Chapter 12 Two Billion Dollars

• When Mylah awoke the next morning, she rubbed her eyes and looked at her surroundings. This isn't the hospital. Where am I?
• "Hehe! Isn't that Uncle Superman? I didn't know he looked so charming in the past," she muttered to herself upon spotting a photo by the bedside.
• Just then, Kimberley opened the door and entered the room. "What are you laughing at, Mylah?"
• The little girl put down the photo and blinked her eyes. "Ms. Kimberley, where am I? Wasn't I at the hospital?"
• Kimberley laughed at the cute child's bemused expression. "This is your home, Mylah. Don't call me Ms. Kimberley from now on. Call me Aunt Kimberley!"
• "Ms. Kimberley? Here?" Mylah asked in confusion.
• Just then, Jett and Astor entered the room.
• "Uncle Superman!" she sang merrily.
• "From now on, you need to call him Daddy Superman, not Uncle Superman. Understand?" Kimberley said to Mylah, who maintained a perplexed look. Suddenly, she grabbed Kimberley's arm and whispered in her ear. "Did you hear the wish I made in front of the shooting star yesterday?"
• It was now Kimberley's turn to put on a clueless expression. Mylah continued, "Yesterday, I wished that I could see Daddy and Mommy again. Is that why you ask Uncle Superman to be my daddy today, Ms. Kimberley?"
• The woman burst out laughing and said, "Would you like it if Uncle Superman becomes Daddy Superman?"
• "Haha! Of course! I've always dreamed of having a Daddy Superman!" Mylah nodded excitedly. She caught a glimpse of Jett and flushed as she noticed him smiling endearingly at her.
• "Look, Daddy! She's so comfortable with Jett! They are really related by blood,” Kimberley remarked.
• Astor was grinning from ear to ear at her comments.
• The woman then continued, “Mylah, Uncle Superman is your real Daddy. We did a DNA test to verify the results. This means that you will need to call me Aunt Kimberley from now on!”
• "Aunt Kimberley? Is this real?" The little girl yearned to have a family, and all of this was almost like a dream come true.
• "Of course! Since when did Ms. Kimberley ever lie to you? No, wait, Aunt Kimberley. Hurry, you need to greet Granduncle Astor and Daddy."
• Mylah bit her lip and called out excitedly, "Granduncle Astor! Daddy!"
• "What a sweetheart!" Astor said merrily, his eyes glistening with tears. Kimberley, too, was emotional about the family reunion.
• After receiving Jett’s agreement, Kimberley dressed Mylah up so that they could head to the welfare home and settle the administrative work needed to bring the little girl home.
• After breakfast, Bernard made the arrangements for them to head to the welfare home. Kimberley, who was an employee of the home, showed them the way to the director’s office. However, as they were nearing their destination, they heard a heated argument coming from the room.
• "Mr. Lacewell, you are putting us in a difficult position. The amount you are offering is insufficient for us to build a new welfare home," Mathilda Hart, the director of the welfare home, said in exasperation.
• "Don’t be greedy, Ms. Hart. The amount that Lacewell Corporation is offering is higher than other companies. I suggest you consider our offer carefully. The money is sufficient for you to retire comfortably. You had better think twice about impeding Lacewell Corporation’s development plans," Mateo Lacewell warned. He was the assistant general manager of Lacewell Corporation and Huxley Lacewell’s younger cousin.
• Mathilda scoffed inwardly at Mateo’s words. She had hired someone to assess the land value of the welfare home and knew that it was one billion dollars more than what the Lacewell Corporation was offering. Unfortunately, no companies were interested in bidding for the land. The Lacewells were one of the four great families in Cleckherville. Hence, no one dared to risk offending them for fear of incurring their wrath.
• Mateo threatened, "Let me tell you the truth, Ms. Hart. No one dares to compete with Lacewell Corporation. So, your only way out is to sell the land to us."
• "You… you’re such bullies!" Mathilda said furiously.
• Meanwhile, Jett stood by the door and overheard their conversation. We meet again, Lacewells. Why do our paths keep crossing? Nothing good ever happens with you guys around.
