Chapter 39 Getting Beaten

• Zoe Hart’s eyes flew wide. She stared at Ronan Crest’s calm face, and a bold thought flashed through her head. Just now in front of Larson Group, she’d been bullied by Sun Qianqian—and the next minute Sun Qianqian was fired, and she, out of nowhere, was made a supervisor. Now she was telling Ronan all this, and he stayed perfectly cool. It made her wonder: was Ronan secretly helping her? Sun Qianqian getting fired, her becoming a supervisor, and Troy Larson being that polite to her—was it all because of her “cheap brother-in-law”? “Brother-in-law, you’re helping me, aren’t you?” Zoe’s mind went blank. She blurted it out. “Helping you with what?” Ronan still looked unfazed. “Sun Qianqian got fired because of you, right?” “Uh… who’s Sun Qianqian?” “And Troy Larson being so polite to me—that’s because of you, isn’t it?” “Troy Larson? I do know him. He was my classmate in grade school. I even stole half an apple from him once, and his dad beat me for it.” Zoe: “…” His off-the-mark answers left her speechless. She knew she wouldn’t get anything out of him, so she dropped it. Still, the curiosity gnawed at her. Were those things that had just happened because Ronan was helping her, or was it all just coincidence? If it was coincidence, fine, maybe Sun Qianqian getting fired could be chalked up to that. But Troy being that courteous to her? That wasn’t coincidence. Come on. Troy Larson was Drake Mariner’s blood brother—same father, same mother. As the brother of Northwood’s richest man, he treated her with that level of respect. Calling that “coincidence” would be insulting Zoe Hart’s intelligence. “What’s really going on? Is it truly not my brother-in-law helping me?” She sneaked a few glances at Ronan, wondering if this mysterious “cheap brother-in-law” of hers really had that kind of pull. The rest of the ride passed in silence. They headed home fast, and on the way past a bakery, Ronan thoughtfully bought a small cake for his two daughters. The Harts’ residence. Their place was a run-down duplex. The space wasn’t small, but the building had more than fifty years on it. In Northwood, housing prices were insane. All these years, Silas Hart had never been favored in the family. Wanting to swap for a better place in Northwood? He simply didn’t have the means. “Daddy! Daddy!” Hope Crest and Grace Crest saw Ronan come in and sprinted straight into his arms. “Aunt Lillian dropped you two off—perfect timing… Daddy bought you a little cake.” Ronan hugged his girls, kissed their cheeks, then handed them the cake. “Thanks, Daddy!” “Daddy rules!” The little ones lit up the moment they saw the cake. “Take it upstairs and share, okay? Remember, you eat it together. No fighting.” Ronan’s voice was gentle, his gaze soft as spring water when he looked at his girls. Hope and Grace took the cake and dashed upstairs, giddy. “Dad, Mom!” Ronan stepped forward and greeted them, but the second he got close, he felt the mood was off. Silas Hart sat on the couch, face dark. Vivienne Hart’s eyes were red, her cheeks flushed—as if she’d been slapped. “Dad, Mom, what happened?” Zoe noticed it too and jumped in. “Hmph. On the way back we passed Cloudhigh Group, and they threw us out after beating us.” Christine Hart snapped, fury all over her face. Then she turned on Ronan, voice sharp: “It’s all your fault, you useless bum! If you hadn’t shot your mouth off at the hotel, bragging that you’d knock out three of the old man’s demands in a month, we wouldn’t have rushed to collect the payment. And now look—we got tossed out and beaten. Hmph!” Beaten? A blaze of rage roared through Ronan’s chest. He saw Vivienne’s reddened cheek, and a killing light sparked in his eyes. “Damn it.” The words slipped out, low and cold. “Hmph. What good is yelling ‘damn it’ at home? Weren’t you bragging at the hotel that you’d made great achievements? Didn’t you boast you could kill someone and not pay for it?” Christine spat, piling everything on Ronan. “Ronan Crest, your father-in-law and your wife were beaten. If you’re still a man, go settle the score—now. Don’t make me look down on you.” She dumped all her anger on Ronan. In her mind, if it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t have been humiliated like that. They wouldn’t have rushed to demand payment—and they wouldn’t have been beaten.