Chapter 42
"Alright, alright, now that we've found the money, let's leave it at that," Horace consoled Mary. "What can I do? She's my mother."
"I don't care; I don't want to see her anymore!" Mary threw Susan back onto the ground and sat on the sofa. She turned to Horace. "If it weren't for me, this family would've been finished!"
Mary's only useful skill was attracting investors. Over the years, she had brought Horace quite a few investors for his company.
Horace had spoiled her a lot, so in his book, it was alright for her to act unreasonably. On the other hand, he shot Susan a look of despise. Why is my mother such a piece of trash? She's stealing, and she won't even admit it when she has been caught!
"You'll be sleeping in the storeroom."
"But sir, the storeroom is in a mess and it's filthy! It's summer now, so how could you let Old Mrs. Berry stay there without air-conditioning?" Aunt Sally, the housekeeper, pointed out.
She felt bad seeing Susan in such a state.
However, she was just a housekeeper and did not have a say in their matters. She took her pay from Horace and Mary, so she could not protest much either.
"She's so old, surely warm air is better than the cold. Hurry up and pack it up. Enough with the nonsense," Mary spat and continued bawling on the sofa.
"Argh, my life is terrible! When I was raising my child, my mother-in-law wasn't here to help out and just stayed in the countryside. She wouldn't even come and take a look at her own grandchild! Now that she's gotten old, I've got to take care of her. Alright, fine, that's my duty. How did I get a thief to be my mother-in-law though? It's just my bad luck!"Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
Horace pacified Mary and hugged her. "I've already punished her, haven't I? She's getting old, so don't make things difficult for her. While you were giving birth to Xavier, she was taking care of Ashlyn in the countryside. She couldn't leave."
"Ashlyn is her granddaughter, but Xavier is her grandson as well! She's biased!" Mary continued crying for a while. Good, at least I've achieved my aim. Now that this hag is going to stay in that stuffy storeroom, hopefully, she'll die of heatstroke soon.
Susan staggered up the stairs. The Berry Residence had three floors. The housekeeper's room was on the first floor. The Berry family lived on the second floor, with Horace and Mary sharing a room while Penelope and Xavier had their own rooms.
On the third floor, there was a piano room for Penelope and a room storing Xavier's toys.
Above that was an attic which served as a storeroom.
The storeroom was filled with a cluttered mess. Aunt Sally brought Susan's belongings upstairs and set up a foldable bed.
She then made the bed for Susan.
Taking a seat, she suggested, "Old Mrs. Berry, if Ms. Ashlyn is capable of supporting you, I think it's best for her to take you away to live with her. You can't possibly stay in a place like this."
"Ashlyn is just a doctor. She doesn't have the money to buy a house! I don't want to cause trouble to the child anymore. She lost her mother at a young age and had a tough life with me in the countryside. I don't have much time left. I'll survive for as long as I can." Susan wiped her tears. She felt terrible to lose her granddaughter's money like that.
After all, she knew that Ashlyn did not have an easy time earning money and assumed that she had saved up for a long time before giving her the twenty thousand as allowance.
Yet, she allowed Mary to take it away so effortlessly.
The more she thought of it, the worse she felt and her tears started flowing uncontrollably.
Aunt Sally consoled her as she started rearranging the mess in the attic, "I don't think Ms. Ashlyn is a pushover. I think we should consult her about this."