“You’re suffering from stomach cancer, right? I heard the surgery costs a fortune. But now, not only are you back and healthy, you’ve even opened this shop. It looks like you must have quite a bit of money!”
The plump woman’s words struck like a dagger, her gaze growing sharp and venomous.
Felicity’s mother swallowed hard and replied, her voice trembling, “What money? There’s no money at all!”
“No money? Then how did you open this store? Do you take me for a fool? Let me tell you something, Mona. Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done. Did you take back that $10, 000 you lent Owen Thomas?”
Felicity’s mother’s face turned pale, and she quickly shook her head in denial. “No, I didn’t!”
“Didn’t? Then how did you open this shop? It must’ve cost at least a few thousand dollars, right? Where’d you get that kind of money?” The plump woman wasn’t easy to fool. Ever since she heard that Felicity’s mother had opened a shop, she had been seething with jealousy. After careful planning, she had finally decided to confront her.
“I…,” Felicity’s mother stammered, but before she could say another word, the woman interrupted her.
“I know exactly what happened. You must’ve taken back that money from Owen Thomas. That’s why I’m here today-to claim my share.”
Both Felicity and her mother froze in fear, their hearts pounding as they cautiously eyed the woman.
“Aunt Clara, what do you mean by ‘your share’?” Felicity mustered the courage to ask, her voice timid.
She was terrified of this woman. Clara was loud, domineering, and had always treated Felicity with disdain. She had never hidden her contempt for Felicity, looking down on her in every possible way.
“Shut up!” Clara glared at Felicity with disgust and snapped, “You ugly little thing, who gave you permission to speak? This is a discussion between adults. What does it have to do with you? Can’t you learn from your sister? Look at Annie-she’s sitting quietly and showing respect to her elders. Do you even understand what that means?”
Annie lifted her head and glanced at Felicity with annoyance. With a smirk, she said to her mother, “Mom, why are you even comparing me to someone like her? Can she even begin to measure up to me? This ugly freak isn’t even worthy of touching my toes.”
Hearing this, Felicity lowered her head, her dignity shattered into pieces.
Felicity’s mother quickly intervened, “Annie, how can you say such things? Felicity is your sister, and she’s grown up now. She has her pride too. Speaking like that is not right!”
Clara snorted in disdain and retorted, “Not right? What’s not right about it? Is my daughter wrong? Do you honestly think your daughter can even compare to mine? My Annie might not be the most beautiful, but compared to that ugly thing of yours, she’s leagues ahead! Comparing your daughter to mine is an insult to my Annie’s toes!”
“Enough! I don’t have time to argue with you anymore. Let’s get to the point. That money-half of it originally belonged to Leo. Back then, we were considerate of your difficulties and let you keep it to support yourselves. But now that you seem to be doing fine, it’s only fair that you return our $5, 000!” Clara finally revealed her true intentions.
Felicity’s mother was stunned. “Clara, what are you talking about?”
Clara frowned and sneered, “What am I talking about? Are you seriously playing dumb? That piece of land your family took-it was ours originally, wasn’t it?”
“It was yours, yes, but didn’t you trade it with us for the roadside plot so you could sell it off?” Felicity’s mother replied cautiously, her tone soft and submissive.
Back then, Felicity’s father had been allocated a prime roadside plot, perfect for construction. When Leo, Clara’s husband, saw the value of the land, he immediately pressured Felicity’s father into trading it for their less desirable plot. Leo sold the roadside land, earning about $3, 000 or $4, 000 from the deal.
Ironically, the land that Leo traded to Felicity’s father was later incorporated into a government project to build a power station, resulting in compensation of $15, 000. Clara had caused plenty of drama at the time, but since Felicity’s father was still alive back then, she didn’t dare push too far. Now, however, she had no such restraints.
When Felicity’s mother fell ill recently, Felicity had gone to their house to ask for help, hoping to borrow money. Not only did they refuse, but they also humiliated her, saying her mother deserved to die and was nothing but a burden.
“You still have the nerve to bring that up? That land cost us $15, 000 in compensation! Do you know what that means? Fifteen thousand dollars! That money should’ve been ours, but out of generosity, we let you keep half of it because Leo and your husband were brothers. Was that unreasonable?”
Clara’s voice grew more self-righteous as she continued, “When your husband got sick, we didn’t ask for the money back because it was meant for his treatment. But then, he lent it to Owen Thomas! And even now, when you fell ill, did we force you to repay us? No! We let you keep it to use for your treatment. We’ve been more than generous, but what did you do in return? You’ve opened a noodle shop and still refuse to pay us back!”
Clara’s anger escalated, her face contorted as though she were the victim of a grave injustice.
Felicity’s mother choked back a sob and replied, “Clara, that money was never yours to begin with. How can you demand it back now? Leo, what do you say? Did we ever agree back then that half of the money was yours?”
Leo, the middle-aged man standing silently beside Clara, let out a nervous “uh,” but said nothing more. He seemed like a meek and honest man, unwilling or unable to argue.
Clara shot him a furious glare before turning back to Felicity’s mother. “What’s that supposed to mean? You think Leo’s word is needed here? Mona, stop wasting my time and pay up! Originally, it was $7, 500, but we’re writing off $2, 500 as your husband’s medical expenses. That leaves $5, 000-every penny of which you owe us!”
“We didn’t push you for it earlier because we weren’t in a rush. But now, my daughter is about to enroll at Vernon University. She needs this money for her tuition. We had no choice but to come to you!” Clara declared with righteous indignation.
Felicity’s mother shook her head. “Clara, we don’t have the money!”
“Bang!” Clara slammed her palm on the table and shot to her feet, shouting, “No money? Are you playing games with my daughter’s future and dreams? Let me tell you, Mona, don’t push me to lose my temper. Whether you have it or not, you’d better come up with the money. This is about my daughter’s future! I’ve already been kind enough to let you keep it for so long.”
Annie chimed in, “Exactly! Just because your daughter has no future doesn’t mean mine should suffer. If my future is affected because of this money, I won’t let your family off the hook!”