After Being Retaliated by A Relative's Husband

Today, without taking Bennett, my work was much easier. After work, I even had the energy to try the new trendy restaurant downstairs with Johnson.

We hit it off and decided to move out of the house as soon as possible and return to our one-bedroom apartment.

Johnson was very happy with my change and wholeheartedly agreed.

In the previous life, I always advised him that we were all family, and since he was a boy, it didn't hurt to give in to his sister more.

Living again, I realized how pathetic I had been.

After talking with the tenant, it turned out his lease was up, and he didn't want to renew. We could move back in about a week.

When we were satisfied and arrived at the rental house, we found that Bennett had caused a big problem.

It turned out that Julia often hung her sheets out the window upstairs, and to avoid blocking her own light, she hung them very low.

Bennett's room was right below hers, so his room was dark all day long.

Moreover, Julia believed in hand-washing clothes without wringing them too dry, so water dripped continuously, and Bennett couldn't open his window all day.

In the previous life, after six months of rehabilitation with me, he finally managed to say a complete sentence, and the second sentence he said was, "I need sunlight."

Today, Madeline was home alone with Bennett and got punch several times. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, locked Bennett in the house, and went out dancing.

Bennett, taking advantage of Julia's nearly dry sheets, set one corner on fire. The flames quickly spread to the twenty-fifth floor, and the waste piled up in Julia's home acted as an accelerant, soon engulfing her house in flames.

When the firefighters arrived, Bennett was hiding in the bathroom with a wet towel.

Fortunately, there was no one at home on the twenty-fifth floor, so there were no casualties. However, after the fire was extinguished, the property damage was estimated to be over a hundred thousand dollars.

Julia, in a rage, followed the police to find Madeline, who was dancing fervently with an elderly man.

Without a word, Julia slapped Madeline hard. By the time we got home, Madeline's face was already swollen.

Since she was Bennett's guardian, the police required her and Bennett's parents to compensate the neighbors for the losses.

Naomi screamed, "Compensate for what? Don't you know he's a fool? Fools aren't responsible for killing or setting fires."

Madeline agreed, "Yes, if you want compensation, go after him. Do whatever you want."

But their ignorant arguments were quickly stopped by the police, and the once close mother and daughter began to blame each other.

"Zoey took care of him for so long without any issues, and you messed it up in just one day. You're asking for trouble!"

"And you're his biological mother. I've never seen you take care of him for a single day!"

"At least I didn't go out flirting with old men at your age. Do you have any shame?"

"I have no shame? Do you? You also..."

At this point, Naomi's eyes widened, and Madeline suddenly deflated, changing the subject. "Isn't it because Zoey refused to take care of him anymore? If you want money, ask her. I don't have a penny!"

Madeline didn't dare get angry at her daughter, so she took it out on Bennett, grabbing his ear. "Not only do you drag people down, but you also cause such big trouble. See if I don't beat you to death!"

But Bennett had an episode. He shouted and grabbed whatever was nearby, throwing it at Madeline. She couldn't dodge in time, and her swollen face got more injuries.

Neither she nor Naomi dared provoke Bennett anymore, and neither was willing to pay up, so they came to me.

After hearing them, I shrugged and said that all our savings went into buying the house, and now we were broke.

Johnson fiddled with his figures, nodding.

Julia was relentless, splashing paint and throwing rotten eggs at our door that night, cursing for five hours with her hands on her hips.

Despite Madeline and Naomi acting tough in front of Johnson and me, they were actually very timid when facing outsiders.

In the end, the two were defeated. Madeline reluctantly took out her stash and barely managed to come up with over a hundred thousand for compensation to Julia.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they would learn from this and settle down for a while, but I still underestimated their shamelessness.