Chapter 387: The Best Defense Is a Good Offense

Chapter 387: Chapter 387: The Best Defense Is a Good Offense

Iris Donovan and her brother laughed along. Their grandmother had the same reaction when she got the call from Miss Ingram and heard the news.

Julian Croft had gone to all this trouble for the sole purpose of having that son, who shared his surname, carry on the family line and inherit the business empire he’d built through trickery and deception.

And now, Lillian Donovan had completely cut ties with him. Not only had she divorced him, but she’d also saddled him with massive debt. His son had lost the ’tool’ to carry on the family line. After a lifetime of scheming, it was all for nothing. He’d lost a fortune trying to save a pittance. He was probably furious enough to die of a heart attack, right?

"Does he know about this?"

Everyone present knew exactly who Arabella Donovan was referring to.

Sean Donovan snorted, gloating, "He didn’t at first. Mom took pity on him for being so out of the loop in there and made a special trip to deliver the good news."

Arabella Donovan gave an admiring thumbs-up in Sean Donovan’s direction.

’Your cousin-aunt is brilliant! That’s just brutal. Absolutely, devastatingly brutal!’

"So, let me get this straight. Julian Croft is in jail, Caleb Croft is... incapacitated, and since they can’t rely on their favorite son and grandson anymore, they decided to come after you—their biological grandchildren in name only—to exploit you instead? What are you, a couple of cheap suckers?"

"...Of course not." The corner of Sean Donovan’s mouth twitched, and he spoke with some embarrassment. "My mom says they were just spoiled rotten by that man. They’re so used to being leeches they can’t even stand on their own two feet, spending all day scheming about how to get something for nothing. We’re the next meal ticket they’ve targeted. If we give in to public pressure this time, all that’s waiting for us is an endless cycle of demands. So, we absolutely cannot give them an inch!"

"Your mom makes a lot of sense. She has a very clear understanding of those two old folks’ intentions." Arabella Donovan nodded in agreement. "So, what are you planning to do next? You can’t just keep hiding forever and skip school, right?"

As soon as she said this, the siblings visibly deflated.

"We definitely have to go to school, but having them camp out at our school gate every day isn’t a solution. You have no idea... just because those two showed up at our school, twisting the facts and spouting nonsense, my sister’s and my reputations are ruined. Who knows how many people are pointing fingers and laughing at us behind our backs right now."

Whenever Sean Donovan recalled the crowd’s reaction when those two old geezers came to cause a scene a couple of days ago—the hurtful accusations mixed in with the crowd, calling them cold-blooded, unfilial, gold-digging, and morally bankrupt—he felt a surge of both anger and uneasy fear.

Iris Donovan sighed deeply as well. "Sean’s right. If this ruckus continues, the teachers and school administrators will definitely start to have a problem with us. At that point, we won’t even need anyone to say anything. We probably won’t be able to stay at this school on our own."

"It’s that serious? What does our aunt have planned, then? She can’t just let them keep causing trouble like this, can she?"

Sean Donovan slumped his shoulders like a little old man. "Mom says she’ll figure something out. If worse comes to worst, she’ll just hire some people to beat them up and drag them away. Beat them up every time they show up. Eventually, they’ll be too scared to come back."

Arabella Donovan: "..."

’Should I say, that’s our cousin-aunt for you? Her methods are certainly... fierce!’

"It doesn’t have to be that complicated." Arabella Donovan finished the freshly washed apple in her hand, dusted off her palms, and got up, beckoning to the two of them. "Let’s go. Take me to your school."

"To our school?" Sean Donovan and his sister were startled.

Eloise Donovan, who had been sitting quietly on the side like a piece of the scenery and had just washed the apple for Arabella Donovan, was also a little surprised. "What are you going to their school for?"

"To meet their grandparents, of course—the ones who want to control them and use them as a long-term meal ticket. And while I’m at it, I’ll see if their school has any weirdos who enjoy being generous at others’ expense."

’Since you’re so generous with other people’s money, you must be a very magnanimous person. You surely wouldn’t mind if I took the liberty of prying into your dirty little secrets and, by the way, exposing them to the public so everyone can judge for themselves who’s right and who’s wrong, right?’

The three of them: "..." But still... why were they suddenly feeling a little excited?

The siblings, who had been as listless as drowned rats just a moment ago, immediately perked up.

The group set off for Sean Donovan and his sister’s school in a great procession, only to run right into two elderly people in their sixties or seventies peering around furtively at the school gate. One look and you could tell they were up to no good.

"Are those Julian Croft’s parents?"

Sean Donovan and his sister’s expressions soured when they saw the couple. "Yeah. They always come around this time."

Arabella Donovan thought for a moment and understood their strategy. There would be more people around after school let out, making it easier for them to put on a show.

"Let’s go. Constantly avoiding them isn’t a solution. Going on the offensive is the only way. Have you notified our aunt?"

Eloise Donovan held up her phone. "I’ve already called her. She’s on her way now."

Just as Arabella Donovan and the others got out of the car, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Hearing the sound, the two elderly people at the gate began craning their necks even more frequently, looking poised to rush forward and grab someone at any moment.

Finding the sight amusing, Arabella Donovan shot the siblings a look, signaling them to take the initiative.

Sean Donovan already loathed the shameless, pestering couple. He had just been frustrated before by his own inability to talk back, always getting led around by a few of their words, leaving him fuming with unvented anger.

Now that he had backup, his tone carried a hint of arrogance. "What are you doing here again?"

Hearing his voice, the Croft couple turned and saw him and Iris Donovan. Their slightly cloudy eyes lit up. Without bothering to wonder why the two were approaching from outside the school instead of coming out from within, they rushed forward, taking two steps in one, and grabbed Sean Donovan’s wrist, their faces filled with excitement.

"Sean, you’re finally here! Have you thought about what Grandpa and Grandma told you the other day? Your father was sent to jail by that heartless mother of yours, and we’re just two old folks with one foot in the grave. We’re at our wits’ end, so we had to swallow our pride and come beg you. For the sake of how much Grandpa and Grandma doted on you before, please, just give us a way to survive, won’t you?"

It just goes to show that shameless people are all drama kings and queens. The crocodile tears started flowing on command.

No wonder Iris Donovan and her brother couldn’t win against these two cunning old demons. The couple had already rehearsed their lines before showing up, and with their willingness to throw a fit by crying, screaming, and threatening to cause a scene, they seized the initiative completely, leaving no room for the siblings to even defend themselves.

"What was it you told them the other day? Was it to forgive their deadbeat dad, who had a second family on the side, tricked a woman into marriage, and tried to wipe out her family’s assets? Or was it about how you enjoyed a life of luxury for far too long by relying on your son marrying into a wealthy family, only to be kicked to the curb—along with his other wife and child—when everything came to light? And now, feeling bitter, you want to use public pressure to force someone else to support you and willingly become your personal ATM?"