Chapter 271 Repeating the Old Trick
"Exiled to a foreign country, and you don't call that unfair treatment? Then what does count as unfair? Tell me what's really going on!"
That was his precious Bianca. Normally, if she so much as frowned, his heart would ache. Now hearing that Bianca had been forced to go abroad, Finn was furious.
Of course Bianca couldn't tell the truth, so she gave vague answers while constantly apologizing.
This made Finn misunderstand - he thought Emily must have used some kind of trick to get everyone in the family on her side, making them all distrust Bianca and even bully her for Emily's sake.
Bianca's health wasn't good, and now with this happening, who knows how upset she must be.
Finn quickly said, "Bianca, don't be scared. With Finn here, no one can bully you. I'm going back right now to talk to Mom and Dad. I want to ask them - I've only been gone a short while and they're already treating you like this.
You're supposed to be the most loved person in our family. How can Emily, someone we picked up from a trash heap, even compare to you? By the way, did they give you any spending money for going abroad?"
Finn first expressed his outrage at the family's blindness.
Then he showered Bianca with praise.
That long-lost feeling of being adored and put on a pedestal finally returned.
Bianca's spirits lifted from the gloom she'd felt since arriving abroad. Her lips curved slightly, though she said, "Finn, even if I'm short on money, I'll find work myself. Washing dishes or whatever - I can earn my own money and won't let myself go hungry. Don't worry.
Also, when you go back, talk nicely with the family. Don't fight with them because of me. Emily's already unhappy because of me - I don't want to affect the family atmosphere any more. Finn, promise me, okay?"
To Finn, who didn't know the truth, these words only made him think how kind and understanding Bianca was, and how unfairly she was being treated.
Emily must have used some kind of trick.
He'd already made up his mind that Emily was at fault.
"No way. Your body can't handle hard labor, and besides, you're the one we cherish. How could we let you do such dirty, tiring work? I have some savings - I'll transfer them to you right away. You can't let yourself suffer. Wait for me to personally bring you back home, okay?"
Finn coaxed Bianca like she was a child.
A gleam of satisfaction flashed in Bianca's eyes.
See? When she wanted to, she could still wrap Finn around her finger.
But then something occurred to her.
So she said, "Finn, thank goodness I have you. Will you... will you be like the rest of the family? Will you see those accusations about me online and think I'm that kind of evil person? If you're going to be like them, I'd rather you stop being nice to me now. I'm afraid to hope that you're still on my side, only to wake up and find it was just a dream!"
As Bianca spoke, her voice choked up again.
Though Finn couldn't see her, just hearing her voice reminded him of how she used to cry, tears streaming down her face, and his heart ached.
"What do you take me for? No matter what, Finn will always be on your side and only believe you. Don't worry."
"Really? Liar is a puppy!"
Bianca said through her tears.
Finn found the childish words endearing and laughed indulgently. "Liar is a puppy - the worst, ugliest puppy!"
Only then did Bianca hang up satisfied.
Soon her phone pinged with a notification - $3 million had been deposited into her bank account.
Though it wasn't much compared to before, in her current situation, every little bit counted.
The driver up front couldn't understand Bianca's language, but watching her cry one moment and laugh the next, he thought he'd picked up a crazy person and didn't dare even breathe too loudly.
Bianca was heading to the villa James was renting.
He'd originally been in Zephyria, but after things went wrong there, Lucy's family - for whatever reason - arranged for him to come to Valeria.
So James followed to Valeria. Whether they were being polite because he was from the Smith family and agreed to his relationship with Lucy, or because he'd gotten some useful information after meeting Lucy's mother that first time, who knows.
Either way, his life was pretty good now.
Several projects he'd invested in here had all taken off, bringing him good returns.
Bianca had found out where James was through that mysterious detective.
That's why she came straight to Valeria.
Right now, she was imagining the scene when James would see her.
Wouldn't he think it was so touching that she, from thousands of miles away, couldn't bear to be without him and came looking for him?
Unfortunately, what happened next would be a huge shock to her.
She had the driver take her right to the front of the standalone villa.
But no one seemed to be home.
Bianca could only wait at the door.
Because she realized James's phone wasn't going through.
At this time, on the other side, Finn hung up and rushed back to the Johnson Villa as fast as he could.
Having heard Bianca's side of the story first, and with the online news having died down for two days, he'd only seen a few snippets.
To him, you couldn't trust everything online - maybe it was Emily's doing. He didn't connect the problems to Bianca at all.
As soon as he got home, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dad, Mom, Aiden, Chase, Hayden, Emily - I'm home!"
Actually, besides the butler and maids, only Chase was home.
Since Chase's clarification last time, variety show opportunities had started coming his way. Though not as good as his previous status, after some reflection, he wasn't being picky and had accepted them.
He was packing his clothes when he heard the shouting downstairs.
Chase's hands paused. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating.
Until he heard the butler's voice: "Mr. Finn Johnson, you're finally back. Everyone's out except Mr. Chase Johnson. Mr. Chase Johnson is in his room now."
Hearing Finn call out Emily's name too, the butler knew that with everything that had happened online, Finn probably didn't know anything.
But these weren't things a butler should say, so he didn't mention it, only saying Chase was home.
Finn was surprised that Chase, usually the busiest one never at home, was now the one with the most free time.
He tossed his suitcase at the butler and rushed upstairs.
"Chase, come out. I need to ask you something."
Finn's voice arrived before he did.
After hearing the butler's voice and confirming it wasn't a hallucination, Chase thought back to Finn's shouting - he hadn't called out Bianca's name.
Chase knew Finn must have contacted Bianca beforehand.
Knowing Bianca as he now did, Chase figured she'd probably said plenty of bad things about Emily to Finn.
Since discovering Bianca's true nature, Chase had gained some wisdom and quickly figured all this out.
He sat on the bed, continuing to fold his clothes, ignoring Finn.
When Finn came in and saw Chase not only ignoring him but continuing to fold clothes, he got annoyed too.