Suddenly, I realized why Kurt hesitated to take the girl away earlier though he clearly wanted her. He calmed down and listened to me because he was afraid of his wife.
Silence ensued. I thought the woman would disagree, but she uttered, “Sure. My son’s dead, so your daughter shall bear Kurt’s child. If she gives birth to a son, she shall be free. Otherwise, she needs to stay in our house until she gives birth to a son.”
Ronald’s wife nodded profusely and offered a smile. “No problem. She can bear children and satisfy your needs.”
Her words nearly drove me crazy. I was about to speak when Boris took my hand and stopped me in time. He whispered in my ear, “You can’t do anything. The ending will still be the same. The Weeders won’t return the money.”
Stunned, I glanced at Alma’s pale expression as a sense of hopelessness washed over me. No matter what I do, nothing would change their fates.
Seeing my reaction, Ronald’s wife offered me a polite smile. “Ms. Stovall, thank you for your concern. This is our family’s business, so we won’t trouble you.”
Huh, how rude.
Indeed, I should stay out of their affairs.
In the end, Kurt led a devastated Alma away. Peace was restored in Ronald’s household.
I didn’t know what to say by then.
“Ms. Stovall, thank you for your help. We can register Amy’s birth later, but you need to pay me a hundred thousand first for that. It isn’t easy to bring her up. Also, since she’s going to extract her bone marrow, her health would be affected, especially her kidney. There are many things she can’t touch. She will have difficulties getting around, too. In fact, she’ll be useless. For this, I want an extra five hundred thousand. This isn’t expensive, and I believe you can afford it,” Ronald declared. “Hopefully you can give me the money after I register Amy as a citizen today. Everything you do after this has nothing to do with me.”
I fell silent at his selfish statement. I knew he was right in doing so, but that only heightened my distaste for his selfishness.
After a long pause, I replied, “I’ll pay you one million to adopt Amy. We shall deal with the adoption process, and Amy will be my daughter. She has nothing to do with you from now on. No matter what she becomes in the future, you aren’t allowed to bother her, get it?”
Ronald was taken aback by my request. He let out a sudden laugh. “Sure, no problem. I didn’t expect she would be worth this much.” He repeated, “Sure, of course. Let’s go now.”
I thought he would at least hesitate, but contrary to my expectation, he seemed delighted. My gaze landed on Amy. She was still a kid, but she had seen the entire exchange with her sisters. The scar would remain in their hearts forever.
Next, Ronald followed us to the town and dealt with the necessary procedures. “Ms. Stovall, the money,” he reminded me once we were done.
I pursed my lips and gestured for Boris to hand him the briefcase full of banknotes. Ronald was clearly excited to see the money and left without looking back.
Amy was standing right beside me as she watched Ronald leaving with his wife on his motorcycle. They didn’t even bother saying goodbye to their daughter.
I took her hand and bent down to wipe her tears away. “Amy, you shall stay with us from now on. Is that alright?”
She gazed at me and nodded with a hint of maturity in her expression. “Okay!”
She fell silent after that.
I brought her to my car, and Boris started the engine. Throughout the entire journey, Amy didn’t crane her neck to stare at the scenery in wonderment like she used to do. Instead, she sat quietly without showing any emotion.
I parted my lips to comfort her, but the words died in my throat.
Hence, I stayed silent.
After some time, I noticed we hadn’t entered the highway yet. Feeling doubtful, I queried, “Boris, did you take the wrong route?”
In response, he glanced at the rearview mirror and explained, “Ms. Stovall, someone seems to be tailing us.”
With a frown, I turned at my shoulder and noticed a grey van behind our vehicle. Surprised, I asked, “How long has the van been tailing us?”
