Aunt Natalie,\u201d Scarlet greeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re back, Scarlet.\u201d Natalie Lunsford\u2019s hands were dusted white with flour, as if she had been kneading dough. She awkwardly wiped her hands on her stained apron and hurriedly stepped aside. \u201cCome in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t be coming in today.\u201d Scarlet remained standing at the doorway. \u201cI came to let you know that this property was left to me by my parents. I\u2019ve decided to reclaim it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie was about to speak when Scarlet continued, \u201cYou and Uncle Ralph should get another place and move out as soon as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie began to cry. \u201cYou know how things are for me right now, Scarlet. My back hurts so much that I can hardly sit. I know how much longer I can keep working this job.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne month\u2019s pay is barely enough for the household. I still have to cover Morris\u2018 college expenses. The living costs there are high. Three thousand dollars a month isn\u2019t nearly enough. And your uncle is no help. I\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet\u2019s expression betrayed little emotion as she looked at Natalie. \u201cI\u2019ve heard this all before. I\u2019ve been considerate. Otherwise, I would\u2019ve reclaimed this house three years ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re driving us into a dead end, Scarlet!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are plenty of people in the city without a house. They survive just fine. Do you think you wouldn\u2019t have made it this far if you hadn\u2019t moved in here all those years ago?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d Ralph Stanton stormed out of the house just then, jabbed a finger at Scarlet, and began his tirade. \u201cI\u2019ve never come across anyone as ungrateful as you! If we hadn\u2019t raised you when your parents passed away, who the hell knows where you\u2019d be?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cForget gratitude\u2013you live with a rich husband in a fancy house and drive luxury cars. You don\u2019t give a damn about us. Yet, you still come back here demanding more. Your husband\u2019s loaded and owns tons of properties. Isn\u2019t that enough for you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re talking about raising me for a few months and then dumping me into foster care to claim my family\u2019s property,\u201d Scarlet started, \u201cthen I\u2019ve got nothing to thank you for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean, your family\u2019s property? We\u2019ve lived here for years! What the hell does it have to do with you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop arguing\u2026\u201d Natalie tried to hold Ralph back, only for him to shove her aside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice boomed with such force that it echoed throughout the building. \u201cDon\u2019t think I won\u2019t lay a hand on you just because- you\u2019ve got someone backing you up! Get the hell out of here! You\u2019re nothing but bad luck. Your parents died because of you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His last sentence made Scarlet\u2019s expression go cold. She wasn\u2019t going to continue wasting her breath on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have one week. If you don\u2019t move out by then, I\u2019ll pursue legal action.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie wiped her tears away. \u201cDo you really have to do this, Scarlet?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor fuck\u2019s sake, stop crying! Get the hell out of my way. You\u2019re killing the mood!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ralph shoved Natalie aside and planted himself at the doorway. He screamed at Scarlet, \u201cWho do you think you\u2019re scaring? Just because you say the house is yours doesn\u2019t mean it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the law just fine. I consulted a lawyer. If you want this property back, you\u2019ll need to prove that you\u2019re Ethan and Gwen\u2019s daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir daughter went missing ages ago. The police have it on record. You\u2019re just an orphan who happens to share the same. name. Who\u2019s going to back you up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
BC.GAME\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 59\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had nothing to fear. After all, with Scarlet\u2019s parents dying young, he had occupied the property for nearly two decades. No one had the power to wrest it from him now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet knew Ralph lacked a sense of shame, but she hadn\u2019t realized his brazenness ran this deep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back when he and Natalie first got together, he had seemed mild\u2013mannered and well\u2013spoken. Many dismissed him as nothing but a pretty face. Even her grandmother had been against the marriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But love blinded Natalie. She had a falling out with her family and ran away with him. No one could have guessed that the pale, scholarly man was, in truth, a shameless brute.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The face often reflected the heart. Years later, Ralph, now a middle\u2013aged man, developed a fleshy face. His features were downright unpleasant to look at.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet stood calm and composed before him. \u201cThe Cooper family\u2019s adoption of Ethan Benson\u2019s orphaned daughter was covered by the news. The Coopers are proof enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was ages ago. Who\u2019s to say they didn\u2019t adopt some random kid to pass her off as Ethan Benson\u2019s daughter? Besides, the Coopers were hyping things up for publicity. Do you think publicity counts as evidence? Take it to court and see if the judge agrees!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet smiled. \u201cThat\u2019s fine. If the judge doesn\u2019t accept news reports, they\u2019ll surely accept the results of a paternity test.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you take me for a toddler? Your parents have been dead for nearly 20 years. Are you planning to do a paternity test with ghosts?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aunt Natalie,\u201d Scarlet greeted.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re back, Scarlet.\u201d Natalie Lunsford\u2019s hands were dusted white with flour, as if she had been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-end-of-the-contractstart-of-his-obsession"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13536\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}