Chapter 171
Someone quickly noticed Willow's unusual behavior.
The crowd watched her retreating figure with curious expressions. "Is that man here for Willow? What's their relationship? That's not Charles, is it?"
"After what Charles did to us, he dares to show his face? I'll break his legs!"
"If it's not Charles, then who could it be? He and Willow seem pretty close."
Willow, now some distance away, remained oblivious to the speculation behind her. As she made her way down the hill, she hesitated slightly when she reached Sterling. She might have gotten a bit carried away when she first spotted him. Would their interaction now seem too intimate?
"How was the funeral?" Sterling's deep voice broke the silence.
Up close, Willow could more clearly feel the concern in his eyes. Her heartbeat grew more erratic. She avoided meeting his gaze directly and simply nodded before asking, "Why did you come?"
Seeing that her emotions were relatively stable, Sterling relaxed. "I was passing by and happened to see you inside."
Willow couldn't help but glance at him. The cemetery was in such a remote location, and with the light rain falling, the chances of Sterling just "passing by" were practically nonexistent.
The only plausible explanation was that Molly had mentioned it to Blake, who told Sterling, and he had come specifically for her. Sterling's transparent lie suggested he wasn't really trying to hide his intentions.
As they spoke, a neighbor called out to Willow from behind, her tone clearly displeased.
"Willow!"
She turned around, confused. Several neighbors had approached and were standing behind her, their expressions unfriendly.
Before Willow could ask what was wrong, a woman with permed hair spoke up. "Willow, how are things between you and Charles? Are you still together?" She looked back and forth between Willow and Sterling.
Willow understood the implication in her eyes. "Mrs. Jackson, Charles and I are in the process of divorcing. We're in a cooling-off period now. After a month, we'll officially divorce."
"Divorce?" The neighbors' expressions changed instantly upon hearing this. "Why? Did you know all along that Charles was no good?"
Willow frowned in confusion, not understanding where their accusations were coming from. Her divorce from Charles was due to his infidelity—something too private to explain to them.
The neighbors didn't give her a chance to speak, launching into a barrage of complaints.
"You and Maria went door to door convincing us to agree to give up our land! We trusted you, and this is how you and Charles conspire to cheat us!"
"You choose now to divorce, when trouble comes? I bet Charles just wants to protect you from the fallout! How considerate of him!"
"Give us our money! Seventy thousand dollars! If Charles won't come, you pay for him!"
Willow stood there as fingers pointed at her, the chaotic accusations swirling around her. It took a moment before she understood what they were saying, though her mind refused to accept it.
"Are you saying the promised relocation compensation was never paid?" Her voice trembled amid the chaos.
Her question only fueled their anger. Someone even stepped forward to grab her.
"After all these years, we don't believe you didn't know!"
"At first, they claimed financial difficulties and asked us to wait. Out of respect for you and your grandmother, we agreed to delay. Later, they stopped giving excuses altogether. When we demanded payment, they simply threw us out. We still believed in you, but what about you?"
"If you knew Charles was no good, why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"Hannah died because of you! You'll never sleep well again until you pay us back!"
As Willow pieced together the story from their accusations, her mind went blank. She stood frozen, not even moving when someone tried to pull at her. Her thoughts were consumed by memories of that time.
The residents of the old urban village were famously stubborn, uncooperative even with government officials. When the land was auctioned, nobody wanted it because of this reputation. Charles had picked it up as a bargain. He had promised to give everyone a satisfactory payment, which was why Willow agreed to help him.
For two whole months, she and Maria had gone door to door persuading people. Some families adamantly refused to move until Maria personally guaranteed the deal. Even as they were leaving, the neighbors had made it clear—they were trusting the Spencers.
And now, Willow learned that Charles had been hiding the truth from her all along, withholding the neighbors' relocation money.
Faced with their barrage of questions, Willow couldn't utter a word. At this point, nothing she could say would matter.
"You need to give us an explanation! Willow, say something!"
After waiting in vain for her response, someone stepped forward to grab her. The scene descended into chaos. Amid the pushing and shoving, the sharp sound of a slap cut through the crowd.
Suddenly, everything went quiet.
Willow snapped back to reality and saw who was standing in front of her. "Sterling?" Her heart tightened with concern as she tried to step forward to check on him.
Sterling held her back with one arm, his tall figure completely shielding her.
"I understand how everyone feels, but compared to you, she's no less a victim in this," he said, his voice steady and powerful. "The film base is an Everpine Group project. Everpine's head is Charles, who is, ultimately, part of the Lancaster family. We will give everyone a satisfactory resolution to this matter."
Standing behind him, Willow frowned at these words. As Sterling well knew, Everpine Group was Charles's independent enterprise, completely separate from the Lancaster family. By taking responsibility for this issue today, Sterling was risking the Lancaster family's reputation if the situation escalated.
This wasn't right.
"This has nothing to do with the Lancaster family—" Willow tried to step forward.
Sterling firmly cut her off. "Starting tomorrow, you can all bring your relocation documents to the Lancaster Group. As long as they're verified as authentic, seventy thousand dollars will be deposited into your accounts within a week."
His calm demeanor carried an inherent authority that commanded belief.
After he finished speaking, the crowd fell silent for a moment. But having been deceived by Charles for so many years, some still harbored doubts, no matter how trustworthy Sterling appeared.
Not everyone in Majestic City knew Sterling's name, especially ordinary citizens who paid little attention to the business world.
"You're a Lancaster? Why should we believe you?" they asked skeptically.