Chapter 632 - 628: I’ll Handle It

Late autumn was the most comfortable season of the year in the southern coastal metropolis of Veridia.

Night was falling. The balcony window was open, letting in a gentle evening breeze that carried the chirping of autumn cicadas. From downstairs, the voices of residents drifted up intermittently. This old complex had a much more lived-in, homey feel than any luxury high-rise.

Yvonne Sterling brought a glass of milk to her son’s room before coming out and sitting down on the sofa.

Cecilia Sterling looked at her aunt. Although Yvonne appeared fine on the surface, the exhaustion etched between her brows was unmistakable.

"Auntie, have the results for your tumor come back yet?"

Yvonne Sterling nodded. "Not yet. They’ll be ready next week. That Ronald... telling you before anything was even confirmed. He made you come all this way for nothing."

"How could it be for nothing? Ronald did the right thing. If he hadn’t told me, would you have said anything yourself?" Cecilia’s tone was tinged with complaint. "We may have moved to Lorcain, but aren’t we still family? If Mom found out you were hiding something like this, she’d be angry too."

Hearing that the results weren’t back yet, however, Cecilia felt a small wave of relief.

But her mind was already made up. Regardless of the final diagnosis of her aunt’s tumor, she was determined to take her to Lorcain for treatment.

The time was now nine in the evening. Cecilia couldn’t help but ask, "Where’s my uncle?"

"He’s out on some business. He should be back soon," Yvonne replied, her expression a little unnatural. She tried to change the subject, looking at Cecilia with concern. "Is everything all right with you all in Lorcain?"

It was an awkward question. Her mother and her aunt video-chatted every day, so Yvonne knew perfectly well how they were doing.

Cecilia had always been good at reading people, and she could tell at a glance that her aunt was deliberately avoiding something.

"Auntie, has something happened at home?"

Yvonne’s expression faltered. She shook her head. "It’s nothing. What could possibly happen to us...?"

Her aunt had always been a straightforward person, so her current awkwardness was completely unconvincing. Cecilia scooted closer. "I’m not an idiot," she said calmly. "Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?"

Yvonne looked up at her, but before she could speak, the sound of a key turning in the front door lock filled the air.

Brendan Harris had returned at the perfect moment. Yvonne used it as an excuse to stand up. "Your uncle’s back."

The door opened. Brendan Harris hadn’t even stepped inside before he started cursing. "Damn those crooks! God knows which door they slipped out of today. We staked the place out all day and didn’t see a single soul. If they don’t show their faces tomorrow, we’re thinking of just storming the place."

Hearing this, Yvonne quickly slapped his arm. Brendan, who was changing his shoes, looked up and saw his wife shooting him a look.

Brendan followed her gaze, turned his head, and froze. "Hey? Cecilia!"

"Uncle."

Cecilia greeted him, but she had heard every single word of her uncle’s tirade.

"What’s going on?" she asked, looking directly at her uncle.

Brendan glanced at his wife, at a loss, unsure if he should say anything.

Seeing that she couldn’t hide it anymore, Yvonne could only look at Cecilia and say, "It’s not a big deal. Cecilia, you don’t need to worry."

Cecilia’s face darkened, and a flare of anger shot through her. "Auntie, are you and Uncle trying to shut me out of the family now?"

"You silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about?" Yvonne said, flustered. "Your uncle and I have always treated you like our own daughter."

"Then what are you doing hiding things from me?" Cecilia looked at them both. "Do I have to go find someone to investigate this myself? Do you really want me to find out the long way around?"

"That’s not what I meant." Seeing that Cecilia was getting angry, Yvonne finally softened and gave in. "I’ll tell you. Sit down first, and we’ll talk it through, okay?"

Cecilia nodded and sat back down on the sofa.

Yvonne sat down beside her, while Brendan took a seat opposite them.

Cecilia stared intently at her aunt, waiting for her to speak.

Yvonne sighed softly before beginning. "A new residential complex opened on Hexal Avenue mid-year. The street-level retail spaces at the crossroads were in high demand, and your uncle and I had our eyes on one since the beginning of the year."

"To buy the property, we took out a bank loan on the developer’s recommendation. We planned to move the Cantonese BBQ Shop there. It’s not far from home, and our old regulars would only be a couple of blocks away. We were sure business would be great."

Cecilia listened and nodded. So far, nothing sounded out of the ordinary. Her aunt and uncle’s plan seemed perfectly reasonable.

"And then?"

Brendan jumped in to continue the story. "And then, when it was time to take possession in the second half of the year, we were told by the bank and the court that the developer had already mortgaged the property long before we took out our loan and paid for it."

"The developer defaulted on their debts, so the mortgaged properties were seized by the court to be auctioned off. And it wasn’t just us. The owners of the whole row of street-level shops and many of the residential buyers in the complex were also scammed."

"So now we’re stuck with a bank loan, the property is tied up by the court, and that black-hearted developer is in hiding. It’s been so long, and they still haven’t given us any explanation."

Cecilia’s brow furrowed as she listened.

Yvonne bit her lip and looked at Brendan with a pained expression. "Your uncle has been leaving early and coming home late, staking out the developer’s office building every day with a group of other victims, just trying to get a resolution. At this point, we don’t even care about the shop anymore, but being saddled with this loan is just so unfair."

"How much was the loan?" Cecilia asked.

The couple exchanged a glance. Since they had already said so much, Yvonne decided not to hide it any longer. "The space wasn’t huge. We took out a loan for just under two million."

Considering the property prices in Veridia, especially in her aunt’s neighborhood, a commercial space worth over two million would be sixty square meters at most.

"Your aunt wasn’t thinking about anything else. We’ve been running the Cantonese BBQ Shop for so many years, and business and income have been stable, but the shop itself was never ours," Brendan explained to Cecilia. "We just happened to find this perfect spot—the location and price were both great. Your aunt and I thought we’d buy it, so we could finally have a place of our own."

"Cecilia, don’t tell your mom. Don’t let her get all worried and worked up," Yvonne urged, grasping Cecilia’s hand.

Cecilia shook her head in resignation. "How long can you hide it? Auntie, Uncle, this is a huge mess. The developer’s top priority will be dealing with the bank and the court. When will they ever have time for you victims? Wrangling with them could drag on forever. And Auntie, you’re sick right now. If you waste all your energy on this, how are you supposed to live your life?"

How could Brendan not understand that?

"I know," he said. "But we’ve sunk so much money into this, only to get nothing and be saddled with a loan for over two million. How can you expect us to just let it go?"

"You’re not going to let it go." Cecilia squeezed her aunt’s hand. "I am."