Chapter 2

Madison remained silent for a moment.

After a while, she spoke casually. “Well, thankfully, nothing happened to me, and I’m lucky to have found you all. Since they raised me, I will let it go.”

She would consider it a repayment to them for years of raising her.

“Madison…”

It seemed like the person on the other end still wanted to say something, but there was a sudden knock on the door.

Madison ignored the person outside the door and continued talking on the phone. “Joe, I know what you want to say. But I don’t want to stir up trouble now. I just want nothing to do with them in the future!”

Not to mention that nothing came out of the kidnapping incident, even if there were clues, the Hale family and Leo could easily deny being involved in it. Without substantial evidence, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

Moreover, considering the character of the Hale family, if they knew Madison’s biological parents belonged to the Daves family, they would likely use raising her for twenty years as a reason to demand stuff from the Daves family continuously.

Thus, Madison just wanted to divorce as soon as possible and to sever ties with the Hale family completely. Even if her identity were known to the Hale family in the future, it wouldn’t cause trouble for her brothers.

The knocking on the door became urgent.

Madison decided not to speak further on the matter. “Alright, Joe. I have something on. Let’s talk later.”

She hung up the call.

She didn’t open the door immediately. When the knocking became even more impatient, she slowly combed through her unsightly bangs and walked over lazily.

When the door opened, the man who was standing outside still had his hand raised. His face showed obvious impatience.

Madison raised her eyes and spoke in a gentle voice, “Is there anything else?”

It was only four words, but it conveyed a sense of distance.

Leo unconsciously furrowed his eyebrows. He dropped his hand and spoke indifferently, “Tomorrow is Sally’s birthday. There’s a party at the Hale family. Make time. I’ll come back in the afternoon to bring you there.”

Madison blinked.

‘Sally,’ she thought, scoffing silently. ‘He called her so affectionately.’

She smiled. “Alright. Is there anything else?”

Leo looked at her. Her black hair hid her beautiful face, and he could not detect any emotions from her. It seemed as though she calmly accepted the decision.

A strange sense of frustration welled up in him. As he was about to turn around, he said, “There’s nothing else. Rest early.”

“Hold on,” Madison called him.

She entered the room and quickly returned. She was holding onto the divorce papers he had given her just minutes ago and handing them to him.

“I’ve already signed them. You can take care of the procedures when you have time. As for the papers, you can send them to me after that. My address is on the last page,” Madison told him.

Leo had been absent on the day that they registered their marriage. With his capability, it should be an even more straightforward task now that they were getting a divorce.

Leo looked at the documents she was holding out to him. He shifted his gaze to her overly calm face and saw no sadness or grief.

His Adam’s apple darted. His voice became hoarse. “Didn’t we agree to wait a few days?”

“Whether we wait or not, the result is the same, right?” she asked.

Madison’s hand grew tired from holding up the papers, so she directly thrust them to Leo. “Besides, tomorrow is Sally’s birthday. She would be happy if she knew about this,” she added.

Leo was caught off guard and slowly took the papers.

Lowering his head, he asked, “What about you?”

“What?” she questioned. His voice was soft, so Madison couldn’t hear him clearly.

“Nothing,” he said.

He put away the documents, regained his composure, and looked at Madison’s face. He said, “Rest early.”

Madison took a step back. “You too,” she replied.

As the words fell, the door slammed shut in front of the man.

Leo looked at the tightly closed door, his expression extremely dark.

Madison’s faint smile still lingered in his mind. He glanced at the document in his hand, then turned and left.

Madison received a call from the Hale family the next day.

Ramona Hale inquired indirectly about the marriage between her and Leo, trying to be subtle as she went about it.

Madison didn’t try to hide from the Hale family and straightforwardly stated, “Ramona, Leo gave me a divorce agreement last night, and I’ve already signed it.”

Since Sally’s return, she had been scolded by the Hale family’s parents for addressing them Dad and Mum. If it weren’t for the alliance with the Palmer family and the reputation of both families, Madison might have been kicked out of the family at once.

However, even if she hadn’t been kicked out then, her life during those years had not been easy.

Upon hearing that Madison had already signed the divorce agreement, Ramona’s tone, which had been cautiously polite, changed instantly. Ramona became arrogant and contemptuous and spoke as though she was generous, doing Madison a favor. “It’s Sally’s birthday today. Come over in the evening so you can broaden your horizons.”

Madison lowered her gaze, concealing the coldness in her eyes. She replied, “Alright.”

After giving the order, Ramona should have hung up as usual.

But today, Ramona paused and added sarcastically and with a hint of warning, “Edgar was confused in the past and made a mistake by insisting you and Leo be together. But now, aren’t we back on the right track? Madison, don’t be upset over this. Your status is low, and you aren’t compatible with the Palmer family. If it weren’t for your fortunate adoption by our family for a few years, you probably wouldn’t have had the chance to step into the threshold of a wealthy family. You might have even died on the street someday. Moreover, if it weren’t for you, Sally wouldn’t have been wandering out there for so many years, suffering from illness. You should remember to be grateful. Although her condition has stabilized, Sally can’t stand any provocation. As her sister, you owe her so much. It’s only right for you to give in to her.”

With these words, Ramona successfully degraded Madison. Madison’s life was threatened, and Ramona also used their raising her as a means of manipulating her. However, back then, Madison was just a baby. If it weren’t for the earthquake and being mistakenly carried off by a nurse at the hospital, she would have been the pampered heiress of the top-tier Daves family.

“I understand,” Madison responded calmly as she finished tidying her suitcase.

There was nothing else of hers in the villa. She entered this place with a single suitcase and would leave with one as well.

Ramona snorted coldly and hung up the phone.

Outside the villa, a car horn suddenly sounded.

Leo didn’t get out of the car. He directly called Madison. Two succinct and indifferent words came from him. “Come downstairs.”