CHAPTER 94: DOOM STARTED WITH A PEN

"To be honest, I wasn’t the one who sold these properties... but she sold them without my knowledge. That’s why I am trying to buy them all back; these properties were very important to me."

Silence followed Lawrence’s remarks. Jasmine frowned, a practiced look of parental woe on her face. As for Lola and Atlas, their expressions were stoic, no trace of sympathy or any of the sort. If anything, a layer of frost coated their eyes.

It had always been like this in the Young family.

If Lawrence screwed up, it would be Lola’s fault. If Jasmine didn’t like something, it would be Lola’s fault. And if Melissa was bored, she would create some drama in her life and make Lola the villain.

If they wrote a book, with their imaginations so vivid that it would surely be a bestseller. Even now, in a place where they didn’t know Lola was around, they were using her as a decoy.

Did they think she didn’t know what they were doing?

"How sad," Lola hummed, leaning over as she moved the document toward Lawrence Young. "How could a daughter do that to their parent? It reminds me of someone I know."

She straightened her back, offering them a short smile. "But the difference was, it was the parents who stole from her, tormented her, and even used her in any means they could to make themselves appear better in the eyes of others."

"Tsk, tsk." Jasmine and Lawrence shook their heads in disappointment. "What a horrible parent to treat their child like that."

"I know, right?" Lola chuckled, covering her lips with the back of her hand. "But it’s not all that bad, only the beginning."

The couple across from her stared with deep curiosity, but she didn’t continue immediately. She took in the sight of them before her mouth curled into a smirk.

"When this friend of mine had had enough, she punished them," she dawdled, stressing each syllable with calm elegance. "First, she took back everything they stole from her. Then, she collected the debt they owed her plus interest. After that, it was their dreams, ambitions, then inevitably... their lives. Funny thing was, they didn’t even know who did all of it because they couldn’t recognize their daughter."

Lola shrugged as she smacked her lips. "It was a tragic cycle, but in the end, the only thing that matters is who gets the last laugh. Don’t you think, Mrs. and Mr. Young?"

"That is karma," Lawrence nodded. "I’m glad she was able to punish them."

Jasmine nodded. "Even if they were her parents, they shouldn’t have treated your friend like that. Now, I can’t even pity a parent, as there is no justification for whatever they have done."

"If anything, she should’ve punished them more!" Lawrence exclaimed, seemingly riled by such a neglectful and horrible parent.

"Haha." Lola chuckled, amused. "You think she wasn’t cruel enough?"

"Not at all!" Jasmine huffed. "A parent’s role is to protect their children, and it is a job that we parents have till our last breath. However, there are truly some out there who don’t deserve a child!"

Lola hummed as she nodded. "I thought that’s already cruel, but it seemed... she was still too lenient, huh?"

"Mrs. Bennet, my heart aches for your friend," Jasmine sighed, reaching out to hold Lola’s hand. "Hearing a child being neglected or abused by their parents truly pains me as a mother. No matter what, I could never do that to my child."

Lawrence nodded sternly. "That is right. I can’t even hurt my child, so I can’t imagine how other parents could stomach doing such horrible things?"

Atlas leaned, propping his elbow on the armrest. His finger pressed on his temple, eyes filled with amusement as they were stuck on Lola. When he averted his gaze to the couple across from them, the side of his mouth hooked up.

"I agree with them," he mused, earning their attention. "She should be more cruel."

Lola’s brows rose at him before a subtle smile crept onto her face.

"Well, anyway, that’s their story," she grinned. "Although I feel sorry that you’re going through such a hard time, I can simply hope things will work out for you."

Jasmine and Lawrence smiled happily. "Thank you, Mrs. Bennet."

"Let’s wrap this up, shall we?"

"Of course!" Lawrence barely skimmed through the document, trusting that the lawyer he had hired had already checked everything. With that, he quickly reached for the pen.

But just as he was about to sign, Lola spoke again.

"By the way, about the story I just told..." she trailed off, waiting for Lawrence to look back at her. "... do you know how everything starts to fall apart?"

Lawrence and Jasmine knitted their brows, waiting for Lola to continue.

"The moment her parents picked up a pen," she stressed, looking them in the eye. "And signed their names."

Her warning made Atlas’s brow arch, then he glanced at the old couple with intrigue. They couldn’t be that foolish not to see the warning in bold, could they?

Lawrence and Jasmine’s smiles stiffened for a bit, slightly uncomfortable with what she had just said. But Lola’s smile stretched until her eyes were squinting.

"It just reminded me of when Mister Young picked up his pen," she quipped. "Just want to make sure you get the full picture."

"Ha... ha..." Lawrence laughed awkwardly. "I see."

He cleared his throat and gazed down at the paper. He didn’t sign immediately, though, having this sense of discomfort in his heart. A part of him was telling him to think about this. After all, what Lola said just now sounded more like a warning.

"Dear," Jasmine called, snapping Lawrence out of his thoughts. "What are you still doing?"

Lawrence glanced at his wife and then at the people across from him. When his eyes landed on Atlas, all of his reluctance disappeared.

Treat this as a fee to build a bridge to this man and his wife, he told himself, smiling as he continued to sign the papers. Even if this fee hurts me, it’ll be temporary. With the Summit Partners, the Lancaster, and now the Bennets in my network, it’ll be easy to earn this all back... plus the interest I’d get from Lola.

Little did he know, he should’ve listened to his instinct because, just like what Lola said, doom started with a pen.