Chapter 395: That’s a Real Mom for You

Chapter 395: Chapter 395: That’s a Real Mom for You

"You saw how vile the Griffin Family is, which is why you spoke up to warn her just now."

Arabella Donovan nodded. "With elders like that—who would hurt their own child again and again for their own selfish desires, who practically wish her dead—if she doesn’t stay away, there’s no guarantee she and her daughter won’t end up just like my aunt and her family."

The fate Arabella Donovan mentioned was the one that befell Lillian Donovan’s family in the original script.

The Griffin Family was getting along with Ruby Griffin and her daughter for now because they still had some use. But what if they lost that value in the future, or if their value could no longer satisfy the family’s selfish desires?

Back then, they were willing to harm Ruby Griffin for the sake of a grandson who hadn’t even been born yet. Who could guarantee that they wouldn’t drag this mother and son down to be stepping stones for that precious son (grandson) of theirs in the near future?

Everyone in the car quickly understood Arabella Donovan’s meaning, and they all sighed with a sense of melancholy.

This little interlude didn’t last long. The evidence Lillian Donovan had collected and submitted over the past few days was comprehensive and compelling. Even though Julian Croft’s parents insisted they were just asking their own grandchildren for money—which they claimed was reasonable and legal—Lillian Donovan still used various pieces of evidence to prove that the pair was trying to extort her, their former daughter-in-law, by going through the children.

Furthermore, the amount of money they demanded was quite large. In a moment of impulse, they had also threatened—in front of so many people—to cause a scene at the two children’s school and Lillian Donovan’s company. They had essentially met all the criteria for the crime of extortion.

After giving her statement at the police station and confirming things with her lawyer, Lillian Donovan immediately returned to the Donovan Family home with the good news.

"Aren’t they always using that scumbag’s name as an excuse to emotionally blackmail my kids? I’m sure they must miss their son after not seeing him for a while. Luckily for them, I’m in a good mood lately, so I’ll be merciful and send them all to have a family reunion ’inside.’ A family should stick together, nice and neat, after all."

Arabella Donovan swallowed a mouthful of strawberry and gave her aunt a big thumbs-up.

Seeing this, Lillian Donovan immediately scooted over to Arabella Donovan, took her hand, and said, "This is all thanks to you and Eloise. These two little fools are still too green. They didn’t inherit any of their aunt’s intelligence. That idiot’s inferior genes dragged them down. They seem sharp enough usually, but the moment something happens, all they can do is stare blankly. It’s infuriating just to watch."

Iris Donovan and her brother: "..." ’That’s our mom, all right. Does she have to be so harsh?’

"The kids are young, and it was their first time dealing with old scoundrels who don’t play by the rules. It’s like a scholar meeting a soldier—reasoning is useless. Don’t blame them for not knowing how to react. Even we adults might not have done any better. You shouldn’t be so hard on them."

"I’m not really blaming them. I’m just furious at how shameless those people are. Today, thanks to Serena and Eloise’s clarification, the children’s names were cleared. Otherwise, if we had let those two old geezers keep making baseless accusations and twisting the truth, who knows what kind of rumors would have spread over time? It would have been bad for the kids at school, too."

"Also, I have to thank Serena for the reminder today. If it weren’t for what you said, I might not have connected the dots so quickly and realized that those two old fools showing up to cause trouble was most likely related to their grandson."

Arabella Donovan waved her hand, not wanting to take credit. "Even without my reminder, Auntie, you would have figured it out sooner or later."

The timing of their visit was strange. If they had really wanted to come and cause trouble for Lillian Donovan with their emotional blackmail routine, they should have done it when Julian Croft first got into trouble.

Of course, it was also possible that things had happened too quickly for them to even react. By the time they did, everything was already settled, and there was no point in coming.

But since it wasn’t about Julian Croft, it was easy to guess who the "golden goose" in their family was now, especially since a certain someone happened to be bedridden at the moment.

"Just talking about this makes me mad. I used to think that you should go after the person who wronged you. That deadbeat scumbag Julian Croft cheated me, so I went after him. Besides, without him, the rest of those ghouls in his family couldn’t stir up much trouble."

Of course, the main reason was that I knew Lucy Ingram and her husband were also planning to make a move. I wanted to at least leave them some room to act and vent their own frustrations.

I never thought that with some of them locked up and others paralyzed, they would still refuse to behave!

"I’m definitely sending those two old ones to prison. If they dare to target my children, they can forget about getting away unscathed. As for their precious grandson, I just called your Miss Ingram. She said she’ll have someone go and break his other leg later. I refuse to believe he can still crawl out of bed and cause trouble after that."

Arabella Donovan: "..." ’Yup. That’s my aunt for you.’

In any case, this matter with Lillian Donovan’s family was more or less over. Arabella Donovan didn’t ask what happened to the Croft Family afterward, but seeing as Iris Donovan and Sean Donovan were taken home and never came back, that family was probably finished for good. They wouldn’t be able to stir up any more trouble.

Arabella Donovan spent nearly a month resting at home, and another month passed while she received visiting relatives and friends. By the time Caspian Rhodes called her again, almost two months had gone by since they had last met.

This time, Caspian Rhodes still enthusiastically invited her to be a guest at his home, but the reason for the visit had changed.

"You’re inviting me to your family’s ancestral worship ceremony?" Arabella Donovan almost thought she had misheard. "Wait, your family is honoring your ancestors. Why would an outsider like me get involved?"

"Here’s the thing. That video of you confronting Cassandra Lynch in the coffee shop went viral, and my parents and grandparents all saw it. They happened to find out you were the woman in the video, and that you’d also done a feng shui reading for Solara Corporation before. Coincidentally, a lot of strange, unexplainable things have been happening in our family lately. So they were thinking of taking advantage of this ancestral ceremony to invite you over and see if there’s a problem with our ancestral tomb’s feng shui."

After explaining, Caspian Rhodes didn’t forget to advocate for her compensation. "You don’t have to worry about the price. We’ll pay double the market rate as compensation for your travel troubles. We’ll also reimburse your round-trip travel expenses. What do you think?"

Arabella Donovan hummed in thought before asking tentatively, "Where’s your hometown?"

"In Kael, in the Province of Galia."

Arabella Donovan’s first thought was: ’That’s way too far. No wonder they’re doubling the price; the travel expenses will definitely be high.’

As if anticipating her concerns, Caspian Rhodes spoke up first. "It is a bit far, but it’s only once a year. All of our relatives, young and old, will be there. It’s rare for the whole family to gather so completely. It’ll be lively, but we’re also worried about trouble starting, especially since this involves ancestral worship. My parents considered this when they thought of asking you to come and help. If it’s not convenient for you..."