Chapter 8

The moment Alan's words fell, everyone began flooding into the streets. Soon, the streets of Newtropolis were completely filled with Alan's subordinates. At the same time, the men found out that something had happened in the junkyard. A man, who was draped in a black cloak with the letter "D" sewn on the back, approached Alan right away. "Mr. Dawson, we found out that your son was last seen in the junkyard." Alan's expression became tense. He waved his hand once again. Everyone followed his command. "To the junkyard!" he bellowed. … At the same time, Tabitha's despair had reached its peak. She hugged her legs to her chest as she sat on the bench outside the hospital. She caressed the injuries on her body, which she had amassed over the past five years. Tears slid down her cheek silently. As a woman, she might be dainty and fragile, but as a mother, she was strong and unrelenting. Tabitha wiped her tears away. She mustered all of her courage to call her family. "Grandma, it's me, Tabitha." Gloria Beckett, Tabitha's grandmother, subconsciously pinched her nose at the other end of the line. It was as though she could smell the rotting stench of the junkyard coming from Tabitha. "The Graysons have already disowned you, you shameless woman!" Gloria screeched before ending the call. Tabitha's heart went tense at Gloria's words. But she didn't want to give up at all. Instead, she rose to her feet, intending to visit the Grayson residence. The only ones who could save Stacy were definitely the Graysons. Tabitha used all of her money to buy some gifts. Then, she flagged down a cab and made her way to the Grayson residence. After slipping into the manor via the back door, Tabitha sank down to her knees the moment she saw Gloria. "Grandma, I've never asked anything from you over the past five years. For our relationship's sake, please save Stacy, Grandma." Gloria's expression was frosty and impassive. "Just how shameless are you to step foot into this house again, Tabitha? Don't you know how much shame you've brought to our family all five years ago? You should be drowned for your actions!" Tabitha's heart stung at the accusations. Five years ago, everyone in Newtropolis accused her of seducing the groom. Not even the Graysons bothered shielding her from the whirlwind of criticisms. Tabitha didn't care about her reputation. She couldn't care less about the fact that the whole world thought of her as a shameless and filthy bitch. All she wanted was to save her daughter. Tabitha latched onto Gloria's leg tightly, her countenance extremely humble. "Grandma, it doesn't matter whose fault it was five years ago. The fact that Stacy has the Grayson lineage still stands. Regardless, please save her life! "Grandma, please! Don't leave me here! Please!" Gloria kicked Tabitha away ruthlessly. "If it weren't for your reputation, the Graysons and the Jacksons would've been united via a marriage alliance five years ago! "It's all thanks to you sleeping with another woman's husband-to-be that your original fiancé, Enzo Jackson, refused to meet anyone from the Grayson family in the past five years! "All you care about is the fact that you've suffered a lot over the years! Do you have any idea how much criticism the Grayson family has to endure because of you? "You want me to save your daughter, eh? So be it! If you really want to save her life, then you should ask for help from Enzo! Do it!" Enzo Jackson. That name flashed through Tabitha's mind. It was true that the Graysons and the Jacksons had a marriage alliance going on five years ago. But the moment Tabitha's scandal got out, the Jacksons didn't hesitate to call off the agreement on the spot. Who'd want to marry a woman with a soiled reputation anyway? But Tabitha didn't have a choice. She had racked her brain to come up with as many solutions as she could. If saving Stacy's life meant having to face Enzo and the Jacksons again, then so be it. She sat on the floor and began calling Enzo on the phone. The dial tone began beeping regularly. Surprisingly enough, the call went through. But in less than a second, it was hung up by the other party. At that time, Tabitha's despair escalated to another level. However, she refused to give up. She quickly called Enzo again. Enzo didn't hesitate to hang up on her once again. Laughter erupted in the Grayson residence. Kelly Grayson, Tabitha's cousin, couldn't help but mock Tabitha. "You really are ridiculous, Tabitha. Did you seriously think Enzo's the same as the person he was five years ago? You're a skank who literally has no social standing in this society! If I were him, I'd avoid you at all times, too." Tabitha still refused to give up. She sent Enzo a text message hurriedly. "Enzo, can you please help me out? My daughter's dying! I'm… I'm willing to do whatever you want as long as you agree to help me out." The text message turned blue, signifying that it was read by Enzo. And yet, he never responded to her. Tabitha slumped to the floor. No one was willing to help her at all. At the same time, Gloria smashed a cup to the floor, clearly having lost her patience. She snapped, "Tabitha Grayson, get lost! Don't you dare return to the Grayson residence ever again!" Tabitha was instantly overwhelmed by a strong sense of helplessness. What should she do? Who else in this city was willing to save Stacy's life other than the Graysons and the Jacksons? When Tabitha was on her way to the Grayson residence, she could hear everyone on the streets chattering about the Dawsons seemingly preparing for something big. It was far too easy for the Dawsons to force Tabitha and Stacy into a dead end before taking their lives. The poor mother-daughter duo had been living in the junkyard for five years—four for Stacy—as though they were maggots who were undeserving of the world's kindness. It had been five long years. Tabitha couldn't withstand it anymore. Since Tabitha was still kneeling on the floor, Kelly instantly chided, "Tabitha, why aren't you leaving? Are you planning to cause more trouble for the Grayson family?" Tabitha closed her eyes and was about to get up when she heard a familiar voice booming from outside the manor. It appeared that the Graysons had a sudden visitor. Since the Graysons' household staff was unable to stop the visitor from barging in, Kelly's father, Dean Grayson, came running into the living room. "Mom, someone's here!" he exclaimed in alarm. Gloria remained cool as a cucumber. "Who dares to intrude on the private property of the Graysons?" she demanded. Dean pointed at Tabitha with a shaky hand. "It's Tabitha's fling! She… She must've been the one who told Atlas to come here!" Upon hearing Atlas' name, Gloria rose to her feet hastily. She roared, "Call the police! How dare he set foot into the Graysons' territory!" But it was far too late. Atlas had already approached Tabitha by then. He could never calm down after reading all the articles in the old newspapers. He slowly helped Tabitha to her feet. "Don't worry. I'm here now." But Tabitha glared at him with hatred shining in her eyes. Kelly had a twisted grin on her face. "You still have the balls to return to the city after all this time, Atlas? And you told Tabitha not to worry? I'll have you know that your daughter has offended the Dawson family. Do you seriously think you can do anything about it?" Atlas chose to ignore Kelly's words. He stood before Gloria while peering down at her. Finally, he began speaking. "Mrs. Grayson Senior, I was framed by Sierra five years ago, which was why I did those things to Tabitha on my wedding day. Sierra used every trick in the book just to get her hands on my medicinal formula. Today, I've chosen to return to Newtropolis just so I can protect Tabitha." When the Graysons heard Atlas' reason, they couldn't help but laugh like madmen. "Did you hear him? He said Sierra framed him just so she could steal his medicinal formula!" "Atlas, you really are shameless! Do you know that Sierra has dumped your ass?" "Sierra is such an outstanding woman! She's the CEO of Century Group, a company that's worth hundreds of millions of dollars, you know! She's the epitome of the actual upper society! If this is how you're planning to freeload off her, then this method isn't going to work!" Atlas couldn't care less about the other people. Those who stood on the peak would never pay any heed to the insignificant dust specks at the bottom of the food chain. Of course, they wouldn't care about those dust specks' opinions. He took Tabitha's hands while saying seriously, "Tabitha, you've greatly suffered from injustice over the last five years. From today onward, you'll be the queen of the world."