Return of the Crowned Heiress

Chapter 155

Shawn immediately stuck around like an insistent piece of gum, utterly shameless. "What kind of fortune did our village strike? Is there a demolition? A payout? Why wasn't I notified?"

Charles was furious, almost toppling over as he snapped back, "There were no renovations or payouts! The people in our village work hard and earn their living honestly, unlike your family, who just got lucky and picked up a stray daughter. You contributed nothing yet still managed to extort a huge sum!"

He was referring to how the family had picked up Felicia.

The villagers only learned about Felicia's background after she returned to her biological family. Before that, they had already discussed how she must have been adopted, given the treatment she received.

As a result, their feelings towards Shawn's family were hardly positive. They openly scolded them for their ingratitude.

Shawn scoffed, "We only received 50 million dollars. It's nothing close to a huge sum. That's not even enough to spend."

His implication was clear-he would extort even more if given the chance.

Charles didn't quite hear what he said. "What did you say?"

"N-Nothing."

Shawn wasn't foolish enough to reveal his plans. After all, he had already made a deal with Kayla. Once he got rid of Felicia, the wealth of the Fuller family would naturally fall to her. Being her brother meant he'd have access to all of it.

He chuckled to himself, envisioning a time when these villagers who looked down on him would beg for his favor.

Shawn was smug and pleased with himself. Meanwhile, the others in the village were unwilling to deal with such a scoundrel. They quickly left the scene.

As Charles headed home, he cast one last wary glance at Shawn. Feeling uneasy, he immediately called for his grandson and instructed, "Lucas, go find Felicia. Tell her Shawn is back in the village and making a scene. She should be careful. That brat probably has something up his sleeve!"

"Got it!"

Lucas West, a little boy, quickly abandoned his toy car and sprinted toward Macey's house.

The Fuller family had an old, dilapidated house in Alverton that had long been abandoned. Since Felicia had cut ties with them due to her traumatic childhood memories,

she had been living with Macey.

When Lucas arrived, Felicia had just pulled a few sweet potatoes from the still-warm hearth. These were left over from breakfast, and Macey had tossed them in, knowing Felicia loved them.

The surface of the sweet potatoes was darkened from the heat, but once peeled, they released steam and smelled wonderfully sweet. "Felicia!" Lucas blinked, drooling.

Though he often got to eat sweet potatoes, he still felt hungry when he saw them in the hands of someone else.

Felicia couldn't help but laugh as she handed one to him. "Here, this is for you. Be careful, it's hot. I'll peel another one." "Thank you, Felicia!"

Lucas joyfully accepted it, blowing on it to cool it down. After taking a few bites, he remembered his grandfather's instructions and reported, "Felicia, my grandpa sent me to tell you that Shawn is back and making a fuss. He said to be careful!"

"What else did your grandpa say?"

Lucas nodded, his cheeks full, "Grandpa also said that brat hasn't figured out what to do!"

Felicia couldn't help but chuckle.

But thinking it through, he was being chased for debts and had already lost a couple of fingers. He was likely desperate, clinging to Kayla and trying everything to extort her.

She started to wonder why Shawn would return now.

Chapter 154

Fifteen minutes later, the road leading to Alverton echoed with the loud roar of a sports car. At first, the villagers were puzzled, thinking another outsider had arrived. However, when the car door swung open and a flamboyant figure stepped out, the onlookers exchanged glances and promptly turned to leave as if trying to avoid something filthy. The figure was Shawn.

When the Fuller family still lived in Alverton, Shawn had a notorious reputation for petty theft and mischief. He was caught harassing young ladies and married women by the river multiple times, often leading to confrontations. Yet Howell and Tabitha, his parents, were utterly shameless. They not only failed to get any justice but were also experts at turning the tables and blaming others.

Over time, his name became synonymous with disgrace. Naturally, the villagers preferred to keep their distance whenever he appeared.

Seeing him now, they were quick to steer clear.

Shawn returned to the village in a high-profile manner, flaunting a rented sports car to show off his former wealth. He believed that his status had risen above that of the villagers, whom he looked down upon as mere ants. But the villagers didn't buy his act. They turned and walked away, leaving him with no one to impress.

