Chapter 108: Chapter 108: You Think This Makes You Free?
### Chapter 108: You Think This Means You’re Free?
After leaving, Benjamin Sterling wandered aimlessly in the cold wind for a long time. The frustration and humiliation in his chest, far from dissipating, only burned hotter.
He couldn’t accept it. The Maxine Rhodes who once had eyes only for him, who would have done anything for him—how could she just turn around and latch onto Ethan Hawthorne?
And to act so matter-of-fact about it, as if they had nothing to do with each other anymore?
No! It shouldn’t be like this!
’How can Maxine Rhodes belong to someone else?! She’s supposed to be mine!’
But he didn’t dare provoke Ethan Hawthorne...
Just then, he suddenly thought of Maxine Rhodes’s parents.
’That’s it! I’ll go to Maxine’s parents! If those two old fools find out their daughter is being a mistress for someone, they’ll raise hell, won’t they?’
’A "respectable" man like Ethan Hawthorne would be terrified of getting entangled with messy, poor relatives like that!’
With this in mind, Benjamin Sterling paid a visit to the Rhodes Family in Jaxen that very night.
In the dead of night, an abrupt knock echoed from the Rhodes Family’s top-floor apartment in a rundown residential complex.
"Who is it?! It’s the middle of the night, are you here to announce a death?!" Susan Miller’s sharp, impatient voice came from inside.
The door opened a crack, and her face, etched with lines of perpetual scheming that made her look harsh, peeked out. When she saw it was the well-dressed Benjamin Sterling holding expensive gifts, the impatience on her face vanished instantly, replaced by an exaggerated, fawning enthusiasm.
"Oh my! It’s Benjamin! Goodness, what brings you here! Come in, come in! It’s freezing out there!"
As she pulled him inside, she turned and shrieked into the apartment, "Felix! Felix! Get up! Look who’s here! It’s our son-in-law, Benjamin!!"
In the simple and snobbish worldview of the Rhodes parents, Benjamin Sterling, who ran a company in Kingsland, was the very definition of a successful man. When their daughter first managed to get with him, Susan Miller had bragged about it to her old friends for ages.
Now, with the golden goose himself showing up at their door bearing lavish gifts, it was, in her eyes, as if the God of Wealth had descended!
The living room was small and cluttered, filled with the smell of cooking oil and cheap air freshener. In the corner, a TV was playing a looping shopping infomercial.
Felix Rhodes was dozing on the couch. He sat up slowly at the sound of her voice, and his face immediately broke into a smile when he saw Benjamin Sterling. "Benjamin’s here? Sit, sit! Old woman, make some tea!"
"Uncle, Auntie, sorry for the intrusion." Benjamin maintained his composure as he sat down, placing the gifts on a coffee table piled with clutter.
"Intrusion? Don’t be a stranger, dear boy!" Susan Miller briskly poured a cup of their best tea, her eyes constantly darting toward the gift bags, her heart blooming with joy.
’Benjamin Sterling is generous. Only with their daughter by his side can the old couple and their son, Hugo Rhodes, live a good life!’
"Benjamin, dear, what’s with the sudden visit? Is it... are you and Maxine getting close to the big day? Are you here to take us to Kingsland?" Susan Miller asked impatiently, her eyes gleaming with a desire for a life of luxury.
Felix Rhodes pricked up his ears as well.
Just then, the bedroom door was shoved open violently. Hugo Rhodes stumbled out, rubbing his eyes, his face a mask of aggression from being disturbed. "What’s all the noise! Are you trying to keep people from sleeping?!"
He glanced at Benjamin Sterling and the gifts, and his attitude softened slightly. He mumbled a "Ben," then went to the fridge to grab a beer for himself.
"Hugo! Mind your manners!" Susan Miller scolded him perfunctorily, her attention quickly shifting back to Benjamin.
Benjamin’s face took on a troubled and solemn expression at just the right moment. He sighed, lowering his voice, his tone one of pent-up frustration, as if airing dirty laundry. "Auntie, Uncle, the truth is... I came here because I just can’t keep it in any longer. There’s something... I don’t know if I should tell you."
