Their Queen's Back - Chapter 66: Chapter 66

Ms. Sky, rest assured. Anyone who took money from the Hughes won't get away with it. Just as they got those houses, so shall they return them.
Over the years, the Hughes Corporation had become a shell of its former self, largely because Linda had embezzled funds from Richard. With that money, she stuffed all her relatives into the villas and the Hughes Corporation.
Linda and Jessica rushed to the next villa—after all, they owned multiple properties.
But barely ten minutes after they went in, the same group of thugs barged in again. After a heated argument, they started manhandling Linda and Jessica.
The same scenario repeated at several of their properties. In the end, Linda and Jessica stood by the roadside, clothes in tatters and faces bruised, buffeted by the bleak wind.
Jessica completely snapped, her eyes blazing with murderous rage as she bellowed, "Skye! I swear, I'll kill you! I won't rest until you're dead!"
Linda was hailing a cab, planning to return to her parents' home. She soothed her daughter, "Jessica, don't be so impatient. Once your father gets out, we'll be able to go back to the Hughes."
Hearing her mother's delusional idea, Jessica felt her anger boil over. "What a complete idiot," she fumed to herself. "After all this, she's still pinning her hopes on Richard?"
She fumed inwardly, "Can't she see Richard is less than nothing to Skye?"
"Skye! Damn you, Skye," Jessica seethed inwardly. "I really underestimated you."
Jessica fumed inwardly, "I thought Richard could keep you in check, but who would've thought he'd turn out to be so useless!"
Jessica fumed inwardly, "No, the truth is you're utterly inhuman. As a daughter, you lack even the most basic morals—having Richard committed to a mental hospital? That's downright disgraceful!"
"Enough!" Jessica snapped. "Stop bringing up Richard—just hail a damn cab already!"
Without warning, Linda's hand flew out, delivering a stinging slap to Jessica's face.
Jessica reeled, her face burning with searing pain that cut to the core. She'd already been slapped repeatedly by those thugs—now even her own mother had struck her. "Seriously? After everything, even my own mom is turning on me?" she thought bitterly.
"You hit me?" Jessica's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Linda. "Have you lost your mind?"
Linda, her face flushed with anger, snapped, "Jessica, you ungrateful wretch! How dare you call him by his name? Such disrespect for your elders—I'm utterly disappointed in you. He's your father!"
Jessica clenched her fists, furious at Linda's ignorance. Through gritted teeth, she snapped, "You know damn well if he's my father. You're just sitting here, waiting with bated breath—do you seriously think Richard's coming back for you? He can't even save himself now, let alone care about you. Keep dreaming!"
Linda's face twisted in anger. "You ungrateful brat! What the hell are you talking about?"
Jessica sneered, "Wake up! Do you really think Richard loves you? If he did, would he let you suffer like this? You got beaten and he did nothing—he'd probably throw a party if you were dead."
"Jessica, shut up! Just shut up!" Linda snapped.
Linda lunged at Jessica like a feral cat, and soon mother and daughter were locked in a vicious brawl, clawing and pulling at each other.
Skye watched the scene unfold from a short distance away. With a snap of her fingers, she signaled someone to sneak up and swiftly swipe their phones, shoes, and bags. By the time the two women realized what had happened, they were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Having vented their rage, the two lay panting on the ground. From each other's battered faces, it was clear neither had held back—this fight had been brutal and merciless.
Jessica continued with her biting sarcasm, hoping Linda would finally stop deluding herself and face the truth.
"Was I wrong about anything I said, Linda? It's high time you woke up. I'm done wasting my breath on you—right now, finding a place to sleep is our top priority."
Linda spat out in disgust, brushed herself off and got to her feet. "If it weren't for you, I'd have already flagged down a cab! Wait—where's my—where's my phone? Gone! And my bag too!"
At Linda's words, Jessica whirled around, frantically scanning their surroundings—all their belongings had vanished.
Jessica shouted, "Someone must've stolen our stuff! Quick, call the cops!"
Linda snapped, "Call the police? How the hell are we supposed to do that without a phone?"
Jessica was fuming, pulling at her hair and grinding her teeth. "This is all your fault!" she snapped.
"Blame me?" Linda snapped. "Jessica, if it weren't for your damn scheme, would we have been kicked out? And you still have the nerve to blame me?"
Linda grew more and more resentful the more she thought about it. "If it weren't for Jessica's damn idea, would I have ended up like this?" she fumed inwardly.
She was still the dazzling Mrs. Hughes—at least, that's what she kept telling herself.
Jessica sneered inwardly at her, "What a clueless idiot. Even now, you're still naive enough to only see the surface."
Can't you see Skye deliberately kept them in that house just to torture them?
Jessica thought with a hint of sarcasm, "Doesn't all this mistreatment ring a bell, Linda? Haven't we done the same to the Hughes sisters before?"
Jessica thought bitterly, "These are the same dirty tricks we once used on the three Hughes sisters."
Now it's all being paid back, one by one.
