Chapter 311 – "Financial Drain"
The phone call completely ruined her good mood. After getting out of the bath tub, Lorena lay on the bed, uncertain of what to do next. She couldn’t live like this forever. The Colton family had indeed given her lots of money, but no matter how much money she had, she’d use them all up someday. It was clear to her that with her current lifestyle, she’d burn through all her money up sooner or later.
“I have to find a job.” She got up from the bed, determined to go through with her decision. Truthfully, she didn’t like to work, but she couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.
Without the Colton family’s support, she had neither background nor resources. She thought about her situation carefully. She was already in her twenties, but she didn’t have any savings to support herself and she didn’t even have something she could call her strength.
Even when she was in the Colton Group before, she seldom did any real job. All she did was chat with the other employees or play video games inside her office. Because she was the daughter of the Colton family, nobody was bold enough to speak ill of her. But now, she had lost her identity as the Colton family’s daughter. Nobody would even want her for an interview. Aside from that, the Coltons bought her diploma for her because she didn’t study one day back when she was in college. The more she thought about her situation, the more it annoyed her. Thereafter, she rolled on the bed and sighed.
“Forget it! I still have some money left. I’ll just enjoy myself for a little while longer before I think of how to make some more money,” she muttered to herself.
*******
After the phone call, Joel stood up from the sofa and asked, “What did she say? Is she coming home?”
“She said that the money was hers and told us to leave her alone,” Elisa replied impatiently.
“She’s staying at an expensive hotel. Doesn’t she have any idea how we’re doing here?” Joel scratched his sunken cheek and grunted, “Since she doesn’t want to come home, I’ll move there. Mom, call her and ask her to get me a room, too.” Hesitantly, Elisa replied, “She’s not easy to get along with. She doesn’t even listen to me, for God’s sake! Just drop it. As long as she can take care of herself.”
Joel pursed his lips, sat back down on the sofa, and rubbed his chin while contemplating. His sister must be very rich. He had heard that the Colton family was very rich.
Even though Lorena didn’t tell them how much money she had, he believed that the Coltons had given her tons of money before kicking her out. In addition to that, he had been following Lorena around these past few days. She was staying at a five-star hotel, eating at high-end restaurants, and shopping like crazy in luxury brand stores.
Joel felt envious. What a selfish bitch! She had so much money, and yet she didn’t want to give them a single penny. He rolled his eyes and shouted at Elisa while the latter was cooking in the kitchen, “Mom, I’m going out to eat with my friend. Don’t wait up.”
Elisa didn’t stop him. She had only this one son and she had always spoiled him.
*******
By the time Joel got home, it was already midnight. Upon hearing the noise coming from the front door, Elisa got up and turned on the light to get a good look at him.
“Why didn’t you even call to let us know that you’d be coming home this late?” she complained.
The smells of cigarettes and alcohol were apparent on Joel, and his eyes were bloodshot. He didn’t act as arrogantly as before, and panic could be seen on his face. He grabbed his hair and desperately stammered, “M-mom, what should I do?”
The look on his face frightened Elisa. She embraced him and asked, “What happened, honey?”
Joel looked up at her and spoke in a choked voice.
“I… I owe a huge debt of one million, and I have to pay it right away. The creditors said that if I can’t pay them back in three days, they’ll kill me!”
Elisa was so shocked that she felt as if a bolt of lightning had flown out of the heavens and hit her squarely in the chest. One million? They couldn‘t afford so much money!
“You bastard! Did you gamble at the casino again?” Gino had also heard these words. He came out of the room with a pipe in his hand. His face turned scarlet with fury. He landed two hard blows to Joel‘s head and said, “You‘ bastard! How could I raise such a failure like you?”
Elisa rushed to Joel to protect him. “Why hit him so hard? We only have one son!” Gino clenched the pipe in his hand and said,
“Well, now that he has landed himself in such serious debt, what are we going to do?”
Elisa wiped her tears away and complained, “You like drinking and gambling yourself. You are no better than him!”
“The point is that we don‘t have so much money now. You two might as well take my life to pay them!” Gino was exasperated and his face darkened. One million was indeed a huge sum of money for them. Holding Elisa desperately, Joel said, “Mom, we can go to Lorena! She definitely has the money!”
*******
Lorena was busy playing games quite late that night, when she received a call from the hotel receptionist informing her that her parents and her brother were making a scene in the hotel lobby.
Initially, Lorena didn‘t even want to give them any thought or consideration, but in the end, she decided to go downstairs. She didn‘t want to be embarrassed by them.
As soon as Elisa saw Lorena, she fell to her knees before her with Joel.
“Lorena, your brother gambled away a huge sum of money and now he owes the creditor one million. Can you give us some money to pay them? We will pay you back when your father‘s shop starts to make a profit!” Elisa pleaded, cutting to the chase.
Lorena‘s first reaction was to turn around and run away from this mortifying situation. It was so humiliating. She wanted to dig a hole to bury herself in it. She had no desire to give them even one penny. The money she received from the Colton family was for her to live her life. Lorena had never cared about this so–call brother of hers after all. His life or death had nothing to do with her.
“Lorena, please! Joel is your brother!” Gino sighed and almost knelt down to beg her as well. Fortunately, it was very late at night and there were very few guests in the reception area.
Lorena glanced around and found that all the hotel staff were staring at her expectantly. waiting to see what she would say. Lorena was so frustrated that she had no choice but to agree.
“I will only help you this one time. And you have to pay me my money back!”
The Colton family had given her a total amount of three million dollars. After these days she had spent at the hotel, she had roughly two million dollars left. If she gave Joel one million to pay the debts, she would still have one million for herself.
