Chapter 49 A Harsh Blow
The plan had fallen apart, and Irene was too embarrassed to show her face.
Naturally, she didn’t even want to drag Victor out with her.
For the entire party, the two of them stayed hidden away in the kitchen.
Finished
Victor didn’t mind much-he stuffed himself with food while he was there-but the issue with the state ID weighed on him for a while.
After sulking a bit, he bounced back, trying to cheer Irene up. “Don’t worry, Mom. If that old man won’t help us, we can ask Zaid. He cares so much about appearances; there’s no way he’d turn us down.”
“After the mess today? Not a chance!” Irene snapped, anger rising in her voice.
If things had gone smoothly, maybe Zaid could’ve been tricked into helping with the ID.
But the truth was out; everyone learned about their scheme. They saw them as schemers trying to take advantage of the Schmidts.
Zaid cared about his reputation, but he wasn’t dumb enough to walk right into their trap.
The whole scheme had fallen through.
At least for now, it was hopeless.
‘Let’s head back to the village. We’ll figure out something later,” Irene said.
Victor was reluctant to leave. “So soon? I haven’t even eaten enough yet.”
“If we wait around, what about your son’s school enrollment? If he can’t get into the city school, we’ll have to try the one in town. And that means slipping money under the table to pull strings. We better get moving before it’s too late.”
So, even though he didn’t want to, Victor followed Irene,
That afternoon, right after the party, they caught a bus out of the city, leaving with their tails between their legs like a pair of beaten strays.
Because of the birthday cake incident and the state ID mess, Zaid didn’t bother seeing them off. He acted as if nothing had happened.
Only Yvonne went with them to the bus station.
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Chapter 49 A Harsh Blow
Finished
By then, she had figured it out. Irene hadn’t stayed to help her search for Alice. She had been hanging around because of the ID.
Even her fake friendliness was nothing more than a way to make herself more comfortable while staying at her house.
So when Irene and Victor left, Yvonne felt nothing. No sadness, no regret.
She bought their tickets, considered the task done, and walked away without even saying goodbye.
When the bus pulled out from the station, Irene couldn’t understand where things had
wrong.
What should have been a simple plan had ended in complete humiliation.
gone
After seeing them off, Yvonne returned to Brookhaven Quarters.
Bill’s war buddies had pooled money to buy fireworks, planning to set them off together that night.
So Zaid and the others stayed behind.
They could help clean up afterward, and it meant spending the night at Bill’s place.
That wasn’t a problem.
Bill’s place was comfortable, with enough rooms for everyone to sleep in peace.
And yet, Yvonne felt uneasy. For reasons she couldn’t explain, her heart beat faster, like something bad was about to happen.
But since it was only a feeling with no proof, she pushed it aside.
Night soon came.
The younger guests lit the fireworks, and within moments, the sky over Brookhaven Quarters exploded with color.
Reds, blues, greens, and golds filled the air, one after another, dazzling the crowd and leaving no one able to look away.
Back in 1983, fireworks were legal, but they were so expensive that few people could afford
them.
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Chapter 49 A Harsh Blow
Most folks were happy just to watch.
Finished
When the last firework faded from the sky, the neighbors said their goodbyes and headed home in small groups, leaving Zaid and the others to clean up the mess.
They carried the empty firework boxes to a corner and swept the scraps off the ground.
By the time everything was tidied up, it was already past eleven.
Zaid was worn out. All he wanted was to crawl into bed.
But Bill stopped him, his voice full of excitement.
“Hold on, Zaid. Don’t be in such a rush to sleep. It’s still my birthday, and I haven’t finished sharing the good news. What’s the hurry?”
Zaid let out a heavy yawn.
“Dad, does it really have to be tonight? Can’t you tell us in the morning? We’re not leaving tomorrow anyway. You’ve got plenty of time.”
“No,” Bill said firmly. “It has to be tonight. It’s my birthday, and good news belongs to today. Come sit down-it won’t take more than a few minutes.”
When he saw the serious look on his father’s face, Zaid’s drowsiness lifted. He obediently sat at the round table.
Four people sat, each facing a side.
Bill took the head of the table, cleared his throat, and finally spoke. “I’ve been thinking carefully,” he said. “It’s time to take out the Treasury Bonds I left with Yvonne a few years back. I want to trade them in for some gold and maybe have a few pieces of jewelry made. The kids are grown now. We need to start preparing for wedding gifts.”
Yvonne stiffened at once.
Now she understood why she had felt uneasy all evening.
Bill had saved this moment just to corner her.
Those Treasury Bonds-worth a full 5,000 dollars-had been entrusted to her three years
ago.
Bill told her at the time that the money was to be split evenly between Evelyn and Alice and that Yvonne was only holding it for safekeeping.
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But Yvonne had secretly cashed them out long ago.
Five thousand dollars’ worth of Treasury Bonds-gone without a trace.
Finished
Yvonne had never imagined Bill would actually want to follow up. She had planned to stall until Evelyn got married, then find some excuse to brush the matter aside.
But now, Bill was talking about buying gold. That meant she needed real Treasury Bonds or a solid 5,000 dollars in cash.
Where on earth was she supposed to get that?
Yvonne’s smile stiffened. She scrambled for an excuse.
“Dad, Treasury Bonds hold their value. Sure, gold looks nice, but you can’t really wear it to work every day. It just sits there. Isn’t that kind of a waste?”
Bill shook his head. His voice turned firm. “For a young woman, whether she wears jewelry is one thing. But whether she has jewelry is another. If she walks out looking plain, people will think our family can’t afford better. Right, Zaid?”
At that crucial moment, Bill pulled in his most image-obsessed son.
Zaid jumped to agree.
Why wouldn’t he? It let him look good without spending a dime of his own.
“Just listen to Dad. Cash in those Treasury Bonds and buy the gold. It’s his birthday—you can’t keep arguing with him,” he said with a frown.
Inside, Yvonne cursed her luck a thousand times.
But on the outside, she forced a calm face. “I just remembered-those Treasury Bonds aren’t due yet. If we cash them in now, we’ll lose value. That doesn’t seem smart. Maybe we should wait?”
Wait-until she found another way to deal with it. Or wait until Bill forgot about the whole thing.
But Bill wasn’t letting go. “When exactly do they come due?” he pressed.
At that moment, Evelyn added fuel to the fire, nodding along and encouraging the plan.
“I think Treasury Bonds can be cashed once a month, right? Since it’s the beginning of the month, we can do it at the end. That should work.”
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Now Yvonne was completely trapped.
Finished
If she denied it now, Bill would surely grow suspicious and ask around. If he did, he would expose her lie.
Once he discovered she had already cashed the money and spent it, she couldn’t imagine what kind of punishment would follow.
So, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and nod. “Y-yes, by the end of the month.”
Bill didn’t press further. He simply said, “Then we’ll wait for the end of the month. When the time comes, the four of us will go together and check the quality of the gold ourselves.”
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Reborn for Love and Revenge
