Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do?”
Sophia shot her a disgusted look and snapped back, “And who the hell do you think you are? I’ll say whatever I damn well please, and you can’t stop
Ivy was momentarily stunned, and she cursed. You sharp–tongued bitch!”
“Look who’s talking—an angry, bitter middle–aged hag, Sophia retorted, not missing a brat.
It suddenly clicked for Sophix that Ivy was just after money. She had constantly been beating and berating Lola, and now she had the audacity to
ask her brother for cash!
Ivy was absolutely livid, her face twisting in rage as she lunged forward. “I’ll tear that filthy mouth of yours apart
“Enough““Xander grabbed hold of Ivy, not wanting to create more of a scene in front of the neighbors.
With an ingratiating grin, he turned to Daxon and tried a different approach “Mr. Harrison, we’ve raised Lola all these years. Even if we didn’t do a perfect job, we’ve put in time and effort. You can’t just take her away without…”
But he couldn’t finish his words That cold stare from Daxon shut him up. making him feel like the air had been sucked out of his lungs.
Ivy’s screeching voice had grated on Daxon’s cars and brought a frown to his face. He rubbed his temples, too tired to argue. “We’ll handle this through the courts,” he said, his voice clipped. If he wanted to know all the information, he’d find out soon enough.
Turning his attention to the tearful girl in his arms, he softened his tone and asked if she wanted to pack her things and leave.
Lola glanced uncertainly at lvy, hesitation flickering in her eyes. “Can we really leave? I mean… are we really allowed to go?”
Mom said we couldn’t just leave. What if we can’t? Lola thought,
“Of course we can. Trust me,” Daxon said in a reassuring tone, His voice was surprisingly gentle, so much so that anyone who knew him would’ve
He reached out his hand, and after a moment of thinking. Lola cautiously placed her own hand in his.
Daxon’s voice was low and steady in Lola’s ear. “The truth is obvious. Look at all those people outside; they’ve seen everything, and they can testify”
Lola glanced at the crowd, still lingering from the earlier commotion, and for the first time in a long while, a smile crept onto her face.
Some people were on her side, after all. They just hadn’t intervened before because they thought she was Ivy’s real daughter, and it wasn’t their place to meddle in their family affairs. All they could do was quietly help her out here and there. Now that she was finally going home with her brother, they were genuinely happy for her.
“Hold it right there!” Ivy spread her arms wide and blocked the doorway to keep them from leaving
The bodyguards stepped forward and cleared a path for them, but Ivy started screaming while grabbing onto one of their arms like a libelain. “Murder! Someone help—”
Quick as lightning, Harry slapped a hand over her mouth and flashed a charming smile at Daxon. “Mr. Harrison, you go ahead with Miss Harrison, Leave the rest to flie
Xander backed away step by step, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as the towering bodyguards closed in on him. Panic filled his voice as he stammered, “W–What do you guys want? You think you can just kill me with so many people present?!”
Even the neighbors outside were starting to freak out. They clutched their phones, ready to call the cops at the first sign of trouble. Sure, no one liked Xander and Ivy–who could stand the way they drained their daughter dry just to spoil their son–but did they really deserve to die!
Harry finally let go of Ivy’s mouth and casually wiped his palm with a handkerchief. Flashing another reassuring smile, he addressed the onlookers. “No need to worry, everyone. They’re just a bit too emotional to reason with right now, so we’ve had to resort to some other means.”
As he spoke, he had the bodyguards bring out a table and set it up, along with a stack of blank A paper sheets. A man sat down behind the table. ready to take notes.
Still all smiles, Harry turned to the neighbors. “Now, I’m sure everyone here has a preny good idea of what life’s been like for Miss Harrison in this place. If anyone is willing to give a statement for the court, we’d really appreciate it. Of course, we won’t let you go unrewarded–anyone who helps will receive a small compensation of 2,000 dollars for their time.”
For a second, the crowd was stunned.
11:36 AM
Chapter 28
They are seriously gathering evidence already? So this isn’t just for show, people thought.
Fear finally flickered in Ivy’s eyes. Gone was her haughty attitude as she pleaded, Tve raised Lola for over ten years. I’m her foster mother, and we have a bond. Lola loves me. If she finds out about this, she’ll blame you guys?
She’d yanked Lola out of school before she even finished middle school, sent her to work, and never let her keep a single cent of her earnings. Any time she got pushed around at work, she’d take it out on Lola when she returned home.
The girl’s cries were so loud that the cops had shown up multiple times. All of that was on record, and if this went to court, Ivy knew she didn’t
stand a chance.
Seeing the way Lola’s brother was handling things. Ivy didn’t want to burn any bridges as they hadn’t gotten any money out of him yet.
Harry’s smile didn’t waver, not even a fraction. “So, who’d you buy Miss Harrison from all those years ago?”
someone stepped up to give their testimony, sitting at the table to write and sign a statement,
Ivy bit her lip, still refusing to speak at first. But when some it was enough to break her down.
“Fine, I’ll tell you everything…” Ivy finally gave in.
Harry calmly pulled out his phone and started recording
Ivy nervously wring the hem of her shirt until it was all crumpled. “I don’t know his real name. Everyone just called him Alex. It’s been so many years, and I don’t even remember what he looked like. But… but I still have his phone number.
Harry didn’t miss a word and jotted everything down.
Ivy looked at him with hopeful eyes. “Can we stop all this now? I remember Lola used to love my roasted lamb. I can visit her sometimes, right? She’ll be happy to see me.
Xander chimed in. “Yeah, and Roland, Lola adored him so much. She always saved him her favorite food. Roland’s still just a kid, and Lola wouldn’t want her little brother to have parents with a criminal record.”
Harry chuckled, his cold, dismissive sound feeling like a bucket of ice water, thrown over them both. He said, “Mr. Harrison already gave you a chance. You’re the ones who blew it
And anyway, Harry hadn’t promised them anything. From what he’d gathered, Lola couldn’t wait to get as far away from them as possible. No way she was holding onto any fond memories.
At Crawford Mansion, Aurora didn’t get out of bed until the sun was high in the sky since it was the weekend. With a smooth pull of the curtains, golden sunlight streamed in, bathing the room in warmth.
From the second–floor window, she had a clear view of the house’s gardens, where flowers bloomed in full splendor, competing for attention under the bright sunlight. Everything looked alive and vibrant..
Aurora smiled, feeling lighter. With no one annoying around to clutter her space, even the air seemed fresher.
During breakfast, the maid Emma Watts couldn’t help but ask, “Ms. Aurora, Ms. Maura’s still in the hospital. Shouldn’t you go visit her?”
Emma thought, “Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Crawford received a call from the school, saying that Ms. Maura fell into the water. A whole night had passed, and both Mr. and Mrs. Crawford are still at the hospital. Wouldn’t it seem wrong if Ms. Aurora didn’t show up?
Aurora leisurely dabbed her lips with a napkin and said, “Well, I suppose I should pay my poor sister a visit. On the way, she even made a stop at a flower shop to buy a bouquet.
