Chapter 89 You Fought for Me, I Know
Naomi lowered her head and said quietly, "Last week my mom got fired from her company. We have a mortgage and car payments, so she started delivering food. But two days ago she fell and broke her leg—she's in the hospital now."
Arabella was stunned. "What about your father?"
A flash of sadness crossed Naomi's young face. "My dad and mom divorced three years ago. When they divorced, he said we should never look for him for the rest of our lives."
Arabella felt sorry for this girl. She'd originally wanted to ask about Naomi's family situation to see if she could contact an adult to take her back, but now it seemed that even if she went home, there was no adult who could protect her.
It really was as Daniel said—not helping her would be pushing her toward a dead end.
But Naomi couldn't stay here indefinitely either. As long as those people kept bullying her, she couldn't attend school properly.
Arabella thought for a moment and said, "Give me your mother's contact information. I'll call her."
No matter what, she had to inform the parent about this. She was just a stranger with no right to interfere arbitrarily.
Hearing her words, Naomi immediately choked up and pleaded, "Miss, could you please not tell my mom about this? She's already working so hard—I don't want her to worry about me."
Naomi's tears kept falling. She was clearly terrified but thoughtfully didn't want to trouble anyone. Seeing Arabella's silence, she jumped down from the chair and bowed to thank everyone in the room. "Miss, sir, thank you for letting me stay here this afternoon. I know this is difficult for you. Please don't worry about me anymore—I'll be fine."
Then she looked at Daniel and forced a smile. "Daniel, thank you for helping me fight off the bad guys today. In my heart, you're a hero. I hope when I grow up, I can be as capable as you. Goodbye."
With that, she shouldered her backpack and headed for the door.
Daniel instinctively reached out to stop her. "Wait!"
Naomi stepped back and looked at him, forcing her lips to curve upward. "Daniel, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Next time they bully me, I'll find a teacher or call the police."
Arabella felt conflicted. Finding a teacher or calling the police would definitely expose this to her mother.
She knew Naomi was lying—she wanted Daniel not to feel so guilty.
At seven or eight years old, this child was heartbreakingly mature.
She couldn't help but think of Molly at the orphanage—similarly unfortunate, though at least Naomi lived in a big city and had a mother and home.
After only a moment's hesitation, she said to Naomi, "If you're willing, I can step in and talk to your school teachers to see if that helps."
This child was carrying too much at such a young age. She couldn't bear to see such a good kid being bullied.
Hope sparked in Naomi's previously numb eyes, but she was still cautious. "Is that okay? If it's too much trouble for you, never mind."
Arabella smiled. "It's no trouble. Stay here tonight, and I'll come pick you up tomorrow to take you to school."
Naomi smiled and nodded vigorously.
Seeing how things were developing, Marilyn became upset, frowning at Arabella and scolding, "Arabella, you're being too reckless! Taking on all sorts of messy problems—do you think those thugs are easy to deal with? When you cause trouble, won't it end up affecting your father and me!"
Daniel wanted to say something but was silenced by Marilyn's glare. "You shut up!"
She looked at Arabella with dissatisfaction. "Besides, I called you here to help Daniel solve his problem, not to help some completely unrelated stranger child! You're being so kind and caring, but what about Daniel? Who knows what he'll face when he goes to school tomorrow!"
Arabella said, "Marilyn, don't get upset yet. Let me talk to Daniel."
She looked at Daniel. "Come to the bedroom with me for a moment."
Daniel was unusually obedient and nodded. "Okay."
Marilyn said indignantly, "What can't you say in front of us? Don't corrupt my son again!"
Arabella ignored Marilyn's complaints, locked the bedroom door, and looked at Daniel.
"You should know what you'll face for helping Naomi."
Daniel acted nonchalant, sitting in a chair and crossing his legs. "At school, they all call me the campus bully. Who can do anything to me? Besides, didn't you take over that girl's case? They won't bother me anymore."
But she... A strange look flashed in Daniel's eyes, as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back.
Arabella looked at him. "That's actually what I wanted to tell you. Don't get involved with Naomi's situation anymore. Study hard at school and stop provoking those troublemakers."
Daniel laughed disdainfully. "You don't need to tell me that. I'd be happy to get rid of that trouble. With you taking over, I'm relieved. I'd be crazy to go looking for trouble."
Arabella nodded calmly. She'd long gotten used to Daniel's rebellious attitude.
Seeing she had nothing more to say, Daniel stood up to leave, casually grabbing a cigarette to put in his mouth. As his hand touched the door handle, he heard Arabella's gentle voice: "Actually, you don't need to act so cavalier in front of me. I know what kind of person you are. I know about you fighting for me."
Daniel's hand froze.
Arabella looked at his back and said softly, "You disguise yourself with thorns all over, which can hurt not only those who bully you but also the people closest to you. I hope you can find a different way to live—at least don't pretend you don't care about anything."
Daniel didn't turn around, saying mockingly, "You don't know shit. Don't lecture me."
He opened the door and left.
Arabella smiled bitterly and sighed.
Six months ago, when her marriage with Anthony was at its worst, somehow word got to the school that she was a vicious cheater who clung to Anthony and prevented two people in love from being together.
She only learned by accident how badly she was being slandered.
Greedy for money, sleeping her way to the top, using underhanded methods, lacking magnanimity...
During that time, Daniel got into especially frequent fights at school, coming home with bruises almost every day. When the family asked, he'd get impatient. Marilyn cried and asked her to check on him, afraid her precious son was being bullied.
So Arabella went to investigate and saw Daniel taking on six opponents, beating them bloody while stepping on one's face and angrily cursing, "Arabella is my sister—I'm protecting her! If I hear you spreading malicious rumors again, I'll kill you! Get lost!"
Those thugs ran away in embarrassment.
