Chapter 50: Vanessa Runs South

The rumbling sound of the tractor faded into the distance, carrying the unconscious Agnes Ward and the wailing family of Calvin Ward into the night.

The yard finally fell silent.

The villagers who had gathered to watch yawned and dispersed, but everyone knew this wasn’t over. By tomorrow, the scandal of Vanessa Ward and Derek Harlan rolling in the sheets would spread through every village for miles.

"Tsk, tsk. The Wards have really outdone themselves this time," Aunt Amy muttered to her husband as they walked away. "I heard Vanessa’s been cozying up to Derek for a while, just waiting to push Elena out and take her place."

"Exactly!" her husband whispered. "And I heard old Mrs. Ward was so desperate to scrape together a dowry for her youngest son, she even tried to drown her own granddaughter in the reservoir..."

Rumors took flight, spreading like wildfire through the darkness. By the time The Ward family returned from the county hospital, the village had already spun seven or eight versions of the story—each more outrageous than the last.

Derek stood in the yard, sweat beading on his forehead. He wanted to run, but the memory of that excruciating pain from earlier made his legs feel like jelly.

"L-Elena..." He dropped to his knees with a thud. "I was wrong! I swear I’ll never come near you again! Just spare me!"

Elena watched his pathetic display with cold amusement. That acupuncture needle had been nothing special—no poison, no curse. But this idiot had swallowed the lie whole.

"Want the antidote?" She deliberately drew out her words. "Find rainwater, a child’s urine, century-old pinecones, and a pair of male crickets. Boil them down to one bowl of liquid. Drink it for ten days straight."

Derek clutched at the instructions like a lifeline, bowing deeply frantically before scrambling away into the night.

Just as Elena turned to go inside, a shrill scream pierced the air.

"It’s all your fault!"

Vanessa burst out, hair disheveled and eyes bloodshot. "You were supposed to marry Derek! You ruined everything!"

"I ruined it?" Elena turned, her smile chilling under the moonlight. "Derek was your doing. Regretting it now?"

Vanessa lunged at her like a madwoman, but Elena shoved her away effortlessly.

"Save your energy." Elena brushed off her sleeves. "You’ve lived like a pampered princess all these years. You can’t even lift a bucket of water—what makes you think you can fight me?"

She leaned in, whispering into Vanessa’s ear, "Congratulations, dear cousin. May you and Derek... live happily ever after."

As Elena walked away, Vanessa trembled violently. Since when had her meek little cousin become so terrifying?

No. She wouldn’t just sit here and take this!

Vanessa stormed into her parents’ room, smashed the lock off their savings box, and stuffed every last bill into her bag. She threw together a few clothes and slipped out of the yard before dawn.

The south! That’s where she’d go. They said the cities there were paved with gold—anyone willing to work could strike it rich. She refused to stay in this hellhole and marry that bastard Derek!

As the sky lightened, Vanessa clutched her bundle and ran toward the village entrance without a backward glance. She didn’t see Elena standing in the shadows of a nearby tree, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

"Run. The farther, the better." Elena murmured to herself. "Wait until you learn the truth... That’s when the real fun begins."

In the morning light, she turned and headed back inside to pack. Today, she was leaving for the provincial capital to find her sister.