The Traps of Black Swan

Maisie's eyes widened when she sensed the female bodyguard in a suit standing behind her after hearing Zain Kelly.

None of them knew how Maisie actually treated Ava Kelly as the latter never told them. But Jose was different. Jose witnessed everything from his birth. He was always obedient to her because he had witnessed how Maisie was beating Ava. So a small threat would be enough to make Jose cry out everything. He feared the pain more than anything.

"Zain Kelly, how dare you? Did you forget we are family?" Maisie stood up to stop her son from blurting out everything in fear. Jose was her son anyway, he learned by watching her and knew how to save himself from trouble.

She turned to Jose, even if she raised her voice at Jose, she never really got angry at him. But this time, she fiercely glared at him, "Jose, don't forget your limits. Go to your room."

Jose was feeling pressure from all sides. The Rivas family, Zain, and also his parents. Gulping a mouthful of spit, he tried to stand up but Zain's continuous tap on his shoulders felt too heavy. He tried to speak, words stayed behind, he weighed the situation and stayed seated.

Looking at the situation of his parents, he didn't want to end up like them. So he too chose his welfare against his parents. He wasn't the one to be blamed, that's what he learned from his mother and father all these years.

"Family?" Zain Kelly scorned. That was the most ridiculous word from her mouth. He was a Kelly, the more he revealed to the Rivas family, the more they would despise the Kelly family. Hence he didn't reveal much about how they treated him after he lost his father.

The assistant placed a file on the table as he reported about Jose, "Just passed in graduation, has a girlfriend on whom he spends all his allowance. Excluding his car, he has nothing under his name. Has no job or responsibility, spends all the time playing video games."

Jose: "..."

He felt every word out of that middle-aged man as a taunt and he couldn't understand what was going on. For a moment he wondered if Zain was using the Rivas family to get rid of them for the Kelly International. 

In that case, wouldn't Zain be working at Kelly International to help their grandfather and get on the good books? Jose felt his brain wasn't smart enough to discern what was going on.

'Did Mom or Dad offend the Rivas family?' His eyes widened.

They often feared the Rivas family when Dax had told them he would ruin them if something happens to Ava Kelly at the wedding hall. Jose knew how protective Shawn and Dax were of Ava Kelly.

'So is this old grudge?' Jose thought as he glanced at Zain who loved Ava Kelly more than anybody in the family. 

Jose used to get a little jealous of his sister when Zain was returning from boarding school with gifts for her and take her out for playing all day. Then Maisie would coax him with more gifts and vacations, hence he never fought with Ava Kelly.

People often crave something unattainable. Hence, Jose was a little envious of Ava Kelly when Hayden and Zain treated Ava like a princess and always ignored him. He only had his parents flatter him.

Shawn cracked his knuckles as he stood up and flexed his arms, "I didn't work out well today." He lazily said and Jose lost it there.

"Mom used to hit my sister almost every day." He crouched aside anticipating Shawn to hit him.

"Jose," Maisie grunted loudly as she stood up. She was about to stride towards him, the female bodyguard, grabbed her hair mercilessly and flung aside for more space to beat the woman.

'Flop' Maisie cried out in pain falling on the floor. It immediately reminded her how she always used her strength and dragged Ava by her hair.

Of course, the bodyguard knew who they were talking about. Young Madam of the Rivas family. Ignoring that they were Young Madam's parents, she focused on her job.

Megan imagined Shawn or Aaron in Jose's place. Shawn and Aaron would have broken the bones of the man who threatens or gets beaten up instead of giving out his family. She disliked the Kelly family more and more, if Aarvi was on good terms with them, she doubted how she would have treated them. 

Shrugging her shoulder in the mind, "Like? Be more specific, Second Young Master Kelly." Her voice stated she was enjoying the show. 

She knew it wouldn't be enough to pay back but they will have a taste of it and from today, they will fear every day when they were going to drop in there and torture them.

Jose lowered his gaze from his father who was staring at him in fear. "I-I don't…"

Shawn's palm landed on his shoulder. Jose squeezed his eyes and blurted out, "Mom had kicked sister once from upstairs." He blurted out what he recalled and covered his lips.

Jordan and Megan were frozen when Maisie wailed when she was dragged away by the bodyguard upstairs. The first turn of the stairs had only less than fifteen steps, they weren't enough to seriously injure a grown person. Hence the bodyguard rolled out the women to the ground.

Jose was trembling like a wet puppy thrown out in the winter season. When he had seen Ava in that position, he got a fever for a day, now he felt like he was going to wet his pants.

Megan didn't dare to look at Maisie. She kept her eyes away, occasionally glancing at Shane who cared about his skin without helping his wife.

Jordan made his heart stone cold. If they hadn't kicked Aarvi out on the day she returned with bruises, she wouldn't have reached the deathbed.

Jose heard his mother cry for the first time. He couldn't even imagine the pain she was going through but he was sure Maisie at least got to know what Ava had been through.

To save his mother who had looked after him so well, he wanted to say that's it but the two men on either side of him were like devils ready to break his neck any moment so willingly or unwillingly he had to say what Ava had suffered.

"She used to lock sister in the room without food and water." Only that's how he could save his mother. Fasting was better than beating black and blue.

The female bodyguard paused. If a mother could do this to her child, she could guess she would have hit her powerless child in different ways. And whatever they heard was just a small end of the stick. Hence she didn't act on Jose's words and turned to Megan for her orders.

Shawn and Zain looked at each other, Jose was smartly saving his mother. However, his little smartness couldn't make them fool so easily. 

Megan could read it too. She didn't expect the little rat to play smart instead of being scared. She threw another bucket of cold water on him, "Let's keep that at last."

Shawn was satisfied with her mother's decision. Megan continued, "Let's lock them in the servants' room." Where they won't get their soft bed to sleep or the luxurious bathroom to bath or well-equipped room to spend the time. "No electricity, and… No water."

This should be good enough for the first round. Shouldn't it?

Jose, Shane, and Maisie: "..."