Chapter 58
The thug had pegged Ophelia as just another pretty face all looks, no fight. But to his shock, before they could even lay a finger on her, she’d sent them flying with swift kicks.
Her long pleated skirt swept up dust from the ground as she moved. In the blink of an eye, the thug watched his three men collapse, clutching their chests and wailing in pain.
“Y–you… You’re asking for trouble!” he stammered, trying to sound threatening but stumbling backward in fear. He shot a panicked glance at his fallen lackeys, and all four scrambled away as fast as they could.
Ophelia bent down to help the old woman gather her scattered plastic bottles. As she looked at the elderly woman and the child, her thoughts drifted to her grandmother. She remembered the twenty years she’d spent feeling abandoned, living with that old woman who, despite sharing no blood ties, had become her family.
“Thank you, young lady,” the old woman said, her face etched with worry. “But you should leave now. These thugs will surely return with their boss. We’re used to this, but you shouldn’t get caught up in our troubles.”
“Used to it?” Ophelia frowned. It seemed this was a daily occurrence.
The old woman gazed down at the sniffling child, and her eyes tired and resigned. “These days, folks shy away from honest work, worried they’ll catch flak. So the young punks swipe what we manage to scrounge up. That’s just how things are now. We’ve learned to live with it.”
A deep voice cut through the tension. “Who’s got the balls to cause trouble in my place?”
Moments later, the gang returned, led by a burly man swaggering toward them.
“Felix, that’s her.” One of the thugs pointed out
Felix Ashby, the leader, was ready to teach Ophelia a lesson she’d never forget. He aggressively struck a nearby shipping container with his club, causing the child to burst into tears again. The old woman clutched the kid, both cowering in fear.
Ophelia sighed, turning to face the man’s menacing glare head–on.
Felix was momentarily dazed. He staggered back, his eyes wide with disbelief as if he’d seen a ghost.
His fierce demeanor crumbled instantly. “O–Ophelia?” He choked out, blinking rapidly and swallowing hard. ‘How the hell has she shown up here?‘ he thought. She looked different from the kid he remembered, but those piercing, wolf–like eyes were unmistakable.
The thugs who had just been beaten expected Felix to immediately seek revenge. But the expression on his face told a different story.
“Felix, it was her. You know this chick?” one of them asked.
Felix instantly dropped the club he was holding and smacked his lackey hard on the back of the head. “Watch your mouth, you bastard. Who are you calling ‘chick? Show some respect.”
in the face.
Ophelia’s cool gaze settled on Felix, who not only had the build of a bull but even resembled one in Despite his imposing stature – he easily stood a foot taller than Ophelia – Felix now looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Look, Ophelia,” he stammered, “my boys were just fooling around. I’ll teach them a lesson. It’s nothing, really. I’ll just—”
“Not so fast.” Ophelia’s icy voice cut through the air.
A shiver ran down Felix’s spine. He was so intimidated that he nearly dropped to his knees on the spot, “Ophelia, I… I’m
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Chapter 58
sorry‘
His gang members were shocked. This wasn’t the Felix they knew
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“Felix, who is she?” the thug asked, confused. To him, Ophelia just looked like some skilled girl, and Felix could knock her out with one punch. So, there should be no reason to sweat.
“Shut up. Felix swallowed hard. “She’s my boss.” Even now, he could still feel the phantom pain from when she had snapped his arm like a twig years ago.
His body was drenched in cold sweat, and he knew running was futile. Ophelia was the undisputed demon queen of the slums. No one could beat her in a fight, no one could outrun her, and she was always three steps ahead. Crossing her was a one–way ticket to a world of hurt.
“Since when did you start collecting money in the slums?” Ophelia’s voice was ice–cold, barely containing the rage burning in her chest. She was itching to throw a punch. She couldn’t fathom why these guys, with all their supposed skills, were preying on their own instead of making an honest buck elsewhere.
Felix cowered, his voice trembling. “Ophelia, I’m… I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again, I swear.”
“Here’s what you’re gonna do,” Ophelia growled. “Take your goons and return every damn penny and trinket you’ve squeezed out of these people.”
“Why the hell should we?” the thug immediately protested.
Ophelia’s piercing gaze locked onto him. “You’re asking me why?”
“We… We earned it fair and square,” the thug insisted, though his voice wavered.
“Fine, Ophelia said, pulling out the few bills she had left in her purse. “If you can beat me in a fair fight, this money is yours.”
The thug’s eyes lit up at the sight of cash. Ophelia tossed the bills into the air, and he lunged forward, reaching out to grab
them.
Just as his fingers grazed the edge of a bill, a searing pain exploded in his chest. He flew backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming hard against a shipping container.
“Ugh…” The thug coughed, clutching his chest. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood, terrifying him into thinking he was about to die.
The other three thugs, who had each tasted one of Ophelia’s kicks earlier, shot him sympathetic looks. He’d been the only one who hadn’t been beaten up before, and now he understood just how brutal this woman’s kicks could be and why they hesitated to make another move.
Ophelia caught the fluttering bills mid–air, her voice as sharp as ice. “So, your only talent is bullying the weak?”
The thug was too terrified to speak, fearing for his life. Tears streamed down his face as he babbled, “We’ll give it all back. I swear! I don’t want to die!”
Ophelia turned her gaze to Felix. “Looks like your arm I broke has healed nicely?”
At her words, Felix instinctively clutched his left arm with his right hand, stumbling backward.
The three men behind him gaped in shock. They finally realized why Felix was so afraid of this woman. She’d taught him a harsh lesson before.
“I told you years ago not to bully people from the slums. Have you forgotten all this time?” Ophelia’s voice was cold. Felix gritted his teeth. “Ophelia, it’s not that I don’t want to work outside. But everyone looked down on us. They pay
us the
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Chapter 58
least for the hardest jobs. They push us around, and we can’t fight back. Even the cops are biased against us.”
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He slammed his fist into the ground with such force that the earth seemed to tremble. “We’re treated like dirt wherever we
go…”
Ophelia retorted, “That’s no excuse to bully your own people. Just because you can’t make it out there, you come back to the slums to push us around? Don’t forget, Felix. Without the elders here in the slums, you’d have frozen to death on the streets long ago.”
“I know that,” Felix replied, his eyes reddening as he sniffled. “Maybe I should have died out there. Why are we stuck being slum dwellers, Ophelia? Why are we always treated as lower–class? You’ve made it on the outside. Why don’t you find us some jobs?”
Ophelia fell silent. As her gaze swept over Felix and the gaunt figures behind him, realization hit her – she had no place to preach.
The slums stretched before her, a desolate wasteland. Suddenly, Eric’s words echoed in her mind.
SEND GIFT
