Chapter 2017

Elaine Ma, on the third-floor balcony, saw Lady Wilson dismiss a group of police officers. Smiling, she called out, “Oh, Lady Wilson, weren’t you going to arrest your son-in-law? Why the change of heart? Seems you still favor your eldest daughter-in-law!”

Lady Wilson, already simmering with anger, exploded. “Elaine Ma,” she shouted, “this is none of your business! Stop your nagging!”

“Oh, so I’m nagging, am I?” Elaine Ma retorted. “Then don't live next door if you don't like it!”

She sneered. “I heard from Jacob Wilson yesterday that you’re working at a supermarket. An old woman like you, starting a career now? And all you do is bag groceries!”

Lady Wilson fumed. “What I do is none of your concern!”

Elaine Ma laughed. “It’s not my concern, but even you have reached this point.”

She sighed. “Forget it. You’re working at a supermarket. We’re worlds apart. I live a life you can only dream of. This conversation is pointless. Good luck to you.”

Lady Wilson’s face flushed crimson. “Elaine Ma! You’ll get struck by lightning one of these days!”

Elaine Ma laughed scornfully. “You’ve done terrible things—oppressing your sons, controlling the family finances, even selling your granddaughter! You deserve far worse than what you’re getting!”

Lady Wilson nearly collapsed, jumping up to curse, “You… you’re despicable!”

Elaine Ma waved her hand dismissively. “Old woman, let’s see who’s winning. Look at my leg injury—my son-in-law gave me hundreds of thousands of dollars. You’re struggling to make ends meet, working at a supermarket. We’re worlds apart—a phoenix and a… well, you get the picture.”

Wendy returned and helped Lady Wilson, who, despite feeling faint, continued to scream, “Elaine Ma, I’ll never forgive you! Get out!”

Elaine Ma, tired of the argument, turned to Charlie Wade. “Son-in-law, help me downstairs.”

Claire followed, asking, “Mom, where did we get all these refreshments?”

Changes Made:

• Corrected grammar (e.g., subject-verb agreement, tense consistency).
• Improved punctuation and sentence structure for clarity and flow.
• Replaced colloquialisms and informal language with more formal phrasing where appropriate (while retaining the character's voice).
• Removed redundant phrases and wording.
• Clarified ambiguous pronouns.
• Corrected spelling errors.
• Added needed commas and removed unnecessary ones.
• Replaced "jibberish" with a more suitable synonym.
• Improved the overall readability and coherence of the passage.