Chapter 390: I Have No Morals

Chapter 390: Chapter 390: I Have No Morals

The elderly couple, feeling they had Lillian Donovan’s family right where they wanted them, were absolutely gloating. To the onlookers, they looked for all the world like petty villains who had just scored a victory.

Eloise and Arabella Donovan exchanged a look and chuckled softly. "I did just say that if an elderly person’s children have all passed away or lost the ability to support them, the grandchildren can provide support in their stead," Eloise said. "But that rule has conditions."

Arabella Donovan raised an eyebrow, playing along. "What conditions?"

"The condition is that the grandchildren obligated to provide support must have the financial means to do so. In other words, if you want them to support you, they must first be capable of earning their own money. Only if they have enough disposable income to support you *after* supporting themselves does it meet the requirement. And clearly..."

Eloise Donovan glanced at Iris Donovan and her brother, her meaning unspoken but perfectly clear.

Arabella Donovan couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. "The two of them are still in middle school. They haven’t even finished their compulsory education! They still depend on others to support them. What financial means could they possibly have to take on this burdensome family?"

Mr. and Mrs. Croft were stunned. The two of them didn’t actually understand the law. In their minds, Julian Croft was the children’s biological father. Regardless of whether the parents were divorced, they were the grandparents, and the children couldn’t just abandon them!

This was a matter of morality. As long as Lillian Donovan cared about her reputation and saving face, she wouldn’t ignore them and would have to let them have their way.

However, they had clearly forgotten this wasn’t their village. Back home, they were surrounded by acquaintances with whom they had some distant, convoluted connection, people they saw day in and day out. There, a bad reputation would make life difficult and everything a struggle.

But in the city, things were different. Never mind anyone else, you could live in the same apartment building for years and, if you kept to yourself, not even know who your next-door neighbor was. You might never exchange more than a few words, let alone get into a nasty argument. That’s why young people today refuse to let themselves be wronged. ’Trying to use moral blackmail on me? Sorry, I’m not playing that game. I only care about the law. I’ll obey what the law requires, unconditionally. If the law doesn’t require it, I won’t give you a thing.’

Take Iris and her brother’s situation, for example. If the law truly stipulated that they had to support these two old scoundrels, then so be it. But since it didn’t, the couple couldn’t dream of prying a single cent from them!

Hearing their two older cousins lay it all out, Iris and her brother felt greatly relieved. They chimed in, "That’s right. My sister and I are still in school. We only get a small allowance. Where would we get the spare cash to support you?"

Mrs. Croft grew anxious. "Your family is so rich! The two of you get tens of thousands a month for your allowance. How can you say you don’t have money for us?"

Mr. Croft chimed in, "That’s right. You two may not have money, but doesn’t your mother? We’re not asking for much. Just give us thirty or forty thousand a month. Consider it... consider it compensation for having your father sent away. Otherwise, we’ll come here and make a scene every single day. And not just here—we’ll go to your heartless mother’s company and make a scene there, too. I refuse to believe we can’t handle you."

As soon as the two said this, many of the parents who had just been watching from the sidelines could no longer stand it. They stood outside, pointing and muttering at the couple.

"Look how old they are, and they’re after two kids’ allowance money. It’s disgraceful for their age."

"Exactly! And it’s not like they’re so old and decrepit they can’t move. These days, as long as you have some strength and are willing to work, you might not live lavishly, but at least you won’t starve. To ask for money from kids in their early teens, still in middle school... they really have some nerve."

"They have the energy to come to the school and make a fuss for days on end. I’d say they’re in perfectly good health! As the saying goes, ’When elders are unkind, the young will not be filial.’ A few days ago, I heard about these two causing a scene at the school gate and thought it was a problem with the kids and their parents.

Now I see I was just jumping on the bandwagon and blamed the wrong people. You can just imagine how domineering and difficult people who demand money with every breath must be, threatening to cause trouble at school and work if they don’t get it. The parents were right not to engage with them. If you give in even once, won’t you be pestered for the rest of your life?"

"I know, right..."

Listening to the crowd’s murmurs, Arabella and Eloise exchanged a knowing look, a hint of a smile in their eyes.

These two kept bringing up the children, constantly pulling rank as their elders. But to put it bluntly, weren’t they just after Lillian Donovan’s fortune? Before, they had planned to use Julian Croft to slowly bleed the Donovan family dry. Now that Julian Croft was out of the picture, they were trying to use the two children to control Lillian Donovan.

An ordinary person who didn’t know the full story would naturally think it’s only right for the younger generation to be filial to their elders. But once that veneer of "elder" was stripped away to reveal their insatiably greedy true colors, even those who had little to do with them would have to weigh whether speaking up would just drag them into the mess.

Mrs. Croft and her husband, however, failed to notice the shift in the crowd’s attitude. Hearing her husband’s threat, she grew even more energized. "That’s right, that’s right! If you don’t give us money, we’ll make a scene. We’ve got nothing better to do and can barely survive as it is. We have all the time and energy in the world to wear you down. Let’s see who gives in first!"

As Mrs. Croft said this, she held her chin high, convinced she had the complete upper hand.

In their minds, city folk were all obsessed with saving face. The higher their position, the more they hated airing their dirty laundry in public. This was especially true for big corporations. If a disgraceful scandal broke out, the company’s stock price would plummet, and the person who caused the trouble could be punished or even fired for mishandling it.

Therefore, to keep the peace, most people would choose to pay to make the problem go away. And that money was exactly what they were after!

However, she was destined for disappointment. Lillian Donovan would rather flush the money down a toilet than give a single cent to these two old geezers. Doing so would make her feel disgusted with herself for the rest of her life!

"A scene? Go right ahead and make one! I’d like to see what’s more powerful—your petty tricks, or my company’s legal department!"

Lillian Donovan had gotten the call from Eloise Donovan and rushed over with her people as fast as possible, arriving just in time to witness the spectacular scene of the couple making threats against her children.

"You... you..."

The old Croft couple were the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. In front of the children, they constantly put on the airs of elders, trying to intimidate them. But the moment they came face to face with Lillian Donovan, all their bravado evaporated.

They were especially frightened when they saw the tall, imposing men in suits standing behind Lillian Donovan, and they trembled like quails. After all, facing Arabella and the others was just a war of words. Confronting Lillian Donovan? She might actually have them beaten to death!

"Speak up. Cat got your tongue? If you’re not going to talk, then it’s my turn." Lillian Donovan sneered at their pathetic state and tossed a bundle of documents she had prepared in advance right into their arms.