Chapter 109 Olivia’s Hysteria

• The week that followed. For Edward, it was calm as a still lake. The only ripple was exactly what he’d expected. Every materials supplier in the city teamed up again to boycott Paramount Real Estate. Last time, Nicholas Carter stepped in and helped Paramount Real Estate get through the storm; this time, he was the one spearheading the move. In the short run, Edward didn’t even consider the idea that the suppliers would loosen their grip on the boycott. Luckily, Engli Materials was still supplying Paramount Real Estate, so the West City shantytown renovation didn’t grind to a halt. At the same time, Edward had no plan to shelve the presale of three developments. He needed cash, plain and simple, to pry open bigger projects. Besides, since Chen Tiansheng had already declared war and aimed Nicholas Carter straight at Edward’s throat, dragging things out would be suicide. With the West City shantytown’s long timeline, who knew what else Chen Tiansheng might pull? On the other side, at Orilorn Hospital. The ward was heavy with dread. Olivia Thomas hadn’t died. They saved her, and she’d woken up. Her forehead was wrapped in gauze, but her mind was hazy, drifting. She lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling each day, sometimes whispering in pain through tears, “Dirty… I’m dirty…” The sight tore Daniel Thomas to pieces as he kept vigil. Ever since Olivia’s breakdown and suicide attempt, the whole family had finally cooled down. As a father, Daniel couldn’t bear to imagine how shattered she’d been that day. Even he didn’t know what the hell had happened to their family to make it come to this. What kind of karma was this? He looked at Olivia muttering on the bed, eyes red, hand shaking as he tried to gently touch her. Before he could, Olivia trembled, suddenly curling up tight, shivering. Two tracks of tears slid down Daniel’s exhausted face. Click. The ward door opened. Juliet Clark and Randy walked in. Daniel wiped his tears fast, but Juliet saw. She rolled her eyes and snapped, “Useless coward. You cry like some whiny woman.” Daniel swallowed his anger, face dark. Then Juliet pointed at Olivia and said coldly to Randy, “Randy, go tell your sister to get up and eat.” Randy’s lips trembled. He couldn’t help it—“Mom, look at her. She’s wrecked. Could you be gentle?” “Gentle my ass! If not for that damned girl, would our family be like this?” Juliet shot Randy a furious glare. “Now look what we’ve got—she’s hysterical and the whole family circles around her. What did I do in a past life to deserve this?” Divorced from Edward, then dumped by Chen Tiansheng. Those two things gnawed at Juliet day and night. She’d had two shots at being a rich wife. And Olivia blew both. A lifetime of poverty and humiliation—Juliet had always been timid around the Thomas Residence and her own relatives, swallowing every insult. She’d staked her comeback on her daughter marrying money. Randy hesitated, then sat by Olivia with the lunch canister, voice soft. “Sis, time to eat.” Olivia, curled up tight, suddenly jolted, her reddened eyes going round. In a flash like a shock of electricity, she sprang up and grabbed Randy in a hug. “Little brother, don’t be scared… I’m here… I’ll protect you…” The sudden move made Randy yelp in fright. Daniel was caught off guard too. Juliet, though, reacted fast. She strode up, her features twisting, and slapped Olivia hard. “Let go of Randy!” The crack was sharp and loud. Olivia’s head snapped to the side, red fingerprints blooming on her cheek. “Mom, what are you doing?” Randy cried, panicked. Before he could finish, Olivia clutching him broke into sobs, wailing. The sound was piercing, soaked in grief. Juliet’s nerves frayed. She yanked Olivia by the hair and started hitting her, cursing between blows. “You damned girl, a money-sink, you’re hysterical and now you want to torture my son?” “Let go! Let go, or if you hurt Randy, I’ll send you straight to hell today.” “Money-sink, you filthy tramp, look what you’ve done to this family!” … Smack, smack, smack… The heavy slaps echoed. The ward turned into a storm. Randy wanted to stop it, but Olivia’s grip pinned him, so he couldn’t block Juliet. Olivia shook under the hits, crying in pain. Suddenly— “Enough! Let go of Olivia!” Daniel surged to his feet, his big hand swinging down on Juliet’s face. The slap was brutal, merciless. It knocked Juliet staggering, her eyes going glassy. In seconds, half her face swelled. She didn’t lash out right away. She stared at Daniel, terrified—stunned by the blow. Daniel had always been meek, a pushover. At home, Juliet ruled the roost. But today, he struck, and even Juliet was rattled. After a long beat, Juliet let out a shriek and dropped to the floor, thrashing and wailing. “No justice! None at all! Daniel, you’re a coward outside and a bully at home. Marrying you was the worst luck of my life!” Daniel shook, burning with rage. He looked at Olivia on the bed, trembling and small. What father doesn’t love his daughter? But Juliet, as a mother, couldn’t be bothered to think about her child’s state—at all. Teeth clenched, Daniel snarled at Juliet, “Shut up! Our house is like this because of you. If you hadn’t chased money and tried to climb the ladder, would we be here?” Juliet was about to argue when Daniel cut her off with a sweep of his arm. “Get out! Leave. Don’t mess with Olivia’s recovery.” “If you don’t go, I swear I’ll beat you and divorce you today!” His voice was thunder. Rage boiled over. The meek Daniel stood tall for once. Even Juliet froze. In the end, with Randy calming her, she slunk out the door. In the ward, Olivia suddenly threw her arms around Daniel, howling. “Dad, I—I’m scared… I… I’m dirty… I can’t protect Randy anymore…” The words brought Daniel to tears, sobbing in an instant. Outside the hospital. Juliet kept railing at Randy. “You little punk, why make me leave? If you want to stop someone, stop your dad!” “Mom, enough!” Randy pounded his chest, furious. “Look at us—look at this mess. Let Sis heal first, okay?” “How is this ‘enough’? Your sister must’ve done something wrong, ticked off Tiansheng. Otherwise why would he toss hundreds of thousands at us for no reason?” Juliet’s eyes were hard, mean. Yeah. Tiansheng. Randy’s face hardened, fury rising hot. “Yeah. She ended up like this because of him. I’m going to find him.”