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Novel Catalog
Chapter 10
Calm down, calm down… Veronica tried to steady her breath as the hostile atmosphere from the Larsons weighed heavily on her. She could feel their venomous intentions, and though her instincts screamed to confront them, she knew better than to act rashly. If she barged in now, it would shatter any fragile peace between her and the family. The last thing she needed was to make them feel cornered. The Larson Family had the power to eliminate her without a second thought, and with her adoptive parents still alive, what would they do if something happened to her?
Wicked. How wicked they are! Veronica’s hands clenched into fists, her eyes burning with rage. Yet, despite the fury boiling within her, she managed to take a deep breath and compose herself. She turned and quietly descended the stairs.
Minutes later, Rachel and Tiffany emerged, their faces tight with calculated calm. “Veronica,” Rachel began, “it’s impossible for us to give you 10 million, but after speaking with Dad, we’ve come to an agreement. This is the best we can offer.”
Tiffany, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction, placed a check on the table in front of Veronica. Veronica glanced at the check, the number glaring back at her: one million.
A scornful smile curled at the corners of her lips as she lifted her eyes to meet Tiffany’s. “One million?” she asked, her tone laced with disdain. “You think you can purchase the position of Young Mistress of the Kingses with this?”
Tiffany’s face flushed, but she didn’t back down. “You should be grateful,” she hissed. “It would take a lifetime for your foster parents to earn this much.”
Veronica’s cold laughter filled the room. “Don’t worry about how much they make. What you should be concerned about is that I have the power to prevent you from ever becoming Young Mistress of the Kingses.” Her words were sharp as knives, cutting through the tension like a blade.
Rachel’s face twisted in irritation. “You’re insufferable!” she snapped, her voice thick with condescension. “How did I—Rachel Zimmerman—give birth to a disgrace like you?”
Veronica’s expression didn’t falter. “Don’t pretend to care,” she said flatly, her voice colder than ever.
Tiffany wasn’t finished yet. “Fine,” she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Two million. That’s the maximum we’ll offer. But in exchange, we want your takeout platform… and you, along with your foster parents, need to leave Bloomstead.”
Veronica’s face remained impassive, though her thoughts whirled. She had no intention of taking their money in the way they intended. With a cool glance, she responded, “Two million’s tempting, but I’ll only accept if the transfer is made directly to my bank account. Also, I’ll need a statement on record saying that this is compensation for Randy’s bone marrow donation.”
The Larsons’ faces darkened. Of course they had plans to seize her takeout app and manipulate the situation, using the money transfer to entrap her. Veronica wasn’t stupid. She knew their game—if they transferred the money and seized ownership of the app, they would claim the transfer was a mistake, and soon, the police would be involved, accusing her of fraud. The end result? She would lose both the money and her business.
Rachel scoffed, her lips curling in disgust. “You’re getting ahead of yourself, Veronica.”
Veronica smirked, the bitterness in her eyes unmistakable. “I’m not forcing you, am I?”
Tiffany, however, was willing to swallow her pride. “Forget it, Mom! We’ll do it her way,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm, but her teeth were clenched. She had her sights set on her future with Matthew, and she couldn’t afford to let Veronica stand in her way.
With the agreement in place, Veronica sat in silence as they transferred the money and drafted the compensation statement. She reviewed the documents carefully before reluctantly transferring ownership of her takeout app to Tiffany. In return, Tiffany quickly altered the registration details, making her the official owner.
The app was critical to Veronica’s plan, but it had failed her in the past. The delivery records couldn’t prove she had saved Matthew’s life. There were no substantial clues to tie her to the rescue that day. But now, with the app in Tiffany’s hands, Veronica knew she was playing a dangerous game. If the Kingses were to believe that Tiffany had been the one to deliver the food, they would have no reason to doubt her version of the story.
Once everything was settled, Tiffany leaned back with a smug smile. “You better leave Bloomstead once your foster dad recovers. This place isn’t for people like you.”
Veronica’s expression was unreadable as she turned and walked out of the house, her heart heavy with the weight of what had just transpired.
Instead of visiting her foster parents in the hospital, she took a cab back to her old home. She knew the police had little information on the accident, but that wasn’t enough to deter her. She made her way to a local precinct and inquired about the incident, but the officer’s response was just as she expected: “We haven’t been able to catch the driver responsible.”
Suspicion gnawed at her. Veronica pressed further, asking for details about the license plate and the driver’s description. As the officer answered, she discreetly recorded the conversation on her phone, careful to cover her tracks. She needed every scrap of information to uncover the truth.
Later that day, she met with a private investigator, paying a 20,000 deposit to have him look into the accident. The Larsons were sly and manipulative, and Veronica knew that in order to expose them, she needed to use every resource at her disposal. Finding the real culprit was her only chance at securing justice for her foster parents.
As the weight of her plan settled on her shoulders, Veronica realized the stakes were higher than ever. The Larsons had already turned on her, and Matthew’s growing hostility only made her situation more dangerous. She had to be smart, strategic. Her every move now mattered more than ever.
Stepping out of her rented unit later that evening, Veronica was greeted by an unexpected visitor. It was Thomas, Matthew’s assistant.
“Miss Murphy,” he said with a neutral expression, “Young Master Matthew is awaiting your presence.”
