Chapter 14 The Coercion

Erin’s cheeks were flushed and her heart was pounding as she stared at Bradley. At this moment, she felt a strange tingle spread through her. On the other hand, Bradley felt like a fire was burning within him and it was scorching his entire being. He glanced at Erin with a feverish gaze, his imagination running wild with the position they were in. Knock! Suddenly, a soft, almost inaudible knock came from the door, jolting the two of them back to reality. Erin shoved Bradley off her as she got up from the ground. “There’s someone outside,” she said nervously. Bradley rushed toward the door and realized the door of the courtyard was wide open; it was obvious that someone had been inside. He turned around and said, “Erin, I think I better leave first. There will be new rumors around the village if someone sees us like this.” He hastily left her house. Shortly after that, Julia showed up inside Erin’s house. Erin was taken aback by her sudden appearance. Anxious, she asked, “Julia, what brings you here at this time of the night?” Julia looked around and sneered. “Oh! So only that ex-convict is allowed to come see you? We are from the same village after all, aren’t we?” Erin’s face fell. “Julia, please don’t speak that way. There’s nothing going on between Bradley and I.” Julia squinted her eyes and threatened, “I don’t care whether you’re innocent or not. If you don’t want me to blab about what happened tonight, you have to give me that jade of yours.” Shocked, Erin staggered a few steps back and glanced at the box near her bed. Julia shoved her aside roughly and walked toward the box. Opening it, she placed the jade into her own pocket. Erin grabbed her hand and cried desperately, “Julia! You can’t take this jade! My mother left this for me before she died.” However, Julia scoffed and kicked her away. “Get lost! Unless you want new rumors about you and Bradley to spread in the whole village?” Erin was afraid to speak up so she could only sit on the bed, covering her face as she sobbed. On the other hand, Bradley had no idea what had happened after he left and went straight to bed the moment he reached home. The next morning as he was heading out, Bradley grabbed his bag and said, “Mom, I’m going to town for a while. You and Dad don’t have to wait for me for dinner.” Janice, who was preparing breakfast, looked up. “Brad, I was going to bring you to your grandmother’s house after breakfast because I’ve already told your aunt to arrange a match-making session for you. Why are you heading out again?” Bradley sighed helplessly. “Mom, didn’t I say to not rush things like this? We’ll talk about this when I get back later.” He planned to head out soon to catch the first bus toward Zack’s house to cure his cousin’s sickness. Just as he was about to head out, there seemed to be a loud commotion outside and he could hear Julia’s shrill voice. “Bradley Jackson! You get the hell out here now! You were so brave when you were hitting me; why are you so scared to come out now?” Bradley frowned and opened the door, only to find Julia’s son and daughter, Paul and Pauline, standing outside with their arms crossed. When Paul saw Bradley, he rushed over and grabbed him by the collar. “Bradley, you think a few years in prison has made you some big shot, huh? You dared to hit my mother?” he yelled angrily. Bradley twisted his arm and shoved him away. “You better ask your mother the details of what happened first. Don’t make me angry.” Just then, a pretty girl walked over and called out, “Paul, is this the b*stard who hit your mother? You could tell right away that he’s just a countryside thug.” Julia added, “He had always been a misfit! After going to jail for five years, he still acts high and mighty even when he can’t get a proper wife!” Paul grew more agitated by the second and immediately charged toward Bradley to give him a slap. However, just as Paul’s hand was about to hit his face, Bradley twisted his hand and slammed Paul to the ground. Julia rushed over to help her son as she shrieked, “Bradley Jackson! Don’t think I don’t know that the 100,000 you gave Patrick was actually money stolen from somewhere! I’ll tell my son to call the police and throw you in jail!” Pauline walked over to her mom and pointed at Bradley. “A five year ex-convict that still hurts people… No wonder you will never be able to find someone to marry and will never have children to carry your family line.” “Hubby, who’s that causing trouble in our home again? Just use a bat and chase them away.” Suddenly, a soft, velvety voice rang out and everyone turned toward it. Kate Nicholson was dragging her heavy suitcase as she arrived in front of Bradley’s house. She scoffed in disdain as she looked at Julia’s family. Meanwhile, Julia and her family were stunned when they saw the stylishly dressed girl. Not only was the girl beautiful and petite, she actually called Bradley her husband. Was there something wrong with their ears? Just then, Craig and Janice came out of the house and were equally surprised to see Kate outside their door. Bradley turned toward Kate. “Why are you here? How did you manage to find my house?” he questioned. Kate showed the medical records in her hands. “How could I not find you with these?” Julia pulled Paul to the side and murmured, “Since you came all this way here, it would be a shame not to send him back to jail!” As she spoke, she sent a vicious gaze at Kate and smiled cruelly. At that moment, Janice rushed over to Bradley and asked anxiously, “Brad, you really made 100,000 by selling off those herbs?” Emily quickly chirped in, “Mom, don’t listen to nonsense from an outsider. You should believe Brad.” All of a sudden, there was a loud siren and a few police cars had driven into the village. After a uniformed policeman got out of the car and greeted Paul, he walked toward Bradley and said sternly, “Bradley Jackson, we have reason to believe that the 100,000 you gave to Patrick Hart was from an unknown source. Please follow us to the station for further investigation.” Bradley squinted his eyes. “Officer, you need evidence to make an arrest—” “We’ll have the evidence we need once you follow us to the police station.” The policeman interrupted Bradley before he could finish.