Chapter 45 Humiliation »
Seeing that Janet was dead serious, the maid went into the house and told Fiona about what Janet had said. “Did she really say that?” Fiona was enjoying her strawberries.
Her hand stilled when she heard that. Her gentle face reddened with rage. She looked at Bernie, who was sitting next to her. “Janet has gone too far. How could she talk to her parents this way? After all, we adopted her.
Although she is not close to us, I wish she at least showed us some grat*itude for the things we have done for her. Do you remember what I said back then? Your parents insisted on letting us adopt her. It was unnecessary, wasn’t it? Look at what trouble it has brought us. Now, she is blackmailing us. What do you think we should do?”
The memories of the past made Fiona hate Janet even more. She pulled a tissue from the box and wiped her tears. Seeing Fiona cry again, Bernie shook his head helplessly. “No, Janet is not that kind of a person. She would never do that. It was all your fault. Why didn’t you just give her the money as promised? None of this would have happened if you hadn’t gone back on your word.” Fiona dramatically cupped her face and wailed loudly.
“Jocelyn is our biological daughter — our flesh and blood. Doesn’t she need money to live on in the future? We have raised Janet all these years, and for what? Her marriage with Ethan is a way of repaying us for raising her all these years. It seems fair. Why is she still coming here and making trouble?” On the one hand, she was resentful, and on the other hand, she was terrified that Janet would reveal the secret that she had married Ethan as Jocelyn’s subst*itute.
Jocelyn was Fiona’s precious daughter — the true heir of the Lind family. She was far superior to an adopted child like Janet. If Ethan knew that he wasn’t married to Jocelyn, he would undoubtedly make trouble. Fiona had met Ethan — the man looked cruel. Judging from his appearance, she knew he was not someone to be trifled with.
Moreover, he had the strong support of the Lester family. Although Ethan was just an illegitimate son of the Lester family, the Lind family still couldn’t afford to offend him. Bernie picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of tea. His face darkened. “Janet just wants money. How about we give her some money to calm her down. It’s not like we don’t have any.” Fiona wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and the jade bracelet on her wrist jingled. She looked at him and reluctantly nodded.
She was unwilling to give Janet even a penny. Her heart sank at the thought of giving her money. Fiona went upstairs with her phone. In a fit of anger, she called Janet.
“Janet! You’ve gone too far this time. Are you going to fall out with your family for money? We have raised you all these years. How could you turn into such a selfish woman? Are you really going to f0rce your parents this way?” She scolded Janet, venting out the resentment that had accumulated in her heart over the years. Janet had become immune to Fiona’s hatred and maltreatment.
“Where is the money?” she asked coldly. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll tell the truth to Ethan right away.” Fiona’s anger reached its peak. She tried her best to control herself and said, “We have tried our best to raise money for you. I don’t have money. I’ll ask the maid to give you some things later. You can use them to meet your expenses. Janet was standing at the door of the Lind family’s villa. After a while, the maid came out with several bags and threw them at her.
“Take these and get out!” The door of the villa slammed shut. Squatting on the ground, Janet rummaged through the bags. Inside were old-fashioned, outdated jewelry, used expensive clothes, and second-hand bags. “Are you collecting scraps? There are a few paper boxes in our house. You can take them too.” The woman living next door glanced at Janet as she entered her house.
“No, thank you.” Janet smiled bitterly. Fiona didn’t want to give her money, so she insulted her by treating her like a beggar. Janet picked up the bags and slowly walked out of the villa. It wasn’t the first time Fiona had humiliated her. She could sell these second-hand goods and get money. It was better than going home empty-handed. However, even so, the money would probably be less than one-fifth the fee for Hannah’s liver transplant operation.