Chapter 123: Rose Supported Grandma Agnes

Rose supported Grandma Agnes as they slowly made their way to the front yard. Vera was squatting in the yard, chopping pig feed with a cleaver. The dull thud-thud of the blade striking the wooden block echoed through the air.

When Vera looked up, the cleaver slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground.

"G-Grandma?" Her eyes widened, her mouth hanging open in shock.

The doctor had said Grandma Agnes would never walk again!

Vera scrambled to her feet, her voice shrill with panic. "Rose! Have you lost your mind? Why did you bring your grandmother out here? If she falls, who’ll take responsibility?" She turned and shouted toward the house, "Calvin! Come out here!"

Rose replied calmly, "Grandma wanted to come out. She has something to say."

Calvin Ward pushed aside the curtain and stepped outside. The moment he saw Grandma Agnes standing in the yard, his face twisted in alarm. He jabbed a finger at Elena. "Nonsense! Your grandmother can’t even speak! First Elena turns rebellious, and now you? Take her back inside—now!"

Slap!

A sharp crack rang through the yard.

Calvin clutched his cheek, staring at Grandma Agnes in disbelief. Her hand remained raised, trembling with fury.

"You ungrateful wretch!" she spat, each word deliberate. "I’m your mother! And this is how you treat me? Leaving me in the back room to rot?"

Calvin’s face burned, but what terrified him more was the fact that she could speak again. His eyes darted, and he immediately dropped to his knees.

"Mom, I was wrong—"

Just then, the gate creaked open. Mayor Martin Reed and the village officials filed in, with Elena bringing up the rear. She quickly darted to Grandma Agnes’s side.

"What’s going on here?" Mayor Martin asked, taking in the tense scene. "Let’s get Grandma inside to talk."

Rose and Elena flanked Grandma Agnes as they helped her into the main house—the very room that had once been hers but had since been taken over by Calvin and Vera. Freshly laundered bedding lay on the heated brick bed, carrying the scent of sunshine.

Elena swiftly arranged the bedding, helping Grandma Agnes settle comfortably against the headboard.

The village officials followed them inside. Beads of sweat formed on Calvin’s forehead, and he kicked Vera. "What are you standing around for? Get some water!"

Vera caught his meaning and hurried to make sweetened tea. If Grandma Agnes still acknowledged Calvin as her son, there was still room to maneuver.

"Mayor," Grandma Agnes rasped, her voice hoarse but firm, "I’ve called you here today to witness my will."

The room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"My house, my land—if I die of natural causes, they’ll go to Calvin. But if my death is anything less than peaceful..." She paused, her clouded eyes sharpening. "Then everything goes to Daniel. Not a single cent to this wretched son of mine!"

"Mother!" Calvin collapsed to his knees. "You’re signing my death warrant!"

Grandma Agnes sneered and slowly rolled up her sleeve.

A horrifying array of bruises and pinches covered her arm—some already purple, others still oozing fresh blood.

Amy Miller, the women’s affairs director, gasped. "What in the world—?"

Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward Calvin, their gazes sharp as knives.