Kurt scoffed. “Your daughter killed my son and escaped. I’m being nice cos I didn’t kill your entire family to avenge my son. Why would you think I don’t have the guts to do so?”
Ronald’s wife hurriedly implored, “Kurt, please spare us. You can have my daughters if you want. My husband will find Ann for you so you can avenge your son. Don’t hurt him, please.”
My brows furrowed up as I could neither understand nor accept the woman’s peace offering.
Kurt seemed pleased at her words. “Your second daughter is fourteen, right? My son’s dead, so she shall give birth to my children. Find that b*tch for me. Otherwise, I swear I’ll kill you, Ronald Weeder.”
With that, he stood up and gazed at the girl protecting her siblings. “You’re Alma, right? Your parents gave you to me. Come, follow me home and bear me a son.”
The girl, who was still a teenager, blanched as she shook her head profusely. She didn’t have a clue what was going on, but her instincts told her a more horrible fate would await her at the Wolfsen household.
Alas, Kurt ignored her wishes and dragged her away by the hair. Immediately, she bawled and cried for her parents to save her.
At the sight, my frown deepened. Clearly, they couldn’t be bothered about their children.
“Wait a minute!” It was Boris. He looked straight at Kurt and inquired, “How much did you pay them?”
Kurt Wolfsen was a plump and lecherous man in his forties. He eyed Boris suspiciously before answering, “One hundred thousand. What’s wrong? Did you take a liking to this girl, too?”
Boris’ lips pressed together in disgust. “I’ll pay the money. Release her!”
Suddenly, Kurt guffawed before his face contorted. “Oh, you’re trying to be the hero here. Mister, my son died. I want this girl so she can pass on my family name. Are you trying to take her away from me? If you took a liking to her, you can have her. But Ronald has other daughters. Do you think you can save them all?”
This was a tricky matter. Kurt was right. If Boris insisted on saving Alma, Kurt could get another daughter from Ronald. After all, it was Ann who got his son killed.
Boris’ frown deepened. He was smarter than me, so he knew he should stay out of this.
I grew frustrated. “You can take her away, no problem. I’ll call the cops right now. Ann Weeder killed your son, so the cops will arrest her. But if you take any of the girls away or kill someone here, the cops will arrest you, too. We’re not here to interfere in your business, but we can still call the cops.”
At once, a murmur erupted in the crowd. Many of the villagers didn’t register themselves at birth and were without birth certificates. If the cops were to come, many of them would be forced to register themselves and pay a fine.
Kurt sneered. “Sure, go ahead. I’m not scared of you. I’m the one on the suffering end, anyway.”
My threat failed to scare the shameless man. Perhaps he thought I wouldn’t dare to call the cops.
I stared at Ronald, who huffed, “You’re a bully! Ms. Stanhope, call the cops. I’ll admit to everything.”
His reaction took me by surprise. I didn’t know he would come to his senses that quickly. Whipping out my phone, I announced, “Indeed. We shall leave this to the cops.”
If the cops were to deal with this, neither side would have the upper hand. Both Kurt and Ronald knew that well. They were considering their own benefits.
Indeed, before the call got through, Kurt spoke. “Well, what do you want? This has nothing to do with you, so I want you to stay out of this.”
I smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. I too want to stay out of this. However, just like you, I wish to settle this matter ASAP.”
Kurt pursed his lips silently and waited to see what I would say next.
After a brief silence, I continued, “It’s illegal to take any of the girls with you as they are underaged and protected by the law.”
Kurt narrowed his eyes. “My son’s dead, and I spent the money without getting anything in return. Are you asking me to do nothing? Do you think I’m a fool? Or are you too innocent?”
Instead of refuting his words, I offered, “Of course not. If you trust me, why don’t you listen to my suggestion?”
“Sure, go ahead.” He nodded.
“Death cannot be reversed. Your son’s dead, and we cannot bring him back to life. The culprit who killed your son should be punished, but as you said, Ann had escaped. Now, we should sit down and come out with a solution in peace. I think the Weeders should give you back the one hundred thousand you paid them. That’s the least they should do.”