After weighing the pros and cons, Lorena wrote a check and handed it to Joel. She hoped the money could drive them away forever and she could be free of them. Now that he had the money in his hand, Joel stopped crying immediately and even burst into laughter. At last, he left happily with his parents.
*******
Lorena had thought it was over. But a few days later, Joel came to her again with Elisa.
“Interest has accrued, the debt collector said we need to pay him more money than just the principal sum of one million.”
Joel knelt down in front of Lorena pitifully. He didn‘t seem to find begging on his knees humiliating or degrading in the least bit. In fact, he didn‘t owe any debts at all. He had taken one million and spent it on sleeping with hookers and on purchasing himself a few luxury items.
In a matter of just a few days, he had spent all the money Lorena had given him. He knew that Lorena still had money, so he had even hired some friends to play debt collectors and come and threaten them at home. As a result, Gino and Elisa were so scared that they didn‘t dare to go out at all. Under the persuasion of Joel, they came to borrow money from Lorena again.
“No way! You haven‘t paid me back the one million you have borrowed yet!” Lorena was so livid that she wanted to curse. She felt that she was really unlucky. Why did she have such a brother and parents? They were like a gum stuck on the bottom of her shoe that she couldn‘t get rid of at all. Elisa loved her son so much that she would even die for him.
“Are you going to lend us money or not? Lorena, if they kill Joel, I won‘t be able to go on living. How pathetic is my state! My daughter doesn‘t care about me or her brother at all!”
As she rushed to the pillar of the hotel, Elisa shouted, “I might as well die!” Lorena was startled by her. She had never met someone like Elisa before, so she had to compromise.
“Fine! I will give you the money! Stop making a scene here!” She gritted her teeth and wrote him a check for another million. Now she didn‘t have much money left. Plus, she had been staying in the presidential suite of the hotel for the entire month. The cost was very high, so she couldn‘t stay here anymore.
She had to go back to the Scott family‘s shabby apartment. It was a good news for Joel, because he didn‘t have to go to the hotel to ask Lorena for money anymore.
“You need more money? I have given you two million dollars! Isn‘t it enough to pay off your debts?” Lorena was impatient. She really had no money left now.
“How would I know? The creditor said I owe him three million dollars in total. Lorena, write me another check. I need to pay him as soon as possible!” Joel said.
Chapter 312 – When Life Gives You Debt Collectors, Call the Coltons
“You‘re making it look like I owe you money! Now you‘re even asking me to lend you some more?” Lorena was completely dumbfounded.
“You‘ve taken all my money. I have nothing left. Go to someone else!” She was telling the truth. She didn‘t have a penny to her name.
“I don‘t believe you!” Joel shot back. He raised his head and shouted at Elisa, who was in her room, “Mom, Lorena claims to have no money! She just wants us to be killed by the debt collectors!”
Hearing this, Elisa and Gino rushed out of the room at once.
“You told her?” Elisa hissed through gritted teeth. Then, she put on a flattering smile and turned to Lorena.
“Could you just lend Joel some money? We‘re all family anyway, right? You can‘t possibly just watch your brother suffer.”
These people were driving Lorena nuts. She shouted hysterically, “But I really have no money!”
Elisa paused for a few seconds and then said, “Ask the Coltons for some money then. We have to deal with the debt collectors.”
“Why should I help him? He‘s the one in debt, not me!” Lorena sneered.
Elisa was obviously partial to her son. Elisa frowned unhappily. She clicked her tongue and said, “What‘re you talking about? We‘re a family. We share everything, including our troubles.”
They shared troubles? It was obvious that Lorena alone had shouldered all the troubles. “I can‘t go to the Coltons. I‘ve cut ties with them.” Lorena felt too ashamed to go to her former family.
“If Joel can‘t pay off his debt, the debt collectors will never leave us alone! Our lives are in your hands now, Lorena! You have to fix this!” Elisa was done playing nice with Lorena.
“You… You—!” Lorena was speechless. These people were crazy!
*******
In the end, Lorena had no choice but to come crawling back to the Colton family.
After explaining her plight to Joyce and Benjamin, they gave her three million for the sake of their history.
Lorena returned home and begrudgingly handed the check to Joel. “This is the last time I‘m helping you!”
Joel took the check and thanked her with a smile. But things didn‘t end there. Not long after Joel left with the money, he returned home without a penny left. He knelt down in front of Lorena and burst into tears.
Worse yet, he had never paid off his so–called debt. Every day, the creditors would come to threaten them, splashing red paint on their door and walls. Elisa couldn‘t fight them, so she had no choice but to force Lorena to ask the Coltons for money again.
“Lorena! Aren‘t you going to do something about this?” Holding the gas can, Elisa pulled Joel and Gino close to her and said pitifully,
“The three of us will die here today, lest you help us!”
They were threatening her with their lives.
“Stop it. I‘ll go to the Coltons, okay?” Lorena was already a little numb from all this lunacy. She had been living with the Scott family for less than two months and she was already on the verge of losing it.
“Lorena, why have you keep coming back to us for money? Every single time, you would say it‘s the last. What do you take us for?
Your personal ATM machine?” Livid, Joyce smashed a teacup at her feet and roared, “Get out! We won‘t give you a single penny!”
Lorena bit her lip so hard that it bled. She had never seen Joyce so angry before. Clearly, she was sick and tired of her. She ran out of the house crying. Joel had been waiting for her at the gate of the Coltons‘ house.
When he saw her come out, he approached her excitedly. “Give me the money first!”
Lorena glared at him and yelled, “What money? There is no money! The Coltons refused to give me a penny. Figure something out yourself! If you dare to force me again, then let‘s just die together!”
