“You said the big star is your sister, right? Then show us her household registration, birth certificate, where she works, or even childhood photos,” the leader demanded.
Matthew was asked, and he stammered, “I don’t have those, but she really is my sister. A few years ago, something happened, and she insisted on severing ties with us. She changed her name and identity on her household registration. If you don’t believe me, wait until I find her, and we can verify her DNA for you.”
“Even if what you’re saying is true, why do you believe that a woman who severed ties with her family would come up with five million dollars to save you?” questioned the man.
Matthew confidently stated, “Why wouldn’t she? She’s my real sister. Blood is thicker than water. Even if emotions are severed, blood relations cannot be.”
The leader looked at Matthew with disdain, thinking to himself what a poor fellow he was, and that he must have escaped from a mental hospital.
He was tired of talking to him, so he just signaled to his men to teach him a lesson.
Matthew had a strong sense of crisis. As soon as he realized he was about to get beaten up, he immediately begged, “Please, sir, don’t hit me. I have a witness. The person who brought me in here is named Cromwell.”
The leader asked, “Did you see him come in with anyone?”
“No.”
“You see, no one saw him.”
Matthew looked around, his eyes darting rapidly. “It’s impossible. It was just a person named Cromwell who brought me here. You can check the surveillance cameras.”
“I don’t want to waste my time talking to you. You’re the one gambling, changing money, and losing money. Why are you talking about other people? I think you just have an itchy back. Beat him until he coughs up the money. If he can’t, then cut out his kidney and eyes,” the man spat, finishing his sentence on Matthew.
Even after being half beaten to death, Matthew didn’t see Cromwell again. He was holding back his anger, realizing now what he didn’t understand before. He had been deceived.
Since Cromwell had been untrustworthy from the start, why would he have found them a place to stay? Matthew soon realized the answer.
People at the casino cut off one of his fingers as a warning, made him sign an IOU, and told him that he must repay the money within a month, or they would cut off his entire hand. There was no escaping. The people at the casino made it very clear that they had ways to track him.
He was thrown into an empty alley, clutching his bloody hand. He had the misfortune of encountering a few stray dogs and was bitten on the leg. He shooed the dogs away with a brick and limped back to the rundown rental he remembered.
Upon returning, he found many men in the house, all either with styled hair or tattoos, and they were all difficult to deal with. Matthew immediately sensed that something big was wrong and was about to run, but Rachel stopped him.
“We really didn’t deceive anyone. It was a guy named Cromwell who brought us here. He even gave us five hundred dollars to stay here… don’t you believe it? We don’t have his phone number, but my son should have it. They get along well…” Rachel explained anxiously, her eyes darting around restlessly. Suddenly, she saw Matthew in the back and shouted, “My son is back, right there.”
Matthew cursed silently. He was unable to leave. He was surrounded by over a dozen pairs of eyes, and with his leg bitten by a dog, he couldn’t run away.
“Matthew, you need to explain to them. It was Cromwell who brought us here, not us. These people insist that we came in and stole the money they left here. In this rundown place, how could we have seen any money…” Rachel pleaded and explained. Although she had some habits of thievery and petty crime in the countryside, she genuinely hadn’t stolen the money there. Even her own money had been stolen.
Rachel finished speaking and then saw Matthew in his state. “Son, what happened to you? Why are you covered in so much blood? Where is Cromwell? Why isn’t he with you? Call him and ask him to come over and explain. These people say they don’t know any Cromwell.”
“Mom, we’ve been deceived. We’ve been deceived by that person since we got off the train,” he explained. They thought he was a good person, but it turned out he was a con artist. First, he tricked him into losing five million at the casino, then here. From the beginning, they had fallen into a trap. Ironically, they had been proud, believing that finding Aoife would lead to them getting sixty billion, onlyto end up falling into a pit.
Rachel, who used to be more astute in the village, suddenly realized, upon hearing Matthew’s words, how they had been deceived. She collapsed on the ground, crying and shouting, just like when they were on the street.
“Damn it, we’ve been tricked. That heartless scoundrel, making us believe in him so much! Matthew, tell them about your sister. We’ll have a lot of money soon, and we won’t bother stealing your measly amount,” Rachel said, trying to defend herself.
When Matthew had his finger chopped off at the casino, he realized that no one would believe that a woman named Elisa was their relative. Based on their status, and the transformed Aoife being the renowned star, while they were considered insignificant.
Had they treated Aoife a bit better in the past, not letting their relationship deteriorate to this extent, even if they had taken a few photos with her, there would have been a chance that people would believe she was his sister.