CHAPTER 141: CHAPTER 141: THE PARTIALITY OF MOTHER JOHNSON

"Sister..." Samara choked out.

"Don’t be sad. Dad is gone, but you still have us," Sienna Johnson comforted her.

Perhaps it was because she now had a child, but Sienna had become gentler towards others.

Samara nodded and started to cry even harder. Mother Johnson stroked her younger daughter’s head, sighing, "Samara, now that you’ve seen your sister is okay, you can be at ease, right? Stop crying, good child."

Mother Johnson then explained to her mother-in-law, "This child insisted on coming to see her sister when she heard she had fainted."

Grandmother looked at Samara, nodding in satisfaction. "In the future, the Johnson Family will only have the two of you sisters. You must love and support each other, understand?"

"Understood," the two sisters echoed in unison.

Mother Johnson had matters to discuss with her mother-in-law and eldest daughter, so she sent Samara and Kiki away, leaving only three people, each with their own thoughts, in the room.

Mother Johnson looked at her eldest daughter’s pale face, her heart aching. She counseled, "I know you had a strong bond with your father, but people can’t come back to life once they’re dead. You must consider your health. If you fall ill, we will all be heartbroken."

Sienna didn’t respond.

Grandmother knew there were unresolved issues between mother and daughter and that persuading them wouldn’t work for now. She could only try to guide them gently. "I already mentioned all of this to Sienna. Sienna has always been a sensible child; she understands."

With no outsiders present, Sienna finally voiced the question buried in her heart. "Why did Father suddenly pass away?"

Thinking of her husband’s sudden death, Mother Johnson’s eyes filled with tears. She turned away, wiping her tears with a handkerchief, and said, "Your father had a heart attack but didn’t take his Heart-Saving Pill in time, so..."

"Why didn’t Father take his Heart-Saving Pill in time?"

Mother Johnson cried, "The Heart-Saving Pills had run out, and your father hadn’t bought more. So when he had the heart attack, the pill bottle was empty."

Sienna didn’t believe it. "Father has always been meticulous. If the Heart-Saving Pills had run out, how could he possibly not have bought more?"

"Perhaps he forgot? Your father was quite busy with work around that time..." Mother Johnson said.

Sienna glanced at her grandmother, who had not expressed any opinion on Father Johnson’s death. Mother Johnson had been doing all the talking.

Sienna might have believed it had it been anyone else dying from a heart attack, but she knew her father’s character too well.

Meticulous, thorough, a careful planner...

Dexter Johnson had labored all his life: for his mother, Pauline Briggs, who seemed eternally childlike; for his two daughters, each with vastly different personalities; and because there were no other men in the Johnson Family. He cherished his life more than anyone.

Knowing his heart was in poor condition, how could he possibly have neglected to buy more Heart-Saving Pills, allowing such a preventable danger to occur?

She would investigate everything thoroughly. If her father had truly died of a heart attack, then so be it. But if he hadn’t...

She would make them pay in blood!

Grandmother coughed lightly, interrupting Sienna’s thoughts. "Sienna, with your father’s sudden death, there are many things to handle. As for your situation, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Since it’s just the three of us here now, with no outsiders, please answer honestly—what really happened two years ago?"

Sienna vividly remembered the treacherous things Sabrina Johnson and Frederick Stewart had done to her two years ago.

"Sabrina Johnson and Frederick Stewart wanted to kill me, so I jumped into the sea to escape..." Sienna hadn’t finished when Mother Johnson interrupted her, shaking her head repeatedly.

"No! This is impossible! You must have misunderstood; Sabrina wouldn’t do such a terrible thing. There must have been some misunderstanding.

"Sienna, didn’t you say you couldn’t remember many things?

"You must have remembered it wrong.

"Think it over carefully!"

Sienna shot a sidelong glance at Mother Johnson, who looked remarkably youthful despite everything. She honestly despised that well-preserved face, so typical of her mother.

Sienna didn’t explain. Instead, she simply recounted her story, "...A man saved me, I became his mistress, and then I escaped..."

"Is that Curly Baby really your daughter?" Grandmother asked.

"Yes."

Grandmother thought for a moment and said, "Don’t let outsiders know Curly Baby is your daughter. Just say she’s..."

"Curly Baby is my daughter, and I have no intention of hiding her identity!"

Having a child out of wedlock would greatly damage a woman’s reputation. Mother Johnson disagreed with Sienna’s approach. "That child should never have been born. How could you be so foolish?"

Sienna remained silent.

"You have a daughter out of wedlock, and you’re not even married! If word gets out, how will you marry into a good family? Sienna, how can you be so thoughtless?"

Sienna ignored Mother Johnson’s words and smiled confidently at her grandmother. "Grandmother, didn’t you want me to arrange for my husband to marry into our family? Since that man is going to marry into the Johnson Family, he must accept Curly Baby! And he must accept everyone in the Johnson Family!"

Grandmother asked excitedly, "Sienna, have you agreed to have your husband marry into the family?"

"Yes, having him marry into the family is quite good."

Mother Johnson objected, "What nonsense are you talking about? What’s so good about him marrying into the family? Those willing to do so are all undesirable. Which good man would marry into his wife’s family?"

Sienna remained silent. She had made up her mind, and Mother Johnson could not change it, especially with her grandmother supporting her.

"Mom, you can’t let Sienna have a husband marry into our family," Mother Johnson pleaded with Grandmother. "It’s not fair to her. I just hope she marries a good man and lives peacefully."

Grandmother asked, "Do you have a better solution?"

Mother Johnson said, "Sabrina and Frederick told me they could take over the company. Frederick would surely hold onto the Johnson Family’s assets."

Sabrina Johnson and Frederick Stewart again, Sienna fumed internally. Those two are truly relentless! First, they plotted against me, and now they’re after the Johnson Family’s assets!

"What nonsense are you talking about? Why should the Johnson Family’s company be given to the Stewart Family?" Grandmother demanded.

Seeing her mother-in-law angry, Mother Johnson quickly explained, "Mom, I’m just trying to do what’s best for the Johnson Family. Can’t you see? All those uncles in the Johnson Family are bullying us—widows and orphans. They’d swallow us whole if they could. If we don’t give the assets to Frederick and Sabrina, will they leave us in peace?

"Besides, Sabrina married Frederick, making him the Johnson Family’s son-in-law. How can he be considered an outsider?"

"You’re muddled!" Grandmother scolded.

Sienna sneered, "Aren’t you afraid of throwing the lamb into the lion’s den? Those uncles may be greedy, but at least they carry the Johnson name. Frederick’s last name is Stewart, and since Sabrina married him, she’s a wife of the Stewart Family.

"Women naturally favor their husband’s family after marriage."

"Sabrina wouldn’t do that," Mother Johnson insisted.

Sabrina always put on one face in public and another in private. Sienna had often been bullied by this duplicitous woman in the past. At first, she would complain, but Mother Johnson never believed her, so eventually, Sienna stopped saying anything.

"Grandmother, I want my husband to marry into the family!"

"Sienna, have you really decided?" Grandmother asked.

"I object!" Mother Johnson exclaimed.

"I’ve already decided! The Johnson Family has no sons. When Father was alive, he raised me like a son. Now that he’s gone, I am his daughter, but I am also his son. I know I still have many shortcomings, but I will strive to support the Johnson Family."