Joel had been living in luxury these days and refused to go back to his old poor life.
Seeing that Lorena didn‘t get any money, he came up with a bold idea. “You have a sister named Rachel, right?” He thought since it was so easy to control Lorena, it wouldn‘t be hard to control her sister.
“Let‘s find a way to get nude photos of her. We can blackmail her with the lewd photos until she gives us money. What do you think?” Without Lorena, there was no way Joel could get in touch with Rachel.
Therefore, he had no choice but to include this stupid woman in his plans. The anger in Lorena‘s eyes dimmed somewhat. She looked around to see if there was anyone else listening and then said in a low voice, “What do you want me to do?”
Joel was a little taken aback. He had thought that he would have to force her to do what he said. He didn‘t expect that she‘d agree so readily.
These days, the Scott family was a nightmare to Lorena. Every morning she woke up, she‘d pray that Joel wouldn‘t come asking for money again. Elisa and Gino kept threatening her with suicide every day, which took a toll on her mental health. She was on the verge of breaking down. She didn‘t want to deal with these psychos anymore. She had never met lunatics like the Scott family in her life.
And she never would‘ve met them if it weren‘t for Rachel. Rachel was the cause of all her suffering. Her misery and misfortune were all caused by her! So when Joel proposed that they blackmail Rachel, she agreed without hesitation.
How come Rachel got to enjoy the perfect life of being the daughter of the Colton family while she had to endure such a misery with the Scott family?
“Well? What do you have in mind?” Lorena was in no mood to waste time. She just wanted Joel to target Rachel instead of her. Joel didn‘t expect that she would be so excited about this. When he got over his initial surprise, he chuckled and said, “You have to ask her out. I‘ll ask someone to take care of the rest.”
Without hesitation, Lorena took out her phone and called Rachel. However, the call never connected.
“What happened? Why isn‘t she answering your calls?” Joel‘s smug smile instantly disappeared. Lorena grew anxious, too. She had tried to hurt Rachel several times now. It made sense that Rachel was on guard against her.
“Let me try one more time.” Lorena kept dialing Rachel‘s number. She didn‘t get through to Rachel until the tenth try.
“What do you want?” Rachel asked coldly.
All of a sudden, Lorena burst into tears. “Rachel, finally! You answered my call. I just wanted to apologize for everything I’ve done. It wasn‘t until I joined the Scott family that I realized how nice you were to me.”
“Oh,” Rachel said emotionlessly.
“Anything else?”
“No, no… But I‘d like to apologize to you in person. How about we have a meal together? I‘ve done so many terrible things but I never apologized properly to you. I have to do it in person, or else I‘ll never forgive myself!” Lorena spoke as sincerely as she could.
Rachel fell silent.
This wasn‘t her first rodeo with Lorena. She doubted Lorena had pure intentions. Just as she was about to refuse, Dominic covered the phone. She looked at him in confusion. He whispered in her ear, “Agree to meet her. I want to see what trick she‘s playing.”
Dominic‘s eyes were cold as ice. He had no sympathy for Lorena. In his eyes, she was nothing but trouble. He could seize this as an opportunity to get her out of the picture permanently.
Rachel nodded. Then, she sighed into the phone with flourish, pretending to be helpless. “Fine. We were once a family, so we should talk this out.”
Lorena grew excited. She paused for a few seconds and replied, “Okay. Let‘s meet up at the steakhouse at Glenroy Street tomorrow at 10.”
The following day, Rachel arrived at the steakhouse on time. Before she got off the car, Dominic cupped her cheeks and kissed her.
“Act natural. If anything suspicious happens, text me. I‘ve stationed my men here, so you‘ll be safe.”
Rachel was left breathless from the deep kiss.
She pinched Dominic‘s cheek and smiled shyly “I‘m not a child anymore. I can handle this. I‘ll get going now, okay?” Glenroy Street was an old and remote block.
There was only one restaurant here—the steakhouse Lorena mentioned. It wasn‘t a particularly clean restaurant. There were all sorts of bugs and flies all over the place.
In the restaurant sat a group of tough–looking men with tattoos covering their arms. With toothpicks in their mouths, they looked just like a bunch of hooligans.
As soon as Rachel stepped foot inside the steakhouse, they all turned to look at her with eager eyes. Lorena stood up and waved at her from the table near the door.
Chapter 313 – Charlene's Chess Moves: A Dangerous Game
“Rachel, over here!”
Rachel nodded in greeting. They hadn‘t seen each other for over a month. Lorena had lost a lot of weight. Her makeup was not as pristine as before, and her eyes were full of undisguised fatigue.
“I know several good cafes in the area. How about we talk there?” Rachel suggested, glancing at the men from the corner of her eye.
“This place is owned by a friend of Joel. I don‘t have that much money now, so I could only afford the food here,” Lorena explained with a smile.
“Oh, Joel‘s my brother.” Left with no choice, Rachel sat down at the table. The restaurant was empty other than the group of men.
There were barely any people outside, too. This was clearly a place for doing illegal stuff. The staff soon brought them two plates of steak.
Lorena pushed one of them in front of Rachel and said, “Try it. I like their food.”
As she spoke, she glanced meaningfully at the man who had served the steak just now. She knew that Joel and his friends were hiding in the kitchen. With Dominic guarding outside, Rachel wasn‘t afraid at all. She sliced a piece of her steak and put it in her mouth.
Suddenly, Joel burst out of the kitchen, holding a stick and some ropes, followed by a group of thugs. However, before they could even get close to Rachel, a group of men in black swarmed inside the restaurant. In a matter of seconds, the men in black quickly subdued Joel and his friends. Lorena was shocked. She stood up from the table and shouted, “Who the hell are you? I‘m calling 911!”
