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Chapter 5 Susanna's Wealthy Brother

Susanna shook her head. "No thanks, I'm good with my old place. That's where I grew up, and no fancy mansion can replace it. I don't care about all that stuff!"

Edward was about to argue but swallowed his words and reluctantly agreed, "Alright, we'll do it your way."

The group walked into the grand hall. Edward glanced at his phone. "Susanna, your sister-in-law just called. You guys go ahead and sit down."

Edward stepped aside, and a cheerful woman's voice came through the phone. "Honey, I brought a bunch of property deeds, jewelry, limited edition bags, and tons of gifts. Let's see what Susanna likes."

He sighed, "Hold off on the gifts for now."

The woman sounded confused. "Why?"

Edward replied with a hint of frustration, "She's not that easy to win over, especially not with money."

The woman exploded. "Edward, I told you to wait for me, but you insisted on picking her up early. How many sweet words can you actually say? This poor girl was lost for years, living a hard life. She's bound to have some resentment. And now, her first time meeting family, she runs into someone as clueless as you. It's a disaster!"

Edward, feeling threatened, didn't dare argue. He humbly asked for advice, "So, what should we do now?"

The woman snapped, "What else can we do? You've already messed it up. We need to take drastic measures."

Edward was taken aback. "What drastic measures?"

The woman responded, "I don't know, just figure it out. But make sure Susanna doesn't find out that while she was struggling, we were living the high life."

Edward felt overwhelmed but couldn't admit it to his wife. He was at a complete loss.

Meanwhile, a nervous Susanna and Madison walked into the lavishly decorated dining room, both in awe.

Madison whispered, "Your brother looks loaded. Maybe you won't have to struggle anymore."

Susanna replied, "Madison, being from a rich family isn't easy. I don't even know why I was abandoned in the first place. And Edward doesn't talk much; he might be hard to get along with. Who knows what will happen?"

Madison quickly reassured her, "Don't be silly. Everything will be fine."

Susanna clung to Madison's arm. "He sent a row of luxury cars to pick me up. Does he know about Aaron?"

Madison said, "No, I just told him you were working at that villa. I know you don't want to go public about marrying Aaron, so I didn't tell anyone."

Susanna sighed in relief. "Great."

Suddenly, Susanna's adoptive parents appeared out of nowhere, yelling at her, "Susanna, you ungrateful brat! You were an unwanted orphan, and we took you in out of kindness. Now that you've found your rich family, you want to ditch us? The Miller family is your benefactor!"

Seeing Andrew Miller and Grace Miller, Susanna's smile disappeared. With anger in her voice, she retorted, "You only adopted me to make me work. You never treated me like family! And now you have the nerve to call yourselves my benefactors? It was Madison who raised me, not you!"

Madison was also shocked. "How did you find this place? I didn't tell anyone."

Grace, hands on her hips, replied rudely, "Madison, how dare you say that? We adopted Susanna legally. Are you trying to steal credit? No way!"

Andrew stepped forward, spitting on the floor. "That's right. Where are Susanna's real family? They owe us compensation."

Susanna stood protectively in front of Madison, glaring coldly at Andrew and Grace. "I won't give you a single cent. Vincent got into that fight because of you, and he ended up in that car accident because of you. You didn't even pay back the money you owed us. If it weren't for the delay in treatment, Vincent wouldn't be lying in a hospital as a vegetable."

Madison's eyes filled with tears as she remembered the past. If it hadn't been for those circumstances, Susanna wouldn't have had to marry a dying man just to pay for medical bills.

Andrew looked guilty, but Grace was ready to lash out at Susanna. "You're too much! I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

"Who dares to touch Susanna!" A sharp voice cut through the tension. Edward strode forward, a phalanx of bodyguards flanking him, his presence intimidating.

Grace shrank back but tried to act tough. "She's my daughter. What business is it of yours?"

Edward's face was cold. "She's my sister. Since when did she become your daughter?"

Andrew's eyes gleamed with greed as he rubbed his hands together. "So, you're Susanna's family. We raised her, and it wasn't easy. You should compensate us."

"How much do you want?" Edward asked.

"Not much, just five million dollars," Andrew replied.

Edward looked at the despicable pair and was about to speak when Madison angrily interrupted, "Are you kidding me? Five million dollars? No way! Even if we had it, we wouldn't give it to you! You don't deserve a cent! You locked Susanna in a shed and didn't feed her. If I hadn't found her nearly starving and taken her away, she'd be dead by now! And now you have the nerve to ask for money? That's just disgusting! Absolutely shameless!"

Susanna tried to hold back Madison, who was ready to fight. "Don't get angry. They're not worth it."

Andrew, humiliated and furious, lunged forward. "Susanna, you ungrateful wretch! I might not dare touch Madison, but I won't hesitate to hit you."

Edward quickly stepped in front of Susanna, his expression icy. "Enough! Back off! I'll give you the money. Talk to my assistant. As long as the information checks out, you'll get what you want." Edward pointed to a man in black behind him and gave a few instructions. Andrew and Grace were then escorted away by several men.

Susanna, feeling uneasy, asked Edward, "Edward, they're not good people. Don't give them money."

Edward smiled gently. "Don't worry, Susanna. As long as it's within reason, I think it's fair to give them something. After all, they did take you in."

"But—"

"It's okay. Let's go to the private room. My assistant will handle Andrew and Grace. Trust me, you were alone before, but now you have me."

Susanna's eyelashes fluttered as she felt a bit touched. Was this what it felt like to be protected by family? She stayed quiet and walked obediently with Madison. Unbeknownst to her, the moment they turned around, Edward signaled to another bodyguard who then trailed Andrew and Grace out of the hotel. It seemed this couple wouldn't be causing any more trouble.

Edward turned and walked towards the dining room, his expression softening as he looked at Susanna. "Order whatever you like."

Susanna nodded, feeling her resistance to Edward lessen. She opened the menu, glanced at the expensive dishes, and asked, "Are you wealthy?"

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