Chapter 60 The Game Is Given Away
Led by a guard, the family of three soon headed toward No. 3 Villa.
When they walked past No. 1 Villa, however, Margaret made to step into that mansion. That scared the guard, and he hastily grabbed her. “What are you doing?”
“My son-in-law lives in No. 1 Villa. Why am I not allowed to enter?” Margaret acted all pompous.
“Who told you that your son-in-law lives in No. 1 Villa? Here’s a piece of advice from me—you’d better behave. Otherwise, you might not live to see tomorrow if you disrupt Mr. Goldstein!” the guard snapped viciously.
The fate of his colleague who offended the man the day before remained vivid in his mind—having both his legs broken and fed to the fishes in the Goda River!
“What kind of attitude is this? I might just ask my son-in-law to dismiss you right away!” Margaret raged while thrusting a finger at him with her hands on her hips.
Alas, it didn’t work on the guard. He merely chuckled coldly at her threat and riposted, “Go ahead. But I’m going to throw you out right now if you dare to continue yakking loudly!”
“What did you just say?” Margaret promptly went ballistic when she saw that even an insignificant guard had no respect for her. But at that exact moment, Josephine quickly tugged at her sleeve and fibbed, “Mom, I got the address wrong! Jonathan doesn’t live in No. 1 Villa but No. 3 Villa!”
“No. 3 Villa? But I remember he told me yesterday that he lives in No. 1 Villa.” Margaret eyed her suspiciously.
“He got it wrong. He phoned me yesterday and said that he’s living in No. 3 Villa!” Josephine dragged her toward No. 3 Villa without giving her a chance to protest.
The game will be given away if the owner of No. 1 Villa comes out!
“Hah! He’s indeed a useless piece of trash that he even got the address of his residence wrong!” Margaret snorted as she continued walking forward with the guard.
Shortly after, they arrived at No. 3 Villa.
The door of No. 3 Villa wasn’t locked, and they were greeted by opulent decor as soon as they pushed open the door.
Just like the lavish mansions in movies, great French windows were visible right after stepping in the door. And beyond the windows was a huge swimming pool.
“Jonathan? Where are you, Jonathan? Come out and greet me, quick!” Margaret bellowed with arms akimbo.
I still remember vividly how this guard treated me! When I see Jonathan later, I’ll have him sack the guard!
But no matter how much she shouted, there was no response from within the mansion.
Seeing that, the guard scoffed inwardly.
She’s just renting the place, yet she’s acting as though this is her house! How could there possibly be anyone here when this mansion was just rented out this morning?
“All right, stop shouting! There’s no one in here!” the guard sneered.
Well, this is quite a show she’s putting on, what with Jonathan Goldstein and her fantasied son-in-law! Does she really not know how things work when she rented the place?
“Mom, perhaps Jonathan is out,” Josephine fibbed. “I’ll bring you around for a tour.”
“Where has that ne’er-do-well gone to now?” Harrumphing, Margaret headed upstairs right away. When Josephine was about to follow after her, the guard called her back. “Hold on!”
“What is it?” Josephine stopped short.
“Here’s the key to No. 3 Villa.” The guard handed the key to her and started, “Mr. Zaccardi has told you the rules here, yes? You can’t simply bring outsiders here to stay the night, nor are you allowed to wreck the walls. If there’s any damage, you’ll have to pay for it accordingly.”
“Okay, I got it!” Josephine hurriedly shot him a pleading look and took the key from him.
Margaret, however, suddenly frowned and demanded, “What’s this about paying for damages accordingly and prohibiting us from simply bringing outsiders here to stay the night? You’re just an insignificant guard, so what has it got to do with you if I bring people here to stay overnight? Is this my house or yours?”
This insignificant guard has long since gotten on my nerves! What kind of attitude is this? If I were the owner of this mansion, I would’ve given him the boot long ago!
“This isn’t my house, but neither is it yours!” Staring at the arrogant woman, the guard snickered even as he scoffed, “You’re just renting the mansion, yet you’re truly fancying yourself as the owner of No. 3 Villa, huh? If you’re so high and mighty, go and buy one yourself! Stop acting like big cheese when you can’t even afford to rent for a month and could only afford to rent for a week!”
If she were the owner of No. 3 Villa, I might not dare to use such an attitude with her. After all, those who can afford to buy a mansion at Edenic Heights are all formidable people. But who does she think she is? She’s just a poor tenant who can’t even afford to rent the villa for a month! And she’s pretending to be the owner of the mansion?
“What did you just say? This mansion is being rented?” After Margaret heard that, her expression promptly darkened. In the next moment, she pointed at Josephine and snarled, “Explain this to me right this instance, Josephine! What exactly is going on here? Didn’t you say that Jonathan is living in Edenic Heights? How did it become a rental now?”
“Listen to me, Mom…”
Josephine was so livid that her face flushed bright red.
I initially wanted to use this lie to help Jonathan recover his dignity, but I never expected this guard to expose me in just a few words!
“Okay, save it! Just tell me this—are you the one who rented this mansion or Jonathan?” Fury blazed hotly in Margaret’s eyes.
I thought that good-for-nothing son-in-law of mine has truly made something of himself and could afford to buy a mansion at Edenic Heights! Little did I expect that he actually rented it, and he couldn’t even afford to rent it for a month to boot!
“It was me…”
Since things had come to that, Josephine had no choice but to admit to it.
“Well, well… You’ve gotten bold now that you actually colluded with Jonathan to dupe me, Josephine!” Seething, Margaret thrust out a finger and jabbed her forehead hard. Then, she spun on her heels and stormed off. Clocking her rage, Josephine quickly chased after her. “Where are you going, Mom?”
“Home!” Margaret snapped without turning back. “Hurry up and terminate the rental agreement for this mansion! Otherwise, you’re no longer my daughter!”
“Mom…”
Josephine quickened her pace.
“Mom, listen here. This matter has nothing to do with Jonathan-” she hastily explained on behalf of Jonathan after having caught up to her mother.
Verily, Jonathan has nothing to do with this matter! I was the one who made this arbitrary decision!
“Shut up!” Fuming, Margaret barked, “What spell did that worthless piece of trash cast on you that you spent so much of money to rent a mansion for him and teamed up with him to lie to me?”
“Mom, I’ve already told you that it has nothing to do with him!” Josephine stomped her feet in frustration. Just when she was about to speak further, she abruptly glimpsed a familiar figure on the path in Edenic Heights.
At once, she froze and halted in her tracks. Gaping at the figure in disbelief, she called out, “Jonathan?”