Fuming, Shawn grabbed the nearest villager, ready to boast. But before he could say a word, the villager scoffed. "Make sure to take good care of that rented car. Otherwise, you might not get your deposit back!" Laughter erupted around him.

Shawn's face flushed with rage.

Yes, the car was indeed rented.

After receiving the huge sum of 50 million dollars from the Fuller family, he bought a sports car, but Lance seized it to cover his debts. So, he was left with no choice but to rent this car.

en

Shawn would never admit to his disgrace. Instead, he sneered, "You group of frogs in a well, you dare to look down on me? Do you even know what my status is now?"

The villager he had grabbed, who was actually Cody, shot him a cold glance and retorted, "What status? What's the status of a debtor with missing fingers? That sounds rather pathetic."

The villagers observed with keen interest as Shawn's hand was wrapped in thick bandages. Two of his fingers were missing.

Infuriated by this remark, Shawn's face twisted with rage. "Did Felicia tell you about it?"

No one responded to him.

But in Shawn's mind, that was the only possibility. His expression darkened further as he spat out, "That little brat thinks she's untouchable, but I'll deal with her sooner or later!"

Cody, who was standing closest to him, overheard that. Though he was typically kind-hearted, he wasted no time before slapping Shawn across the face. "You bastard! Just start behaving like a decent person already, would you?"

Shawn staggered from the slap, his eyes glinting with malice. Just as he was about to retaliate, other villagers rushed in to pull him away.

Even Charles West, the village chief, looked furious. His expression was a mix of anger and disappointment. "Get lost! You're not welcome here!"

Shawn was ready to explode, but he

I.ne

suddenly noticed how much had changed in the village. Behind the village lay fields abundant with. crops and further ahead were fows of vegetable greenhouses that stretched out of sight.

The villagers' spirits seemed to have lifted, and every household had repaired their homes. There were even numerous construction projects underway, depicting a scene of vibrant prosperity. Shawn stood there, dumbfounded. Was this still the impoverished village he remembered?

Chapter 153

Kayla's eyes turned red, and she dug her nails deep into her palms as she suppressed the almost frenzied and twisted emotions threatening to erupt. She managed to hold back her anger, though just barely. "Arnie, my foot hurts. Can you carry me over there?" she asked, her voice laced with vulnerability.

The car had broken down, and the driver needed to stay behind to arrange repairs. Moreover, Kayla had traveled such a long way to get here; it was impossible for her to be sent away now. For this reason, Kayla would have to stay in Alverton by Arnold's side for a while.

Arnold felt a sense of helplessness but ultimately did not refuse. He examined her foot and found nothing wrong with it, yet Kayla insisted that she had injured it in the accident and couldn't walk. "Arnie, I really can't walk anymore..." she whined.

Having already cried once and after being terrified all night, her face was pale and pitiful. It made it hard for Arnold to turn her down.

He bent down, offering, "Get on my back. I'll carry you."

"You're the best, Arnie!" Kayla beamed, her joy evident as she jumped onto his back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Amidst numerous gazes, Arnold carried Kayla back to Alverton.

they didn't know them, but the students participating in the training program

to have the village head find another family for Kayla to stay with. However, with all the other families' houses already full and Kayla stubbornly refusing to be separated

one empty room in that

foot and confirmed it wasn't serious. Feeling relieved,

en

me here alone? I'm not familiar with this place, and I'm scared..." Arnold had been planning to find

go, presenting a pitiful facade as her

soften, but he still insisted, "You get some rest. I'll be in the living room. If you need anything, just call me." With that, he stepped out of the

anger that threatened to explode! "Felicia!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her sense

eliminate Felicia, the thorn in her

her voice low as she snapped, "Why haven't you arrived yet? It's been two days! Have you gotten everything prepared? Don't you want the

were driving. "It's all set! I'll be at

this, Kayla felt

the money she had invested was considerable. As long as Shawn's actions bore fruit, it would alDbe worth

Chapter 152

to an end, and Felicia didn't bother to find

after she had left that Kayla finally snapped back to reality from the shock of the night before. Clinging tightly to Arnold's waist, she

it's not as dangerous as you think." However, the

was only after Felicia scolded him that he realized

it was too late

would disappear. Her pitiful appearance

a group of students who had heard about the incident rushed over to see the commotion and caught sight of Arnold and Kayla

have rushed over in

of the situation because her good friend, Olivia, had

smirk. Although she felt some resentment toward Kayla after yesterday's events, her hatred for Felicia was even

