bChapter /bb390 /b

    Peter exploded on the spot, jabbing a finger at her as he roared, “30 thousand? What do you take me for? A beggar?”

    Madeline ignored his curses and didn’t budge, even as he beat her up again. She wasn’t going to give them anything more than 30 thousand dors

    When the beating got too vicious, she finally let out a sharp warning through gritted teeth. “If I get hospitalized because of this, you won’t even seda single penny.”

    This sent Peter into such a towering rage, he truly wished he could kick her to death right then and there.

    Grace quickly clung to his leg, pleading, “Stop hitting her. 30 thousand dors it is. Maddie is our daughter too, so just let it slide this time”

    She turned to Madeline then, her voice dripping with honey, but each word made Madeline’s skin crawl. “Maddie, we’ll let it slide this time, but you breally /bneed to earn more in the future. You’ll need to pay for Miguel’s wedding gifts and his new house when the timees.”

    Madeline felt sickened to the core by her mother. Yet, to avoid further beatings, she had no choice but to grudgingly nod and meekly apologize to Peter

    “If this keeps up, I won’t die, but I’ll probably end up in the hospital. Once I’m there, someone might see the bruises, and everything will be exposed. Madeline thought bitterly. That was thest thing she needed.

    “Hmph, finally you know your ce,” Peter sneered. Seeing her kneel and apologize, his anger finally subsided a little. ht

    He scoffed inwardly, ‘She’s just a girl. How hard can it be to deal with her? If she doesn’t obey me, a good beating is enough to set her straight.

    To protect herself, Madeline kept her head down and obediently admitted fault to whatever he said.

    In the end, covered in bruises, she even forced herself to cook avish dinner, waited on them until they were stuffed, and handed over another six thousand dors for living expenses. Only then did she finally kick those two parasites out.

    The

    moment they left, Madeline slumped weakly against the door and slid down to the floor. ‘I’m so tired,‘ she thought, utterly exhausted.

    Meanwhile, at the office, Jessica had juste out of a meeting and checked her phone, only to find a new message from Madeline. When she opened it, she was hit with a flood of photos–each one more horrifying than thest, looking like a private documentary on domestic abuse.

    Beneath the dozen or so photos was a single, venomced text. [Jes?i, are you satisfied now?]

    Jessica lowered her gaze and sat in silence for nearly a minute before she finally replied: [You should call the police.]

    She thought, ‘She should call the police instead of sending me these. Did she really think she could guilt–trip me like this?

    ‘I haven’t forgotten the bloody knives, the dead rats, and all those disgusting things she left at my door not long ago. Nor have I forgotten Madeline stalking me again and again, the venomous words, and the screenshots meant to tarnish my reputation.

    ‘In the end, she brought this all upon herself. If she likes Brian, she should just pursue him. We’re already divorced, so whatever happens between them, I’d never interfere.

    ‘But she just refused to understand that simple truth, She chose toe after me, to drag me down, and even tried to hurt my child, so she can’t me me for striking back.‘

    Madeline shot back almost instantly. [Call the police? That’s easy for you to say.]

    Madeline: [Of course, a pampered princess like you who was raised in a loving family could never understand what through.]

    hell someone like me bhas /bto go

    Jessica stared at Madeline’s reply, utterly exasperated. A momentter, she replied: [Your hardships aren’t my doing. You’re ming the wrong person.b] /b

    It wasn’t like she had ordered Madeline’s parents to beat her. Madeline’s logic was truly mind–boggling,

    Sometimes, Jessica genuinely couldn’t fathom how Madeline’s mind worked. She wondered, ‘Why did she believe that getting rid of me would i guarantee her a future with Brian? Is it really just because she’s pregnant with his kid?‘

    The thought of Madeline’s baby made Jessica’s heart sink all at once. She wondered if Madeline’s baby was doing well after bstech /ba heavy bblow /bbut the quickly shook off the thought.

    ‘Even if something goes wrong, it’s none of my business. I’m no saint, she told herself. With immediately refocused on her work.

    But that night, after she fell asleep, she found herself haunted by nightmares.

    that thought, she blocked Madeline without hesitation band /b

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