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.

know them, but the students participating in the training program

originally intended 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 from him, he had no choice but to

only one empty room in

foot and confirmed it wasn't serious. Feeling relieved, he placed her on the

en

this place, and I'm scared..." Arnold had been planning to find a separate place to stay. After

as her shoulders trembled

some rest. I'll be in the living room. If you need anything, just call me." With that,

eyes, giving way to a burgeoning anger that threatened to explode! "Felicia!" she hissed through

was determined to eliminate Felicia, the thorn in her side, at all

She called Shawn, her voice low as she snapped, "Why haven't you arrived yet? It's been two days!

as if he were driving. "It's all set! I'll be at Alverton in

this, Kayla felt a sense

considerable. As long as

Chapter 152

and Felicia didn't bother to find out who would tow the Fuller family's

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 looked up at him with teary eyes and said, "Arnie, I rushed over to see you and almost didn't

However, the words were caught in his throat, and he ultimately swallowed them. Instead, he said, "It's alright

panic-stricken. It was only after Felicia scolded him that he realized his concern was causing him

too late to say such

he would disappear. Her pitiful appearance made it difficult for him to

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

must have rushed over in the middle

of the situation because her good

she felt some resentment toward

could make Felicia's life miserable was

Olivia stepped forward without hesitation and said, "Kayla, what terrible duck you had, getting into a car accident.

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

regained her senses after initially feeling scared. She began to pick up on the indifference on Arnold's

she did, and it was clear that something had happened over the past

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

these past few days. You even hung up on me yesterday. Do you know I almost died? I was wondering if

seemed

pained smile and asked, "Arnie, who are you

unexpected reaction from Arnold. He immediately denied it, his voice filled with resistance as he replied, "Don't

wanted to laugh, the smile slowly faded from her

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

Chapter 151

she asked, "Ruben, what caused the accident?

was always on standby and had years of driving experience, so it was unusual for such an accident to

with

out her frustration on him

mountain roads were already challenging, and his attention had been distracted by her kicking him. Fatigued from 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

thought about it, the angrier he became. If it hadn't been for Kayla distracting him, the accident wouldn't have happened in the

the car, Kayla said many hurtful things. She declared that he wasn't fit to be a driver for the Fuller

his reason, he would

his grip on the memory card in his

pushed him too far, he had

Felicia didn't pry further.

the villagers felt

Gibbs, who had been scolded by Arnold earlier, tried to leave but was stopped

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

was

crying.

had just endured

Unable to hold back, she spoke up, "Sorry

finally released Kayla and turned his attention to

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

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

could she let

Felicia stood her ground.

age who was studying in another city. Any daughter would

was just an apology; it wasn't like she was asking for a piece of Arnold's flesh. An apology was absolutely reasonable,

regained his composure. Regardless of the

to apologize to Cody, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gibbs. I was out of line earlier." Cody

satisfied, Felicia turned

the others. She climbed back onto the little truck as it

Chapter 150

the familiar license plate of the black luxury car that was hanging dangerously over the edge of the cliff. It was a vehicle

trapped inside was

crossed her mind, she heard Kayla's terrified voice from inside the car.

was also in a state

that Kayla had come to Alverton, and

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

might have shown a hint of indifference and impatience during their phone call. Kayla, emotional

irritated by her cries, Arnold ended the call

broke and he still hadn't received any updates from Kayla, he asked around,

been in a car accident. Now,

he called the rescue team and urged

car and formed a small group to help. They proposed a simple yet effective solution. First, they'd move the rocks to stabilize the vehicle. Then,

wouldn't work and furrowed his brows in concern. He feared that the villagers' methods, while well-meaning, could be foolish and might endanger Kayla's life instead of save her. The rescue

"Can you guarantee the safety of the people in the car? Can you assure me that this method has no risks? If not, we should

older man

flustered under Arnold's

with a cold laugh. "Arnold, where

his tone in the face of

decisively. "Mr. Todd, grab a couple of small rocks and brace them under the

Romeo immediately complied.

angrily accusing Felicia, "Kayla is a member of

inside the car, "Don't come

but quickly steadied again as Romeo and the others placed stones to

looked at Arnold 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 might slide a bit, but it won't

it not fall, but the dense trees below would act as a buffer even if the car did

wasn't a cliff at all-just a

car door and yanked Kayla out, who fell onto the ground,

instinct was to cling

push her away and wrapped his arms around her, gently patting her back

was rescued,

driver, emerged

toward Kayla was filled with a

Chapter 149

"Yes, Mr. Russell."