Rachel continued to eat her steak calmly. The steak here was pretty good; she had to give Lorena that.
Dominic, who was wearing a dark brown windbreaker today, strode in. He sat next to Rachel, took out a handkerchief, and handed it to her.
“Honey, it’s time to go.”
Taking the handkerchief, Rachel folded it neatly and wiped her lips. She glanced indifferently at the panic–stricken Lorena and said, “Okay. Let‘s go, honey.”
********
Lorena and the others were all captured for interrogation.
“Please let me go, Braden! I was just trying to apologize to Rachel!”
Inside the cold interrogation room, Lorena was scared out of her wits and kept defending herself hysterically. Joel was also tied to a electric chair. He was so scared that he wet his pants. He tried to explain stiffly, “I… My friends and I were just curious to see what Rachel Colton looked like. We never intended to hurt her!”
“So what were the ropes and sticks for?” Dominic‘s men didn‘t want to waste time listening to his measly excuses and flipped a switch. The chair sent bolts of electricity through Joel‘s body. Very quickly, the interrogation room was filled with screams.
Neither Joel nor Lorena had been tortured before. They confessed everything after only a short while. In the room behind the steakhouse, Dominic‘s men found cameras and all kinds of aphrodisiac drugs. Obviously, they were meant for Rachel.
“They confessed. It‘s all in this video. How do you want to do this?” Dominic slid the flash drive in front of Rachel.
“I couldn‘t care less about Joel, but I know that my parents still care about Lorena. I want to talk to them first.” Rachel was hesitant.
She didn‘t think it was a good idea to put Lorena behind bars without consulting her parents first.
Upon hearing this, Dominic‘s expression darkened. He reached for Rachel‘s hand and said softly but firmly, “I respect that, but you shouldn‘t be asking your parents for their opinion. You should just be informing them about what Lorena has done. I‘m not going to let her go this time, honey.”
Unlike Rachel, Dominic wasn‘t as indecisive. He sent the video directly to the Coltons. When Joyce watched the video, she was furious.
“I raised her for twenty years, but this is what I get in return? A criminal? How dare she do something like this?!” Even Benjamin gave up on his former daughter completely. What she had done this time was simply too despicable for words. He rubbed his temples and sighed, “Do whatever you want with her. She has to be punished. She is no longer a member of the Colton family. Whatever she has done has nothing to do with us.”
After Joel and Lorena were brought to court, they were sentenced to jail. The Scott family was poor, so they couldn‘t hire a good lawyer for Lorena and Joel. And even if they did have the money, they had offended Braden Porter. No lawyer in Meadowview would be willing to take their case.
As if that wasn‘t bad enough, the Scott family‘s small grocery store was in shambles. A group of thugs kept showing up at the store and made a scene, which forced them to shut down the business. Gino and Elisa couldn‘t get Joel out of prison and had no means of livelihood in Meadowview.
*******
Unbeknownst to everyone, Charlene had been living in Meadowview this whole time. Even her parents thought that she was traveling abroad. She hadn‘t made any moves lately.
After all, Dominic had almost found her out after the parachute incident. Luckily, she reacted quickly to get rid of Lorena‘s coach in time. Although the woman didn‘t die in the end, she could never talk again as a vegetable. Now, she knew she had to lie low. But lying low didn‘t mean she couldn‘t keep a close eye on Dominic‘s and Rachel‘s movements.
What had unfolded recently was really interesting. It never occurred to Charlene that Lorena would be expelled from the Colton family so soon. She had been the Coltons‘ daughter for over twenty years after all. What surprised her more was that very soon after Lorena joined the Scott family, she conspired against Rachel with her brother.
And now, Dominic had put the two siblings behind bars for good. Charlene had no pawns left. She had never thought that Lorena would be this stupid. If she had continued to work with her, she might‘ve gotten her own ass in trouble, too. Joel, on the other hand, had piqued Charlene‘s interest. He looked like a reckless fool who would do anything for money. Charlene felt that she had found a new pawn. At first, she had had no hope for the Scotts, but now it seemed it was necessary for her to drop by Meadowview‘ Prison.
In Meadowview‘ Prison There were a few people on the open–air training grounds. The prison guards each wielded an electric baton, and the sound of their leather boots stepping on the ground was particularly heavy. The prisoners were all dressed in orange jumpsuits. They would look at the dazzling sky, but the serious glares of the prison guards would soon force them to lower their heads.
Joel‘s hair had been shaved to a buzz cut. A bulky man stood behind him, constantly rubbing his bald head with a smug smile.
“This guy‘s head is like a pickled egg!”
Hearing this, the inmates around all burst into laughter. The bulky man gave a signal, and several inmates moved to block the sight of the prison guards, while others dragged Joel into a cramped corner.
“Take off your pants!” A man with a tattoo of a scorpion on his face shoved Joel to the corner and stepped on his bald head.
“You should know what‘s good for you.” Of course this prison was full of criminals–some of which were gay. Joel‘s face fell in horror. Even though he grew up in a poor family, Elisa had always spoiled him. He couldn‘t even stand working in the laundry, let alone being bullied like this.
“Please don‘t do this. Please… Just let me go…” Joel fell to his knees and burst into tears, snot running down his nose. He had never been humiliated like this in his whole life. The prisoners turned a deaf ear to his pleas and began to take off their pants.
Just then, a prison guard shouted in the distance, “Joel Scott? You have a visitor!”
