“Everyone, come look! My daughter-in-law cheated with some random man, and when I caught her, she beat up an old woman like me. There’s no justice left in the world!”
“This shameless thing, no one even knows whose child she’s carrying! My son didn’t care; he still took her in, and she repaid him by stealing my coffin money and tricking him into signing over the house! Now she’s kicked our whole family out and refuses to give it back! What did the Granger family ever do to deserve this? I can’t go on. I might as well die!”
With that, she threw herself against the wall, wailing with fake despair.
A few bystanders, clueless about the truth, hurried to hold her back. Their eyes landed on me with contempt.
“You had every chance to live right, and this is what you chose? Hurting an elderly woman like that?”
“Exactly, just look at her. Covered head to toe in designer brands, while her mother-in-law wears the same old jacket. Clearly, it doesn’t work. She probably lives off that poor husband of hers and still dares to act high and mighty. What a disgrace.”
Kinsley came squeezing out of the private room, tears streaming down her face as she howled, “My brother cherished you like his own life, and you turned out to be a filthy slut! We’re not even holding you accountable for seducing strangers and stealing our coffin money. Just hand over the deed to my brother, and we’ll call it even!”
The crowd stood tall on their imagined moral high ground, pointing fingers, cursing loudly, and spitting with righteous fury.
Someone even flung their half-finished bubble tea at me, and a glob of spit landed square on my face.
Sticky. Soaked. Humiliated.
I stood frozen, ears ringing and vision spinning.
And finally, my brother stepped forward.
But not to protect me.
He grabbed my arm, face twisted in frustration, and scolded, “Adeline, you’ve got so much money. It’s just one villa. Just give it to Bailey. Once you marry him, we’re all one family; what’s the difference, whether it’s sooner or later?”
He let out a tired sigh as if I had been the one making trouble all along.
“Honestly, this whole mess is your fault. If you had just listened to your sister-in-law from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”
With that, he fished out a tissue from his pocket and reached out to wipe my face.
I raised my hand and blocked him.
With a cold, cutting stare at his fake concern, I slowly raised my phone.
“I’ve already recorded everything and called the police. Every slanderous word you’ve spoken will be handed over to law enforcement. Get ready to deal with the consequences.”
Cassandra and Kinsley’s faces drained of color, turning ghostly pale.
I let out a scornful laugh. “Trying to take something without giving anything in return? You’d better make sure you’re even worth the trouble.”
Wiping my face, I shoved aside my panicked brother without a second glance.
“From this moment on, you’re no longer my brother. Stay the hell away from me.”
It wasn’t until I returned home that I finally allowed my trembling body to let go of its emotions.
I had always believed the Grangers were shameless, but I thought, at the very least, my brother still remembered what it meant to be family.
It turns out reality didn’t slap; it crushed.
After showering and changing, I crawled into bed, physically drained and mentally exhausted.
Just as I pulled the blanket over myself, an angry pounding echoed from the front door.
“Adeline! Your sister-in-law is pregnant. She can’t go to jail! Go explain to the police that it was all just a misunderstanding!”
“Adeline, stop acting deaf! If anything happens to my son because of this, I swear, I won’t let you off!”
When I didn’t respond, the pounding turned into violent kicks against the door.
Frustrated, I pulled the blanket over my head and didn’t even know when I finally drifted off.
In a hazy daze, I felt something brushing along my collarbone, warm breath trailing dangerously close to my ear.
At first, I thought it was a dream until a chilling voice broke through. “Son, hurry up and strip that little tramp! I’ve got the phone all setup.”
Something in my head exploded.
I jolted awake instantly, eyes wide, heart racing.
What I saw left me completely frozen.
Bailey was on top of me, panting heavily, his disgusting breath hot against my neck as his filthy hands roamed my body.
Not far away, Cassandra stood grinning like a demon, holding her phone up high and filming.
