The scream came from the woman, who slipped on her sweat and almost toppled from the roof. It was
a split second between life and death. The mother-in-law of the woman was crying hysterically and
nearly fainted at the sight of her daughter-in-law careening on the edge.
Dolores’ mind was blank, and her entire body tensed until the woman regained her balance.
After a moment, Dolores called up to the woman. “If you come down from there, I’ll refund you the
money you paid for your house.”
The woman didn’t believe Dolores one bit. “Don’t you dare say that just to get me down? I don’t believe
you!”
“I’m not lying to you. I will give you the money. If you won’t do it for yourself, think of the child inside
your belly.” Dolores continued, trying to convince her.
The woman seemed to be at her wits’ end, which explained her desperation. “That’s exactly what I’m
doing. I’m standing here for the sake of my child. Do you think it was easy for us to buy a house? We
scraped all of our savings together in an attempt to have a safe place for my child to live, but can I let
my child live in a place that has collapsed? What are the chances that the house we could be buried
alive under the house?”
Dolores knew what the woman was concerned about, how worried and terrified she must be. Dolore
knew because she experienced it herself. “I understand how you feel. You only want to give your child
a good home. I appreciate your concerns. As long as you come down, I promise that I’ll give you the
money.”
“Why should I believe you? What will I do come down and you don’t give me the money?” the woman
asked, refusing to give up.
Dolores licked her dry lips. “I’m not lying to you. I’m Randolph Flores’ daughter. I won’t lie to you.”
“She’s that unscrupulous business executive’s daughter?”
“You must pay your father’s debt! Refund my money!”
“Give us back our money!”
The crowd surrounded Dolores immediately.
“Return our money, return our money!”
An agitated man reached out to grab Dolores, but Matthew’s reflexes were fast. He swiftly pulled
Dolores into his embrace and glared sternly at that man. The stare stunned the man, but he continued
his demands. “Pay up what you owe. You can’t do this to us!” The man paused and turned to the
crowd. “Her father swindled us out of our money. If her father won’t pay up, then she should!”
“That’s right, that’s right, pay your father’s debts. If your father doesn’t show up, then you should pay!”
someone else joined in.
Soon the entire crowd turned on Dolores, agreeing with the new demand. The place became unruly
and descended into chaos. The chaos, however, allowed the woman to be saved by rescuers while she
became distracted.
When Abbott returned with some men, Matthew and Dolores were already blocked by the crowd, and
he wasn’t able to reach them. However, thanks to the men Abbot brought along with the help of the
rescuers, they cleared a pathway and Matthew led Dolores into the office area of the Flores Group
while the crowd remained outside.
As they led the woman to safety by the rescuers through the main hall, she saw Dolores through the
glass doors and broke free from the rescuers ran toward Dolores. “You said that you’ll give me the
money!”
Abbott and the security grabbed the woman, and she wasn’t able to reach Dolores, she could only
shout desperately at her instead, “You said you’d give me back my money. If you lie to me, you’ll suffer
a terrible death. You earned the money through unscrupulous means and will be cast into hell when
you die!”
Matthew frowned and spoke coldly. “Throw her out.”
Abbot was about to do so when Dolores shouted. “Wait!” Dolores turned to Matthew “I know you’ll think
I’m foolish to give her the money. Once I do, there will be endless problems. But who would gamble
with their lives if they weren’t at the end of their road? All she wanted was to give her child a home and
was unlucky enough to meet my father. She’s right, if I don’t fulfill my promise to her, then I won’t be at
peace because I fully understand her feelings…”
Dolores understood the pregnant woman just wanted to give her child a home because that’s what
Dolores wanted to do, to give her child a complete family. However, that was out of Dolores’ reach and
may not happen in this lifetime. Dolores was petite and thin and could be blown away by a gust of wind.
But her clear and bright eyes were so resolute Matthew couldn’t help but feel something.
It was a determination Matthew had never seen. He was momentarily stunned, and looked at Dolores
before turning to Abbott. “Give her the money.”
Abbott understood immediately and turned to the woman. “Follow me.”
At that moment, Randolph rushed over. He’d been hiding in the office and came out because he
discovered Matthew and Dolores arrived. It filled him with hope when he saw Dolores.
“Lola,” he exclaimed. “You came to save me!”
Dolores turned to him, wearing a bitter expression. “How much money do you have?”
It stunned Randolph as he didn’t expect her to ask him how much money he had. If he had any money,
he wouldn’t be in this state.
“I don’t have any money,” Randolph said as a matter of fact.
“Really?” Dolores didn’t believe him; even if he was forced to repay his debts, how could he not have
any more money left? “Who can help you if you don’t tell the truth?”
Randolph darkened his expression and remained silent. Dolores didn’t waste any time.
“I won’t force you if you don’t want to say.” She looked at Matthew. “Let’s go.”
Matthew stretched out his arm to grab her gently waist and nodded. They left the office area under the
protection of the security personnel.
Randolph was stunned and saw that Dolores was about to leave. He clenched his teeth and told the
truth. “I have little. Apart from the house, I had around two million in cash, but Annabelle stole it. I made
a police report but they haven’t found her.”
Randolph didn’t want to tell Dolores the truth. The daughter he favored stole his money and ran away
when he was at his lowest. Ironically, it was the daughter who he despised who was standing before
him, wanting to help.
His eyes turned red as he fought back tears. “Lola, I was blind. That’s why—”
“Stop, just stop.”
Dolores didn’t want to hear any of it. The more they went into it, the more hurt she would become.
“Sell the house. Get whatever money you can and refund as many houses as possible—”
“That’s my only asset, I—” He couldn’t bear to part with it.
“Do you have any money?” Dolores yelled angrily. “If you don’t repay those you’ve wronged and repair
your reputation, no one can save you. Decide for yourself!”
Dolores was very firm. Matthew stared at her, hurting for her, was impressed by how calm she was. He
didn’t expect her to analyze the situation so logically.
If Randolph was smart, he would appease these people and not make matters worse. Then he could
have the chance to wait for the rest of the money and the Flores Group may be able to weather the
crisis.
After they departed the Flores Group, Matthew went back to the office while Dolores went back to the
villa. She didn’t have work that day. Matthew wanted her to go back to rest, as she didn’t look well.
Dolores was exhausted, but she couldn’t sleep when she finally laid in bed. Her mind was a mess and
thinking about a million things, but she couldn’t figure it out. So, she got up.
Coral was cleaning the windows and Dolores headed over to help her. “Here, let me help.”
Coral waved her hands. “No, no need. Someone will come over soon to do the work.”
Every week servants came over to do a thorough cleaning. They would mow the grass, prune the
flowers, and clean the areas Coral wasn’t normally able to clean. How could she clean such a huge
villa on her own? She was a hardworking woman and didn’t like to idle around. She still needed help to
clean the windows and other areas that she couldn’t regularly get to.
Dolores was led to the sofa by Coral. Coral went and washed her hands and asked Dolores. “What
fruits do you want to eat? I’ll get you some.”
“Apples,” Dolores said.
“Okay,” Coral said, walking into the kitchen.
Dolores sat on the sofa and looked at the window. There were some suds left by Coral cleaning them.
Dolores stared at the suds in a daze as they bobbled down the glass.
Then her phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. Dolores took out her phone and noticed it was
Sampson’s number. She tensed up. Had he discovered anything?
Her hand trembled unconsciously as she answered. “Hello.”
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