3: 3
3
I raised an eyebrow, quickly piecing together what was happening.
I turned to look at Yolanda.
The moment she heard those voices, the color drained from her face, and she started shaking uncontrollably.
I called for the butler.
"Let them in."
"My parents aren't home right now. Whatever they've got to say, they can say it to me."
The ones who came through the door were an old woman who looked to be somewhere in her seventies or eighties, and a middle-aged couple in their fifties.
The second they stepped inside, all three of them kept sweeping their eyes around the living room.
"Oh my Lord, they're rich, aren't they? Everything's gold-plated. Is this a palace or something?"
"So the TV wasn't lying. Rich folks in the city really are different from us country people. Probably eat lobster and abalone every single day."
"That little money-drain, that cheap thing. Looks like she really did turn into a golden goose and land herself the good life."
When she spotted Yolanda, the old woman leading them lit up inside.
"Oh, Yolanda, Grandma finally found you. You have no idea how much your mom and dad and I have suffered getting here."
"Grandma's missed you to death these past few days. Come here, let Grandma get a good look at you."
Without any change in my expression, I stepped in front of Yolanda.
"Say what you came to say. Keep your hands to yourself."
Maybe she decided I wasn't worth the trouble, because the old woman sullenly pulled her hand back.
"Fine, since you want me to say it, I will."
"Yolanda's back with you now, but the Butler family raised her for fifteen years, and that's a real fact. You just take her away like that? Doesn't seem right, does it?"
"All these years she ate our food, drank at our expense. You ought to give us some compensation for that, don't you think?"
"Here's the deal. I won't ask for much. You give us three million and we'll call it even. A family this rich, surely you wouldn't grudge that?"
I looked at the middle-aged couple behind her.
"And you two? Is that what you think as well?"
Probably thinking I was about to agree, the couple's faces brightened.
"Yes, yes, yes. In our family, Ma makes the decisions. Whatever she says goes. We do as she tells us."
"But three million isn't enough. You've got to add to it. Five million!"
Hearing that, Yolanda, who had been too frightened to make a sound, panicked at once.
"I... I'm not worth that much money. Ursula, don't agree to it."
The old woman's face shifted, terrified the duck in her mouth was about to fly off.
"You little wretch! An ungrateful animal we could never tame. You're deliberately trying to make life hard for the Butler family, aren't you?"
"You enjoyed fifteen years of good living in the Butler house. What gives you the right to not pay us a cent!"
"Everybody in the whole village knows you're a Butler child. If we don't get money today, you're coming back to Brook Hollow with me!"
Yolanda's voice trembled with fear, but she still worked up her courage.
"All right. I'll go back with you."
"Ursula is my sister. She's young. Don't give her a hard time."
Yolanda was about to walk toward the three Butlers when Leslie grabbed her by the arm.
"Can you not play the fragile little flower right now? Can you not read the room?"
"Your sister is standing up for you. If you can't help, then at least don't drag her down, all right?"
When Leslie grabbed her arm, I didn't miss the pain she was fighting so hard to hold back in her eyes.
I narrowed my eyes, walked over to Yolanda, and pushed up her sleeve.
At the sight of the scars piled layer upon layer on Yolanda's arm, not just me, but even Leslie sucked in a sharp breath.
Holding Yolanda's arm, I turned to the three Butlers.
"So this is what you meant."
"Fifteen years of good living?"
