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.

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

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

only one

well," Arnold said after the college doctor checked Kayla's foot and confirmed it

en

I'm not familiar with this place, and I'm scared..." Arnold had been planning to find a separate place to stay. After all, it would be scandalous for

as her shoulders trembled and her

soften, but he still insisted, "You get some rest. I'll be in the living room. If

from Kayla's eyes, giving way to a burgeoning anger that threatened to explode! "Felicia!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her sense of crisis

eliminate Felicia, the thorn in

"Why haven't you arrived yet? It's been two days! Have you gotten

end as if he were driving. "It's all set! I'll

felt a sense

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

Chapter 152

morning chaos came to an end, and Felicia didn't bother to find out who would tow the Fuller family's

left that Kayla finally snapped back to reality from the shock of the night before. Clinging tightly to Arnold's waist, she looked up at him with teary eyes and said, "Arnie, I rushed over to see you and almost

However, the

arrived at the scene panic-stricken. It was only after Felicia scolded him that he realized his concern was causing him to lose focus. The terrain looked frightening, but

was too late to say

Arnold, fearing that if she let go, he would

the incident rushed over to see the commotion and caught sight of Arnold and Kayla

have rushed over in the middle of the

her good friend, Olivia, had informed her to come quickly to assert her claim and ensure that the man she was infatuated with, Arnold, wouldn't be taken

this, Olivia couldn't help but smirk. Although she felt some resentment toward Kayla after yesterday's events, her

make Felicia's life miserable

terrible duck you had, getting into a car accident. Thankfully, you're okay. Otherwise, wouldn't Mr.

He shot her a glance, but Olivia merely

her senses after initially feeling scared. She began to pick up on the

clear that something had happened over the past few days. Otherwise, he wouldn't

was taken aback to find that he was consistently looking

you haven't been paying attention to me these past few days. You even hung up on me yesterday. Do you

Arnold seemed to tune

and asked, "Arnie,

casual question drew an unexpected reaction from Arnold. He immediately denied it, his voice filled with resistance as he replied, "Don't talk nonsense. How could be thinking

clear disdain was unmasked. While Kayla initially wanted to laugh, the smile slowly faded from

claimed not to like her, often indicated that he had

Chapter 151

she asked, "Ruben, what caused the accident? What

on standby and had years of driving experience, so it was unusual for

drive her to Alverton. I wasn't familiar with the road and mistakenly followed

out her frustration on him by kicking his seat while he was

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 the car sway dangerously. It wasn't until Arnold called this morning that the car audio system automatically answered and allowed them

it hadn't been for Kayla

things. She declared that he wasn't fit to be a driver for the Fuller family and that she would make sure he was fired as soon as they got out, putting

reason, he would have wanted to

reflected on this, he tightened his grip on the memory card in

Kayla pushed

Felicia didn't pry further.

Kayla saved, the villagers felt relieved and began to

earlier, tried to leave but

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

was tightly

crying.

had

separation. Unable to hold back,

Kayla and turned his attention to Felicia.

even more impatient. Her tone was cold as she stated, "You should apologize

a bit awkward and gently tugged at Felicia's

she

Felicia stood her ground.

Any daughter would be upset if

was asking for a piece of Arnold's flesh. An apology was absolutely

of

upbringing compelled him to apologize to Cody, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gibbs. I was out of line earlier." Cody flashed a warm and

satisfied, Felicia turned

the others. She climbed back onto the little truck

Chapter 150

closer, she quickly recognized the familiar license plate of the black luxury car that was hanging dangerously over the edge of

trapped

as that thought crossed her mind, she heard Kayla's terrified voice from inside the car. "Arnie, help

was also in a state of

Kayla had come to Alverton, and he felt

from Matthew and had been growing increasingly frustrated with Kayla's nearly suffocating presence. She seemed to follow him everywhere, like a piece of gum stuck to his shoe that he

hint of indifference and impatience during their phone call. Kayla,

her cries, Arnold ended the

dawn broke and he still hadn't received any updates from Kayla, he asked around, but no one had seen her arrive in the

shocked by the news that she had been in

called the rescue team and urged them to come as

small group to help. They proposed a simple yet effective solution. First, they'd move

wouldn't work and furrowed his brows in concern. He feared that the villagers' methods, while well-meaning, could

overheard Arnold sharply reprimanding one of the villagers who had suggested the plan, saying, "Can you guarantee the safety of

villager an older

embarrassed and flustered under Arnold's harsh words. His

with a cold laugh.

softened his tone in the face of her

them under the front of the car. Put

Romeo immediately complied.

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

"Don't come

swayed a little but quickly steadied again

looked at Arnold with an expression of disbelief and annoyance. She tilted her head and sarcastically said, "Do you see that, Mr. Lawson?

but the dense trees below would act as a buffer even if the car

cliff at all-just a gentle slope common in

door and yanked Kayla out, who fell onto

first instinct was to cling to

around her, gently patting her back to soothe her. "It's

was

the driver, emerged

His gaze toward Kayla was filled with a mix of

Chapter 149

"Yes, Mr. Russell."