Chapter 507: You Fell On Your Own

Chapter 507: Chapter 507: You Fell On Your Own

When Auntie Sterling got the call from Ms. Dawson and heard her furious tone, she was completely stunned.

She scrambled to push the middle-aged security guard off of her and quickly got dressed. "My employer’s calling. I have to go back."

"But you’ve only been here for half an hour," the middle-aged security guard said, hugging her from behind. "Just ten more minutes."

"No," Auntie Sterling said, shoving him away. As she pulled on her pants, she added, "I suddenly have a really bad feeling about this."

Auntie Sterling tied up her hair and hurried away.

At that moment, Ms. Dawson was staring grimly at Granny Mae. "Grandma, did you hear me? Auntie Sterling takes a salary from us, yet she let you end up like this. We have to settle this score with her!"

"I know," Granny Mae replied, nodding obediently. "I’ll keep quiet later."

A relieved smile appeared on Ms. Dawson’s face. "I don’t mean you can’t say anything at all. You can talk about how Auntie Sterling was pestering you, which caused you to fall and break your leg."

Granny Mae’s brow furrowed in distress. "But I promised Jewel I wouldn’t say anything..."

Ms. Dawson: "..."

She sighed, her tone full of exasperation. "Grandma, you’re just too soft-hearted and kind. You can’t be like this."

Granny Mae asked in surprise, "Yuna, what a silly thing to say! How can being kind be a bad thing? People should always be kind."

Ms. Dawson opened her mouth, but for a moment, she had no idea how to reason with her grandmother.

"Granny Mae," Renee Jennings said softly, "do you think Auntie Sterling is a kind person?"

"Jewel..." Granny Mae frowned slightly, thinking hard. "She’s... I suppose she’s okay."

A faint smile touched Renee Jennings’s lips as she said slowly, "Jewel pressured you to get her daughter a job at Ms. Dawson’s company, putting you in a tough spot. She caused you to fall and break your leg, and now she won’t let you tell the truth. Is that what a kind person does?"

Hearing this, Granny Mae’s brow furrowed even more deeply. "I guess... I guess that isn’t very kind."

"Exactly," Renee Jennings said with a smile. "When someone isn’t kind to you, why should you be kind to them in return?"

Granny Mae nodded as if in a sudden realization. "I suppose you’re right."

Seeing that her grandmother was finally listening, Ms. Dawson raised an eyebrow and turned to give Renee Jennings a thumbs-up. "Wow, you’re good."

’Not only can she communicate with animals, but she can also get through to stubborn old people.’

"Grandma, you can’t be soft on Auntie Sterling anymore," Ms. Dawson said, looking at Granny Mae with renewed seriousness. "You should save your kindness for people who are actually kind themselves, understand?"

Granny Mae nodded earnestly. "I understand."

Ms. Dawson finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Remembering she hadn’t yet offered her guests anything to drink, she asked, slightly embarrassed, "Can I get you anything? Is coffee okay?"

"Oh, please don’t trouble yourself," Renee Jennings said with a smile. "We were planning on getting some bubble tea later anyway."

Ms. Dawson considered this, then smiled as well. "In that case, if you’re not in a rush, let me treat you to bubble tea after I’m done with Auntie Sterling."

Renee Jennings: "Then we’ll gladly take you up on that."

Ms. Dawson admired people who were so refreshingly direct, and the smile on her face widened.

About ten minutes later, Auntie Sterling finally returned.

Seeing so many people in the living room, she exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, we have a lot of guests today."

Ms. Dawson’s sharp gaze swept over her, her eyes landing on a faint, tell-tale mark visible at her open collar. "Auntie Sterling, you said you went out to help Grandma feed the stray cats and dogs, correct?"

"That’s right." Auntie Sterling’s tone held a hint of a grudge. "I wasn’t even finished feeding them when you called and rushed me back. I thought something serious had happened."

Ms. Dawson let out a scornful laugh. "Oh, something serious *did* happen."

Auntie Sterling froze, asking suspiciously, "What happened?"

"The cats and dogs my grandmother usually feeds are all right here. So where exactly did you go to feed them?"

Only then did Auntie Sterling realize that besides the guests, there were several "little beasts" in the house.

Her eyes darted around as she explained guiltily, "This is just a small fraction of them. There are tons of those little beasts out there! It takes me a lot of time to go out and feed them every day!"

Hearing this, Goldie immediately started barking. "Liar! She never feeds us!"

Its companions immediately started clamoring as well.

"Yeah, yeah! I’ve never even seen her before! When has she ever fed any of us? Never!"

"That’s a lie! I don’t smell any of our friends on her at all!"

"..."

Hearing this, Renee Jennings’s bright eyes narrowed slightly. She asked coolly, "You go out to feed the stray cats and dogs every day?"

"Of course," Auntie Sterling said defensively. "Ever since Auntie Mayer hurt her leg, I’m the one who helps her feed the strays every day."

Renee Jennings let out a soft chuckle. "But they all say they’ve never seen you, nor have they ever eaten any food from you."

"They said so?" Auntie Sterling acted as if she’d heard the funniest joke in the world. Clutching her stomach, she cackled, her eyes narrowing into slits. Her voice dripped with scorn. "They’re just animals. Are you telling me you can understand what animals say?"

Renee Jennings simply raised an eyebrow. "You’re worse than an animal, and yet I can understand you just fine, can’t I?"

The smile on Auntie Sterling’s face instantly froze. She glared at Renee in fury. "What did you just say, you little brat?"

Ms. Dawson’s calm voice cut in, laced with clear suspicion. "You said you were going to feed the strays, but I didn’t see you take any cat or dog food with you. Did you really go to help Grandma feed them?"

"I... I always buy it when I get there," Auntie Sterling explained. "It’s too heavy to carry around; it makes it hard to walk."

Ms. Dawson glanced at Granny Mae. "Grandma, is that true?"

"Yes," Granny Mae nodded. "She always buys it when she’s out."

"And how much does she spend each time?"

"About fifty or sixty."

Ms. Dawson frowned. "That much?"

Auntie Sterling jumped in. "That’s not a lot at all! It costs that much because I always buy the imported cat and dog food."

"Is that so?" Ms. Dawson said coldly. "Which store do you buy it from? Show me the receipts."

’She suspected Auntie Sterling was scamming her grandmother.’

It seemed Auntie Sterling had an excuse ready for everything. "I buy it from another person who feeds the ’little beasts.’ It’s always in Cash, so there are no records."

Hearing her refer to the animals as "little beasts" over and over, Granny Mae started to feel angry.

’Those little fur-babies are so sweet. Why does she have to use such nasty words?’

"Fine. You can contact this person for me later," Ms. Dawson said, her expression cold. "For now, let’s talk about you causing my grandmother’s fall."

"What?" Auntie Sterling’s expression changed instantly, her eyes wide with shock. She quickly shot back, "What... what kind of joke is this? Auntie Mayer’s fall had nothing to do with me! She was just being careless."

She whirled around to face Granny Mae and urged her nervously, "Auntie Mayer, hurry up and tell Miss Dawson! Tell her you fell because you weren’t being careful, that it has absolutely nothing to do with me!"