Joel bolted towards the visitation area as though his life depended on it. He thought that his parents had come to visit, so on his way there, he started to think of ways to force them to get him out. However, when he saw the beautiful short–haired woman sitting on the opposite side of the glass, he was confused. He picked up the phone and asked, “Who are you? Where‘re my parents?”
With a smile on her face, Charlene spoke into the receiver in a casual tone.
“I‘m a… ‘friend‘ of Rachel. I came here on her behalf to see how you were doing.” Joel‘s expression instantly hardened and he was about to hang up the phone. By now, he knew better than to mess with Rachel and her husband.
“Wait, don‘t go so fast, you poor fool. Look at yourself. You‘ve offended the Coltons. Count yourself lucky they didn‘t take your life.”
With contempt in her eyes, Charlene continued to jeer at Joel.
“You fucking bitch! Say one more word and I‘ll skin you alive!” Joel was so angry that his eyes turned red and he jumped up onto the table. The prison guard next to him immediately subdued him.
“Hey! Get down from there!” Seeing this, Charlene just smiled.
“Rachel has already asked someone to ‘take good care of you in this prison. You stupid idiot, you should really think about who you‘ve offended. I doubt you‘ll make it out of here alive.”
“Fuck you!” Joel was so furious that he smashed the phone against the glass. His hatred towards Rachel and her husband had been festering for a while now.
In his eyes, he had done nothing wrong yet the damned couple had abused their power and put him in jail. Charlene‘s goading made him even more furious. Rachel thought she could do whatever she wanted just because she was the daughter of the Colton family. These rich people could all go to hell!
Seeing that she had successfully pissed Joel off, Charlene put down the phone and left. Joel, on the other hand, was taken back to his cell because of his outburst just now. After going back home, Charlene moved on to the next step. She had secretly pulled some strings and spent a lot of money to get Joel out of prison.
Joel was accused of attempted blackmailing. Although Dominic had found the camera and the aphrodisiac he intended to use, Joel refused to admit that they belonged to him and had shifted the blame to Lorena.
This had made things much easier. Blackmailing was only a small crime and deserved only a light sentence. Charlene knew that the second Joel got out of prison, she wouldn‘t have to lift a finger. Joel would go after Rachel himself.
Ever since that woman‘s visit, Joel had been living a life of fear every day. Whenever he‘d see those menacing men in the distance, he‘d run away. Those men were all tall and strong; violating him would be a piece of cake for them. And as the days passed, he hated Rachel even more.
Chapter 314 – Joel's Wrath Unleashed
What a vindictive woman! It was Lorena who had asked her out to dinner.
She should‘ve taken revenge on her, and only her! “Fuck that bitch! She should go to hell! Fuck!” Joel cursed in a low voice. However, an inmate overheard him.
“Joel Scott! Who the fuck are you cursing? I think someone needs to be taught a lesson…” Joel was a short and thin man—the perfect type of many of the gay inmates, or just bullies.
Joel shrank into the corner, too scared to breathe. Just then, a prison guard strode into his cell and dragged him to his feet.
“Joel Scott, pack up your things. You will be released next week.”
“Are you sure it‘s me, Joel Scott? Not Joel Willy or Joel Smith?” Joel was so shocked that he blurted these things without thinking. He had been in prison for only two months. How could he get out so soon? Clamping his hand over his mouth, he didn‘t dare to say another word. The joy of getting out quickly dispelled his doubts. On the day he was released, no one came to pick him up.
When he returned to the apartment where he and his parents had lived before, he heard from his neighbors that his parents had sold the apartment and moved back to the countryside.
Ever since Joel was put in jail, there had been a group of thugs coming to harass Gino and Elisa every day until they were forced to move.
Joel threw a fit on the spot. He knew that damned bitch Rachel was behind this! With Elisa and Gino gone, Joel had no money and no place to live. He could only turn to his friends.
However, when his friends saw him, they all avoided him as if he was a plague.
“Joel, leave us alone. The Coltons have warned everyone in town that anyone who‘s close to you and your family will be their enemy, too.” Joel was exasperated.
He had nothing now. And it was all because of the fucking Coltons and their fucking daughter.
“You fucking assholes!”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Before he left, he begged his friends for one last favor, “If you see Rachel Colton, call me. That bitch! I will beat the crap out of her!”
“Fine, fine.”
Joel‘s friends were all thugs.
Since Joel wanted to take revenge on Rachel, they were interested in seeing a good show.
Anyway, they had nothing to lose.
*******
Ever since Charlene had managed to get Joel out of prison, she had secretly kept an eye on him.
Somehow, he had gotten the address of the company Rachel worked for. He had lurked outside Grant'd Studio ever since, but he hadn‘t had a chance to make a move.
Charlene couldn‘t wait any longer.
That weekend, she tipped Joel off through his street friends about Rachel‘s whereabouts, who was out shopping with Olive.
While Joel did ask his friends to tell him if Rachel ever showed up, he didn‘t expect the news to come so soon. He had bought a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid to permanently disfigure Rachel‘s face and skin.
Finally, the opportunity to strike came.
After finding out Rachel‘s whereabouts, Joel headed straight to the shopping mall with the bottle of sulfuric acid.
Over the past couple of weeks, things hadn‘t been going too well for Rachel.
What Lorena had done really left a mark on her.
Noticing that Rachel looked a little frustrated, Olive invited her to go shopping that weekend to get her mind off of things.
Olive, who seldom even talked to others, suddenly invited her to hang out, so Rachel found herself unable to refuse.
Compared with Sunhaven, the malls in Meadowview were more accessible and down to earth.
On holidays and even weekends, there would be all kinds of interesting events held in the shopping malls.
As soon as they stepped inside the mall, Rachel saw throngs of people bustling about.
