Henry was utterly stunned when he heard what the lawyer said. “We agreed back then that the villa will be mine as long as I make sure she’s alive, and she’s alive and well right now! You can’t take back the villa!”
The two lawyers looked at each other.
“We wouldn’t know anything about that. However, we have gone through all the procedures legally, and Ms. Smith has the final say with regard to the villa!”
Henry was dumbfounded.
He simply couldn’t believe that this could happen. He grabbed the contract from the lawyer and read it carefully.
Sure enough, in the contract he had signed was a clause that stated that once Nora came of age, she would have the right to decide whether or not to take back ownership of the villa.
In other words, if he treated Nora alright, she wouldn’t take back the villa.
But if he didn’t, then Yvette would have a backup plan for her!
Henry was so furious that he whipped out his cell phone and called Nora right away. “You no-good daughter! How can you treat me like this when I brought you up until you were 18 years old! That villa is mine! Your mother said that as long as you’re alive, the villa will remain mine!”
Nora’s voice was very low and deep, and also tinged with sinister ruthlessness as she said, “If you hadn’t buried my son alive, perhaps I would have given you the villa.”
Her words stunned Henry. “H-how did you know?”
Wendy was the only person whom he had told. He had never told anyone else about it. How did she know about it?
Henry was completely unaware that she had already hacked into his cell phone’s operating system when they were on the phone previously, and could monitor their conversations in real-time.
A mocking Nora replied, “What do you think?”
Henry suddenly looked at Wendy—he suspected that she was the one who had told Nora about it. However, this wasn’t the time to be pursuing such things. He yelled furiously, “Nora, our family of three grew up in that villa! We are its true owners! Do you think you’ll have a home just because you’ve taken the villa? Dream on! Even if we lose the villa, you’ll still be all alone, whereas the three of us are a family!”
“Is that so?” Nora drawled, “Then I hope your family of three will stay together forever?”
Henry, “?”
When he wanted to say something, the other party hung up on him.
Henry, “…”
The two lawyers were just there to notify him about the villa’s ownership. They didn’t need his consent to take it back. Since they had fulfilled their duty, the two of them left.
Henry plopped down on the sofa after they left.
Wendy and Angela exchanged a look and then looked at Henry. Wendy asked carefully, “Henry, the villa…”
“We won’t be able to get the villa back anymore! This is New York, where the Andersons are a big family with a big business. If we fight it out with her, we’ll definitely be the ones to lose out in the end!”
Henry’s brows drew together. “Forget it, let’s go back to California for now. Take out all the valuable things you’ve bought over the years and sell them as soon as possible. The money should be enough for the three of us to survive, right?”
The company had an annual income of five million dollars. After receiving the money, Henry would always buy Wendy handbags and jewelry, as well as various luxury goods for Angela.
On the contrary, he only owned two valuable watches.
Wendy’s eyes flickered when she heard him.
She and Angela exchanged another look and then nodded.
Henry got up from the sofa and said, “Let’s book our flight tickets and leave right away, lest anything else happens while we’re still here and we end up not even able to enter the house when we get home. It would be terrible if we can’t get those things out of the house! Go and book the flight tickets, Wendy!”
“Okay,” Wendy replied without any hesitation.
She went to the side with her cell phone and used it for a while before she said, “The earliest flight is in three hours. You can relax for now.”
“Okay,” replied Henry.
Angela poured him a glass of water. “Have some water, Dad.”
Henry took the glass from her. However, he almost spat the water out after taking a sip. He flung the glass onto the floor and snapped, “Why is it so hot?!”
Angela’s eyes flickered.
Henry had never lost his temper with her in the past, even when the water she poured for him was too hot. As expected, he must have become estranged from her after he realized the truth, right?
She lowered her head and said, “I didn’t mean it, Dad.”
Wendy hurried over and held Angela, who had squatted down to clean the mess, with a touch of frostiness on her countenance.
Then, she smiled and said, “Now that you’ve been accepted to the New York University School of Medicine, you should go back to the school, Angela. You don’t have to go back with us. Go for an internship during summer vacation instead. There’s still some money in this card, so take it with you for now.”
Angela looked at Henry.
Henry wanted to say that there were almost $50,000 in the card, which was too much. However, when he thought of how they would be able to sell the things at home for more than a million dollars after they got home, he chose not to say anything.
He had to win over his daughter!
Angela took the card, picked up her bag, and left.
After she left, Wendy and Henry packed their luggage together.
An hour later, the two set off for the airport.
When they arrived at the airport, Wendy looked at Henry and suggested, “Why don’t you check in the luggage first? It looks like there are a lot of people in line over there. I’ll go and collect the tickets at the self-service check-in kiosk and come back later!”
Checked baggage must be done at least fifty minutes before takeoff. They wouldn’t be able to check in the baggage if they were too late. Time was rather pressing, so Henry nodded.
He brought the two suitcases with him and lined up behind the crowd.
At the sight of how the people in front were walking so slowly, he felt a little anxious.
New York was a big and crowded place, indeed. Even the airport was teeming with people. Seeing that there was only an hour left to take-off, and that he had already waited for over half an hour, yet Wendy still hadn’t returned—Henry decided to call her.
Wendy picked up the call very quickly.
“Where are you?” asked Henry.
Wendy smiled and answered, “I’m on the plane, of course!”
Henry was taken aback. “What?”
Wendy replied, “The plane is about to start taxiing, Henry. Let’s bid our farewells here!”
Henry was utterly astounded. “What do you mean, Wendy?”
“It means exactly what I said, Henry. Don’t worry about the luxury goods in the villa. I’ve already asked my brother to go over and retrieve them all!”
Henry was filled with disbelief. “Wendy, what are you doing? We can get more than a million dollars with those things. Even if we don’t have the villa anymore, we won’t have to worry about money for the rest of our lives!”
Wendy laughed. She sounded very relaxed as she said, “Yes, you’re right. With that money, Angela and I won’t have to worry about money for the rest of our lives, so you can rest assured!”
Henry finally understood what she was saying. “A-are you actually abandoning me?”
Wendy sneered, “I’ve done so much and worked so hard at home to take care of you all these years, Henry, but what about you? Who do you think you are? All you do is shout and yell at me all day, and treat me like a free babysitter. Now that you don’t have any more income, why should I still bend all over to make you happy? The money is all mine now, and I will spend it well, so you don’t have to worry! As for Angela, I’d advise you not to bother her. Otherwise, I’ll expose everything you’ve done and put you in jail!”
