"You... what did you say?!"
Patrick Quinn never expected Frank Castle to respond like that. He was in disbelief.
"What are you to dare insult Amelia like that?! If you hadn't shamelessly clung to Amelia back then, how would we have agreed to let her marry you?"
"All these years, you've been no help to Amelia at all, just leeching off her every day! And you still dare to look down on her?" Patrick Quinn was utterly furious, casting aside any semblance of an elder's dignity, and unleashed a torrent of abuse over the phone.
Frank Castle remained calm and composed, even maintaining a polite tone: "Mr. Quinn, you might have forgotten, but Amelia Quinn pursued me back then. When we got married, your company and Ms. Monroe's company were on the verge of bankruptcy." He continued: "You couldn't even afford Amelia Quinn's living expenses. I was the one who earned money to support Amelia Quinn and even helped you pay off some of your debts. Otherwise, your company wouldn't have survived until Aunt Celeste became famous; it would have collapsed already." Frank added: "You and Amelia Quinn are both ungrateful, twisting facts, and your shameless lies are so often repeated that you even believe them yourselves. Truly a father and daughter, shamelessness runs in the family."
"You... you shut up!" Patrick Quinn's voice trembled with rage.
Frank Castle calmly stated: "Mr. Quinn, please tell Amelia Quinn to stop bothering me. Since you're divorced, show some decency and don't be so pathetic!"
"Frank Castle, you..." Patrick Quinn was about to speak, but the other end had already hung up.
Beep, beep, beep...
The piercing busy signal seemed to mock Patrick Quinn's self-inflicted humiliation. His face was flushed with anger, and he slammed his phone to the floor.
Bang!
The phone screen shattered. In the spacious villa, Sarah Monroe, on the second floor, came out. "What's going on?"
Sarah Monroe was the second oldest of the Monroe siblings, 46 this year, two years younger than her elder brother, Edward Monroe, and 14 years older than her youngest sister, Celeste Monroe. She married Patrick Quinn at 19 and gave birth to Amelia Quinn less than a year later. Sarah Monroe was very beautiful when she was young. Although she was older now, she still possessed considerable charm. Her facial features were remarkably similar to Amelia Quinn's, though her face wasn't as smooth and full, her figure was more voluptuous. In contrast, Patrick Quinn's appearance was merely ordinary. His features bore no resemblance to Amelia Quinn's, and many people didn't believe him when he claimed to be the father of big star Amelia Quinn.
Now, Sarah Monroe came down from the second floor, looking at the shattered phone screen on the floor, and frowned: "What's with the temper tantrum in the middle of the night?"
Patrick Quinn fumed: "It's your good sister! She's the one who favored Frank Castle on that show, that's why Frank Castle is so arrogant!" He then recounted Frank Castle's words, and Sarah Monroe's face completely turned cold.
"I said from the beginning that Frank Castle wasn't a good match! Our daughter wouldn't listen, and now look! Even after they're divorced, he's still clinging to her! And Celeste too, why is she helping an outsider instead of Amelia?"
Sarah Monroe took out her phone, preparing to call Celeste Monroe. Patrick Quinn reminded her: "Remember to tell her about performing at the Evergreen Group's annual gala again!"
The Evergreen Group was a large company in Ridgewood. They had a project currently open for bids, and Patrick Quinn and Sarah Monroe were determined to win it. However, their company's strength was average and not advantageous in the bidding competition. Patrick Quinn had learned that the CEO of Evergreen Group was a fan of Celeste Monroe, so he proactively approached him, saying he could arrange for Celeste Monroe to perform at the Evergreen Group's annual gala. He even suggested that Celeste Monroe could have dinner with the CEO. The CEO immediately promised that as long as Celeste Monroe could be invited, he would approve the project for Patrick Quinn right away. Patrick Quinn immediately contacted Celeste Monroe, but she refused. The bidding for that project was closing next month, and Patrick Quinn was getting anxious.
Sarah Monroe rolled her eyes at him: "Do I need you to tell me? Of course I know!" She then dialed Celeste Monroe's number. It rang for a long time, but no one picked up. Sarah Monroe was slightly embarrassed: "My youngest sister might be busy. I'll try again." She called again. After ringing for a long time, Celeste Monroe finally answered.
Sarah Monroe put her on speakerphone and said discontentedly: "Youngest sister, why didn't you answer the phone just now?"
Celeste Monroe's voice held no warmth: "What is it?"
Sarah Monroe complained: "You clearly know Amelia and Frank Castle are divorced, so why are you still favoring Frank Castle on that show?"
Celeste Monroe calmly stated: "I'm just reviewing songs."
Sarah Monroe rolled her eyes: "Youngest sister, when will you change that temper of yours? No matter what, you shouldn't help an outsider instead of your own niece!"
Celeste Monroe's voice grew even colder: "Anything else?"
Patrick Quinn couldn't help but try to speak, but Sarah Monroe waved him off and continued to Celeste Monroe: "Oh, right, your brother-in-law mentioned the Evergreen Group's annual gala last time. What have you thought about it?"
Celeste Monroe paused, seemingly recalling: "You want me to perform for free at that group's annual gala, and then have dinner with their CEO, to help you secure that project?"
Sarah Monroe nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! Youngest sister, you're already so rich anyway, you don't care about a small appearance fee, right? And Mr. Zhang is your fan. Having dinner with him would be like giving back to your fans. You won't lose anything, right?"
"Why should I?"
The chillingly cold voice made the large villa fall into a dead silence.
Sarah Monroe was stunned for a moment: "Youngest sister, what did you say?"
Celeste Monroe said coldly: "You're doing business and you want me to be a hostess? Are you worthy?"
Patrick Quinn couldn't hold back and shouted: "Youngest sister, that's going too far! What do you mean 'hostess'? For you, it's just a small favor. Why say such unpleasant things?"
Celeste Monroe's voice remained unchanged: "If that's the case, why don't you let Amelia Quinn go? She should be more familiar with drinking with men than I am."
"Youngest sister, how can you say that about Amelia?!" Sarah Monroe angrily exclaimed: "She's your own niece! How can you have no family sentiment?!"
Celeste Monroe suddenly laughed: "Isn't having no family sentiment precisely the Monroe family tradition?"
"You... what do you mean?"
Beep, beep, beep.
The other end had already hung up. The villa once again fell into an awkward silence.
After a long while, Sarah Monroe's angry voice finally broke the quiet: "That little hussy! Mom shouldn't have sacrificed herself to give birth to her back then!"
"Jocelyn, Ms. Monroe doesn't seem to get along very well with her family?"
Kyoto. Emma and Jocelyn Shaw walked out of Celeste Monroe's residence. Emma finally couldn't help but ask Jocelyn. Today, Celeste Monroe had again participated in brand events during the day and practiced singing late into the night. As soon as she got home, she received a call from her second sister, Sarah Monroe. Celeste Monroe went into her bedroom to take the call, and her expression was not good when she came out. Jocelyn Shaw simply told her to get some rest and then pulled Emma along to leave.
Emma often saw Celeste Monroe's older brother and second sister call her, but Celeste Monroe was always in a bad mood after speaking with her family. She had always been very curious about what was going on.
"Let's talk outside."
Jocelyn Shaw and Emma walked out of the villa complex and got into the car. Jocelyn lit a cigarette for women and sighed: "You're Celeste's assistant. There are some things you should know."