Olive was tall and fashionable, while Rachel was incredibly pretty and petite.
The two women with vastly different styles soon attracted people‘s attention.
Rachel looked around in search of any store she‘d be interested in.
Suddenly, her eyes landed on a man with a sunken face among the crowd. It was Joel.
When did he get out of prison? Before Rachel could figure it out, she saw that Joel was holding a bottle of pale yellow liquid.
He glared at her with a ferocious look, like a wild beast eyeing its prey.
“Bitch, go to hell!” As he spoke, he pushed through the crowd and rushed at Rachel.
But before he could open the bottle of sulfuric acid, a group of men in black suddenly emerged and tackled him to the ground.
Seeing this, the crowd burst into an uproar and scattered like mice. Amidst the chaos, the bottle of sulfuric acid was thrown to the ground and shattered.The liquid made a sizzling sound, steaming in the air and emitting a horrible smell.
“Who the fuck are you? Let go of me, you bastards!” Joel‘s head was forcibly pressed down to the ground by the men in black.
He pounded the floor with his fists and craned his neck to glare at Rachel with hatred. Just then, a man in a grey tracksuit and a black baseball cap emerged from behind the men in black.
With his chin slightly raised, Dominic glanced at his men and said, “Take him away.”
Rachel was still in a state of shock. She walked up to Dominic and asked doubtfully, “I thought Joel was supposed to be in prison? How‘d he get out so soon?”
“Some time ago, a prison guard informed me that he had been released in advance.” When Dominic found out about this, he too was confused. It seemed that someone was taking action behind the scenes.
Dominic didn‘t act on it until now because he knew that there had to be someone powerful behind the curtain.
Besides, whoever was behind Joel‘s release was probably the same person who had orchestrated the parachute incident. He hadn‘t been able to find who this mastermind was, and now, he had the chance.
Thus, Dominic didn‘t take any action but monitored Joel in secret.
As soon as Joel was about to strike again, he caught him.
“Don‘t worry, honey. You can continue shopping with your friend. The bodyguards will protect you.” Dominic‘s expression softened as soon as he was with his wife. He touched Rachel‘s hair gently and then turned around to leave. Still in a daze, Rachel glanced at the bubbling yellow liquid on the ground with lingering fear.
Chapter 315 – Dominic's Fury Unleashed
In the interrogation room, Dominic sat down with his legs crossed, his face hidden under the brim of his cap. His subordinate finished strapping Joel to the electric chair.
Joel roared hoarsely, “Let me go! Let! Me! Go!” His voice and body were trembling.
“Enough with the bullshit. Who helped you get out of prison?” Dominic looked at his subordinate meaningfully, hinting at him to take action.
Joel was no stranger to the horrors of this electric chair and was one again scared out of his wits.
“I don‘t know! When I was still in prison, only one person came to visit me. She said she was Rachel‘s friend and told me that Rachel had hired someone to fuck me up in prison. That‘s all, okay? I don‘t know anything else. Please let me go!”
“I‘ve asked the prison guard. No one has visited you.”
“Do you really think I‘d lie right now? I‘m telling you the truth!” Joel insisted desperately.
Dominic frowned. “Okay, then what did the woman look like?”
“A brunette with shoulder–length hair and dressed in business attire. She looked beautiful, and more importantly, she looked rich. Oh, and there was a mole above her left eyebrow. That‘s all I can tell you.” . Dominic fell silent.
Joel‘s description pointed to one woman–Charlene.
Without saying anything more, Dominic stood up abruptly and left the interrogation room. Now, he understood everything. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together. If Charlene was the mastermind behind everything that had happened, then everything made sense.
Back in Sunhaven where everything started, the only family that was powerful enough to do all those things without leaving a trace was the Palmers. And the Palmer family had some connections in Meadowview as well.
Although it couldn‘t compare to how many connections they had in Sunhaven, money made the world go round. It wouldn‘t have been hard for Charlene to clean up her trail.
Dominic had thought that Charlene would stop after he warned her, but he was wrong. He was ruthless to anyone who crossed the line, even if the culprit was his former classmate and partner.
When Dominic got home, Rachel immediately stood up and approached him.
“Did Joel say anything?” she asked anxiously. Her big, bright eyes were filled with worry. After what had happened today, she lost her appetite for shopping.
She absent–mindedly wandered around the mall with Olive for a while and then went back home empty handed.
“Yes. Somebody helped him get out of jail. It was Charlene.” Dominic shrugged off his coat and put his arm around Rachel‘s shoulders.
“I have to go back to Sunhaven for a few days.” Rachel frowned slightly. Hearing Charlene‘s name, she couldn‘t say she was surprised.
“Does she really hate me that much?” Charlene had tried to destroy her relationship with Dominic, but she had already married Dominic and everyone knew it. It had been so long, Rachel thought that Charlene had given up on Dominic already
“She was never fickle when it came to relationships, but even I never thought she‘d do all these horrible things,” Dominic said in a low voice. The way she tackled her relationships was the same as how she tackled business–she‘d do everything she had to just to achieve her goals.
“You know her well, don‘t you?” Rachel stuck out her lower lip, glancing at Dominic aggrievedly. Then she stopped in her tracks and got frustrated at herself. She was already married to Dominic. Why was she jealous? She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
“You two have known each other a long time. Will you let her go?”
“If she goes unpunished, she‘ll only take it as encouragement to keep going further. You‘ve been in danger so many times. First, the car accident. Then the kidnapping. Maybe she was behind all those. What‘s terrible about all these is that she never has to get her own hands dirty. She uses others to do her dirty work and then they take the fall.” Dominic‘s tone grew gloomy and his eyes darkened.
“She has tried to hurt you too many times. I refuse to let her go so easily.” Enveloped in Dominic‘s arms, Rachel felt the hairs on her neck stand on end.
There was no enmity between her and Charlene, but Charlene had tried to hurt her so many times just to get Dominic back. Dominic packed some documents and flew back to Sunhaven. At the same time, he ordered his men in Meadowview to investigate Joel‘s early release. It turned out that he was right.
Charlene had pulled some strings and got Joel out. Charlene had bribed someone working in the prison to delete the surveillance video of her visit there. Dominic reported it to the police and the police had their best technicians restore the video.
When the footage was restored, they were all sent to Dominic‘s computer. When Dominic‘s private plane landed in Sunhaven, he went straight to the Palmer family with the evidence in tow.
After baiting Joel to the shopping mall, Charlene asked her men to wait in the area. If things went well, Joel should be able to succeed. But things didn‘t go as planned.
Less than an hour had passed when her subordinate called her to report that Joel had been caught and taken away by Dominic and his men.
Upon hearing this, Charlene‘s heart leaped to her throat. She didn‘t say anything and hung up directly. Without a second to lose, she immediately went back to her apartment in Meadowview and began to pack up her things. She had a bad feeling about this and couldn‘t help but tremble in fear as she packed. Why was Dominic in the mall with his men? When she was done packing, she immediately called her father.
“Dad, I‘m heading home. Has anything happened recently?” Charlene hadn‘t called Shane in a long time. Shane was happy to hear from his daughter and said in a cheerful tone, “Nothing much has happened while you were gone. You coming home already?”
“Yeah, I‘ll be back by today. Bye, Dad,” Charlene said with a smile, sighing with relief.
In the Palmer family home in Sunhaven, as soon as Charlene stepped foot inside the house, she found that the atmosphere was depressing. As usual, she tried joking with the servants.
“What‘s going on today? You all look weird!”
The servants smiled awkwardly at her and then busied themselves with their work. Shrugging it off, Charlene turned towards the living room and instantly froze. She saw Dominic sitting on the sofa opposite to Shane, who had a long, gloomy face. All the color drained from Charlene‘s face. She turned around and was about to make a break for it, but was stopped by Dominic‘s men.
“Miss Palmer, please have a seat.” She didn‘t expect that Dominic would go to her father. Biting her lower lip, she sat down next to Shane. Shane didn‘t look so good. Dominic had told him everything.
Dominic laid the evidence neatly on the table. His tone was calm, but his words packed a punch. “Miss Palmer, you‘re much capable than I have known you to be.”
With balled up fists, Charlene didn‘t dare to look in Dominic‘s eyes. She wanted to defend herself, but she stopped on second thought. She knew that she couldn‘t fool Dominic and making excuses for herself would do her no good.
“I… I don‘t know what you are talking about,” Charlene said as calmly as she could manage, lowering her head.
As she spoke, a single teardrop of desperation rolled down her cheek. She now knew that she would never have a chance to be with Dominic. Although she had expected that this might happen, she couldn‘t face it calmly. Dominic had no feelings for her, and she knew this all along.
But she couldn‘t bear for him to know about her vicious side. Perhaps now, after knowing about everything she had done, Dominic could only see her as a vicious woman.
Dominic‘s sharp eyes seemed to pierce into her very soul. “Were you involved in all the incidents that put Rachel‘s life in danger?”
Charlene subconsciously shrank, as though all the strength had left her body.
She smiled bitterly and said in a shaky voice, “Rachel… Rachel doesn‘t deserve you!”
She decided she had nothing to lose and bared her heart in front of Dominic. She still believed that she had planned and handled everything perfectly. Dominic should‘ve never found out it was her! Dominic didn‘t say anything at first. He simply stood up and strode towards her ominously.
All of a sudden, his hands shot out and grabbed Charlene by the neck. His eyes were filled with an anger that Charlene had never seen before. “Say that again, I dare you!”
“Uh! Ah! Dominic—! Let go of me!” Charlene tried to scream but it got stuck in her throat. Her face turned purple from the lack of oxygen. She struggled and kicked, crying
“Dad! Help me! Dad?!”
Dominic was by no means a weak man. He could‘ve snapped Charlene‘s neck without breaking a sweat.
Frightened out of his wits, Shane stood up immediately to protect his daughter.
“Mr. Porter, calm down! Let‘s talk about this!” He tried his best to pull Dominic‘s arm away but in vain. Melanie happened to come downstairs at this time. When she saw this scene, she was so frightened that she screamed. Her usual elegant and easy–going manner vanished instantly.
She rushed to help her daughter and shouted, “Braden, do you know what you‘re doing?! You are not allowed to hurt my daughter in her own home!”
Chapter 316 – "The Art of Self-Destruction"
Dominic‘s eyes flashed dangerously. He tightened his grip around Charlene‘s neck, which cut off Charlene‘s access to oxygen completely. Just when she thought she was going to die, Dominic suddenly threw her to the ground and let her go.
“Ahem!” Writhing on the ground, Charlene covered her neck with her hands and coughed violently. Regardless of her image, Melanie squatted on the ground and patted her daughter on the back anxiously.
She glared at Dominic and roared, “Who do you think you are? Why‘d you do that to Charlene?”
Dominic removed the cuff links on his suit, rolled up his sleeves, and looked down at the two Palmer women with a sneer. “Your daughter has tried to kill my wife on more than one occasion. I thought I went too easy on her just now.”
