Chapter 122
Stella slowly walked into Fiona’s room.
When Fiona sensed someone else in the room, she looked up and saw Stella through the crusted blood on
her face. Her expression instantly stiffened. She stammered,
Stella sneered, “You don’t want me to visit you?”
Are you here?”
Fiona asked, “You’re here out of kindness? Or are you just here to watch me suffer?” Her voice was weary, every word laced with exhaustion.
Stella nodded and said, “Just like you said, I’m here to watch you suffer.” She then glanced around the room and continued, “After being pampered and loved by Andrew for almost thirty years, he ended up beating you like this. That must sting, huh?”
As Stella spoke, she moved closer to Fiona, her face inches from Fiona’s, a smug smile playing on her lips.
Fiona’s eyes blazed with anger. If her arm wasn’t injured, she would’ve slapped Stella right then and there. She snapped, “I’m your mother–how can you treat me like this?”
Stella’s face darkened as she shot back, “And I’m still your daughter, aren’t I? Don’t you know about the child protection laws these days? If you hit your kid, the cops can arrest you anytime. Let alone everything
else you’ve done to me.
“Don’t even try to deny it, Fiona. Just think about all the things you and your family have done to me.”
Fiona roared, “Get out. Go, now. I don’t want to see you for even a second.”
Stella sneered, “You think I want to see you? If I weren’t here to pick up Grandma today, I wouldn’t have bothered coming at all. This place means nothing to me. But I heard you haven’t paid off your loan for over
half a year.
“The court and the bank could show up any day now. Who knows, maybe it’ll be today?”
Fiona looked nervous.
Stella continued, “If it is today, even better. I’d love to watch the drama unfold. Fiona, when you bent over backwards for Silas, did you ever imagine you’d end up like this?”
Fiona shouted, “Shut up!” She started to panic.
She hadn’t paid her mortgage in six months, and the bank had been calling her over and over. At first, they were polite, but then the calls turned into collection calls.
The collection agents were relentless–they said all kinds of things.
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Lately, she could barely sleep. Every time she thought about what would happen if she couldn’t pay off the loan and lost the house, she was filled with dread,
Lately, the Hayes family had been selling off everything they owned–there was barely anything left now.
Fiona thought, ‘Max and Andrew are both still in the hospital, totally clueless about what’s going on. When they finally recover and come back to find everything gone, they’ll only resent me even more!
Stella added, “I almost envy Silas, Fiona. If I had a sibling like you, I wouldn’t be in such a miserable state today.
“So, Fiona, when the bank and the court show up, have you figured out where you’re going to live? I bet
you’re almost out of houses to your name, aren’t you?
“If I were you, I’d just run back to the Clark family. After all you’ve done for them, your mom and Bella should be grateful, right?
“But what if they realize you’re no use to them anymore? Then you’ll be tossed out like an outcast, with
nowhere to go.”
Fiona’s heart skipped a beat–Stella had hit a nerve. Panic flashed across her face, and her voice grew shrill with anxiety as she shouted, “Stella, stop making things up. That’s never going to happen. When I go back, they’ll be happy to have me.”
“Oh, really? You think they don’t know you got beaten up? Or maybe they do know, and just don’t care?” Stella shot back, her voice full of mockery.
Fiona was completely at a loss. She insisted, “No, they don’t know yet. If they found out and saw what Andrew did to me, they’d definitely go after him.”
“Who are you kidding, Fiona? Deep down, you know better than anyone–once you’re no longer useful to them, they won’t even want you around,” Stella said coldly.
Fiona snapped, “Stella, you’re just jealous. You’re jealous that my family treats me better than yours ever
did.”
Stella said, “Yeah, I am jealous. My family never cared about me. I was the middle child–Max was the golden boy, Anna was always spoiled, and no matter what I did, I was always the one left out.
“Fiona, isn’t that the same for you? We’re really not so different, but unlike you, since I know you all never liked me, I just stopped trying to win you over.
“You know what they say–what goes around comes around. Just because karma hasn’t caught up yet doesn’t mean it never will. Fiona, how about we make a bet? If I could make it back this time, maybe it means your payback is finally here.
Chapter 122
“From now on, you’ll all start getting what you deserve, one after another.”
Stella stood there like the Grim Reaper herself, as if she held everyone’s fate in her hands.
Fiona never really believed in karma. She thought, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong–just played favorites a little, like every parent does. It’s not like anyone else ever gets punished for that.
‘Stella is just trying to scare me. Now that I am stuck in bed, she is taking every chance to get her revenge. Things will never go the way Stella wants.’She grabbed her phone and called her mother.
She quickly grabbed her phone and called her mother, June. Before she could even get a word out, June’s furious voice exploded through the phone.
June snapped, “Fiona, Silas’s finger is completely ruined. It’s way past the time for any surgery–he’s lost it for good. What’s he supposed to do now?
“And that wretched daughter of yours–what have you done about her? Did you get her thrown in jail? You’d better find someone to teach her a real lesson in there and make her suffer.”
June’s tirade rattled Fiona so badly that the words she’d meant to say vanished from her mind. She said, “Mom, I can’t call the police. If I do, they’ll find out about Silas’s gambling, and he’ll end up getting arrested
too.”
June snapped, “Don’t you know people? Can’t you use your brain? Just make something up.”
Fiona had always bent over backwards for her family, but hearing June say this, she was completely floored. She thought, ‘She’s just telling me to make things up out of nothing.‘
June added, “If Stella doesn’t end up in jail, don’t you dare call me your mother.” With that, she hung up.
Fiona comforted herself, ‘Mom is only ignoring me because of Silas’s incident, and it has nothing to do with whether I am still useful or not. If the bank comes to repossess the house, I can always go stay at Mom’s place for a while.‘
Stella ignored Fiona and went to Eleanor’s room.
Eleanor had heard ages ago that Stella was coming, and she couldn’t be happier. As soon as she found out Stella was here to take her away, she started packing up right away–even gathering up Mary’s things too.
Eleanor said, “Mary’s been with me for years. I’m so used to having her around. Her husband’s gone, her kids are all overseas, so it’s just the two of us now.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep paying her/salary, but she’s not going re-she has to stay with me.”
Stella took Eleanor’s hand and said, “Grandma, what are you saying? In this family, besides you, only Mary has ever treated me well. Of course, I know what’s going on with her.
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“I’m working on restructuring the company. It might not turn a profit right away, but at least it won’t be bleeding money like before. Covering Mary’s salary is no problem for me, so of course I want her to stay by your side.”
Stella hadn’t expected Eleanor to agree to leave with her so easily. But thinking about Fiona’s situation, she figured Eleanor probably saw the writing on the wall.
Stella was about to ask about the previous night when she heard some noise outside.
Eleanor asked, “What’s that sound?”
“They’re probably from the bank and the court,” Stella said.
