Just after she said that, one of the men took out a dagger and pointed it at Karen with a fierce look in his eyes. “Stupid b*tch, who are you calling a beggar?”
“Ah!” Karen was startled and all the pistachios in her hand fell to the ground. “W-Who are you? What are you trying to do?!”
She ran into the house in a panic, but Winston was out for business while the servants were out grocery shopping. The housekeeper was not there either. There was no one else in the house except her and Old Master Waldburg.
The two men shook their daggers and drew closer. “Bring all the valuable things to me!”
Karen turned pale and shook her head. She said, “I-I don’t have anything valuable!”
“You don’t have anything valuable in such a big house? Are you trying to say that you don’t value your life?” The man swung the knife viciously.
Karen was so scared that she ran back and fell to the ground, twisting her ankle.
“If you don’t want to die, hand over all your cash and valuable items!”
“Okay, I’ll bring them!” Karen did not dare to refuse them anymore and limped upstairs with her twisted foot.
She thought about calling the police or notifying Kendrick, but one of the gangsters kept following behind her with a knife.
Karen endured the pain in her ankle and took out all the jewelry and valuables from the safe.
“Anything else?” the man asked forcefully, “If you dare to lie to us, I’ll chop off your hands!”
“Yes! Yes!” Karen panicked and gave them her stash of money.
The two men were very satisfied. They looked at Karen shivering and raised her chin with the knife. “Aren’t you usually arrogant? Why don’t you dare to show off right now?”
Karen’s expression changed when she heard what the man said. Did these two people know her?
“W-Who are you guys?”
“Hmph, you don’t even recognize us siblings? You must’ve seen us on television, no? We’re a group of desperadoes, a group of wanted murderers. Got it?”
Hearing the comments made Karen’s eyes widen. She was so afraid that she was drenched in a cold sweat.
‘I can’t believe it’s two desperadoes!’
“You don’t have to be so scared. For the time being, we’ll keep you alive because you still have some value.”
The two men then grabbed onto Karen and dragged her outside.
“What do you guys think you’re doing?! Let me go. Help! Help…” Karen shouted in fear.
“Let go! Let go of her!” The old master heard the commotion and was just done making a call to Kendrick behind their back. Only then did he wheel himself out of the room.
“You got to save me, Dad! Dad!” Karen shrieked.
However, the two men were not bothered about the old master. They hoisted their leg and kicked his wheelchair over. “Are you trying to dig your grave, old one?!”
“Dad! Dad!” Seeing the old master not moving an inch after falling to the ground, Karen started feeling scared and nervous. She burst into tears.
While Niamh was sending Kendrick back home, she received the old master’s call. She slammed on the gas pedal to speed up. When they got to the entrance of the villa, she noticed there was a van that just took off.
Niamh supported Kendrick back into the house and realized that the old master, along with his wheelchair, had crashed on the floor.
“Grandpa!” She ran to him, worried. “Grandpa, are you alright, Grandpa? Grandpa!”
“Help, anybody?! Help…”
The old master spoke in a very weak tone, “Kar… Save her…”
Niamh understood that the old master was referring to Karen.
She called for an ambulance to send the old master to the hospital. Shortly after, Winston showed up.
After going through the CCTV of the main entrance, Winston kept walking back and forth while feeling insecure.
“Why are there people who dare to rob a house? They even kidnapped Karen?” He could not comprehend the logic behind the robbers’ action, but he was more worried about Karen.
Kendrick was sitting at a corner, frowning.
Even though Karen had a terrible personality, at the end of the day, she was still his biological mother.
Niamh thought about the words written on the card she got earlier today, wondering whether it was related.
In the meantime, Kendrick’s phone rang.
The incoming call was from an unknown number. He pressed the hands-free mode and answered the call. The man on the other end of the call declared his demand, “Tonight at 10 PM at the designated place I prefer, send in your wife, Niamh, to deliver 500,000 bucks in exchange for your mother. Or else, you’ll end up collecting her corpse! Remember this, only send your wife alone. No one is allowed to follow and don’t report it to the police!”
The man immediately cut off the line, not giving Kendrick any chance to talk.
The demand stated through the phone was heard by Niamh and Winston.
Just when Niamh was still wondering the reason why the robbers insisted on having her deliver the ransom, Winston spoke, “Niamh, all this while, you and Karen have been on bad terms and she has always been against you. You can choose to reject their demand. I won’t force you to take the risk.”
Kendrick felt the same way as well. He did not wish for her to take this path.
Niamh did not answer, but she had already made up her mind.
…
In a worn-down building, Karen was discarded at a corner full of cockroaches.
All this while being a prestigious rich lady who was always wearing and eating the best, it was unbearable for her to be treated this way. She was utterly terrified.
“Who are you guys anyway? Why are you kidnapping me?” Karen asked, trembling with fear.
The two men took down their face masks and sneered, “That’ll depend on you. Do you remember who you’ve offended?”
Karen thought hard. “Niamh? She’s the one at fault! That b*tch, how cunning she is! Even after my son has treated her so well!”
She gritted her teeth when suddenly, she heard a very familiar woman’s voice. That person was laughing arrogantly.
Karen raised her head to look and was flabbergasted. “It’s you? Why is it you?”
Karen looked at the woman who was walking toward her. She was shocked and held on to her breath.
“So it’s you, you little b*tch—”
Slap!
Before Karen was done speaking, she received a tight slap on the face.
She was dumbfounded and only recovered after a few seconds. “You… How dare you slap me? You—”
Slap!
“Argh!”
Another slap landed on her face. Karen found it unbelievable. With gritted teeth, she turned to glare at the woman.
“You’re out of your mind, Yvonne! You hired someone to kidnap me and even dare to hit me? I’m your biological aunt!”
Yvonne let out a peal of maniacal laughter. Her expression became dark. “Biological aunt? The one I’m beating right now is my biological aunt!”
“You…”
Yvonne reached out to Karen’s collar, putting on a malicious expression. “My dear aunt, let me tell you this. I’ve been tolerating you for a very long time now!
“You claim that you’re my biological aunt, but have you ever treated me as your biological niece? Whenever you were being lectured by Niamh, I was the one who had to cover up the mess for you. You were always ordering me to do this and do that, even ordering me to serve that old man. I always followed your orders, but did you ever give me any benefit?!”
Yvonne vented out all her dissatisfaction. One could smell the heavy scent of alcohol and tobacco on her. Her expression became tense.
“All I did was get some money and jewelry from you. Did you have to treat me that way? Did you have to call me a b*tch and slap me on the face that hard? At that time, did you treat me as your biological niece?! I’m telling you this Karen. Whatever that’s happening today is all because of your doing!”
Karen glared back. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing right now? You’re going against the law!”
“So what?” Yvonne was not bothered. “After all, I’m already bearing a few criminal charges. There’s no harm in adding one more to it. I think it’s best if you start worrying about yourself.”
Yvonne laughed out loud, shoving Karen away. She crossed her arms, and a smirk curled at the corner of her lips.
“You heard the call earlier. If Niamh doesn’t bring the money here to bail you out, you won’t be able to see the next daylight! However, think about it again. How is it possible that Niamh will show up to save you? How she wishes for your death!”
Her comment made Karen pale.
She could still recall what Niamh told her earlier that morning. ‘Those who added fuel to the flames are more despicable than those who turned a blind eye. Kendrick should die, but as the helper and encourager of that fake b*tch, Nevaeh, you deserve to die even more than him!’
It looked like Niamh really hated her to a point where she desired her death!
‘If that’s the case, it’s impossible to rely on Niamh to save me!’
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.