Kurt scoffed. “I’m not in need of money.”
I flashed a grin and added, “That has nothing to do with whether or not you need money. About your son’s death, I am in the opinion that you should hand all evidence to the cops so they can arrest the culprit. The Weeders can only offer monetary compensation.”
With an ugly scowl, he retorted, “Money? How much can Ronald compensate me? My heir is dead! How should he compensate me? By giving me his son?”
Ronald hung his head low and dared not utter a word. Instead, it was his wife who offered, “If you wish, you can have my daughter. She can bear your son. You’re only in your forties, Kurt. My daughter might be able to give birth to your son soon. What do you think?”
I got the shock of my life. After what I said, the woman still hadn’t changed her mind about giving her daughter away. It didn’t cross my mind that she would willingly let her daughter bear a middle-aged man’s child.
Ronald said nothing and appeared to agree silently.
Meanwhile, Kurt glanced at the woman, who had remained silent the whole time by his side. She was glowering at Ronald’s wife viciously.
Suddenly, I realized why Kurt hesitated to take the girl away earlier though he clearly wanted her. He calmed down and listened to me because he was afraid of his wife.
Silence ensued. I thought the woman would disagree, but she uttered, “Sure. My son’s dead, so your daughter shall bear Kurt’s child. If she gives birth to a son, she shall be free. Otherwise, she needs to stay in our house until she gives birth to a son.”
Ronald’s wife nodded profusely and offered a smile. “No problem. She can bear children and satisfy your needs.”
Her words nearly drove me crazy. I was about to speak when Boris took my hand and stopped me in time. He whispered in my ear, “You can’t do anything. The ending will still be the same. The Weeders won’t return the money.”
Stunned, I glanced at Alma’s pale expression as a sense of hopelessness washed over me. No matter what I do, nothing would change their fates.
Seeing my reaction, Ronald’s wife offered me a polite smile. “Ms. Stanhope, thank you for your concern. This is our family’s business, so we won’t trouble you.”
Huh, how rude.
Indeed, I should stay out of their affairs.
In the end, Kurt led a devastated Alma away. Peace was restored in Ronald’s household.
I didn’t know what to say by then.
“Ms. Stanhope, thank you for your help. We can register Amy’s birth later, but you need to pay me a hundred thousand first for that. It isn’t easy to bring her up. Also, since she’s going to extract her bone marrow, her health would be affected, especially her kidney. There are many things she can’t touch. She will have difficulties getting around, too. In fact, she’ll be useless. For this, I want an extra five hundred thousand. This isn’t expensive, and I believe you can afford it,” Ronald declared. “Hopefully you can give me the money after I register Amy as a citizen today. Everything you do after this has nothing to do with me.”
I fell silent at his selfish statement. I knew he was right in doing so, but that only heightened my distaste for his selfishness.
After a long pause, I replied, “I’ll pay you one million to adopt Amy. We shall deal with the adoption process, and Amy will be my daughter. She has nothing to do with you from now on. No matter what she becomes in the future, you aren’t allowed to bother her, get it?”
Ronald was taken aback by my request. He let out a sudden laugh. “Sure, no problem. I didn’t expect she would be worth this much.” He repeated, “Sure, of course. Let’s go now.”
I thought he would at least hesitate, but contrary to my expectation, he seemed delighted. My gaze landed on Amy. She was still a kid, but she had seen the entire exchange with her sisters. The scar would remain in their hearts forever.
Next, Ronald followed us to the town and dealt with the necessary procedures. “Ms. Stanhope, the money,” he reminded me once we were done.
I pursed my lips and gestured for Boris to hand him the briefcase full of banknotes. Ronald was clearly excited to see the money and left without looking back.
Amy was standing right beside me as she watched Ronald leaving with his wife on his motorcycle. They didn’t even bother saying goodbye to their daughter.
I took her hand and bent down to wipe her tears away. “Amy, you shall stay with us from now on. Is that alright?”
She gazed at me and nodded with a hint of maturity in her expression. “Okay!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply