1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t your lawyer tell you that even if my parents are gone, my identity can still be confirmed through the DNA of other relatives, like Aunt Natalie?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ralph clearly had no idea how any of this worked. He turned and glared at Natalie. \u201cShe wouldn\u2019t dare!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to glare at her. Even if she won\u2019t agree to a DNA test to prove it, it doesn\u2019t matter. My parents were murdered back then, and the case was never solved. Their DNA profiles are still on file with the police.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Scarlet could even finish speaking, Ralph\u2019s expression had already changed. He could argue, he could try to control Natalie\u2013but the police database? There was no way he could touch that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet said, word by word, \u201cMy father was Ethan Benson, my mother was Gwen Lunsford, and I am Scarlet Benson. This was our house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ralph, stubborn and defensive, snapped, \u201cWho do you think you\u2019re scaring? I\u2019ve lived here for 20 years. Do you really think I\u2019m just going to pack up because you say so? Go ahead and sue me if you dare!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to take this to court, that\u2019s fine by me,\u201d she replied. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the house. My parents had at least a few hundred thousand in their accounts. Where\u2019s that money now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that, Ralph\u2019s eyes darted away for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie said, \u201cRalph was trading stocks\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He lost everything in the market. Scarlet had already guessed as much. Back then, Ralph had been obsessed with trading, even though he knew nothing about stocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shot Natalie a glare, signaling her to shut up. \u201cSays who? I could say you owe me five million dollars.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, my dad still had three cars under his name, along with stocks, investments, and those savings. Altogether, they were worth at least a million dollars. We\u2019ll calculate inflation and investment gains as well, and you\u2019ll be required to return\u00a0<\/p>\n
every cent of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet added, \u201cAnd by the way, you deliberately abandoned a minor. I\u2019m sure the judge will consider whether your actions\u00a0<\/p>\n
constituted a crime.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie, whether panicking or feeling a sudden pang of conscience, quickly said, \u201cWe\u2019ll move out!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Ralph wasn\u2019t having it. \u201cMove if you want. I\u2019m not going anywhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie snapped, \u201cDo you want to go to jail?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His expression darkened, and he finally shut his mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cScarlet,\u201d Natalie pleaded again, \u201cwe\u2019re family. Do we really have to go this far?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have any family left,\u201d Scarlet said. \u201cOne week. Don\u2019t forget.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she turned to leave, she could still hear Ralph cursing behind her. \u201cShe\u2019s in such a rush to get the house back\u20131 bet that rich family straight\u2013up kicked her to the curb! She\u2019s nothing but a liability. I would\u2019ve gotten rid of her, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet\u2019s paternal grandparents had passed away before she was born. Her maternal grandmother had doted on her when she was little. But soon after, Natalie\u2019s actions triggered a heart attack that took her grandmother\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Scarlet\u2019s parents died, Natalie was the only relative Scarlet had left. Natalie\u2019s family of three had rushed over from another city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet still remembered Natalie holding her tightly, tears streaming down her face. She told her, \u201cI\u2019ll take care of you, just like your mom would have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
BC.GAME\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 60\u00a0<\/p>\n
712\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her cousin, Morris Stanton, was just born at the time. Soon after, the three of them moved into the Benson family\u2019s big home in Laurel Heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first, Natalie really did her best. In those early days, Scarlet\u2019s nightmares woke her often, but Natalie was always there, sleeping beside her. She would place her baby, still swaddled, on one side and hold Scarlet on the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The good times didn\u2019t last long. Natalie had just had a baby and now had two children to look after, which meant she couldn\u2019t work. With Ralph\u2019s paycheck supporting all four of them, money became tight fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earn $100 Free\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t your lawyer tell you that even if my parents are gone, my identity can still be confirmed through […]<\/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-13537","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\/13537","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=13537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13537\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}