Chapter 234

Edward shoved her away with a look of pure disgust, showing not even a trace of mercy.

Eleanor hadn't learned her lesson at all. Ignoring the pain, she knelt on the ground and kept begging Edward.

"Mr. Fairfax, please, please help me. I'm begging you, I know I was wrong, I'll do whatever you want. And Charlotte — she's not a good person at all. She's a calculating woman! She's slept with tons of old men, and everything she has now came from them!"

"She's been playing you this whole time!"

The next second, Edward kicked her again — right in the mouth.

Blood instantly filled Eleanor's mouth. She clutched her face and cried out in pain.

"You dare talk about my fiancée like that? You can say goodbye to that tongue of yours." With that, Edward signaled David to step in.

I stopped them. "No need. She's already in bad enough shape. The worst is still ahead of her. Leave her tongue — it'll only make things worse for her down the road."

Edward thought about it and nodded. "Alright, we'll do it your way."

Eleanor was terrified. Knowing she had no way out, she turned to me and begged again. "Charlotte, we may not be blood-related, but we're still like sisters. Can't you show me a little mercy? I just got into college this year, and now I have no one. If you take this apartment too, what am I supposed to do?"

Looking at her pitiful state, I felt nothing: no sympathy, no satisfaction — just cold indifference.

I kept my voice calm, but every word cut deep. "But... what does that have to do with me?"

Eleanor's pupils shrank. She froze, her face filled with fear.

Just then, a few servants came downstairs, carrying boxes and bags. When they saw me, they all stopped short. I spoke calmly. "You can't take any of that. Everything in this house has been seized by the court and handed over to me as payment. It's all in the paperwork. Enforcement officers will be here shortly."

The servants looked at each other, then started complaining all at once.

"So what do we do? What about our wages?"

"Forget three months of wages — we've been covering groceries and all kinds of other expenses out of our own pockets for months, and none of it's been paid back. Between the five of us, we're owed something like seventy or eighty thousand dollars."

At the mention of that number, Eleanor's face went stiff. It was obvious she couldn't even come up with ten thousand right now.

I knew exactly what the situation was. Those twenty billion hadn't just left the Cavendish family in debt — it had left them with absolutely nothing.

But again, what did that have to do with me?

So I said, casually, "Here's a suggestion. The rings on Eleanor's ears and hands are worth quite a bit — probably over a hundred thousand dollars. Take those, pawn them, and you should be covered."

The servants' eyes lit up with greed, while Eleanor scrambled backward in panic. "Don't listen to her — those aren't worth anything!"

Then Eleanor turned on me. "Charlotte, you're such a little bitch!"

Edward's brow furrowed, but I gave him a look that said let it go.

The servants had already lost themselves to greed. Like cats spotting a mouse, they rushed at Eleanor all at once, pinning her down and grabbing at her.

"Ow! That hurts! Stop pulling!"

"You're all insane! I'm calling the police!"

The three of us stood there and watched without moving a muscle.

Even as Eleanor kept screaming at me to help her, my face stayed blank.

It wasn't until her ear was torn and everything was taken that they finally stopped.

"Alright, grab your own things and get out. But be smart about it — don't take anything that isn't yours." I gave them one final warning.

They exchanged glances, clearly shaken, then hurried upstairs. They were back down in no time, each carrying a bag — looks like they'd already been packed and ready to go.

Now the only thing left to deal with was Eleanor.

Edward clapped his hands, and five or six bodyguards walked in through the front door. He gave the order. "Go pack up Eleanor's personal belongings."

"Leave the jewelry," I added. "That still needs to go toward the debt."

"Do as Mrs. Fairfax says."

"Yes, sir!"

"Her room is around the corner on the second floor."

"Understood!"

Faced with everything falling apart around her, Eleanor completely broke down. She screamed until her voice cracked, pouring out every last bit of her rage and fear.

I watched her fall apart in silence. This was exactly what I wanted to see.

Eleanor's things fit into just two bags — mostly clothes and everyday items. When the bags were dropped in front of her, she tore them open, and the moment she saw that it was mostly cheap clothing, she lost it again.

"Where are my nice clothes? I don't want these!"

I let out a short laugh through my nose. "Your nice clothes are going toward the debt, obviously. What else would they be for?"

"Charlotte! You've gone too far! This is my home! I'm not leaving! Everything here is mine!"

"The officers will be here soon to remove you. You'll end up in the news again. There's already been plenty of talk about you online these past few days — you couldn't have missed it. You're getting more attention than any celebrity right now."

That pushed Eleanor completely over the edge. She collapsed to the floor, grabbed her own hair with both hands, and screamed like she'd lost her mind.

"It's all your fault! Every single bit of this is because of you! I can't face anyone anymore! What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to live the rest of my life?"

I stayed just as calm as before. "What does that have to do with me?"

"You bitch!"

"You little bitch!"

"I will make you pay for this! I swear I will!"

The next second, Edward stepped forward and kicked her in the mouth again — not once, but several times. A few of her teeth were knocked out. Eleanor clutched her face and wailed in agony.

Both David and I went still for a moment.

We looked at each other. It was clear — neither of us had ever seen Edward hit a woman that hard before.

Soon after, the enforcement officers arrived one by one. Once I finished the handover with the court officials, the bailiffs forcibly removed Eleanor from the premises.

Only after watching her stumble away under everyone's eyes did I finally feel at ease.

As the officers gradually left, I didn't feel light because everything that had been taken from the Cavendish family had come at the cost of Chase's life.

If Chase were still alive, I wouldn't want any of this.

"It's all over now." Edward held me close.

I shook my head and looked around at the place I had once called home — the same place that had haunted my nightmares. If it hadn't been for Chase keeping me going, I don't know how I would have survived all those years with the Cavendish family.

"I don't know why, but I don't feel happy at all."