Melanie glanced at Shane in shock. “What are you talking about? How could my daughter do such a thing?” Melanie had her own career and didn‘t bother too much about her daughter‘s. She never had to worry about the capable Charlene. All she knew was that Charlene had left the Porter Group a while ago. She had thought that this was a good thing, because now Charlene could take over the family business.
Both Melanie and Shane knew that Charlene liked Braden, but they didn‘t know what she had done in order to get him.
“Braden, I‘m warning you. Although Charlene worked under you before, she doesn‘t have to listen to you anymore. I can understand that there might be some problems between you two, but that doesn‘t mean you can hurt my daughter!”
Dominic sneered. He gathered the evidence on the table and looked down at the coughing Charlene, “Since you‘re the daughter of the Palmer family, I can‘t hurt you in your own house. However, if you dare try to hurt my wife again, I will not let you go.”
Charlene‘s face was full of resentment. She gritted her teeth and glared at Dominic defiantly. “I didn‘t do anything wrong. You can‘t blame me for being a bit hot–headed!”
“Are you sure?” Dominic raised his eyebrows and asked in a bone–chillingly cold voice. Looking into his eyes, Charlene paused for a few seconds and suddenly burst into tears.
“We‘ve worked together for years, Dominic! Why don’t you have feelings for me? You fell in love with someone who came after me! Do you really think I‘m not as good as her?”
“Rachel would never do the things you have done,” Dominic said, his voice void of emotion.
His indifference made Charlene cry even harder. She had never cried like this in her entire life.
Since the moment she started working with Dominic, she had never dared to show too much affection for him. She thought a man as mature and put together as Dominic would probably like a woman who was also as decisive and restrained.
“I wouldn‘t have done those things if Rachel never showed up. You left me no choice! Dominic, do you really think you‘re faultless?
I‘ve loved you all these years yet you turned a blind eye to it! You could‘ve just told me that you had no feelings for me, but you always kept me guessing…” Her voice broke as she spoke.
Charlene murmured softly, “How could I get you back if I just sat there and did nothing?”
“I thought not showing you any affection in return was clear enough of a message.” Dominic frowned. “I used to admire you as a capable business partner, but now I have nothing but disgust for you.”
After saying that, Dominic turned around to leave. He didn‘t want to have anything to do with this despicable woman anymore.
When he passed by Shane and Melanie, he shot them a cold glance and warned, “Keep your daughter in line, or else she might end up in a miserable position.”
Then he left.
Melanie had understood what was going on.
Heaving a long sigh, she helped up the crying Charlene and shook her head.
“You’ve always been a smart girl, Charlene. How could your judgment get so muddy this time? And why are you so hung up on that man? There are plenty of other fish in the sea.”
Melanie first thought that the reason why Charlene went to work in the Porter Group was that she liked Braden.
However, as the Porter Group developed, she started to believe Charlene chose to stay there because she saw potential in the company, not because she liked Braden.
As an experienced woman, Melanie knew that any woman who valued love more than her own career and even life would come to no good end.
Charlene burst into tears. She shook her head and cried, “He‘s the only man I‘ve ever loved. I won‘t be happy if I can‘t have him. And if I can‘t have him, neither can anyone else!”
Melanie sighed and shook her head helplessly.
Words of reason would do no help.
Charlene had always been a stubborn girl. She would stop at nothing if she had set her mind to it.
“If that‘s the way it‘s going to be, then you have to at least protect yourself. You know how powerful Braden is. If he really wants to hurt you, no one can stop him. I defended you earlier because I was afraid that he would hurt you. But if we really fought against the Porter Group, both sides would suffer great losses. Your father and I have worked hard all our lives for the Palmer Group. Are you going to throw away our lives‘ work just because you love that man?”
Melanie sighed helplessly and handed her daughter a tissue. She tried to talk some sense into her daughter, hoping the latter would see the light.
Charlene still had a bright future ahead of her. It wasn‘t worth it to ruin her life over a man.
What‘s more, the way Braden looked at her just now–his eyes were simply full of disgust.
It was the stupidest thing in the world to try to win the heart of a man who hated you.
Charlene fell silent and wiped away her tears.
No one knew what she was thinking at that moment.
After confronting the Palmers, Dominic returned to Meadowview. He reported to the police that Charlene had pulled some strings to get Joel out of jail, and had even sent them all the evidence to prove it.
But since there was no evidence tying Charlene to all her other crimes, there was nothing Dominic could do.
Because Charlene had paid for Joel‘s bail, the matter wasn‘t too serious. It didn‘t take much effort for the Palmer family to get Charlene out of this mess.
When everything was settled, Shane spoke to Charlene seriously.
“Don‘t go near Meadowview again and just stay at home.”
He didn‘t want the company‘s interests to be affected because of his daughter‘s selfish acts.
Although he loved his daughter very much, he knew what was more important.
Charlene‘s bare, haggard face was pale and tired. She leaned back against the sofa and waved her hand dismissively.
“I know. Now that Dominic has figured it all out, I can‘t do anything anymore.”
Dominic could make trouble for the Palmer family with a snap of his fingers.
Charlene knew that she had to be careful.
Shane nodded. “It‘s good that you‘ve come to your senses. You‘re a Palmer; you shouldn‘t degrade yourself for a man.”
Charlene forced a smile but didn‘t say anything.
There was another, more important reason why she couldn‘t act rashly.
Now that Dominic had found out about her vicious side, if she was caught again, he would definitely destroy not just the Palmer family, but her as well.
Seeing her so depressed, Shane stopped scolding her. He thought for a while and said, “Why not come to work for me? It‘s easy for people to overthink things when they‘re idly. If you busy yourself with work, you might find a sense of fulfillment. Soon, you‘ll forget all about this fiasco.”
