Chapter 294

"Honey, I'm taking our son home now. Marvin has been released. He'll be meeting up with Joanna…" Amelia gave a rapid update.

Landon let out a sigh and said, "I already know. Tell me about you and Kimsey."

Amelia replied, "We're both doing fine. Didn't you notice he hadn't cried? He's asleep in my arms."

Landon said, "He must've been terrified. Let him sleep with you for the next few days. Don't let Dahlia take over."

"Don't worry, I know what to do. I'll spend more time with him," Amelia assured him.

"How's my mom?" Landon asked.

Amelia said, "She doesn't know anything."

"Thank you." Landon pressed his lips together, blaming himself for not being able to be there for his wife and child when they needed him most.

Amelia could hear the guilt in his voice.

She giggled sweetly, fishing for compliments. "Wasn't I awesome?"

"Of course you were. My Honey is the best," Landon praised her sincerely.

The young girl who was once chased to a dead end by a scumbag and a cruel stepmother had finally grown into a strong woman.

She held her own, even without Landon by her side.

"How's it going on your end?" Amelia asked.

Landon replied, "Pretty well. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I'll be waiting for you," Amelia said.

Joanna sped down the road, constantly checking the rearview mirror.

Once she was sure no one was following her, she let out a scornful laugh. "Amelia, without Landon, you're nothing."

The mission to rescue the Gellar family had gone smoothly, but now she had to brace herself for Landon's payback.

Joanna guessed Landon must be absolutely furious after knowing she had abducted her son and was probably already on a plane home.

Once the plane took off, the Montgomery family would pull the same trick again and capture Landon.

"Landon, it's just your bad luck to have caught Monica's eye," Joanna mocked as she drove, venting some of the resentment building in her chest.

She was so busy sneering that she didn't even notice she was being followed.

After several turns, Joanna arrived at the foot of a hill on the outskirts of Norava. There was already a van parked there.

Joanna honked her horn twice, and a man stepped out of the van. It was Marvin.

He looked disheveled and scruffy. It was obvious he had been through hell over the past few days.

"Get in the car!" Joanna called out.

Marvin scrambled in, panting and fuming. "You guys took forever! Any later and I would've been a dead man!"

"Nothing we could do. We didn't even know something had happened to you," Joanna said as she restarted the car and headed toward Pinecrest.

Marvin frowned. "Why are we heading to Pinecrest? That's your rival's turf."

"Amelia's no fool. Once she figures things out, she'll definitely come after us again. Going to Pinecrest is the last thing she'd expect," Joanna chuckled coldly.

Catherine died in Pinecrest, and that was where she was buried, too.

Joanna thought Amelia would never suspect that she would go to Pinecrest since that place was full of grief and would only remind Amelia of Catherine.

"Where are your mom and sister?" Joanna asked.

"They got captured again," Marvin replied.

Joanna shook her head. "Amelia just never follows orders. If I'd known, I would've waited a bit longer."

"Wouldn't have mattered. My sister refused to leave and ended up hurting my mom instead," Marvin said, frustration clear in his voice as he remembered what happened.

They'd had a chance to escape together, but then Lucia suddenly lost it and ran back toward the house for no reason.

Shelby tried to stop her and ended up getting pushed to the ground.

And then the pursuers caught up and dragged them all back.

"Sounds like your family turned on each other," Joanna remarked.

Marvin didn't respond. Truth was, he had doubts about his sister too.

Ever since Landon took her away and brought her back, Lucia was like a totally different person. She was paranoid all the time and no longer listened to him.

"Marvin, if you can't keep your family in line, it's going to cause you trouble down the road," Joanna warned.

Marvin said, "They don't know anything about the Mystic Sect anyway. It's fine."

"It better be! Otherwise…" Joanna trailed off with a threatening tone.

Marvin fell silent for a long moment before finally asking, "Aren't we going to the Mystic Sect?"

"No. You don't need to go," Joanna replied.

Marvin was deeply disappointed. The Mystic Sect was his ultimate dream.

'Just how high do I have to climb before I'm worthy of even setting foot in the Mystic Sect?' he wondered.

Meanwhile, back at the Gellar family's residence.

Shelby slapped Lucia hard across the face. "Are you out of your mind? We finally had a chance to escape, and you came back for what?"

"Mom, I don't want to leave home," Lucia said, covering her face, her face full of sadness.

Landon wasn't someone easy to deal with, and she suspected that it was a trap.

Rather than be someone else's pawn, she'd rather just stay home. She might not be free, but at least she'd be safe.

"You really are crazy! You didn't run, and now you're dragging me down with you," Shelby fumed. "Being locked in this house every day is driving me insane!"

"Mom, Marvin will come back to save us," Lucia said softly.

"Marvin already lost two fingers because of you. Do you really want to drag him into this again? You're just a jinx! All you ever do is mess things up!" Shelby snapped.

"Mom…" Lucia felt a sharp pain pierce her heart.

She had always known Shelby played favorites. But it was totally unfair that her mother blamed everything on her.

Lucia was the youngest, and she'd always done everything they asked of her.

Even when Landon took her to be a streetworker, Shelby and Marvin didn't try to save her. When she finally came back, she never even complained.

And now they were pinning everything on her.

"Enough! It's all your fault Lucia turned out this way," Tristan said, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"Dad…" Lucia's eyes brimmed with tears.

Finally, someone was on her side. She couldn't help but sob.

"It's all about money! Everything is about money! The Gellar family isn't broke, so why do you have to take over the Kingsley Group? What's the point? Are you going to stuff all that money up your ass?" Tristan snapped as he dragged Lucia aside.

Shelby sneered. "Even if I can't spend it all, I'm happy to have that much. And anyway, do you really think it's just about money? I want Gloria to know that I'm better than her!"

"Competing with your own sister? That's ridiculous!" Tristan rolled his eyes.

Nothing pissed Shelby off more than when her husband acted like this.

He never tried to improve himself, but he always tried to hold her back.

Shelby rolled up her sleeves and stormed over. "Tristan, shut your mouth! You useless piece of trash!"

The two of them got into a full-on brawl, while Lucia could only stand there and cry helplessly. A wave of sorrow hit her.

Other families lived in peace. Hers was nothing but chaos and dramas.

She wished she were born into the Kingsley family instead.