Chapter 2 Chapter 2: New Grudges, Old Resentments
"Are you a friend of my sister?"
Wyatt cut her off. Selena touched her face and realized she no longer resembled the chubby, unattractive girl she once was. Hastily, she nodded and said, "Yes, yes, please tell me what happened."
Suddenly, Wyatt’s expression turned fierce. He gritted his teeth and said, "It’s that wicked family’s fault. My sister hasn’t contacted us in almost a year. Dad got worried and took me to the capital to look for her. They told us she had run away, but Dad didn’t believe them. He thought they had done something to her, so he insisted on staying until we found her. Then we were ambushed by gangsters. Dad was seriously injured, and we didn’t have the money to treat him. He passed away a month ago."
At this, Wyatt broke down in sobs. Selena bit her lip, her eyes burning with fury.
"Bastards!"
It had to be that family. They had to cover up the fact that they had thrown her into the ocean, so they hired gangsters to attack her father and brother.
How cruel! How could they do such a thing to their benefactor?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Go ahead and tear this house apart!"
Suddenly, a man's shouts echoed from outside the gate. Moments later, a group of men burst through the gate, storming into the yard, smashing and breaking things with no regard for the law.
Mrs. Collin ran out to stop them:
“What are you doing? Uncle Vinny, why have you come to destroy my house?”
The man named Vinny, his chest bare and displaying a large tattoo of dragons and phoenixes, smirked and replied:
“You can't pay your debts, so I'm here to move you out.”
Mrs. Collin hurriedly said:
“Didn't you say we could delay the payment until next month? Why are you here today?”
Vinny's eyes widened as he responded:
“I can collect whenever I want. If you don't pay now, I won’t just destroy your house, I'll sell your son to pay the debt too.”
With that, he signaled to his men, who rushed inside and dragged Wyatt out into the yard. Mrs. Collin quickly pulled her son behind her, trembling and pleading:
“Uncle Vinny, he's still young, please don't take him. I'll sell the house to repay you.”
“Hmph, enough talking. Your son looks nice; selling him to some rich man will surely fetch a good price, hahaha...”
Vinny’s lecherous laugh plunged the mother and son into despair, their trembling and sorrowful state did nothing to dissuade the hungry wolves from their cruelty.
“How much do they owe you? I'll pay it.”
At that moment, a clear voice rang out, capturing everyone's attention in the yard.
Selena rushed over to Mrs. Collin and her son, helping them up as she glared at Vinny. Although Mrs. Collin had told her not to come outside, how could she sit idly by while her mother and younger brother were humiliated?
“Beautiful… so beautiful… hey, gorgeous, why don’t you come with me? If you agree, I’ll erase their debt.”
The moment Vinny saw Selena, his mind was immediately captivated. He was completely enraptured by her beauty.
Just as he was about to reach out and touch her, Wyatt, summoning his courage, pulled her behind him protectively. Though terrified, he couldn’t let this man harass his beautiful sister.
“You little brat, how dare...”
“If you lay a hand on him, I won’t let you off easily.”
Vinny was about to slap Wyatt, but Selena’s threat made him hesitate. Narrowing his eyes at her, he thought to himself, "She’s so beautiful; maybe she’s some big shot’s sugar baby. I’d better hold off for now and see what happens. Who knows, I might get to have fun with her later."
“So, you want to pay off their debt? Fine. Three hundred thousand for the principal, seven hundred thousand in interest for half a year, total one million dollars. Pay it all at once, no extensions.”
“What?”
Mrs. Collin screamed.
“You said it was five hundred thousand dollars total, both principal and interest. How has it now become one million dollars? There’s no way we can pay that…”
She collapsed onto the ground, sobbing. Her family had always been kind, yet why did they keep encountering such wicked people?
As Selena watched Vinny’s smug expression, she wished nothing more than to kill him. She spoke through gritted teeth:
“I’ll give you one million, but I want to know if the Sterling family told you to double-cross us like this?”
Vinny didn’t bother hiding it, casually admitting:
“I don’t know who they are, just that they’re very rich. Hah, who told you poor folk to even think about marrying your daughter off?”
Selena clenched her fists. The Sterling family really wanted to drive her entire family to ruin just to erase their shameful stain?
For three years as their daughter-in-law, she had never wronged her husband’s family. Yet this was the bitter end they gave her. She had planned to sever all ties with them after returning from Heaven, but her father's death, her mother and brother’s suffering—she could no longer afford to be lenient.
William Sterling, Amelia Torres, I won’t let you live peacefully on the pain of my family!
After handing over the money to Vinny and tearing up the debt note, Selena led her mother and brother inside. She knelt before her father’s altar, tears streaming down her face as she lit an incense stick. Then, turning to Mrs. Collin, she said:
“Mother… auntie, why don’t you and my brother move to the capital with me? Before, I was close to Selena, like sisters, and now that she’s missing, I should take care of you both in her place.”
She had already begun planning her revenge on her ex-husband’s family, so for now, she didn’t reveal that she was Mrs. Collin’s biological daughter. Besides, she couldn’t explain why her appearance had changed.
Mrs. Collin hesitated at Selena’s offer, but seeing this, she added:
“Wyatt is still school-aged. If he studies in the capital, his future will be brighter.”
Indeed, Wyatt’s future was Mrs. Collin’s main concern. Furthermore, Selena had already helped pay off their debt, so refusing her offer would be improper.
“Let me sell this land and give you the money…”
“No need, I’ll take care of you both for Selena’s sake. Please, treat me as if I were your own daughter.”