Transmigrated To A Beastworld As The Lazy Wife Of The Fox Lord

Chapter 296: Not one car!

Sienna wanted to say something. She had many questions to ask, but she couldn’t even guess where to begin. One of the sisters was lying, and she didn’t want to think it was her mother. The sisters were still screaming at each other about money.

Jess rose from her seat, her voice sharp enough to slice through the chaos. "Enough," she declared, silencing the back and forth between Owena and Mrs. Miller.

The two were yelling in circles, repeating the same things over and over, dredging up the crime from their teenage years as if it was a glorious past.

Jess’s gaze was steady, ancient authority radiating from her. "How much do you want Owena?"

Owena raised one hand, spreading five fingers. "Fifty million," she said flatly.

The room erupted. Gasps, laughter, disbelief.

Mrs. Miller threw her head back, laughing so hard she nearly choked. "Fifty million? You’re insane. Do I look like I have fifty million? You might as well pick up a gun and rob a bank."

Owena looked around the room, smiling smugly. "Aha! See! She is the one with all the bad ideas."

Jess shook her head. "Fifty million is too much."

But Owena’s expression didn’t waver. She leaned forward, her tattoo twisting like a snake in the light. "Too much? Oh, it’s a bargain. We didn’t steal one car. We stole ten. I was caught on the tenth. And she--" she pointed at Mrs. Miller--"was the great hacker behind every single theft we pulled off. She broke those cars down, negotiated prices and sold the parts. She handled the money. I kept my mouth shut because I figured there would be money waiting when I got out of prison at eighteen. But I kind of screwed up and ended up in jail again so I didn’t get my money back then. Is it wrong that I want it now? Surely, it has accumulated interest over the thirty years she has been holding it."

Jess covered her ears, "I can’t believe what I am hearing," she muttered.

Soren slipped off the chair like a limp noodle as though his body could no longer support him. Mrs. Miller’s face was drained of color. The revelation hit like a thunderclap. What started out as a single spontaneous crime now seemed to be a full blown criminal operation. The woman who had always seemed meek, a lamb among wolves, had been a car thief at twelve years old.

From upstairs, Mija slithered down the staircase, laughing so loudly it echoed through the rafters. "Nine cars!" she hissed gleefully. "At the age of twelve! Your mother is a legend!"

Linera crashed through the winder, feathers scattering, her voice a shriek of fury. "Legend? She raised the children in rags! They wore hand-me-downs, went to school on scholarships, ate like beggars and lived in shadows. If she had this skill, this hidden fortune, why did she let then rot in poverty?"

Mrs. Miller straightened, her voice trembling but firm. "I was a single mother who couldn’t dare to take any risks. I grew up in an orphanage. I know what it’s like in there. I didn’t want my children to live the same hardship. I kept my head low. I lived as if I didn’t exist. If I flaunted wealth, if I drew attention, we would have ended up in danger. I protected my children the only way I knew."

Linera’s wings flared, her rage uncontained. "Protected them? Your sister took the fall for you. Nobody knew about your criminal history. You let your sister sit in prison just so you could play the weak lamb and did farm work for pennies! You let my niece and nephew go hungry while you hid behind lies!"

Owena slammed her fist on the table. "Hey, wait your turn." She shouted to Linera. "I want my reparations first. Fifty million is the price of my silence."

"I am giving you fifty million because I don’t have it." Mrs. Miller screamed.

"Don’t play with me Orlena, I will kick your ass." Owena rose, folding her fists. "Give me my money."

The argument exploded into a storm. Voices rose, overlapping, clashing like swords. Linera was still accusing Mrs. Miller of betrayal, of cowardice, of selfishness. Mrs. Miller shouted back, insisting she had sacrificed everything to keep her children safe. Owena was demanding for justice.

It grew so loud that relatives outside pressed themselves against the walls, listening in horror. The eavesdroppers whispered among themselves, stunned by the revelations. How could the soft spoken, kind woman they knew turn out to be a car thief at twelve years! What had she done with the money? Why had she raised the siblings in poverty?

Sienna sat frozen, staring at her mother, words lost in the storm. Her mind reeled--nine cars, a hacker prodigy, a hidden past. Jess called Elias, Marius and her husband, telling them to return quickly, This was no small matter. They needed to find out if the case had been closed permanently and nobody was looking for Orlena Miller, hacker extraordinaire.

The shouting inside reached a fever pitch. Linera’s voice cracked as she screamed, "You could have at least started a small business. You didn’t have to let the children suffer with you. If you wanted penance, you should have done it alone."

Mrs. Miller’s reply was raw, desperate. "Do you know who owned the ninth car we stole? It belonged to to Victor Drax, the head of the Drax Syndicate. Why do you think I locked Owena in the tenth car and let the enforcers find her? It was because I was trying to save her life, not because I wanted to escape alone. I returned the ninth car and offered all the money we had made as compensation. Only then did they let us live.

They tried to recruit me and I refused. I said I was out of the hacking and criminal world forever. Over the years, they have been keeping an eye on me. If I stepped into the criminal world or touched a computer again, they would have swooped in and forced me to work for them.

I made the best decisions for my children and I don’t regret them. So no, Owena, I don’t have fucking fifty million to give you because there is no money. If you had stuck around long enough the last time I saw you and allowed me to explain you would know this by now."

If the first revelations had stunned them all into silence, then this one was like a bullet that sent them all to the grave.