Free Web NovelChapter 27: Chapter 27: Good Fortune Follows a Great Disaster
Grant and the others quickly insisted it was no trouble at all, while the Donovan family swiftly placed the flowers and fruit basket they had bought on the way by the hospital bed.
Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning what had just happened, turning their attention to Ken Young’s condition instead. "We heard you were injured and hospitalized, so we all decided to come see you. How are you feeling now? Are you still in pain?"
Ken Young lay back on the bed and waved a weak hand. "I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just a mild concussion. I’m a bit dizzy right now, so I have to lie down. I get light-headed whenever I sit up. But the doctor said it’s nothing serious. I should be fine after a few days of rest, so it won’t delay the production schedule."
Hearing this, Grant quickly reassured him, "No, no, no, don’t rush. We’ve already filmed most of your scenes. I’ll go back and have someone rearrange the schedule for the remaining parts. We’ll push them back as far as possible and shoot them after you’ve recovered. Your health is the priority."
This arrangement was, of course, the best possible outcome. A smile finally appeared on Ken Young’s face as he said gratefully, "Okay, thank you, Grant."
Georgia Young, who had since calmed down, also added, "Thank you."
After greeting the director and assistant director, Ken Young’s gaze lingered on Hector Donovan for a few seconds before shifting quizzically to the couple behind him, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan. "And these two are...?"
"They’re my parents," Hector explained. "They happened to be there when Grant mentioned you were in the hospital. Since they didn’t have anything else going on, they came along to see you."
Mr. and Mrs. Donovan weren’t much older than Ken Young, so he wasn’t sure how to address them. He settled for a polite, "Thank you for your concern."
He then turned his attention to Arabella Donovan, addressing her with great solemnity, "Miss Donovan."
Arabella was taken aback. "Young, why are you suddenly calling me that? It sounds so formal."
Her expression, as if she’d just seen a ghost, amused Ken Young, and the serious look on his face softened. "Alright, alright, my mistake. Serena, I’m not kidding. This time, I truly have to thank you."
The others in the room glanced at each other. After what had happened earlier, they had all been deliberately avoiding this topic, afraid of misspeaking and dredging up painful memories for the two of them.
Unexpectedly, Ken Young, the person at the center of it all, didn’t seem to mind and began to recount the events of the past few days.
It turned out that after Arabella had done the character reading for him that day, he had been emotionally unwilling to believe that the wife he had shared a bed with for over a decade would turn on him for her brother. Rationally, however, he knew it wasn’t impossible.
Once doubt took root in his heart, he naturally started paying closer attention to things.
After several days of careful observation, Ken Young finally discovered that many of the things that had recently gone missing from their home had actually been secretly taken and sold by his wife.
Recalling a recent argument with his wife, Ken Young initially assumed she was selling their belongings to scrape together money for her brother’s betrothal gift. freewebnσvel.cѳm
He had planned to go home after filming wrapped up for the day to have a serious talk with his wife, but he ended up finishing early. He went home only to stumble upon a shocking truth.
"It turns out his supposed girlfriend had met his parents in the first month they were dating. After learning about his family’s situation, she broke up with him. So, there was never any talk of marriage, let alone an exorbitant betrothal gift. It was all a lie that woman fabricated to pay off her brother’s gambling debts."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the room—except for the Donovan family of four, who already knew the truth—couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
Ken Young lowered his head with a bitter smile. "If that were all, it wouldn’t be so bad. What’s worse is that when I refused to budge on lending them money, and after they had sold off many of our valuables, they set their sights on the deed to my apartment and my ID card."
The apartment Ken Young currently lived in was a three-bedroom unit that he had bought with most of the savings from his early years in the entertainment industry. Back then, precisely because he was worried about his wife’s obsession with supporting her brother, he had deliberately left her name off the deed.
Daisy Hale had certainly thrown a fit over it, but since he had paid for the apartment in full himself, there was nothing she could do as long as he refused to yield.
He never imagined that after all this time, he still couldn’t stop them from targeting it in the end.
Hector Donovan’s brow furrowed slightly. "I can understand the property deed, but why would they steal your ID card?"
"They wanted to use my ID to apply for a large number of online loans and high-interest loans from loan sharks."
Arabella had already anticipated this answer. "Is that why you got into a conflict with them?" freewёbnoνel.com
Ken Young nodded. "That woman told him the deed was in the safe at home, but my ID card, which I usually carry with me, wouldn’t be easy to get. After discussing it, they planned to pry open the safe to get the deed first. I was furious and went in to confront them."
But he had clearly underestimated the danger posed by a gambler and a woman obsessed with enabling her brother. He also never expected Arabella’s prediction from that day to come true so quickly.
"I didn’t expect him to have a knife. When they realized I knew the truth, their first reaction wasn’t to apologize and beg for my forgiveness, but to curse me out for being stingy. I saw they were beyond hope, so I told them to get out of my house. That animal probably realized that if I kicked him out this time, he’d never be able to swindle money from me again. So he decided to go all the way, threatening me with the knife and demanding I give him the deed immediately, or he’d stab me to death."
Just from Ken Young’s description, everyone present could imagine how dangerous the situation must have been.
A desperate gambler is no longer a person; at best, they’re a beast acting on pure instinct. When cornered, they really would dare to kill.
"Is that how you hurt your hand?" When Ken Young had greeted them earlier, Arabella and the others had noticed that it wasn’t just a concussion; one of his hands was also wrapped in thick gauze.
"No, Dad hurt his hand protecting me."
Recalling the scene, Ken Young couldn’t suppress a shudder of lingering fear. "While I was arguing with them, Georgia happened to get home from school. That animal knew I dote on Georgia the most, so he tried to take her hostage to force my hand. In my desperation, I went to wrestle the knife from him, and that’s how I injured my hand."
"You hurt your hand wrestling the knife from him, so the concussion..."
Georgia interjected with a cold expression, "That woman did it."
Ken Young touched his head, his smile growing even more ironic. "If our next-door neighbor hadn’t heard the commotion, called the police for us, and also notified building security to come up and help, Georgia and I might not be alive today."
Arabella noticed that both Ken Young and Georgia now referred to Daisy Hale as "that woman." It was clear they no longer considered her family.
It made sense. No one could remain indifferent after being threatened with a knife and nearly killed, especially when their own wife—or mother—was helping the very person responsible.
Betrayal by a loved one is always more chilling than being targeted by a stranger.
At this thought, Arabella let out a long breath and looked at the father and daughter seriously. "Surviving a great disaster is a sign of good fortune to come. I hope that from now on, while your lives may not be without their challenges, everything will ultimately go smoothly and you’ll find peace and fulfillment."
