Chapter 58

Chapter 058 Betrayal of My Family After dinner, Eve led Ava to the study. Scott’s favorite style had been retained. The room was antique, with a wall of books. On the other wall, there was a calligraphy work that wrote “Keep your word and show the results.” There were paintings, antiques, jade… Eve and Ava had seen such things from their fathers’ possessions before, but they had never been allowed to touch them or taught how to appreciate them. They were both laymen.

Hailey sat down, flipped through a miscellany, and listened nonchalantly as Eve recited the family rules. There was a total of 100 items, and Eve hadn’t tried to memorize them yesterday. Today, she had been cramming for the test, but the knowledge didn’t quite register. She stammered throughout the process. “Finished?” As she stopped reciting, Hailey slightly raised her head. Eve nodded meekly. “Sorry, I didn’t memorize them all. You have my word. I’ll study harder and abide by the rules.” “You’d better be. Do a calculation and see how many items you missed.” As Hailey picked up the ruler, Eve was appalled. She had thought that Hailey just wanted a promise from her. Unexpectedly, the woman was really going to punish her.

“H-Hailey…” Eve subconsciously put her hands behind her back and sweated nervously, “You’re not really going to hit me, are you?” Hailey raised her eyes indifferently. “Or what? Do you think I was kidding?” Eve tensed up and panicked. Ava’s heart was gripped by fear as she had seen everything from behind Eve. Hailey had changed a lot. She used to be a sunny and warm girl. Now she was cold and unapproachable.

“The family rules are made up of 100 items. You recited 70 of them, missed 30, and made mistakes with 14. According to our agreement, you will be hit 44 times.” Like an unforgiving judge, Hailey ruthlessly sentenced Eve, “Show me your hands.” Eve complied albeit reluctantly and got hit 44 times.

Her white palms visibly swelled, turning black and blue. The pain aggrieved her so much that she burst into tears. Even her swollen hands and arms were shaking. The pain was killing her. “Go back and apply some medicine.” Hailey handed the ruler back to Eve with no hard feelings.

“Come back and recite it again tomorrow tonight. Same rule. If you’re not afraid of pain, fudge as you like.” Her eyes then fell on Ava’s face. “Ava, it’s the same case with you. When you live here, you abide by my rules.

Come and recite the family rules with Eve tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” Ava blurted out and numbly raised her hand, “Actually, I… have memorized them.”

Hailey and Eve both looked over. Eve’s smudged face was filled with astonishment. “What? You’ve memorized them?” She desperately winked at Ava, warning her cousin against acting rashly. Hailey was no longer the same loving girl. She was now a viper. Ava failed to take the hint and just looked at Hailey innocently with her round eyes. “I kept Eve company when she was memorizing the family rules.” Hailey nodded, sent Eve away, and called Ava to come closer. “Try reciting it for me.” She took the book and resumed her reading. Ava collected herself before reciting the 100 family rules smoothly and fluently like a pupil. She didn’t make a single mistake. If the stumbling Eve was an underperformer, then she was a straight-A student. “Not bad.” Hailey praised Ava and looked at her cousin with interest, “As far as I remember, you’ve been doing well with your study. You were granted a top scholarship when they were admitted to Stoughsby University, and your major is jewelry design, right?”

Ava nodded repeatedly. Her round eyes were glittering. “Yeah, you remember everything!” “I was away for three years but not amnesiac. Of course, I remember,” Hailey said calmly. “A good memory is my only merit. I am both a grateful and vindictive person. I haven’t forgotten the past when we were living together, and nor will I forget the days to come.” Her tone was bland. “I’ll be nice to those who treat me well. As for the hostile ones, I’ll remember their every glare and scolding. I’ll make them pay.”

Ava’s heart tightened. Somehow, she had a feeling that Hailey knew what Eve had said to her. A smart girl she was, she could sense something from Hailey’s distant attitude and remarks.

She was not a fool, and neither was Hailey. Eve and she had been out of contract for many years till she was suddenly called over to the Garden of Rose. Eve’s purpose was plain to see. “I know. You’ve always been clear about what to love or hate. Your world is divided by black and white.” Hailey shook her head. “I used to be like that but have grown up. I know that between black and white, there is a smear of gray.” She looked fixedly at Ava and said in a cold tone, “It’s called the betrayal of my family.” Ava’s eyes widened abruptly.

Ava settled down in the room next to Eve’s. The latter applied a thick layer of ointment to her hands, but the burning pain didn’t abate. On the contrary, it pierced her to the heart. Eve cursed Hailey and her entire family. “You saw how she bullied me. That was too much. How could she hit me with that thick ruler? Even my dad hasn’t hit me like that. Wait and see, I’ll have my revenge!” Eve babbled her accusations, but Ava was in a trance. She was chewing over Hailey’s words. The betrayal of her family… Were the deaths of Hailey’s parents really related to Morgan and her father? “Ava, I’m talking to you.” Eve’s voice brought Ava back to reality, “Is anything bothering you?” Ava curled her lips and replied, “Not really. I just find Hailey is no longer the same as before.”

“You can say that again!” Eve finally found someone she could talk freely to, “She’s now like a… ghost from hell. Everything about her is creepy. Who knows where she was in those three years? By the way, did she give you a hard time?

Did you really memorize the 100 family rules?” Ava’s eyes flickered as she replied, “Nah, I made a few mistakes. Hailey spared me since I just arrived.” Growing up in a loveless environment, she knew how to camouflage her emotions. When Eve heard that, she felt much better. “There are so many items, and she just gives us two days. How can we possibly do it? We’re not geniuses.

211 760 13.58 Obviously, she is making things difficult for us! Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you. We’ll join hands to deal with her. Follow my plan and behave in front of her. When she lets her guard down, we will take her down in one fell swoop!”

Ava looked at the resentment and hostility on Eve’s face. The meaning of the grey dawned on her.

However strong the external enemies were, they were nothing as long as the family members stuck together. Internal strife and fratricidal fighting were what was really frightening.

In the study, Hailey sipped water, sat in the chair with her legs crossed, and quietly watched her two cousins who were plotting against her. A different emotion appeared in her eyes when she heard Ava’s remarks. She turned off the surveillance and typed on the keyboard before Ava’s profiles appeared on the screen. She read Ava’s experiences over the years and sighed to herself. Reid and his new wife were monsters.

In the dead of night, except for the bodyguards and servants on duty, everyone in the Garden of Rose had gone to bed. Hailey was still up. Leaning against the head of the bed, she was reading a book about antiques and seemed to be waiting for someone. When the clock was stuck at 0:00, someone tapped on the door. There she came.