Chapter 5

I’m sure that woman is dead, the bodyguard captain said, with utter certainty.

Remember when we went to Hollowbrook? That family was having a funeral. I asked the lady of the house, she was heartbroken, and told me her precious one was crushed to death” The captain started to recall the situation.

He didn’t pry further as she was too devastated. He asked around the village and found out that the family had just one daughter And given the funeral, the mother crying her heart out, and telling them her precious one was killed by a collapsing old house. It could only mean her daughter was dead, right?

“Ok” Lysander hung up the call, the glimmer of hope he felt quickly plummeted. He had known the outcome already. Why was he still hoping?

Back then, Lysander sent his female secretary to find that woman, intending to bring her to him so he could negotiate compensation personally. The secretary was chosen because being a woman, she might find it easier to communicate with her. But she came back and told him that the woman had died and was crushed under an old house battered by heavy rain.

Lysander couldn’t believe it, so he sent the bodyguard captain to confirm. He went along too, but he was too injured to leave the car, so he just watched from afar The village folk had all gathered at the family’s door, and the mournful atmosphere of the funeral was heavy. Faced with the stark reality, what was there to doubt?

Thalassa got home around ten at night.

The children’s room doors were closed, so they must have been asleep. Evelyn was in the living room, scrolling through short videos.

“You’re back early. Did you get fired?” Evelyn was both surprised and worried when she saw Thalassa.

Wasn’t it said that this part–time job lasted till late? It was still early, and she was already back.

Evelyn’s gaze was intense, and Thalassa replied a bit guiltily, “No, I chose to quit, so I came back early.”

“What gives you the right to quit working! We have four kids to take care of. Don’t you know our situation at home? How could you just quit on a whim!” Evelyn stormed up to her, fuming.

“I might have pissed someone off. If I kept working I was worried it would cause trouble.” Thalassa couldn’t hide it from her forceful mother.

“What?”

Evelyn felt like the sky was falling. She poked Thalassa’s forehead with her finger. “How did I end up with such an unlucky kid. Why do you always give me a headache? You’re even worse than that pig I used to have! My beloved pig also got crushed by the collapsing house, ah, my precious one! Why is life so hard on me!”

Evelyn began to cry as she spoke. She still missed the sow, which she had treated like a treasure, expecting that it would give birth to piglets and she could continue raising pigs. Unfortunately, the rain had ruined the firewood shed and the pigsty next to it, her beloved sow was crushed to death. At that moment, Evelyn was utterly heartbroken, she insisted on giving the pig a funeral like a human’s funeral.

At times like this. Thalassa always felt extremely guilty. She knew she was the one who caused her mother’s pain. She gently nudged Evelyn’s arm, trying to placate her. “Mom, don’t be mad. I only worked half a day today, but I’ve earned as much as I usually do in a month. Check your bank account, did you receive a transfer of over a thousand dollars?”

Evelyn took out her phone, saw the account balance, and felt a thrill of excitement. But then thought of something, and immediately became serious and heartbroken.

“You’re such a jinx. Didn’t I tell you before? No matter how hard or tiring, you can’t sacrifice your dignity! Did you do something unsavory?” She gave Thalassa’s head a hard shove Just a few hours outside and she had earned a big chunk of money? Was there such easy money in this world?

The misunderstanding was huge, so Thalassa quickly explained, “Mom, you’re overthinking. I sold a bottle of wine worth twenty grand, got a commission of a thousand dollars, and I worked an extra hour.

The manager gave me a bonus because I did well.”

Evelyn stopped her hand, realizing she had misunderstood, but felt embarrassed to admit her mistake, so she didn’t apologize. “If your sales ability is so good, why not keep it up? Isnit good to earn more money? Who did you offend? Can’t you apologize and make peace?”

“He’s a big shot. I heard others calling him Lysander. The manager also said he’s some hotshot from Starhaven. I did apologize, but it didn’t work, so I’m afraid he’ll come after me! Thalassa’s voice was full of grievance. She didn’t hide her fear in front of her mother. She didn’t want to quit her job at the nightclub, because making money was hard these days. A thousand dollars for a day, how could she not be happy?

But that man was terrifying.

“Ah, life is tough” Evelyn sighed. Although money was important, she didn’t want her daughter to risk her safety for it.

There were a lot of rich people in Starhaven. Those with money and power were always a handful;

offending them was like asking for trouble. Evelyn knew this very well.

“Since you’re free, you take care of the kids at home. I need to go out.” Evelyn carefully put her phone into her pocket, her expression a bit secretive “It’s so late, where are you going?” Thalassa was worried about her “Don’t worry about me. Just take care of yourself!” Evelyn was adamant.

Evelyn gave Thalassa a quick glance, then left.

Thalassa sighed softly but didn’t say anything.

She walked to the bedroom door, intending to check on the four kids, but thought that it was already late, and they must have been fast asleep. If she went in, she would disturb them, so she decided against it and went to take a shower instead What she didn’t know was that two of the kids were actually still awake That was her eldest son Atticus and second son Dorian They had overheard Thalassa and Evelyn’s conversation In the dark, their innocent eyes twinkled Huddling together, they started to whisper. Atticus said. “Mom pissed off Lysander She’s so freaked out she doesn’t even dare to step outside” That was the conclusion Atticus came to after hearing what mom said Dorian asked, “Who is Lysander? Is he really that badass? Our mom is so sweet and pretty, but she’s scared shitless by him That’s just sad” Although Atticus also felt for mom, he was more of a cool cucumber, not much for sweet talk, but he was all about action.

He picked up his tablet from the bedside table. His small fingers began tapping quickly on it. Soon, there was a profile of a man on the screen.

“Got it, this is Lysander, Atticus said.

Dorian leaned in to look at the photo on the screen, which showed a man in a crisp suit, handsome, with sharp eyes and a strong aura His name was Lysander, one of the notorious four young guys of Starhaven, the CEO of the premier Sinclair Group. No one dared to mess with him, or they’d face serious consequences “No wonder moms scared out of her wits by him.” Dorian pouted.

Let’s go find him tomorrow and apologize. We’ll see if we can get him to forgive mom, Atticus suggested.