Chapter 119
Maelis’s breath quickened. Zinnia’s words sent a sharp pang through her chest. Hearing that Zinnia was strangled at birth, all her anger was instantly extinguished, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her.
Maelis shot Zinnia a sharp look, the resentment in her eyes slowly fading, but her words still biting. “As if we owe you anything,” she snapped.
Zinnia said, “For Timothy and Yosef, I made Chamomile tea and Soothing Soup. They required the use of a century-old ginseng, worth at least 1.6 million. There is a long list of other premium-grade ingredients as well.
“All my medicines are of the highest quality. I’m offering you fair prices. For a two-month course, the total cost is 3.3 million.
“As for the Moon Scar Cream you use, the minimum market price is 300 thousand per bottle. At auction, even several hundred thousand yuan per bottle is considered cheap.
“I gave you three bottles in total. I won’t charge you auction prices; just the market price, so that’s 1 million.”
Since Maelis insisted on being so calculating, Zinnia decided to play along with her rules. She thought, ‘If we’re settling accounts, let’s do it fair and square. I won’t take advantage of her, and she won’t take advantage of me.’
Zinnia rattled off a detailed list, leaving the Shaw family utterly stunned.
They might not be familiar with medicine, but they understand the value of a century-old ginseng. They thought, ‘She is exaggerating. Even our family might not be able to produce a century-old ginseng. How could a country girl like her possibly have one?’
Maelis’s anger flared up again. She said, “Zinnia, have you gone money-mad? How could a country bumpkin like you possibly have century-old ginseng? And the face cream I use was given to me by Betty, none of your damn business!”
Zinnia took out her phone and displayed the ginseng appraisal report. She said, “Here’s the appraisal report. You should still be able to find the herbal residue from the medicine I prepared at your home. Feel free to have it tested.
“I’ll compile a detailed list of the medicinal ingredients I provided and email it to you. Moore’s Herbary conducted the valuation. If you have any doubts about the prices, feel free to have them appraised by other accredited institutions.
“If there are significant discrepancies in the quotes, feel free to submit the lowest valuation to me for confirmation.”
Zinnia scrolled through her phone and pulled up the patent certificate for Moon Scar Cream. She said, “As for the face cream you’ve been using, Mrs. Shaw, this is the patent certificate for the cream. You can have it verified.
“I don’t know how you claim Betty got the cream, but I am certain I am the only one who has access to it. Unless she took it from me and gave it to you under my name, then she must have stolen it.
“I’ve lost a total of five bottles, worth 1.6 million. That’s enough for me to file a police report and press criminal charges against her.”
Maelis was momentarily stunned by Zinnia’s threat of criminal charges. She thought, ‘Betty was just released from detention. If she went back, what would happen to our family’s reputation?’
Her voice sharpened with desperation as she snapped, “Don’t you dare slander Betty!”
“The police will figure out if it’s slander or not,” Zinnia shot back, showing no mercy.
The three Shaw brothers were stunned by how much had come to light. They thought, ‘How many things has Betty been hiding from us? Zinnia isn’t at all what we thought. There’s more to her than meets the eye.
‘She grew up in a small town, yet could so easily come up with a century-old ginseng and other rare medicinal ingredients. The Lynn family couldn’t have provided them. After all, when Zinnia prepared those medicines, she had virtually no connection to them.’
Yosef took a deep breath and said, “Zinnia, give me your bank account number. I’ll transfer the money to you.” He thought, ‘At this point, any further argument would only humiliate us more. Zinnia has parted ways with our family for good; there is no chance of reconciliation now!’
Zinnia provided her account details and soon received 4.3 million. She looked at the Shaw family and said coldly, “Now that everything is settled, do not contact me again. If you continue to harass me, I will file a police report. Consider this your final warning.”
When dealing with the Shaw family, Zinnia spoke with unprecedented clarity, as if she had rehearsed these words hundreds of times in her mind. Now that the moment had come, she could effortlessly counter their every move.
Strictly speaking, Zinnia had merely stayed with the Shaw family for two months. Beyond those negligible blood ties, she had no real connection to them whatsoever. If anything, she was the one who got the short end of the stick.
The medicinal herbs Zinnia used for the Shaw family, particularly the century-old ginseng, would fetch over 4.3 million at auction.
Zinnia and her Master had been to auctions before. To Zinnia, watching those rich folks bid on their goods at auction was so boring that she could fall asleep.
And so, the matter with the Shaw family was settled for now. A clear and final line had been drawn between them.
The Shaw family stared at Zinnia’s retreating figure and stood frozen for a long moment. She never looked back, not even once. The Shaw family realized that there would be no going back now.
After Zinnia left, the security guards dispersed.
The bank card that Maelis had thrown down now lay abandoned on the floor. For the Shaw family, it served as a painful reminder of what had just happened. It was heart-wrenching to look at.
Maelis watched as Zinnia walked away. For a moment, it felt as if a gaping hole had been torn open in her chest, letting in a biting winter wind that left her heart numb with pain.
For a long moment, Maelis couldn’t recover from the shock. She thought, ‘All I wanted was to scold Zinnia a little, maybe make her admit she was wrong. How did things end up like this? Why does she have to be so stubborn and sharp-tongued?
‘It’s not my fault, it’s all Zinnia’s fault. If she hadn’t talked back to me, I wouldn’t have had to be so harsh. She brought this on herself.’
Zinnia couldn’t care less about what the Shaw family thought. As soon as she got home and started packing her things, her phone rang. It was Jackson calling.
Jackson was already at the airport. His voice was laced with unconcealed worry as he asked, “Zinnia, where are you?”
Jackson was abroad negotiating a business deal when his assistant suddenly showed him a bank transfer notification. Jackson immediately had the assistant trace the sender and investigate what had happened back home. What his assistant discovered made Jackson’s blood boil with rage.
Jackson cursed inside, ‘Damn it! Maelis is out of her mind, and those three Shaw brothers are just good-for-nothing!’ He immediately ordered his assistant to book him a flight home.
He’d thought the school mess was bad enough. He never expected the Shaws to have the nerve to go after Zinnia like this. Completely disillusioned with the Shaw family, Jackson felt nothing but disappointment.
Hearing Jackson’s voice, Zinnia felt an inexplicable pang. She said, “Jackson, I’m moving out.”
Zinnia thought, ‘Although I have already cut ties with the Shaw family, Maelis is still a Lynn. If Maelis ever found out I am still living in the apartment Jackson arranged for me, she’d make a scene.’
Zinnia didn’t want the Lynn family to clash with Maelis’s family because of her. She felt it would only put Sofia in an awkward position. Besides, she’d always planned to get her place anyway.