Chapter 123: Enraged (1/2)

They immediately started a patdown, looking for that pouch filled with coins and paper notes that they desired so much they were willing to kill in exchange for it.

But alas, they found nothing. Indeed, there was a pouch strapped around Charlotte's knees covered by her clothes, but it had nothing inside of it.

”Shit, there's no money in here! Did you lie to us, Viktor?!”

The gang members glared at Viktor's direction.

Viktor, the landlord trembled, ”Impossible! She must be loaded with money! How else can she afford ice cream and chicken every day? It doesn't make sense that she has no money but can still eat those things!” Viktor's words were said out loud in a desperate tone.

The gang members agreed to what he had said.

Viktor's words made sense, but that didn't matter at all for the gang members. They came here for the money and if there was no money to retrieve from this pair of mother and daughter, then they will claim their well-deserved money from Viktor, the landlord.

If he was able to pay, then they will let bygones be bygones, but if he was unable to cough up at least the minimum that they needed...

Then, he would most likely pay for the trouble that he caused them with his life.

Viktor knew this far too well so he approached Charlotte and sent a slap directly across her face.

Smack!

”Bitch! Where did you hide the money!” Viktor cried out loud.

His face became distorted with desperation.

Money?

Did they come here for money?

The cogs in Charlotte's mind madly spun. How did they know that we have money? She was secretive whenever she went out of the house and the reason why she didn't buy any brand new clothes was that she didn't want anyone to know that she had a lot of money.

Declaring that you have a treasure in the middle of a sea of thieves was tantamount to suicide.

Charlotte knew that at the least, so whenever she went out. She tried her best to hide the pouch containing the money that Calvin gave to her a few days ago.

She knew that she was being cautious, so how did these people know that she had a lot of money in her?

Charlotte gnashed her teeth.

She saw that her daughter was currently underneath the knee of a gang member.

Biting her lips, tears welled up in her eyes as she said, ”No! I don't have any money! What are you talking about? I don't have anything with me!”

”Don't play dumb with me, you bitch! Did you already forget that you paid several months of rent in advance? It's obvious that you have a lot of money, so don't bother acting stupid or else, I'll cut your tongue out!” The landlord, Viktor threatened with a ferocious look on his face.

”Yes... I did... pay for... rent several months in advance... but that was all the money that I had...”

Charlotte was struggling to breathe.

She was being pinned down underneath a gang member's knee. She tried to struggle, but she discovered in horror that the more she struggled, the more painful it became for her to breathe.

The gang member whose knee was on her chest lifted a smile on his face.

His interest was piqued, ”How did you get that much money in just a few days anyway? Did you go to the Southern Borough and whore your body out there to a random noble?”

The gang member's expression was kind, but the force he was using while pinning Charlotte onto the ground was gradually becoming stronger.

Charlotte felt intense pain on her chest, but she endured it all as she answered, ”No... I didn't manage to snag a noble, but... I spent... I spent the few days doing it with... anyone... that can pay...”

Charlotte wanted to deny their accusation at first, but realizing that it was a huge opportunity to derail the topic from any mention of Calvin nor anything about him.

She made it so that these gang members would think that the reason why she got so much money in a short amount of time was that she sold her body out there to the masses.

A look of disgust quickly appeared on the gang member's face. To be honest, he had some desire for Charlotte. A woman with such fair skin was quite rare in Ashmelion. But to think that she was already used by those disgusting bastards from the Southern Borough.

The gang member's desire for Charlotte immediately deflated.

As for Cecilia, these gang members had standards. They have their own principles and morals, so even for them, it would be far too despicable and inhumane if they pounced on such a little girl who probably couldn't even understand what was happening at this moment.

The gang members looked at each other and decided. Once they got their money, they would immediately leave and wouldn't cause any further harm to this mother and pair duo. But of course, the condition was that they had to get their money's worth. If not, then their plans might change...

Viktor furrowed his eyebrows out of frustration. The other gang members were doing their best, some even dug into the damp muddy floors of the small hut, yet they still couldn't find the money that they were looking for.

The gang members then made a sidelong glance at Viktor.

Viktor gnashed his teeth and he was about to say something when one of the gang members beat him to the chase.

”Are you sure that you've used up all the money that you had after paying several months of rent in advance?” The gang member who looked to be a middle-aged man had a wide smile on his face.

The smile was kind in nature, and one would feel refreshed when looking at his smile.

But Charlotte knew that the more kind-looking a despicable person was, the more dangerous they were.

Staring at the smile on the gang member's face, Charlotte felt insecure and afraid.

She didn't know how to answer the gang member's question. His tone of voice was confident and his sentence was short and concise enough that Charlotte couldn't find anything in his words that she could exploit like what had happened earlier.

Should I tell him the truth...?

Charlotte thought to herself.

No... I can't...

Once they knew that I still have a lot of money, then they will definitely not let us go!

But what will happen if I told them that I had no money, but they already knew that I still have a lot of it?

Will they kill me?

What should I do...

Tears threatened to fall down Charlotte's eyes.

”You don't have to worry about anything... We just need the money... We won't do anything untoward against you and your daughter so long as we got what we wanted. But if you remain so uncooperative, then...” The gang member brandished a sharp knife in front of Charlotte, and he dragged it across Charlotte's neck, drawing blood in the process.

He then licked the blood from the blade and smiled, ”We would be forced to do something that we do not want to do...”

Charlotte's pupils constricted.

She immediately dropped all pretenses and confessed, ”Yes... I still have a lot of money...”

Her words rang like a firecracker inside the small hut.

”See! If you just told us earlier, then everything wouldn't come to this!” The gang member's smile deepened, ”Where is that money, then?”

Viktor's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Viktor was a middle-aged man who looked like a mountain of fat.

He stood there, shivering in excitement and the fat on his chin trembled like soft-served ice cream or pudding, ”You bitch! You should've said that earlier, then everything would've been over already! Just tell us where the money and we'll go now!”

The landlord, Viktor had no remorse whatsoever about what he had done.

Was he not afraid of being sued by Charlotte? Well, of course, he was afraid of being sued. But lawsuits in Ashmelion were incredibly expensive to make since it required not only several documents but also the cooperation of a lawyer whose services had exorbitant prices.