Chapter 27 Bullied
When Mary saw the two women her face paled and she looked at the children. She knew those two women were going to cause a scene.
"What happened, Madam?" The attendant girl asked.
They were all aware who Margaret was and feared her.
"What is this woman doing here?" Margaret pointed at Mary.
The kids flinched at her harsh tone.
"This lady is a customer, Madam. She came here to buy clothes for her grand children." The attendant girl informed, purplexed.
While they were shopping, the attendant girl conversed with Mary and the kids and learned about them. The kids were adorable and polite. People always liked them and would approach them in public places wherever they went.
"This is the Blake family's Mall. Not everyone is free to come and go as they please. Specifically, a thief." Margaret said sharply, looking at Mary.
Mary furrowed her brows.
"Thief?"
The staff members looked at each other as they gathered, hearing the commotion.
"Yes thief. She was a maid at our house and was chased away for stealing." Emma said this time.
Mary realized what they intended to do. She didn't bother to correct Emma that she was never a maid, but Ariadne's nanny and the Millers had always treated her with respect.
"How can you allow such people into our mall? Kick them out now." Margaret roared, making a disgusted face at Mary and the children.
"But, Madam, they are customers. They have bought these dresses." The attendant girl hesitated as she pointed to the dresses in her hands.
"Take those back from them." Margaret ordered.
Autumn grabbed the dresses from the attendant girl out of fear, not wanting to return them.
"Granny, who is this lady? Why is she shouting like this?" She asked tremblingly.
She held her chocolate shake in her other hand that Adrian handed her. Adrian looked at Margaret silently with a frown.
"Don't mind her." Mary assured her.
Emma and Margaret looked at the kids.
"Are these Aria's bastard children?" Emma asked, looking at them sharply.
"Mind your language." Mary warned.
"Why? Isn't this true? Who is your father, kids?" Emma tried to approach the kids, but Mary stepped forward.
"What do you want?" Mary became furious this time.
She wouldn't let these vile women bully the kids.
"We want you out of here. We don't tolerate garbage inside our mall." Margaret looked at the staff and gave an order.
"Take back the dresses and kick them out of the mall."
They didn't make the payment yet, as they were choosing the dresses.
"Okay, Madam." The attendant girl gave Mary a guilty look.
She couldn't bring herself to be harsh with them as she had noticed earlier how polite Mary and the kids were to the staff. They did not appear to be bad people, but rather from a prestigious family. However, as they were just employees, they couldnt go against their boss.
"I am sorry, Madam, but you can't buy these things, as our Madam stated."
"There's no need to be polite to a thief and some bastard children." Margaret said.
"No, I want these dresses. Granny will pay for it. Why should I return it." Autumn said with teary eyes.
Furious, Margaret stepped forward and tried to snatch the dress from Autumn's hand. In the process, Autumn's chocolate shake spilled onto Margaret's handbag.
"Oh my god."
Everyone gasped in horror. They were all aware of Margaret's hot temper.
"You, little bastard. How dare you ruin my bag?!" Margaret raised her hand to slap Autumn but Mary grabbed it.
"Don't you dare." She gave her a hard look, taking her by surprise.
Autumn burst into tears. Adrian clenched his jaw, looking at Margaret with rage.
"You!"
"Come down. Don't waste your energy on people like these." Emma held Margaret and whispered into her ear.
"Take the dresses." Margaret ordered the staff.
The situation became tense, and the employees were horrified. They approached Autumn, who was holding her dresses.
"Wait." Mary stopped them. "Autumn, Adrian, return everything you selected. We will go to another mall and buy a lot of things. Ok?"
"No problem, Granny." Adrian smiled before turning to face Autumn, who was unwilling. "Autumn, we can find better dresses. We don't need their things." Adrian said calmly.
"Okay." Autumn agreed reluctantly, looking at her brother.
She let go of the dresses she was holding tightly to her chest. They handed over everything to the employees.
"You little bastard. Who will pay for my bag? Do you know how much expensive it is? Even if your mother sells her body multiple times, she will be unable to pay for it." Margaret said sharply.
Though the kids couldn't comprehend the meaning of the taunt, Mary became enraged by the insult.
"Yeah, it's a limited edition Jucy Life bag. How dare she ruined it? Who will pay for it now?" Emma also chimed in.
"You speak a lot of nonsense." Mary remarked as she couldn't take it anymore. "Don't worry. Within a week, you will receive a bag that is twice the price."
Emma and Margaret burst into laughter.
"What a joke!"
They scanned Mary from head to toe. They noticed that she did not resemble her former self. Her attire made her appear to be a noble lady from a prestigious family, not a poor woman.
"Expensive clothes will not elevate your status. You were a maid and will always remain so. But as you have stated, now you must fulfill it or else..." Margaret left the warning hanging.
"You will get it within a week...rest assured." Mary said firmly. "If you have done with your drama, we should leave. Let's go kids."