"What is it? Did that girl Maxine give you trouble?" Susan Miller immediately grew tense, terrified that her daughter had offended this god of wealth.
"It’s not that she gave me trouble..." Benjamin gave a bitter smile and shook his head, his voice growing strained. "It’s... I’ve discovered that Maxine, in Kingsland... has gone down the wrong path."
"The wrong path?" Felix Rhodes furrowed his brow.
"What do you mean? What did she do?" Susan Miller’s heart tightened. Her daughter was their hope for the future.
Benjamin didn’t answer directly, instead taking a roundabout approach. "Her company now is doing well, yes, but... she’s a young woman in Kingsland with no connections. How could she possibly start a company so quickly and have it become so successful?"
He was leading the Rhodes parents to think in the filthiest possible terms.
Susan Miller and Felix Rhodes exchanged a look, their expressions changing. They weren’t worldly, but they had heard plenty of street gossip about women using their bodies to get ahead.
"Are you saying... she..." Susan Miller’s voice was strained.
Benjamin nodded grimly, speaking as if the words were difficult to say. "I had someone look into it. There’s a man behind her, and he’s already married with a family. Maxine... is with him now."
BOOM!
It was as if something had exploded in Susan Miller’s mind. Her daughter didn’t have a proper job, she was someone’s mistress?! It was an absolute disgrace! A humiliation!
"That... that shameless slut!" Susan Miller’s lips trembled with anger as she slapped her thigh. "How could she do something like this?! How can the Rhodes family show its face?! How is Hugo supposed to get married in the future?!"
Felix Rhodes also shot to his feet, his face ashen. "That damn girl! All that education was for nothing! She just learned a bunch of dirty tricks!"
Hugo Rhodes chugged some beer and scoffed. "Well, damn, Maxine’s really made it, huh? Latched onto a sugar daddy? Shouldn’t she be bringing some benefits home to us? Mom, Dad, what are you so angry about? This is a good thing! Tell her to bring more money back!"
"You shut up!" Susan Miller, for once, yelled at her son. When she turned back to Benjamin, her eyes were brimming with tears. "Benjamin, what are we going to do! Maxine... she’s ruining her own future! Will you... will you still have her?"
What she was actually most worried about was that this golden goose, Benjamin Sterling, would no longer want her daughter, and their good life would go up in smoke.
This was exactly what Benjamin had been waiting to hear.
A pained yet deeply affectionate expression appeared on his face. He took Susan Miller’s hand, suppressing his discomfort. "Auntie, in my heart... I still can’t let Maxine go. I know she was probably deceived by that man’s sweet talk. As long as she’s willing to come back, to leave him, I’m willing to forgive her, marry her, and take care of her for the rest of her life."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Hugo. "And I won’t just be good to Maxine. The two of you, your retirement will be on me. As for Hugo’s future, I’ll take full responsibility! I’ll definitely arrange a good job for him and make sure your whole family lives a good life!"
These words precisely hit the core desires of the three members of the Rhodes family.
Susan Miller’s tears stopped as quickly as they had started. She gripped Benjamin’s hand tightly. "Benjamin! You are truly... such a good, loyal boy! It’s Maxine’s good fortune to have met you! And our family’s good fortune, too! Don’t you worry, we’ll definitely drag her back here! We’ll make her apologize properly to you and live a good life with you!"
Felix Rhodes also sat back down, his mind made up. "That’s right! We can’t let her go further and further down this crooked path! We have to drag her back!"
Hugo excitedly leaned in closer. "Brother-in-law! You have to keep your word! I’m counting on you for my job!"
Watching this family get so easily incited and used by him, a thrill mixed with contempt and a desire for control surged through Benjamin’s heart.
’Maxine Rhodes, you think this means you’re free?’
’Your roots are forever rotting in this swamp, and I will always be the one holding the rope to drag you back.’*****
