Capítulo 10: Serving dessert (2)
"Your grandmother took it six years ago. Why do you need it?" he asked, but his question was met with a wall of silence.
To get the register, Valerie will have to visit her grandmother tomorrow morning.
Valerie sighed, feeling a headache coming. Her grandmother wasn't an easy person to deal with. She turned to her stepmother and said, "Aunt Martha is old now and needs proper care. I'm letting her retire, starting tonight. I hope that's not a problem?"
Hearing that, Mrs. Wright and Zoey stiffened.
"Wh– what do you mean by that?!" Mrs. Wright panicked, but realizing she had acted too suspiciously, she quickly added, "Are you saying the Wright family doesn't take care of her?"
Allowing that old woman to go would mean they wouldn't be able to have access to the property in her care!
Zoey snapped out of her trance and quickly interjected, "Sister, Aunt Martha is indeed old, but who will take care of her outside this family? We have–"
"Don't you feel any shame letting an old woman in her late fifties serve you? What if she dies bowing down to you and your mother?!" Valerie retorted. She couldn't believe the nerves of these people.
Isn't Grace Aunt Martha's child?!
Normally, Aunt Martha was supposed to have retired by now, but she chose to be around to take care of Valerie, so why was this mother and daughter holding the old woman back? It's not like she was very useful to the house!
"That's not what I meant." Zoey tried to make excuses when Mr. Wright shot a look at them.
"That's exactly what you mean." Valerie smirked, her stare daunting. She needed to take Aunt Martha away tonight, otherwise, Aunt Martha may be punished for standing up against the mother and daughter.
Valerie was partially right. However, the main reason why they didn't want the old woman to leave, was because of late Madam Valentina's property that she was holding.
Nobody, not even Valerie and Aunt Martha knew about it.
Mrs. Wright cleared her throat and explained, "Aunt Martha signed a twenty-year contract to work for the Wright family. This is just the sixth year." She smiled nervously. "That is why she can't leave, otherwise, she'd be breaching the contract."
Valerie and Aunt Martha were flabbergasted. Twenty-year contract?! They stared at each other, alarmed. So, this mother and daughter were saying Aunt Martha would still remain a servant in her 70s?!
"Wh– when did I sign such a contract?!" the woman couldn't believe it. How come she didn't know?
Even Mr. Wright couldn't help but be surprised. He's never heard of it before and the butler wasn't there to make things clear.
"Did you forget? You signed a contract after Valerie ran away," Mrs. Wright said.
The old woman shook her head, "I don't remember anything. I didn't sign any contract!"
At this point, Valerie finally understood what wad going on. She laughed lightly. "How callous are you? You even tricked an old woman into signing a lifetime contract. Should this get to the public's ears, they would say the Wright family is neglecting human rights and bullying the poor. As a poor person yourself, shouldn't you know how angry ordinary folks would be? Or have you shamelessly forgotten your roots after freeloading from the Wright family for years?"
Mrs. Wright was so enraged that her lips quivered. How dare Valerie call her a freeloader? "You–"
However, before she could speak, Mr. Wright intervened.
"What kind of contract is that?" Mr. Wright frowned slightly. Without waiting for explanations, he ordered, "Get rid of that contract and let her retire. Pay her as she should." He paused, his gaze staying on Valerie for a little while before shifting to his wife, "Make sure what happened tonight doesn't leave the walls of this estate… I have a conference meeting in my study in less than twenty minutes. I would love some peace and quiet!" With that, the man headed for his study room.
After her father left, Valerie also felt it was time to take her stuff and leave. But before then, there was one more thing she needed to do.
Peace and quiet? Over her dead body!
With Zoey and her mother watching, she climbed up the stairs and came to a stop at the door that used to lead to her room. She turned the knob and entered. The room was dim with two scented candles lit.
Valerie turned on the switch and almost screamed in anger at the sight in front of her.
Zoey was trying her patience!
The room's interior decor had changed. Unlike Valerie, who used to love pink, Zoey liked mild purple and cream decor. All of Valerie's furniture had been replaced. The room gave off a different energy from what Valerie used to know.
She suddenly let out a soft ominous chuckle. This room was personally decorated by her sick mother, a few days before her death.
Her mother couldn't move around but had the strength to redesign her room with her last breath!
Madam Valentina died while hand-sewing a pillow for Valerie.
Years after her mother died, Valerie left the room the way her mother made it, not taking a single thing out of place. When the maids cleaned, they were careful not to mess up the room.
Even when she grew tired of pink, she didn't dare redecorate the room, fearing she would destroy her mother's hard work and memories!
Not only did Zoey cross the line again, she destroyed her mother's memories!
For some reason, Valerie wasn't mad, maybe because it's been years, or because she'd matured a lot, but one thing she knew was that, she wouldn't let Zoey get away with it.
Just when Valerie was thinking of what to do to upset Zoey, her gaze landed on the scented candles in the room, and her lips curled.
A while later, Valerie was done and returned to the living room.
"You liked what you saw, didn't you? Nothing in this house reminds you of your mother, I made sure of that." Zoey taunted. She placed a finger on her lips, whispering, "Don't scream, dad doesn't want another drama," she added, smiling victoriously.
Valerie returned the smile, saying, "Now that my room is up in flames, I believe you'll now move to the servants' quarters until your room is fixed, right?"
Zoey didn't understand at first, but a few seconds later, her eyes bulged. "You… what did you do?"
Valerie shrugged, "Nothing much. I just wished you and your mom a night filled with horrifying nightmares." With that, she grabbed Aunt Martha and turned to leave. Just as they were leaving, a loud cry shot through the roof.
"Fire! Somebody, there's a fire in Miss Zoey's room!!"
Valerie didn't look back at the mess she had created.
"Valerie, you witch...!!" Zoey's fading screams were all that accompanied Valerie out of the Wright mansion as her lips curled with satisfaction.
This was just the dessert!
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