Nevaeh saw distrust in his eyes.
With a determined expression, she spoke clearly, "Cassius, even if you don't believe me, you should trust Grandpa. He's always treated me well. How could I joke about his life?"
At her words, Cassius released his grip, but his gaze remained icy. "No one has ever made Grandpa faint. You're the first!"
What made a woman like her worthy of his trust?
"Get out! If I see you again, I'll break your legs!" Cassius spat out, pushing Grandpa's wheelchair as he and the staff rushed him to the hospital.
Nevaeh watched Grandpa being taken away, her heart sinking with worry.
She wanted to run after them and tell Cassius that Grandpa had fainted from anger, and that if he just calmed down and rested for a few days, he would be fine.
But seeing the coldness in his eyes, she held back.
Fine, if he hated her so much, then let the divorce happen. After all, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
After drinking a glass of salt-sugar water and having some porridge, Nevaeh felt her strength return a bit and headed back to the Huck family home alone.
As she opened the door, it swung wide open unexpectedly.
"Nevaeh?"
Noreen, with her perfectly done makeup like she was about to head out, immediately turned cold upon seeing Nevaeh. "What are you doing here?"
Nevaeh furrowed her brows and walked straight in. "Where's your Mom? I'm here to see her."
She had promised to tell her mother about Grandma's situation during this visit.
"She's still your mom," Noreen shot back, following her with an annoyed tone.
Nevaeh turned her head, a half-smile on her lips, her voice light. "I don't have a mom."
"You!" Noreen's face darkened at Nevaeh's words. She pointed toward the door. "You filthy little country girl, get out! You're not welcome here."
As if Nevaeh wanted to be here in the first place.
After finding out about Grandma's whereabouts, she would never step foot here again.
"I'm not here to waste time with you. Where's Maria? I want her to come out. She promised that if I married Cassius, she would tell me where Grandma is."
"That old hag? She's over there," Noreen said, pointing toward the direction of the storage room, a smirk on her face.
Following Noreen's finger, Nevaeh's eyes turned icy. These monsters had put Grandma in the basement storage room.
Nevaeh felt a wave of heartache wash over her as she hurriedly jogged down the steps to the warehouse.
However, amidst the disarray, there was no sign of her grandmother.
Just when Nevaeh thought Noreen was playing tricks on her, something caught her eye.
Turning her head, she spotted her grandmother's framed photo discarded in a corner against the wall.
Her breath hitched, and her eyelashes fluttered as tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
She slowly crouched down and gently picked up the photo.
"Grandma!"
Suddenly, a wail erupted from the basement, filling the entire room, as if the air itself had solidified, replaced by Nevaeh's heart-wrenching cries.
She didn't know how long she cried, but eventually, her sobs began to quiet down.
She made her way to the living room, clutching her grandmother's photo tightly in her arms, her expression solemn and filled with sorrow.
"Why! Why did my grandma have to die?" Her voice turned icy, as if she were submerged in the frigid waters of winter.
Noreen had never seen Nevaeh like this before, and it struck her deeply.
But the thought that even her protective grandmother was gone, leaving Nevaeh as nothing but an orphan, made her straighten up and let out a cold laugh.
"Your grandma died a long time ago. She was hit by a car and died on the spot."
"That's impossible! I clearly saw the video; my grandma was perfectly fine at that time..."
Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Noreen's mocking voice.
"Idiot, those are all fake! They just found someone who could make videos and swapped heads. Only a fool like you would actually believe it. So, I guess I should thank that old hag. If it weren't for her, how else would you have obediently agreed to marry that walking corpse?"
"She's your grandmother!" Nevaeh shouted, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and sorrow.
Her grandmother had been so kind, raising her with love even when she was an orphan.
How could Noreen, her own granddaughter, be so heartless?
"An old hag from the countryside? I don't care about that kind of grandmother!"
Nevaeh's expression darkened as she slapped Noreen without hesitation.
Smack!
The sound echoed sharply in the air.
She could say whatever she wanted, but not a word against her grandmother!
Noreen was stunned, covering her face as she shouted in anger, "Nevaeh, how dare you hit me!"
Maria heard the commotion and rushed out of the house.
Seeing the red mark on her daughter's face, she immediately understood what had happened and charged at Nevaeh, slapping her hard.
"You ungrateful brat! We fed you and took care of you, and now that you've grown up, you bully my daughter? You've really crossed the line!"
Nevaeh's face burned from the slap, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
She had grown up in the countryside with her grandmother, who was her entire world.
Now that everything felt like it was falling apart, she could no longer call out for her grandmother...
As the pain surged within her, her eyes darkened, and her sharp gaze pierced through the air like a knife. "Maria, give me back my grandmother!"
Maria looked at her daughter's face with a pained expression.
She turned to glare at Nevaeh, ready to unleash her anger, but was taken aback by the sharpness of Nevaeh's gaze, which felt like a black hole, piercing through her very soul.
She froze for a moment.
Was she... going to kill her?
A sense of unease crept into her heart, but she refused to back down. "That old hag was short-lived and got into an accident, what does it have to do with us?"
Nevaeh had always believed that if she followed Maria's instructions, she would eventually see her grandmother.
She had dreamed of returning to the countryside with her grandmother, living a carefree life.
It was these hopes that fueled her forward, but she had never imagined that all of it was a lie!
Suddenly, Nevaeh let out a broken laugh, feeling as if a sharp blade had sliced through her heart, leaving it bleeding.
Gently placing her grandmother's photo down, she looked at Maria's face and instantly lost her mind.
She lunged forward, gripping Maria's neck tightly.
"Let go! Let go, Nevaeh! You're crazy!" Noreen screamed in fear from the side.
"Nevaeh, you better let her go!" Cyrille rushed in, witnessing the scene, and quickly ran over to forcefully push Nevaeh away.
Nevaeh stumbled and fell to the ground.
Cyrille and Noreen quickly rushed to help Maria up.
After experiencing a near-death feeling, Maria trembled at the sight of Nevaeh.
"Aunt, are you okay?"
Maria's eyes were vacant as she shook her head.
Seeing this, Noreen supported Maria while her gaze remained fixed on Cyrille. "Cyrille, it's all my fault. If I had married Cassius back then, my sister wouldn't hold such a grudge against us. It's all my fault. I loved you too much to let you go. I was selfish."
Tears streamed down Noreen's face, and Cyrille gently wiped them away. "It's not your fault. We truly love each other. A heartless woman like her doesn't deserve our sympathy."
At his words, Noreen's eyes lit up with a hint of pride.
Nevaeh didn't have time for their little drama. Seeing each of their faces made her feel sick. Talking to these worthless people was just a waste of time.
"Who killed my grandmother?" Nevaeh's voice was icy, each word sharp as a knife.
Maria, who had already almost died once, quickly shook her head. "It wasn't me. We only found out about the accident when we received the call. She died on the spot."
"What about her ashes?" Nevaeh pressed on.
"They're at the crematorium."
Nevaeh closed her eyes, clutching the framed photo of her grandmother tightly as she took slow, deliberate steps away.
When she reached the door, she didn't look back.
Her voice was low and thick with emotion, yet it carried a chilling coldness. "Anyone who has harmed my grandmother, I won't let a single one of you get away!"