Only then did she realize that this stepbrother who'd never shown her a good face was actually protecting her behind the scenes.
From then on, her opinion of Daniel changed. She gradually discovered that Daniel wasn't bad by nature—he just didn't know how to rebel against Marilyn's excessive control, plus having been bullied at school as a child from a single-parent home, which shaped him into what he was now.
This was why she was repeatedly willing to help Daniel. It had nothing to do with Marilyn—she simply didn't want to see Daniel go down the wrong path.
Arabella sighed again. She couldn't expect Daniel to suddenly become a normal kid.
She opened the bedroom door and came out just in time to see Daniel storm out, slamming the door. Marilyn was cursing excitedly while Percy sighed nearby.
Naomi stood anxiously to the side.
Arabella knew she couldn't leave Naomi here today.
She went to her father and said, "Dad, you should rest early. I'll take Naomi back with me."
Percy said worriedly, "Can you handle her by yourself? Why don't you let her stay here? I'm free anyway—cooking for her would be convenient."
Arabella glanced at Marilyn, who was about to explode, and smiled as she declined. "No need. I'm taking tomorrow off anyway, so I'll handle it."
She left with Naomi, calling Alexander on the way. She felt a bit embarrassed and planned to take Naomi to a hotel if Alexander wasn't willing.
Unexpectedly, Alexander agreed without hesitation. "It's fine. You can stay as long as you want."
Arabella relaxed, feeling even more that Alexander was truly kind-hearted.
Little did she know that on the other end of the phone, the man was expressionlessly dealing with several executives over the phone. After finishing business, he closed his computer and pondered: 'She's bringing a little girl back—she probably won't think about moving out anytime soon, right?'
Arabella soon returned with Naomi.
The moment Alexander saw Naomi upon entering, his expression paused briefly before he smiled. "You're back? Have you eaten dinner?"
Arabella waved her hand. "We didn't have time to eat. I'll order takeout."
She could go hungry, but she couldn't let the child starve.
Alexander said, "Don't order takeout. I'll cook something—it'll be quick."
Naomi obediently went to the bedroom to do homework while Arabella helped cook in the kitchen.
She briefly explained Naomi's situation to Alexander.
When Alexander heard the girl's name was Naomi Powell, something flickered in his eyes, but he quickly returned to normal.
After cooking, Arabella called Naomi out to eat. After dinner, she took her to wash up and go to bed.
Alexander watched their busy figures and discreetly took out his phone, opening a file to look at a photo for a while.
Then he got up, went to the bedroom, locked the door, and called Roy.
"Billy's ex-wife and daughter are both in trouble. It should be Mandy's doing. We've found Billy's weak spot—contact a lawyer to visit the detention center and meet with Billy."
Roy was amazed. "Mandy should be using Billy's wife and daughter's safety to threaten him into taking the blame. Why would she still have people harm Billy's family?"
Alexander sneered. "She's probably counting on Billy being inside and knowing nothing about what's happening outside. That Mandy isn't simple—keep a close eye and see if we can catch any traces of what happened three years ago."
"Yes." Roy replied solemnly.
Alexander hung up and stood by the window with a cold expression.
This war without gunpowder had already begun. Hopefully it wouldn't involve Arabella.
If things went smoothly, he might even be able to give her a surprise.
Three days later, at the detention center.
Billy was pale-faced. After hearing the lawyer's words, he covered his face and cried.
"I thought... I thought if I listened to her, she could protect my wife and daughter... This heartless woman, she deceived me so cruelly... promising to take good care of my wife and daughter while making me take the blame, but secretly having people harm them... How vicious!"
The lawyer sat across from him and spoke at the appropriate moment. "Mr. Powell, if you want to seek a reduced sentence, you can provide police with more evidence of Mandy's illegal activities. You're already locked up here anyway, and your ex-wife and daughter have been implicated because of you. Your compromise can't protect them."
Billy looked up blankly, tears streaming down his face. His lips trembled for a while before his eyes became determined. "I want to report that Mandy and her brother conspired together..."
Much later, the lawyer stood up and shook hands with him. "Mr. Powell, I understand all your requests. I'll go back and prepare now, and in a few days I'll file an appeal on your behalf."
Billy seemed relieved and slowly nodded, waving him off.
The lawyer left the detention center, got back in his car, and forwarded the materials he'd just recorded.
Then he made a phone call, speaking respectfully. "Mr. Evans, I've sent you Billy's testimony. The matter Mr. FitzRoy is concerned about isn't easy to handle—he only has testimony without evidence, so there's no breakthrough. Unless we work on Mandy directly and break her mentally, there might be a chance."
But the current problem was that they couldn't get close to Mandy, making this approach impossible to implement.
Roy thought for a moment. "Let me ask Mr. FitzRoy."
The lawyer quickly said, "Alright, contact me if you need anything else."
At the detention center, shortly after Billy was taken back, Mandy was brought to the interrogation room.
An hour later, she came out of the interrogation room looking dazed, walking numbly back to her cell.
Less than ten minutes later, a scream suddenly came from the room, followed by a female guard running out. "Something's wrong—Mandy tried to kill herself!"
The duty officer quickly ran in to check and found Mandy collapsed on the floor, holding a sharp nail clipper with blood on the blade.
On her neck, the nail clipper had opened a large gash, blood spurting out. She wasn't completely dead yet—her chest rose and fell slightly, her eyes wide open, lost in hallucinations, looking at some imaginary place with terror and numbness.
It would be better if she died. Dead, no one would ever trace back to her brother.
That incident couldn't be known by anyone. She could only use death to forever guard that secret.
The guards quickly called an ambulance while others rushed to bring gauze to stop the bleeding. The ambulance arrived quickly, and Mandy was loaded up and rushed to the hospital for treatment.