Chapter 2

Jared Osmond nodded. “Yeah, what’s with that? Did you not run into him?”

Elliott Banner’s face turned pale instantly. She knew exactly what she had done in the sorghum field just now. It was likely that Leonardo Walker had seen it all! Suppressing her panic, she forced a smile. “I have no idea. My sorghum field is so large—it’s not unusual that I didn’t run into him.”

She kept comforting herself in her mind: Even if Leonardo Walker saw her, he’s an idiot anyway. He probably wouldn’t go around spreading rumors. With that thought, she tried to appear calm and quickened her pace as she descended the hill. What she didn’t know was that not far behind her, Ronald Heller’s face had turned grim. He had heard every word Jared Osmond said.

Leonardo Walker led Big Yellow back to the village in a hurry. What he saw in the sorghum field today was simply too shocking to forget. The image kept echoing in his mind, refusing to go away.

“Leonardo, why did you come back so late? The village chief, Samuel Black, went to your house with pig’s trotters in his hands!” As soon as he entered the village, Aunt Zhou stopped him, her voice tinged with urgency.

Leonardo Walker grinned foolishly, thinking that Samuel Black had come to offer him something good. He didn’t understand what Aunt Zhou meant.

“Ah, what a Leonardo!” Aunt Zhou sighed helplessly, lowering her voice. “Samuel Black isn’t there to do anything nice. He’s there to pick on your sister-in-law!”

As soon as those words were spoken, Leonardo Walker, who had previously seemed rather simple-minded, suddenly showed a fierce look in his eyes. “Bullying my sister-in-law? I’ll beat him up!” He quickly picked up a stick from the roadside and rushed home with Big Yellow by his side.

Samuel Black used to bully the villagers and him on a regular basis. Leonardo Walker could tolerate that, but he would never allow anyone to bully his sister-in-law—Clyde Heller, his only relative in the world.

Leonardo Walker grew up without a father or mother, raised entirely by his older brother, Marcel Hoffman. Half a year ago, Marcel had an accident at the construction site and passed away. He left behind his sister-in-law, Clyde Heller, and a child who was less than six months old. Clyde never treated Leonardo with disdain, despite his limited intelligence. She took care of the child and managed Leonardo’s daily needs, treating him with great kindness. Although Leonardo wasn’t very smart, he knew how to be grateful. If anyone tried to hurt his sister-in-law, he would defend her at all costs.

At that moment, in Leonardo Walker’s yard, Clyde Heller opened the door. He thought it was Leonardo Walker who had returned. But to his surprise, it was Samuel Black standing at the door. Samuel Black reeked of alcohol. He held a pig’s trotter in his hand, with a sly smile on his face. “Clyde, I know you’ve just had a baby and are weak. I brought you a pig’s trotter. Use it to make a soup with yams to strengthen your body and help with breastfeeding.”

As he spoke, Samuel Black kept his gaze fixed on Clyde Heller’s slightly open collar. His greedy look was as if he had stumbled upon a treasure. Strangely enough, although Clyde Heller had a good figure, she couldn’t produce milk after giving birth, which left her extremely worried.

“I don’t need pig’s trotters. Get out of here.” Clyde Heller frowned, his voice filled with anger. She knew Samuel Black too well—he was never interested in what he said on the surface. When their eldest brother, Marcel Hoffman, was still alive, Samuel Black would constantly find excuses to come to their house and cause trouble. Now that Marcel wasn’t around anymore, Samuel Black became even more reckless in his behavior.

Just then, the child in the house suddenly started crying. Clyde Heller became anxious and turned to go inside. But Samuel Black took the opportunity to push his way in and block her path. “Clyde, it seems like your nipple is blocked. Someone needs to help clear it out for you!” He put down the pig’s trotter and stared at Clyde Heller in a lecherous manner.

Clyde Heller tried to go around him to hug the child, but Samuel Black grabbed his wrist. “What… what are you doing?” Clyde Heller stepped back in fear, his eyes filled with terror.

Samuel Black smirked wickedly. “Look, Marcel’s dead now. It’s not easy for you, a woman, with a child to raise. I know how these things work. I’ll help you out, and I guarantee you’ll be able to produce milk and feed your child properly.”

Clyde Heller was so angry that her face turned red. She knew that Samuel Black’s visit today certainly had no good intentions. She grabbed a broom from the wall and swung it at Samuel Black’s hands. “Get out of here! Leave now!”

“Do you dare to lay a hand on me?” Samuel Black winced in pain, his eyes filling with fury. He snatched the broom from Clyde Heller’s hands, grabbed his wrists, and twisted them behind his back. Then, he used the broom handle to tie Clyde’s hands tightly together. No matter how Clyde struggled, it was useless.

“Dare you tell me to get lost? Look carefully at what this is!” Samuel Black pressed Clyde Heller against the table. He took out a loan agreement from his pocket and slapped it on the table. “This is a loan agreement from a year ago, when Marcel Hoffman got married. He borrowed fifty thousand dollars from me. It’s clearly stated here that if he fails to repay the money, this house will be used to settle the debt!”

“How is that possible?” Clyde Heller was completely incredulous. She had no idea that Marcel Hoffman had ever borrowed any money from her.

Samuel Black snapped, “How could I possibly deceive you? It’s all written black on white, with Marcel’s signature as proof. Look for yourself!” He paused for a moment, then added hypocritically, “When he came to me for a loan, he was afraid you’d run away if you found out. That’s why he didn’t tell you.” After saying that, he carefully tucked away the loan agreement.

Clyde Heller could hold back her tears no longer. Back then, she was deceived by Marcel Hoffman and brought to Oxhead Village. Marcel Hoffman claimed to be the richest man in the village and owned a villa. But once she married him, she realized that the so-called “richest man” was actually the poorest, and the so-called “villa” was nothing more than a dilapidated farmhouse, along with a stupid brother. She thought about leaving at that time, but she was already pregnant. For the sake of her child, she decided to stay.

Now, with another sudden debt of fifty thousand yuan, if Samuel Black takes away the house, where will she and her child go? How will they survive?

“Clyde, I really don’t need those fifty thousand dollars.” Samuel Black’s tone softened. His greedy gaze fixed on Clyde Heller’s back. “How about this: I’ll give up those fifty thousand dollars, and you can keep living in the house. But in return, every time I come by, you’ll have to make me happy. What do you say?”

Samuel Black swallowed hard, then slowly reached a hand toward Clyde Heller’s back. Clyde Heller was utterly desperate. She was pinned tightly to the table, unable to resist at all. All she could do was close her eyes in despair.

Just as Samuel Black was about to touch her, someone gave him a hard blow to the back of the head. “Damn it, who the hell dares to hit me?” Samuel Black screamed in pain and immediately let go of Clyde Heller. He turned around to find out who had hit him.

Turning around, he saw the foolish Leonardo Walker, holding a stick in his hand, with anger written all over his face. “Damn it, Leonardo Walker! What the hell gives you the right to hit me?” Samuel Black was furious. He had almost succeeded just now, but that idiot interrupted him and even hit him with a stick.