Chapter 7 I'll Take Care of Barry

"Why are you being so harsh?"

Dorothy's accusation didn't faze Katherine at all. She just sat down and held Gloria's hand. "I hold grudges. If someone treats me well, I repay them a hundredfold. If someone treats me badly, I return it a thousandfold."

Her sharp gaze swept over everyone in the room. That cold, knowing look scared Dorothy, who quickly grabbed Drew's hand and backed off.

Seeing the relatives quiet down, Katherine softened her gaze and looked at Gloria. "Grandma, did I do the right thing?"

Gloria glanced at the now-silent relatives and smiled faintly. "Yes."

That single word cemented Katherine's status in the Martinez family. From now on, anyone wanting to mess with Katherine would have to think twice about Gloria's influence.

Katherine got the message. Looking at Gloria's kind face, her smile grew wider. "Grandma, let's go eat. I'm starving."

"Alright."

They left arm in arm, leaving behind a room full of dejected relatives.

Meanwhile, at the corner of the second floor, Laura angrily slapped the handrail. "A bunch of useless people!"

She had deliberately called these relatives over while Gloria was resting. But they were so useless they couldn't even handle Katherine!

Her eyes darkened with hatred as she looked through the gap in the staircase at the disappearing figure. 'Katherine, just you wait!'

Katherine had dinner with Gloria and then headed back to Howard's room. On the way, she passed by Barry's room. She hadn't seen Barry today, so she decided to check on him.

"Barry, does Grandma treat you well?" Laura dangled a candy in front of Barry. "If you listen to Grandma and tell Great-Grandma that you want me to take care of you, this candy will be yours, okay?"

Barry looked seriously at the candy but didn't respond to Laura. Laura frowned.

Seeing Barry ignore her, lost in his own world, making communication particularly difficult, she couldn't help but push him, "Barry, Grandma is talking to you, did you hear?"

Barry swayed a bit, then steadied himself, still staring intently at the candy without saying a word. The smile on Laura's face disappeared. She stood up and grabbed Barry by the collar.

"Are you being ungrateful? Barry, remember, when you see your Great-Grandma, tell her that Katherine secretly hit you, got it?"

Hearing the familiar name, Barry finally shifted his gaze to Laura. Laura impatiently shook him by the collar, causing Barry to sway unsteadily.

"Remember! And tell your Great-Grandma that you want to stay with me!"

These words echoed in Barry's mind like an amplifier. He stared blankly at Laura's twisted face and slowly shook his head.

"You dare to shake your head?" Laura let go of Barry's collar and pinched a tender piece of flesh on his body with her thumb and forefinger, squeezing hard. "How dare you shake your head! Do you want to starve?"

Barry winced in pain, his watery eyes looking pitifully at Laura, but he didn't cry. Laura's frown deepened, and she pinched harder.

"Can't you understand what I'm saying? But you can feel pain, right? Remember it, and..."

"What are you doing?" A sharp voice cut through Laura's curse. Katherine rushed over, pushed Laura away, and shielded Barry behind her. Her brows furrowed, and her eyes were icy cold.

Laura was taken aback and stepped back. "I... I was just chatting with Barry, what's the problem?"

"Chatting?" Katherine squatted down, lifted Barry's sleeve, and revealed the red, swollen area on his arm. "You call this chatting?"

Katherine's loud voice drew people into the room.

Gloria and Elijah entered, just in time to see the red marks on Barry's arm. Gloria's face changed. She hurried over, her eyes filled with anger, and her voice trembled. "Who did this?"

Barry was her precious grandson. Who dared to hurt him?

Katherine pulled down Barry's sleeve and pointed at Laura. "It was her. I saw her pinching Barry when I came in."

"It wasn't me!" Laura quickly defended herself. "I saw something wrong with Barry's hand, so I wanted to check."

She avoided Gloria's gaze, her hands trembling.

Katherine's cold gaze swept over Laura. She grabbed Laura's hand and lifted it. "Then why are you shaking? Feeling guilty?"

Elijah stepped forward, blocking half of Laura's body. "It couldn't be my Mom! Grandma, you know she loves Barry the most."

With Elijah backing her up, Laura straightened her back and glanced at the angry Katherine with a faint smile. "Mom, I was just talking with Barry. Katherine is usually busy taking care of Howard, so I asked if he wanted to stay with me."

Everyone in the Martinez family knew Barry was autistic and couldn't fully express his emotions. When Laura came to ask Barry if he was willing, it was more like she had already decided to take care of him herself.

Gloria looked at Laura with cold eyes. "Who takes care of Barry is not for you to decide."

Laura was furious and nudged Elijah. Elijah was about to speak, but when he met Katherine's cold gaze, the words got stuck in his throat.

Katherine didn't know what Laura's intentions were, and she didn't care to deal with her. But she had seen Laura bullying Barry, so Barry definitely couldn't be left with her.

She held Barry and looked at Gloria. "Grandma, I can take care of Barry."

The old lady turned to the young woman. Katherine was, after all, Barry's stepmother, and doubts about her willingness to assume full responsibility had gnawed at Gloria. Now, hearing Katherine volunteer so readily began to chip away at her reservations.

A spark of approval flickered in Gloria's eyes, her rigid posture relaxing just a fraction as she announced, "Fine, from today on, Barry will be taken care of by Katherine."

Then she turned to Laura. "Stay away from Barry."

Then Gloria left with Katherine and Barry.

Laura bit her lip, her eyes filled with anger and unwillingness as she reminded her son, "Elijah, Katherine is not easy to deal with. We need to find a way to get rid of her, or you'll get much less of the family fortune."

Elijah immediately became anxious at the thought of getting less inheritance. "Mom, what should we do? I'll do whatever you say."

Laura sneered, staring in the direction the group had disappeared, her eyes darkening. "You go drug her. The Martinez family will never tolerate a woman whose reputation has been ruined."