Chapter 10 Public Enemy

• The smile vanished from Jeremiah’s face as soon as Mariette and Finley appeared. He snorted coldly and refused to look at them.
• “Mariette, come have a seat.” Joseph welcomed his daughter to the feast. His phone rang just then, so he excused himself with an apologetic smile and left the room to answer the call.
• “That trash. How come he has so many phone calls? Who knows what kind of trashy friend is calling him.” Yvonne humphed coldly and then she remembered what she was about to say. “That’s right, grandfather. I nearly forgot. I have something to report. Just now, the young scion of the Shurmer family came to my office for a business meeting. But he got beaten up by Finley and his wife when he left the building.”
• What?
• When they heard this, the dinner guests swiveled their heads.
• “They assaulted the young scion of the Shurmer family?”
• “Are they crazy?”
• “He’s the only son of the Shurmer family, and the heir to the Shurmer Corporation!”
• “His father, Jacob Shurmer used to be the number one tycoon in Yannopolis. He is very powerful and is on good terms with Mr. Lemmon. That’s Mr. Ernest Lemmon, the top boss of Yannopolis! He’s a person with a powerful background. And that piece of trash actually hit him?”
• “They are trying to destroy our family!”
• All at once, the Quinn family members turned pale with shock. And even Jeremiah had an unhealthy pallor on his face.
• The Shurmer Corporation was one of the top enterprises in Yannopolis, and its assets were worth billions. Compared to them, the Quinn family’s logistics company only had assets worth a few dozen millions. The Shurmer Corporation was more than just a few steps above the Quinn family and a behemoth that the Quinn family should never pick a fight with.
• Meanwhile, Joseph’s face had gone as white as a ghost.
• “Grandfather, we were only defending ourselves. That rich boy from the Shurmer family harassed me first,” Mariette explained.
• “You should not confound right and wrong. He was just joking with you. But you are a stuck-up and a small-minded person so you couldn’t take a joke. Not only did you gang up with your useless husband to beat him up but, now, you are also falsely accusing him of harassment.”
• Yvonne smiled smugly and then, putting on a mask of piteousness, she turned to speak to Jeremiah. “Grandfather, you have to help me. I spent a lot of effort to secure the contract from the Shurmer Corporation. Today, Phillip was going to sign the contract with me. But after their interference, my months of effort have gone to waste.” Of course, Yvonne had to add fuel to the fire.
• When Christine heard that her daughter’s business had been affected, she flew into a rage. “Is your family bent on destroying the Quinn family? Back then, we should have expelled them from the Quinn family. All these years, they have been living off us. Yet, they do not know how to be grateful and keep causing trouble. Now, even the order that my Yvonne secured for us is gone. Beautiful women are trouble indeed!” Christine cursed angrily.
• “That’s right. I’ve already said we shouldn’t keep this woman around. She’s trouble!”
• “She nearly destroyed our family back then. And now she’s causing trouble again?” The other relatives also chipped in to criticize Mariette.
• Jeremiah turned to look at her with a look of anger on his face. “Mariette, are you sorry for what you have done?”
• “Grandfather, I don’t know what mistake I have made. Are you just going to listen to their side of the story...”
• “Shut up! You are still unrepentant? You said you don’t know what wrong you have committed. Let me ask you. Did you and your husband beat up Phillip? I am asking you again. Yvonne’s contract, is it gone now because of what you have done? Is our family in danger because of what you have done?” Jeremiah sprang to his feet, his eyes wide with anger. He had fallen into the throes of rage after asking these questions in succession, and he was not going to give Mariette the chance to speak for herself.
• “Dad, is there a need to ask? Didn’t she admit to assaulting the young heir just now? Just because of a joke, she flew into a rage and ganged up with her husband to give the young man a beating. This girl. She has been spoilt by the family. Today, we should make her go down on her knees and apologize to us.” The fourth eldest Quinn, Liam Quinn, looked on with a smile on his face.
• “That’s right. Kneel and apologize to Yvonne!”
• “Apologize to the family.”
• “Just expel them from the Quinn family.”
• Yvonne, Christine, and the rest of the Quinn family were eager to kick Mariette while she was down. As they scolded her, they also called for the expulsion of Mariette and her family. That way, they would receive a larger share of the family fortune in the future.
• When Joseph heard their calls for expulsion, he was scared out of his wits. So as he begged his father for mercy, he also ordered Mariette to apologize.
• “Mariette, get on your knees quick. What are you doing? Do you want to see your father and mother starve to death in the streets?” Joseph howled bitterly.
• All of a sudden, Mariette became Public Enemy Number One. Everyone was screaming at her. They all wanted her to kneel in apology.
• At this moment, Mariette felt incredibly aggrieved. She turned her red-rimmed eyes to look at her father, grandfather, and relatives. She couldn’t understand why they only listened to Yvonne’s side of the story and refused to give her a chance to tell hers.
• She also couldn’t understand why her relatives did not show any concern for her, but instead chose to side with an outsider like Phillip.
• Could it be because Yvonne had a rich and powerful husband while hers was poor and useless?
• Could it be because Phillip had a powerful background while she and Finley were commoners?
• The assembled guests continued to scream and, as she faced the attacks coming from all sides, Mariette laughed. She laughed piteously and tears streamed from her eyes.
