"You, you, you, where do you think you’re going?"
The loud voice immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
Thomas froze.
Sarah, Mary and Elena looked toward the source of the voice with Emma curiously glancing over.
Three people were standing beside the entrance to their house.
The man in front was Thomas’s elder brother, George Bennet.
Behind him stood his wife, Clara Bennet, and their son, Peter Bennet.
A little further behind them were Thomas’s parents.
Henry Bennet and Martha Bennet.
The expressions on their faces were anything but pleasant.
George walked forward with his chest puffed out.
"Thomas, where are you taking all this?"
Thomas frowned.
"To Peace town."
"The town?" George looked at the truck.
Then at the luggage.
Then at Elena.
His expression became uglier.
"You’re moving to the town?"
Thomas nodded.
"We sold the house and land. Elena found us a place to live."
George’s eyes widened.
"You sold the land?"
"Yes."
"And you didn’t tell us?"
"There was no reason to."
George’s face reddened.
"No reason?"
He pointed toward the truck.
"Do you know how much all of this is worth?"
Thomas remained silent.
George took another step forward.
"Father and Mother have lived with our family all these years. We were the ones taking care of them. You hardly contributed anything."
Thomas’s expression darkened.
"I gave you my share of the property when we divided everything."
"So?"
George scoffed.
"You think that means you don’t owe us anything anymore?"
Elena’s eyebrows rose.
She had expected trouble.
She just hadn’t expected it to arrive this quickly.
George pointed toward the truck again.
"You’re moving to the town because your daughter suddenly has money. Meanwhile, we’re supposed to remain here?"
Clara immediately joined in.
"Exactly!"
She glared at Mary.
"Your daughter has only been home for a few weeks, and already she’s spending money like water."
Mary’s face tightened.
"That is our daughter’s money."
"Our daughter’s money?" Clara laughed. "She’s only eighteen."
"She earned it herself," Mary replied.
"So?"
Clara’s voice became sharper.
"She’s still part of this family."
Elena narrowed her eyes.
There it was.
She knew where this was going.
George looked directly at Thomas.
"Give us some money."
Thomas stared at him.
"For what?"
"For everything."
George spoke as though the answer were obvious.
"For taking care of Father and Mother. For all the years our family supported them. For helping your family whenever you needed it."
Thomas nearly laughed.
"You’ve helped us?"
George’s face turned red.
"Don’t speak like that."
"You came here because you saw us loading the truck." Thomas’s voice was calm. "You never cared where we were going before today."
George clenched his fists.
"Thomas..."
"How much?"
Thomas suddenly asked.
George paused.
"What?"
"How much do you want?"
George’s expression changed immediately.
He had not expected Thomas to ask so directly.
He looked at Clara.
She immediately held up five fingers.
"Five hundred Luni."
The entire yard fell silent.
Even the villagers watching from nearby gasped.
Five hundred Luni.
That was an enormous amount of money.
Thomas stared at his sister-in-law.
"Five hundred?"
"Yes."
Clara lifted her chin.
"Your daughter earned plenty of money recently, didn’t she?"
Mary’s expression changed.
"No."
Clara frowned.
"What?"
"We don’t owe you five hundred Luni."
"You don’t owe us?"
Martha, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"Mary, don’t be selfish."
Mary turned toward her.
"Mother..."
"You’ve lived in this family for years," Martha continued. "Your daughter has always been supported by this family."
Mary’s hands trembled slightly.
"Supported?"
Her voice was quiet. "Thomas and I raised her ourselves."
"And?"
Martha’s eyes hardened.
"She’s going to the town now. She has money. Can’t she help her uncle’s family?"
Elena almost laughed.
Help?
This family had not even congratulated them on moving.
They had simply seen money and decided it belonged to them.
She looked at Thomas.
He was staring at his parents.
Something inside him had clearly broken.
"I won’t give you anything."
George’s face darkened.
"What did you say?"
"I said I won’t give you anything!"
Thomas stepped forward.
"Elena earned that money."
"She’s your daughter."
"Exactly."
Thomas’s voice became firmer.
"Which is why I won’t let you take it."
George’s jaw tightened.
"You’ve become arrogant."
"No." Thomas shook his head. "I’ve simply stopped being a fool."
The villagers around them became silent.
Nobody expected Thomas to talk back like this.
George stepped closer.
"Do you think moving to the town makes you better than us?"
"No."
Thomas looked directly at him.
"I think you are trying to take money that doesn’t belong to you."
George shoved him.
Thomas stumbled backward.
"Brother!"
Mary immediately stepped between them. "Don’t touch him!"
George raised his voice.
"Then tell your husband to hand over the money!"
"There is no money for you!" Mary shouted. "That money belongs to our daughter!"
Clara grabbed Mary’s arm.
"Then make her give it!"
"Let go of me!"
Mary tried pulling her arm free.
The movement caused Clara to lose her balance.
She stumbled backward.
Peter immediately rushed forward.
"Don’t touch my mother!"
He shoved Mary.
It happened too quickly.
Mary lost her footing.
Her body struck the edge of the wooden cart beside her.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips.
"Mom!"
Elena’s face went white.
She rushed forward.
Thomas grabbed Mary before she could fall completely.
"Mary!"
"I’m fine..."
Mary tried to straighten herself.
But her face had gone pale.
There was a small cut near her temple.
A thin line of blood slowly ran down her cheek.
The entire yard fell silent.
Peter froze.
He stared at his own hands.
He hadn’t meant to hurt her.
He had only wanted to protect his mother.
"I..."
His voice trembled.
"I didn’t..."
Thomas looked at him.
The anger in his eyes was frightening.
"You hurt my wife."
Peter took a step backward.
George immediately stepped between them.
"It was an accident."
Thomas’s expression became colder.
"Your son shoved her."
"He didn’t mean to."
"And that makes it acceptable?"
"No one said it was acceptable." George’s voice became defensive. "You’re making a huge fuss over nothing."
Elena stared at him in disbelief.
Nothing?
Her mother’s head was bleeding.
And he called it nothing.
She stepped forward.
"Enough."
Everyone turned toward her.
Elena’s voice was surprisingly calm.
"You wanted money."
She looked at George.
"You aren’t getting any."
Then she looked at Clara.
"Not five hundred," She paused. "Not fifty. Not even five."
Clara’s face twisted.
"You little–"
"Clara!"
George stopped her.
Elena didn’t even blink.
"This money was earned by me."
She pointed toward the truck.
"Everything being loaded onto that truck was paid for with money I earned."
"I worked for it."
"I cooked."
"I sold food."
"I woke up before everyone else."
"I came home exhausted."
"And I did all of it because I wanted my family to live better."
Her eyes swept across the relatives standing before her.
"Not because I wanted to feed yours."
Nobody spoke.