Jessica snapped, "I don't want to argue with you. Just hurry up and get us back to your brother's place."
Jessica hailed a cab, and the two of them headed back to Linda's elder brother's place—only to find everyone sitting by the roadside, covered in dust and looking utterly defeated.
As Linda and Jessica stepped out of the cab, the whole crowd surged forward, angrily bombarding them with questions: "What the hell, Linda? Why did they take back our houses? Didn't you buy these for us? You'd better fix this now!"
"Yeah, exactly! The Hughes Corporation is thriving at its peak, and you, the glorious Mrs. Hughes, should be getting us a bigger house!"
Just as Linda was about to speak, Jessica stepped forward and cut in, "Uncle, this isn't our fault—it's all Skye's doing. She's been absolutely awful to us. After all, my mom is still their stepmother..."
With her silver tongue working its magic, Jessica soon had the whole group seething with resentment toward Skye.
Jessica caught the vicious, scheming look on Linda's cousin's face and felt a surge of satisfaction. "Perfect," she thought, turning her gaze away.
The cab driver barked, "Pay up! If you don't, I'm calling the cops. Trying to skip out on the fare?!"
Hearing this, Jessica looked embarrassed and shot a desperate glance around for help, but everyone deliberately avoided her gaze. Gritting her teeth, she finally muttered, "Just lend me the money for now." Only then did they reluctantly fork over seven bucks for the cab fare.
Sophia was supposed to attend a business meeting, but her boss decided to handle this deal himself. Getting off work early, she arrived home—only to overhear Emily excitedly telling Wendy all about her day at the amusement park with Skye.
Sophia's fingers tightened around her shirt hem as the words sank in. "They went to the amusement park?!"
"Why didn't my sister tell me? She must have been worried it would affect my work," Sophia thought to herself.
"Yeah, that must be it," Sophia thought to herself.
"There's no way Skye would willingly take Emily to the amusement park. That idiot, that dumb pig!" Sophia fumed inwardly.
"Ugh! Emily keeps taking Jessica's side just to piss Skye off," Sophia thought angrily.
Skye must be utterly disappointed in her. That trip to the amusement park? No way Skye would've agreed unless Emily shamelessly begged and clung to her for it.
Emily spotted Sophia standing nearby, and an overwhelming sense of triumph surged through her. Her smug grin and taunting gaze sent Sophia into a frenzy.
Sophia stomped past Emily in her high heels, each step striking the floor with deliberate force, the sharp clicks echoing with every stride.
As Sophia walked past Emily, Emily suddenly piped up, "Hey, someone gave me this huge jar of candy. There's so much, I could never finish it all!"
Realizing that Emily was showing off, Sophia flew into a rage, clenching her bag so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Sophia fumed inwardly, "Seriously? It's just a jar. Does Emily really have to show off like that?"
"Does she even realize how trashy she's acting right now?"
Sophia scoffed inwardly, "Seriously? Is she acting like she's never had candy before or something?"
"What a psycho!"
Sophia fumed inwardly, "What a freak!"
Emily watched Sophia storm off in a huff, her little cowlick swaying from side to side. With a smug sway of her shoulders, she sauntered back to her room to the rhythm of her own delight.
Sophia stormed into her room and hurled her bag to the floor with such force it bounced. "Emily!"
Sophia fumed inwardly, "Why did Skye have to give her a whole jar of candy? It must be that absolutely divine kind from today—so delicious, I bet the taste is still lingering in her mouth. So unfair!"
Sophia thought bitterly, "Definitely not some domestic candy."
No way! I can't just let things keep going like this, Sophia thought, her agitation mounting. She grabbed fistfuls of her hair and yanked at it in frustration.
"Argh! So annoying! Emily, you brainless pig! Pig!" Sophia fumed inwardly.
Sophia fumed inwardly, "I won't let you steal her from me!"
"Damn it! Why did I have to stand up for her today?" Sophia cursed herself inwardly. "Now she gets to stay with the Hughes!"
After all, I did help her today. It's only fair to get something in return, right?
Sophia cleared her throat with a couple of coughs, straightened her jacket, and headed to Emily's room. Finding it empty, she quickly walked over and spotted a conspicuously placed jar of candy.
Sophia quickly popped open the jar, glanced around furtively, then grabbed several handfuls of candies and stuffed them into her pockets. She unwrapped a few and tossed them straight into her mouth. "Delicious!" she thought, unable to hide her satisfaction.
Emily had just gone downstairs to check if Skye was back yet—after all, Skye had promised to stay with her tonight.
Emily thought, "She can't break her promise, and I won't let her back out now."
After all, she had already given her the reward, Emily thought.
She came in first in the rowing race and handed the Strawberry Bear prize to Skye.
She absolutely has to stay with me tonight! If she even dares to go stay with Sophia, I swear I'll never speak to her again—and I won't forgive her, ever! Emily thought to herself.
Emily burst in and shouted, "Sophia! What the hell are you doing?!"