• At that moment, Mariette felt that the world had abandoned her.
• She had to resign herself to her fate. Reality is cruel. If you do not have wealth or power, nobody will give a d*mn about your dignity.
• At last, Mariette bowed her head and started to bend her knees. She was going to kneel in front of her relatives.
• But, at that moment, a firm hand reached out and stopped her from going down on her knees.
• “Mariette, why kneel in front of these people? They do not deserve your respect!” Finley’s words were firm and resounded like the sound of a rock striking the ground.
• At once, Mariette froze in surprise. She didn’t know when it started, perhaps since the day of her cousin’s engagement party, but she felt that Finley had changed.
• He had become bigger and taller! And the hand holding me had become stronger.
• “How dare you! How dare you show us such disrespect. Do you still recognize us as your family?” Liam flew into a rage and screamed as he gestured at Finley and Mariette.
• “Family?” Finley laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Uncle, let me ask you and everyone else in this room. Have you ever treated Mariette as a niece and me as a son-in-law? Mariette was nearly violated but, instead of showing concern for her, you are berating us and you even tried to make her kneel in apology? I don’t know who’s really your niece if it’s Mariette or that rich boy from the Shurmer family. If he asks you to sever ties with Mariette, are you really going to do that?”
• Finley’s words were sonorous and forceful. As he spoke, he stared fiercely at the Quinn family members.
• His speech was cutting and rendered Liam speechless. His face turned red and, for a while, he couldn’t get any word out of his opened mouth.
• “We didn’t say we would sever ties with Mariette. But Yvonne said that Phillip was just joking with Mariette. He didn’t...” Liam tried to explain but his tone was already weaker than before.
• Finley thought he had just heard a joke. “Is that a joke? Let me ask you. If some passerby on the street starts touching your wife, would you still think it’s funny? If somebody harassed your daughter in public, would you still think it’s a joke?”
• “Well...” Liam was struck dumb and his face turned red. He didn’t know how to respond to Finley’s questions.
• Finley laughed coldly and then he turned to interrogate Jeremiah. “That rich kid from the Shurmer family insulted Mariette’s modesty and we merely defended ourselves. What wrong did we do? But look at you. You didn’t care for right or wrong. You only listened to Yvonne’s one-sided story and passed judgment on Mariette.”
• “Don’t you all feel guilty?” Finley added.
• Cold anger smoldered in Finley’s eyes and he showed no fear whatsoever even as he debated the rabble all by his lonesome.
• Meanwhile, Mariette was completely dazed by the scene unfolding before her.
• Is this still the same weak and submissive husband who had never uttered a word of complaint? Is this still the same useless son-in-law? When did my husband grow a backbone?
• At that moment, Mariette felt that Finley had become as tall as a giant, and that gave her a sense of security.
• Under Finley’s questioning, a number of the Quinn family members had turned red-faced in embarrassment. Liam and his family, especially, were so ashamed that they could not say a word.
• Jeremiah was furious but he could do nothing except fall back on his seniority. “How dare you! You are just a useless live-in son-in-law! How dare you disrespect us! Even if we are in the wrong, you still have no right to criticize us. Are you not going to kneel? If not, you can leave the Quinn family.”
• Finley smiled a self-deprecating smile. “Grandfather, you have already lived past half a century. You must have been through a lot. I have always thought that you were an understanding person. But now, it looks like you are nothing but a stubborn old fool who only knows to take advantage of his seniority. Since it’s like this, there’s no need to stay in the Quinn family.
• He turned to his wife and said, “Mariette, let’s go. I will bring you home.”
• Under the stunned looks of the Quinn family, Finley grabbed hold of Mariette’s hand and departed without turning back. Back at the villa, an oppressive silence remained in the air.
• “You… You people!” The abrupt departure of Finley and Mariette caused Jeremiah to tremble with rage and he nearly choked to death on his own anger.
• “Joseph, look at your daughter and son-in-law!”
• “Your family, they are really something. They are so capable that they can even disrespect father.”
• “Our family has no daughter like her.”
• “From now onward, Mariette is no longer a member of our family!”
• “Tomorrow we will kick her out of Summer Logistics!” the eldest of the Quinn brothers, George, roared angrily.
• Joseph’s face paled in terror and his skin took on a lifeless pallor. At that moment, he looked as if all strength had left his body.
• Outside the villa, Finley supported Mariette as they walked back home.
• There was a tinge of sadness in Mariette’s eyes. She knew what the actions of her family meant to her. It was quite possible that she would not have a place within the Quinn family from that day onward.
• She had grown up in the Quinn family and had lived with them all her life. Now that she was expelled from the family, Mariette did not know where to go or how to support her family.
• “Mariette, believe in me. After a while, the Quinn family will beg you to return,” Finley said confidently with a smile.
• “Really?”
• “Of course.” Finley’s words were grave and resonated with firmness.
• At the same moment, in the Lemmon family’s villa in the city center, an elderly man was holding a glass of red wine and standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, a river of stars spread out across the night sky, and the streets below were lit up with bright and colorful lights. It was night but vehicles streamed continuously on the roads.
• Then, the old man said: “Mr. Finley, by this time, my gift should have already arrived. I hope you like it.”
• Ernest smiled lightly, lifted his wine glass, and raised a toast to the scenery outside his window. Then, he tilted his head back and drank the wine.