As soon as she finished speaking, Jade lunged at Celestine again, catching Pete off guard.
“Watch out!” Pete shouted, but he couldn’t grab her in time.
A split second later, Jade’s entire body convulsed, and she collapsed stiffly onto the floor.
Her wide, terrified eyes locked onto the small taser in Celestine’s hand.
“You bitch! How dare you ambush me with that thing!”
Celestine kept her thumb on the safety switch, looking down at the crumpled woman at her feet. “I’ll admit, I never thought you’d be the first one to test it out, Miss Jade.”
“Feeling sorry for yourself? You’ve nearly stolen everything that should have belonged to Pete–his father, his rightful inheritance, his family, even his mother. The moment you arrived at the Selwyns‘, your uncle quietly transferred nearly a million dollars in assets to you. Did you really think you could keep that a secret?”
Jade’s face went pale with disbelief.
How did this woman know about that?
Back when she’d first arrived at the Selwyns‘, the family business hadn’t even been established yet. That money–almost everything her mother had ever managed to coax out of Murdock–was a sum Jáde could never have dreamed of earning on her own. It was the only reason she’d managed to stomach being treated like a stepdaughter all these years.
And only three people in the world knew about it.
Celestine’s lips curled in a faint smile. “All these years, you’ve driven luxury cars, bought designer handbags, and landed a cushy position at Prescott Group without a single impressive credential–every bit of it handed to you by the Selwyns.”
“Meanwhile, Pete was scraping by overseas, holed up in a basement room, living on stale bread and water, working odd jobs to make ends meet–all because your beloved father cut him off.”
“You act like the world owes you something. But what about him? Why should he have to accept someone who’s taken everything he ever had?”
Celestine’s words were calm, but inside, the memories ached,
1/2
Chapter 314
Back then, Pete was still abroad, and she’d just started college herself. Out of the blue, she’d received a message from him: Could he borrow five hundred dollars? At first, she’d thought his account had been hacked. He deleted the message almost immediately, but she called him right away.
That was when she learned his situation overseas was just as desperate as hers. Edna had convinced Murdock to cut off his allowance; Pete had been scraping by, too proud to ask his grandfather or sister for help. But medicine was so expensive there, and when he couldn’t afford it, he got sick–seriously ill.
Celestine shuddered to think what might have happened if she hadn’t seen that message in time.
Pete’s eyes filled with tears. “Celly, you don’t need to explain anything to her. Someone without a conscience will only ever think I deserved everything that happened to me.”
A commotion erupted in the hallway outside the hospital room.
If
Jade averted her eyes, guilt etched on her face. “Pete, I never thought that way. you were struggling, you should have told Dad. You were the one who cut ties with him–he was heartbroken. And it’s not like he’s psychic, he had no idea things were so rough for you over there…”
She shifted the blame right back onto Pete.
Celestine couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. “You just called us murderers, Jade, but you’re quick to defend the man who beat your mother so badly she lost her baby, who kicked your brother straight into the afterlife.”
She didn’t soften a single word.
Jade’s mind flashed back to that horrible scene.
“Dad–Dad didn’t mean to! It was an accident! You provoked him–if it weren’t for you, he never would have hurt my mom!” Jade screamed, her voice hoarse with desperation.
Celestine just felt a cold wave of irony and refused to argue further.
But Jade only grew more emboldened. “Celestine, you’re responsible for this child! You owe us five million dollars in compensation! If you don’t pay, I swear I’ll make sure the murderer pays with blood!”
Chapter 315
Chapter 315
