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Tabitha’s kid was indeed smarter than the average child, but his values were all messed up. His intelligence wasn’t being used for good.
When Tabitha was abroad, this kid relied on his cleverness and young age to pull off some bad stuff, even causing a foreign woman who had a conflict with Tabitha to get disfigured.
It was Harrison who cleaned up the mess every time, and Tabitha always found an excuse for the kid.
Back in Astaria, the kid didn’t change. What he did to Geneva could be called pranks, but every time, he was trying to kill her.
It was really scary when Conrad thought about it now.
Geneva was still alive because she was lucky.
If this kid continued like this, he might become a high–1Q criminal in the future.
That was why the investigation team hadn’t released him yet; they were figuring out how to deal with him.
But to Tabitha, Geneva was settling a personal grudge by keeping an eye on the kid and not letting him go.
She said through gritted teeth while looking at Geneva, “Geneva, if you let Barclay go, I… I’ll give Stan to you.”
Geneva was left utterly speechless.
So was Conrad, stammering in disbelief, “You’re giving her Stan?”
This woman is just here for laughs. Geneva has bigger fish to fry; no way she would be interested in Stan.
‘You think Stan is great and go through all this trouble to get it, so everyone else must want it too?‘ he retorted inwardly.
“Keep Stan for yourself,” said Geneva. “Don’t worry. I’m a nice person and won’t hold a grudge against a kid. Your son will be back.”
Then she had someone kick Tabitha out.
Conrad looked at Geneva in disbelief. “Are you really going to let that kid go?”
Previously, he thought that Geneva was a person who didn’t crack a smile easily and was rather aloof.
But after spending more time with her, he realized that she actually holds grudges–against kids, too.
Geneva laughed and pulled out a notebook from under her pillow. “Take a look.”
After reading what Geneva drew in the notebook, Conrad became somewhat excited.
It was a bracelet that could detect if someone had criminal tendencies.
When people had such tendencies, their heart rate, blood flow speed… all fluctuated slightly.
These fluctuations were hard to see with the naked eye, but this bracelet could detect them. Once someone wearing it showed criminal tendencies, it alerted relevant authorities.
If everyone in Astaria or those with criminal records wore this bracelet, crime rates would drop significantly.
“Ms. Motley, you’re planning to put that bracelet on the kid?”
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Geneva nodded, her smile wicked. “As the first tester of the bracelet, he’ll feel honored, no doubt”
Conrad got it, making no response.
Barclay was released, his wrist now sporting an ugly–as–heck bracelet.
The military folks bluntly told Tabitha that this was to monitor Barclay, warning them not to try any funny business to remove it.
Tabitha was in disbelief. “My son just made a mistake because he’s a kid! How can you monitor him? It’ll mess up his growth!”
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“Ms. Motley, you should be grateful your son is still young. For what he’s done, a bracelet is the least of his worries.” With that, they tossed a stack of files in front of Tabitha, detailing all the stuff Barclay had done.
Tabitha felt a chill down her spine and didn’t dare argue further, taking Barclay home.
It seemed like Geneva did it on purpose–that bracelet was hideous. Wearing it, Barclay got mocked a lot.
He tried everything to get rid of it, but the bracelet was stuck tight, adjusting automatically to his wrist size.
Three years later, Geneva’s bracelet had been widely adopted in related fields. Over those three years, Geneva didn’t just invent the bracelet; she came up with tons of other stuff, making huge contributions to Astaria’s tech development.
Every time Tabitha turned on the TV, there was Geneva with a new invention.
Checking her phone, she saw news about Geneva winning another award.
When she went shopping, everyone–friends or strangers–was talking about Geneva.
Tabitha realized that even though Geneva wasn’t around, her presence was everywhere.
Ironically, Geneva’s achievements grew, fame soared, and she became someone people could only look up to.
Meanwhile, Tabitha was stuck in a daily grind with Harrison, who was getting more and more twisted.
Back then, she took Harrison’s efforts for granted, always turning to him for help whenever she was in trouble.
Not being able to reciprocate his feelings, she thought she owed him.
But now, that gentle, always–giving Harrison was gone. Due to his disability, he became moody, violent, and obsessive. Whenever things didn’t go his way, he’d lay hands on her.
All she felt for Harrison now was resentment.
Every time Harrison hit her, he’d kneel begging for her forgiveness.
Then she’d soften up, forgive him, and they’d keep torturing each other.
She thought as long as Stan got out of jail, everything would go back to how it was, and she’d still be the pampered Tabitha everyone doted on.
Even though she didn’t achieve what Geneva did, so what? She still had Stan and love.
Three years flew by in waiting, and Stan finally got out. But things weren’t as optimistic as Tabitha thought. There was no
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touching reunion between them.
Stan had been in jail for three years, and Tabitha never visited him. When he got out, she found out the once handsome CEO… had gained weight.
She had no idea how the prison food turned a tall, handsome CEO into a greasy pot–bellied man.
So, Tabitha stopped dead in her tracks before she could hug Stan.
Stan glared at her with a darkened face. “What? You’re not happy I’m out?”
His feelings for Tabitha started cracking when she let him take the blame alone in court.
And these three years, while Tabitha never visited, his mom did often, always listing Tabitha’s faults.
At first, Stan didn’t believe it, but over time, those doubts grew into a towering tree.
He no longer felt the same way about Tabitha as before, just thinking how stupid he was to end up like this for such a
woman.
Stan, as usual, grabbed Tabitha’s chin with an air of dominance. “Bitch, how dare you betray me and hook up with Harrison? Do you think you deserve me?”
Tearfully, Tabitha sobbed. “I
owe him this. I’m just making it up to him.”
Stan’s face had puffed up over these three tough years inside, making him look even more grim and somewhat fierce, like those scary guys with full faces of fat.