• Kimberley turned to look at Jeff as she did not know whether it was appropriate to interrupt the conversation.
• As she knocked on the door, she called out, "Ms. Hart, I would like to discuss something with you.”
• Mathilda instructed Mateo to wait by the side and gave Kimberley the signal to enter the room.
• "Hello, Ms. Hart!" Kimberley said as she entered the room with Jett and Mylah. Bernard decided to wait outside the office.
• No one paid attention to Mateo, who was seated on the nearby sofa. He was enraged at their indifferent attitude as no one had ever disrespected a member of the four great families.
• Mathilda was a friendly lady with a pair of reading glasses on her nose. She turned sixty this year, but the stress of running the welfare home had caused her hair to grey.
• "How may I assist you, Ms. Kimberley?" Mathilda inquired with a smile.
• "This is Mylah's father, and he'd like to bring her home, Ms. Hart. This is a DNA test that proves their relationship," Kimberley responded.
• Mathilda glanced through the report before lifting her head to look at Jett. After getting Mylah's affirmation that she wanted to live with her parents, the director signed the documents to authorize her release.
• "Mr. Grayston, here are Mylah's documents for your safekeeping. She's a good child, I hope you will treat her well when she goes home," Mathilda said.
• "Thank you, Ms. Hart. I've some questions regarding Mylah. Would it be convenient to ask about it now?" Jett asked politely. He wanted to seek clarification from the director to aid his investigation of the matter.
• "Sure, Mr. Grayston," Mathilda replied graciously.
• "Bullshit!" Mateo jumped off the sofa and swore. "Are you crazy, old hag? I don't have all day to play with you. Stop wasting my time and sign the papers!" He was simmering with anger as Jett and the rest had disrupted his plans.
• "Are you okay, Sir?" Bernard stormed in when he heard the ruckus and worried Jett was hurt.
• "I'm all right," Jett assured.
• "Are you kidding me? Why are you calling him 'Sir?' What an obnoxious man!" Mateo laughed hysterically.
• "Slap him, Bernard," Jett instructed.
• The man did as he was told. He raised his hand up in the arm and slap Mateo's face hard
• Pow! Another slap. Mateo's head was sent flying left and right in rhythmic pulses.
• Mathilda and Kimberley watched in horror as they could not believe that Jett was torturing someone from the Lacewell family. Only Mylah was amused by the incident. She said joyfully, "Daddy, this uncle looks like he's playing the drum! His doing it better than some of the children here!"
• Jett was taken aback by Mylah's candid comments. "Stop!" he ordered.
• Bernard obediently ceased the slappings and stood at the side.
• Mateo's eyes blazed with rage at the humiliation, especially Mylah's sarcastic words, and his breath quickened. "All of you are in trouble! Do you know that I belong to the Lacewell family?!" he shrieked.
• "So what if you are? I hate the Lacewells. Bernard, drag him out and teach him a lesson. He's so noisy," Jett said lazily.
• As Bernard took Mateo out of the room and started his beatings, screams of anguish filled the air.
• "Mateo Lacewell is the assistant general manager of Lacewell Realty Group. He's a very powerful man. Aren't you worried that he might take revenge?" Mathilda asked in concern.
• "Don't worry, Ms. Hart. The welfare home will be protected. Why don't you share with me everything you know about Mylah?" Jett assured.
• A short while later, Bernard returned and reported, "He ran away in fear."
• Jett then turned to Mathilda and bowed slightly. "Thank you for taking care of Mylah all these years, Ms. Hart."
• "Settle this matter, Bernard. Make a one-billion-dollar donation to the welfare home. Also, give Ms. Hart another billion dollars to reward her for taking such wonderful care of Mylah," Jett ordered.
• Bernard took out his phone and said, "Yes, Sir!"
• Within seconds, Mathilda received a notification that she had received two billion dollars. One billion was deposited into the welfare home's bank account while the remaining was into her personal account. She stood rooted on the spot, dumbfounded by the twist of events.