Felicia's life

stepped forward without hesitation and said, "Kayla, what terrible duck you had, getting into a car accident. Thankfully, you're okay. Otherwise, wouldn't Mr. Lawson feel

sarcasm, and Arnold could clearly hear it. He shot her a glance, but Olivia merely scoffed and turned away,

began to pick up

clear that something had happened over the past few days. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so distant and lost

Arnold's gaze and was taken aback to find that he was consistently

even hung up on me

spoke, Arnold seemed to tune her out

a pained smile and asked, "Arnie, who are you thinking

casual question drew an unexpected reaction from Arnold. He immediately denied it, his voice filled with

unmasked. While Kayla initially wanted to laugh, the smile slowly faded from her

attention toward a woman, even if he verbally claimed not to like her, often indicated that he had

Chapter 151

asked, "Ruben, what caused the accident?

dedicated drivers. He was always on standby and had years of driving experience, so it was unusual for such

I wasn't familiar with the road and mistakenly followed the wrong

out her frustration on him by kicking his seat while he

driving all day, he lost focus for just a moment, causing the car to veer off the road and get stuck on the edge of the slope. From their perspective inside the vehicle, it felt like they were hanging over a precipice, so they didn't dare to move. Even when their phone fell at their feet, they hesitated to pick it up, fearing that bending down would make

became. If it hadn't been for Kayla

that he wasn't fit to be a driver for the Fuller family and that she would make sure he was

hadn't been for his reason, he would have wanted to take Kayla

he tightened his grip

contained recordings from the dashcam. If Kayla pushed him too

Felicia didn't pry further.

saved, the villagers felt relieved and

scolded by Arnold earlier, tried to leave but was stopped

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

he was tightly

crying.

had just

back, she spoke up, "Sorry to

Kayla and turned his attention to Felicia.

became even more impatient. Her tone was cold as she

bit awkward and gently tugged at Felicia's sleeve. "Licia, let's just let

she

Felicia stood her ground.

Felicia's age who was studying in another city. Any daughter would be upset if she found out her father had been

like she was asking for a piece

Arnold had regained his composure. Regardless of the circumstances, these villagers had

good upbringing compelled him to apologize to Cody, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gibbs. I

satisfied, Felicia turned

and the others. She climbed back onto the little truck as it started moving

Chapter 150

the black luxury car that was

the person trapped inside

mind, she heard Kayla's terrified voice from inside the car. "Arnie, help

was also in a state of

that Kayla had come to Alverton, and he

frustrated with Kayla's nearly suffocating presence. She seemed to follow him everywhere,

of indifference and impatience during their phone call. Kayla, emotional as she was, started

irritated by her cries, Arnold

received any updates from Kayla, he asked around, but no one had seen her arrive

news that she had been in a car accident. Now, she was trapped in the

a moment, he called the rescue team and

effective solution. First, they'd move the rocks to stabilize the vehicle. Then, they'd open the doors and let the people inside jump

He feared that the villagers' methods, while well-meaning, could be foolish and might endanger Kayla's life instead of save her. The rescue efforts hit

Arnold sharply reprimanding one of the villagers who had suggested the plan, saying, "Can you guarantee the safety of the people in the car? Can you assure me that this method

an older man

flustered under Arnold's harsh words.

Felicia stepped forward with a cold laugh. "Arnold, where did

the face of her

of small rocks and brace them under the front

Romeo immediately complied.

and nearly exploded, angrily accusing Felicia, "Kayla is a member of the Fuller family! Are

in terror inside the car, "Don't come over! Don't move! You all,

quickly steadied again as Romeo and the others

with an expression of disbelief and annoyance. She tilted her head and sarcastically said, "Do you see that, Mr. Lawson? It's solid ground beneath. The car

trees below would act as a

at all-just a gentle

and yanked Kayla out, who fell onto

instinct was to cling to

arms around her, gently patting her back to soothe her. "It's okay. Don't

was rescued,

the driver, emerged from

His gaze toward Kayla was filled with a mix

Chapter 149

"Yes, Mr. Russell."