Chapter 151 No Match for Dan
“Get lost!” Crystal swung her foot at Cameron. “Take your hands off my daughter! Maddie is my daughter, which means I am her mother! Who are you to call yourself her mother?!” The lady then angrily grabbed Cameron by the collar and slapped her face repeatedly. “Who are you to call my daughter Maddie? After all the suffering you put my daughter through, I wish I could just skin you alive!”
In the meantime, Cameron was moaning and screaming in pain, enduring Crystal’s beating while screaming for Madeline’s name. “Save me, Maddie! No matter what this woman says, I’m still your mother who raised you up all those years even though I may only be your foster mother. For old times’ sake, help me!”
On the other hand, Madeline stood behind Crystal and looked at Cameron glacially, amused by her ridiculous words. What makes this lady think she is entitled to the credit of having raised me up as her foster mother? As far as I can remember, she never treated me with love and care just like how she described the way she treated me moments ago. All I ever endured from her was humiliation, abuse, and mistreatment.
When Roy and Roxanne were still alive during Madeline’s childhood, they had no idea that Madeline was actually not the biological daughter of their son, Xander, and Cameron. While the old couple had always wanted to have a grandson instead of a granddaughter, Cameron had abused Madeline for the very same reason because she was not her son. Instead, she was a daughter. Although what Cameron had done to the poor Madeline was sometimes deemed to be unacceptable, Roy and Roxanne had never cast a doubt on Madeline’s biological link with Cameron and Xander.
Nonetheless, Roy and Roxanne eventually had enough of Madeline’s misery at the hands of Cameron, so they decided to take her back home with them. For the next twenty years, the Colt Manor became a haven where Madeline had finally gotten to enjoy some peaceful moments.
Although Cameron had occasionally swung by and given her a hard time, the days she had spent together with Roy and Roxanne helped build a bond between them. Thus, the old couple naturally stood up for Madeline whenever Cameron tried to get physical with her, and they even lectured her to treat her own daughter better.
After a few heated encounters, Cameron decided to stop seeking trouble with Madeline out of fear that Roy and Roxanne would get a sniff of her secret. However, things took a turn for the worse when Madeline turned nine years old—that was when Roy and Roxanne passed away. After that, she was taken back to the Colt Residence where she was tortured by Cameron for the subsequent year just as Xander met another woman and dumped Cameron.
Since Xander’s wife was a cranky socialite who was known for her hot temper, the man refused to pursue Madeline’s custody right and even made Cameron take her away with her. At the same time, there was nothing that Cameron could do to make Xander and his wife yield, so she was forced to file a divorce with him and leave the Colt Family.
Shortly after that, Madeline was cast away from Cameron who was broke as she found herself wandering aimlessly later that night. While she was thinking of visiting her schoolmate whom she thought could put her up, she was then dragged into a dark alley by a few thugs, but fortunately, fate showed her pity when Dan happened to pass by and saved her life before he took her into the Taylor Family.
Not long after that, Cameron visited the Taylor Residence and demanded Madeline to be given back to her, only to be turned away by Dan. Although Dan was just a little brat at that time, his superior status as the Taylor Family’s second son gave him an absolute advantage over Cameron who was a woman abandoned by the Colt Family.
Thus, Dan easily won their hostile encounter hands down. Furthermore, Dan was not someone to be trifled with, not to mention his courage and fearlessness. Therefore, neither of Cameron’s tricks worked against Dan. In fact, Cameron was always the one who ended up on the losing end every time she clashed with Dan.
After several defeats at the hands of Dan, she eventually came to realize that she was no match for Dan and was unable to take Madeline away from the Taylor Family. Then, when Dan threatened to make Cameron suffer should she ever mess with Madeline again, she finally gave up the idea of coming after Madeline and decided to leave her alone.
Although Madeline’s subsequent life in the Taylor Family wasn’t exactly a cozy one either, she managed to survive and even gave birth to two sons. Therefore, she had no doubt that she would have died a long time ago if Dan hadn’t saved her or taken her away from Cameron. Because of that, Madeline couldn’t help but find Cameron’s words absurd when she tried to claim credit for raising her up. How funny!
Soon, Crystal was pulled away by the warden as the latter restrained Cameron on the chair and politely said, “Mrs. Wendel, I sympathize with your situation, but I need you to stop acting violently. Otherwise, there will be consequences for me.”
Crystal took a deep breath and suppressed her murderous urge, apologetically smiling at the warden. “My apologies. I shall keep a cool head right now.”
The warden reacted with a silent smile, knowing the laws of karma better than anyone due to the nature of her job. Since she was able to empathize with Crystal’s situation, she reckoned she might even overreact more dramatically if she was in her place.
In the meantime, Madeline patted Crystal’s arm and walked closer to Cameron, sitting down opposite her. “I’m not your daughter. My father’s name is Michael Wendel, and my mother’s name is Crystal Taylor. I’m the daughter of these two people, not yours.
Your daughter’s name is Angie Wendel, and she has now been sent to the Colt Family by my parents…” She then looked Cameron in the eye with a smirk. “Your biological daughter, Angie Colt, is now in Dusktown. Has she ever bothered to visit you here?”
“How dare you, Madeline?!” Cameron felt so mad that she wanted to rise on her feet, only to feel pressure on her shoulders as the warden made her sit back down.
“Behave yourself!” the warden yelled.
Meanwhile, Cameron struggled to suppress her anger despite the overwhelming pain, and her eyes nearly blacked out. At the same time, she clamped the table with her hands while glaring at Madeline like a hungry beast. “How dare you treat my daughter like that?! You…”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Madeline raised her eyebrows and looked at Cameron. “I belong with my parents while Angie belongs with Xander. Isn’t it right for her to return to the Colt Family?”
“You… How could you?!” Cameron was speechless, unable to dispute the fact that Madeline just pointed out. She then turned her attention to Michael and Crystal before shouting at them, “Both of you! Where is your conscience?! Angie has been treating you both as her parents for the last twenty years, so how could you two just abandon her like that? After all these years that you all spent together, don’t you love her at all?! Are you people even humans?!”
In fact, Michael and Crystal’s love for Angie still remained within them before they met up with Cameron, but after the conversation they just had, their love for Angie simply faded. In that instant, Cameron began to feel worried that Michael and Crystal would extend their grudge to Angie because of their personal vendetta.
Deep down, Cameron was counting on the couple to treat Angie better so that her wish could come true. If they can treat Angie as their own daughter, I’m going to be so happy, but why would they want to make me happy now? At that moment, Cameron realized there was no way Michael and Crystal would grant her wish after the wicked and intolerable things she had done. Oh, dear! They’re going to make sure I suffer as much as possible until the day I die.