Mary carried Autumn and held Adrian's hand as she walked towards the exit.
"Hold on."
They came to a halt as Margaret called out loudly.
"What now?" Mary became irritated.
"Search their bags. Once a thief, always a thief." Margaret said.
Mary stiffened in her place. She couldn't believe her ears. Then again, she knew very well what kind of woman Margaret was. She became concerned for the children, who would have to endure this humiliation. They looked horrified. She turned to protest, but Adrian grabbed her hand and gave a nod.
"No problem, Granny. Let them search us." The boy said confidently.
The employees approached and searched everything.
"Search her body as well." Margaret instructed.
Mary clenched her jaw silently, allowing them to do their job. The other customers watched the scene in horror and sympathy. Some of them captured it on their phones. They searched them in front of all the customers and employees.
"There's nothing, Madam." a girl informed.
"Are you sure? Search the children as well."
"Ok."
While Autumn sobbed quietly, Adrian clenched his jaw but said nothing.
"There's nothing."
"Get out now." Margaret looked at Mary, gritting her teeth.
However, Mary didn't move from her place.
"Why? Are you done with the drama?" her cold, furious voice resonated.
Even though Margaret's actions were humiliating, she considered letting go. They could buy dresses anywhere. However, Margaret crossed the limit the moment she ordered the employees to search them for theft, and Mary would not tolerate this. Gone were the days when they were helpless and vulnerable, easily bullied by anyone, and incapable of protecting themselves. They could now teach a vile person like Margaret a good lesson.
"We are customers, and as far as I can remember, we have not caused any problems here. You appeared out of nowhere and begun insulting us without any reason." Mary looked at Margaret sharply.
"It's our mall. I will do anything I want." Margaret boasted with arrogance.
"It's against the law. You can't insult your customers at will."
"Yes, I can insult beggars like you. What are you going to do about it?" Margaret challenged her.
Margaret was an extremely arrogant woman. And being the lady of the Blake Family gave her wings as she always looked down on people below their status and regarded them as beggars.
Mary approached Margaret calmly.
"You will pay for the humiliation you put my grandchildren through." She pointed her finger at Margaret.
Margaret was taken aback by the resolution in her eyes. However, she gathered herself quickly.
"I would love to see it, beggar." She hissed.
"You will." Mary said before leaving the mall with the kids.
Margaret glared at their retreating figures with hatred. The crowd dispersed, as the customers and employees returned to their own business.
"You teach them a good lesson." Emma's voice brought Margaret's attention back.
"It was fun. Did you notice their faces? Haha."
They laughed as they talked about it, and went to pick out jewelry for the upcoming engagement party..
...
Outside the mall, a car was parked some distance away. Mary was on the phone while the kids sat silently in the back seat of the car.
"Leave this to me. You don't need to worry about anything. Take the kids to another shopping center and enjoy the day." Tiara's voice came from the other side.
Mary nodded and ended the call. The car drove away.
..........
At Blake Corporation
Jose hurriedly entered Xander's office, holding a tablet in his hands.
"Boss, I have some news for you." His voice was tense.
"What is it?" Xander asked, without lifting his eyes from the documents in front of him, as he sat on his seat behind the desk.
"There is a problem."
"What problem?" He asked calmly.
"I think you should see it for yourself." Jose turned on the big screen TV on the opposite wall from Xander and played the news.
Xander frowned at Jose before looking at the television screen.
"Blake Corporation president Xander Blake's mother, Margaret Blake, was spotted bullying some customers at their mall, Blake World. The customer has taken legal action against Mrs. Blake for humiliating them without any reason. Here we have the customer's lawyer. Let's see what she has to say about it."
"What the hell is this?" Xander's frown deepened.
A woman appeared on the screen, and Xander's eyes widened in surprise. Jose's face showed no surprise as he had already seen it.
"My client and her family have been wronged, and they want justice. It appears that the lady from the country's richest family doesn't know how to behave like a noble lady. She even bullied two innocent children. How can a lady from such a family behave like this? Just because she has money and power does not give her the right to bully anyone. Today, she bullied my client and her family. Tomorrow, she will bully someone else. Why should common people endure this? It's not like they give us free things. Customers pay for the products. If they dislike common people, they should make it clear. No one will go to their mall to be humiliated for no reason. There're plenty of shopping centers where we can get our necessities." Tiara made her point loud and clear.
"Yeah, it's a shame for a lady of such status to act like this. So, what's your client's demand for this humiliation?" The reporter asked.
"My client wants a sincere apology and assurance that ordinary people will not have to face this again. That's it."
"Isn't this the same girl who accompanied Ariadne to the dinner?" Xander asked calmly.
However, his mind was anything but calm at that moment.
"Yes, Boss."
The room became silent. Xander closed the file containing the documents and leaned back in his chair.
"Now, tell me, what is this all about?" he clenched his jaw, his gaze fixed on the muted TV screen.