Chapter 517
Chapter 517
Sophia and the others stayed in a shabby-looking inn to hide from the scorching sun. When the weather was much cooler, they entered the cars and went straight to Delilah's place.
Sophia had no intention of bringing Perrin there. She feared Delilah would kick up a fuss if the latter saw them.
She helped Perrin out of the car and stood beside him. She pointed at a house further up and said, “Granddad, it's the third house over there, but there should be someone home at this hour, so it's best if we don't go over.”
However, Perrin was persistent. “I want to go and take a look.”
Sophia had no choice but to nod and agree. “All right. I'll help you there.”
Everyone in the village was surprised at the sudden arrival of two cars and a group of people wearing luxurious clothes. They quickly ran out of their homes to check the commotion.
The people in the village were nosy and liked to gossip.
One of them recognized Sophia. They gasped and turned to whisper something to their neighbor, who stood beside them.
Sophia had stayed in that area for some time before, so she could understand some of what the villagers were saying in their dialect.
The villagers were talking badly about her. She heard them saying things like, “Hey, it's Old Mrs.
Sharp's ungrateful granddaughter!” and “She looks gentle and pretty. How can she be so heartless?” It was easy to guess that Delilah had told them about things.
Sophia could not be bothered to hold a grudge against the villagers. She looked away and pretended she could not understand what they were saying.
Fortunately, Perrin did not ask her about the villagers' conversations. The group soon arrived at Delilah's house.
Naturally, Delilah was preparing dinner at that hour.
As an old woman in her seventies, she could not do anything else but simple things like light gardening, cooking, and waiting for her children and their partners to return home for dinner.
The villagers created too big of a stir. Delilah could hear the chatter from her home. She froze when she heard Sophia's name.
At first, her face paled at the mention of the name. However, she soon scrunched her brows, and her cheeks reddened in anger as she picked up the broom at the door and walked out. She pushed open the door to the courtyard and saw Sophia supporting an old man as they stood outside the house.
Delilah was panicking, but she was also fuming. “You brat! What are you doing here?”
Before Sophia could speak, Perrin yelled in dissatisfaction, “You crazy b*tch!”
Perrin was furious. He slammed his walking stick onto the ground and huffed.
Sophia patted his back and comforted, “Leave her be, Granddad. She's always like that.”
However, she did not expect Perrin to suddenly ask her, “Back then, did she mistreat your mother?”
Sophia was momentarily stunned, but she quickly returned to her senses. “Mom hardly told me about her past.”
Perrin was a quick-witted person. One glance and he knew that the old hag before him had tortured Rachel.
When he recalled how his precious daughter was kidnapped to this sort of place, he felt heartbroken, especially when there was a possibility that this family could have abused her. Perrin, who did not even cry when he got shot by a bullet, felt his eyes sting and redden as tears streamed down his face.
“Granddad, it's all in the past,” said Sophia.
Kylie, who stood on Perrin's other side, persuaded, “Dad, we're only here to see Rachel's living environment from back then. As Sophia said, it's all in the past, so don't get too upset. If you get sad, Sophia will be even more upset.”
Kylie had been Perrin's daughter-in-law for a few years now, and it was only natural that she understood how Perrin felt at that moment. As soon as those words left her mouth, Perrin wiped the corners of his eyes and recomposed himself.
His expression turned grim as he stared at Delilah, who was holding a broom in the courtyard.
Delilah felt a sense of guilt bubbling within her when she met his gaze. She turned away and cursed as she went back inside.
The Sharp family's two sons were gambling addicts and lazy bums. They would use whatever money the family had to gamble. The courtyard had turned into ruins because of a hurricane. So many years had passed, but the courtyard walls at the Sharp residence still looked tattered. They were two feet tall and surrounded the residence like a fence. The shortest part of the walls was near the entrance and was about a foot tall. From that height, anyone could see into the house.
The Sharp family was as poor as a church mouse. Plus, Jasper had always been doing shady business in the village. No one dared to rob their house, nor were they willing to do anything to the walls around the residence.
Perrin could tell the house beyond the courtyard was old and dilapidated. What a terrible environment! The house I lived in thirty years ago is much better than this!
“Granddad, it's getting late. We should go back. Otherwise, it'll be dark when we return.” This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - ©.
Perrin nodded. This place looks run down. I don't even know where we'll stay if we want to stay overnight.
Sophia helped Perrin back to the car. Seeing them leave, the neighbors started to gossip in their village dialect.
Delilah knew Sophia had left through the villagers' chattering. Only then did she walk out of the house. She cursed and grumbled as she stared in the direction Sophia and the others were heading.
A neighbor heard Delilah's grumbling. Curious, she asked, “Old Mrs. Sharp, what did she do? It's rare for her to come back to visit you. Why did you shoo her away?”
“Visit me?” Delilah spat, “That despicable brat is here to anger me! Don't you know how heartless she is? Didn't I tell you about it three years ago...”
Delilah started to talk about the past. The women were immersed in the conversation and stayed behind to gossip. They happily left after listening to Delilah chastising Sophia.
Meanwhile, Sophia's situation was not as good. They had been on the road for about half an hour when the tires went flat.
They had two spare tires, one in each car, but they were not enough to replace all the flat ones on both cars.
It would also take around two hours for tow trucks to come from the city.
Sophia and the others had no choice but to wait for the tow trucks to arrive.
There were rarely any people along the way to the village. There were mountains on either side of the road and mud everywhere.
When the driver went down to check on the flat tires, he noticed that the tires had been punctured by nails. Moreover, it wasn't just a few. Judging by the amount, it was apparent someone had done it on purpose.
After finding out about the nails, Sophia immediately asked the driver to return to the car. She also asked him to lock the doors and windows and forbade him from getting out of the car.
It was five in the afternoon. The sun was setting, so it was not as hot as before.
The wind rustled the trees surrounding them. It would be pretty scary if someone had gotten into an accident while driving alone.
Sophia and the others did not stay inside the cars for long. Soon, several people appeared.
There was a total of seven men ranging from different ages. The youngest looked to be sixteen or seventeen, while the oldest looked like he was in his thirties.
They all had metal bats in their hands as they approached the cars and circled them.
The windows had been tinted with a unique privacy film. The people inside the car could see everything happening outside, but the people outside could not.
Perhaps it was because the men could not see anyone through the windows as they raised their bats, smacked on the windshields, and yelled, “Get out of the car!”
Sophia and the others remained unmoved. However, in the next second, the men used the bats to smash the windshields.
Sophia was afraid the men would shatter the glass and hurt Perrin. “Granddad, stay in the car. I'll go and have a look.”
Perrin grabbed Sophia. “No. Don't go out, Sophia.”
“It's all right, Granddad. I learned a few self-defense moves. Plus, I have a taser.”
Sophia had done some research before coming to the village. Because of how poor the villagers were, there were bound to be some troublesome people who came to give passersby a difficult time. Hence, she had prepared a taser in advance for emergencies.
“Sophia!” Perrin yelled.
The men got more excited about smashing and destroying the car. Perrin stared at Sophia, a crease forming between his brows. That was the first time he had been so strict with her.
Sophia sighed helplessly. “Granddad, please don't worry. If I lose even a strand of hair, I'll come back and play a round of chess with you, okay?”
Perrin remained grim.
Sophia breathed a heavy sigh. She had no other choice. “I'm sorry, Granddad. Sit tight. I promise nothing will happen to me.”
With that, she pushed open the door and got out.
Kylie and John got out of the other car too. Sophia was taken aback when she saw the duo. “Aunt Kylie?”