1: Stealing the Agreement and the Guardian Rights

District 11, Yolo City.

A woman clad in black attire merged into the night. She leisurely sat on the balcony near the living room, listening to the conversation of the house owner and guests. 

Surprisingly, none of the people noticed her. They passed by her and even looked up, trying to peek at what the guests were up to. The woman was up there, blatantly eyeing them prying into someone else's business.

Most of the neighborhood was like that. Rumors kept their butts on fire; they couldn't even sit still. 

Inside the living room, a couple sat on the broken sofa. The sofa was covered with yellow satin, veiling the hole underneath. They felt uncomfortable but instead of complaining, they urged the lady host to state their intentions right away. 

“You see, we came to an agreement a month ago. My niece rebelled after knowing I arranged a marriage for her. That ungrateful brat had not seen your son, yet she immediately disagreed with my idea—”

“What do you mean? Just speak if your niece would be able to marry our son or not. If not, I'll take back the dowry I've given to you.” The woman with a wrinkled face and white hair furrowed her brows. 

She had golden accessories hanging on her ear, neck, and wrist. None knew if those were authentic gold. 

Vanessa Honey nervously wiped the cold sweat beading on her face. She already used 75,000 IB for paying their debt and purchasing luxuries. It was more than half of the total dowry they received. She and her husband got blinded with greed after having 100,000 IB at once. 

(A/N: IB - International Banknote. General Currency Worldwide.)

“W-we'll use any means to get that child to marry your son. We received the dowry after all. It's only right to abide by our agreement.” Vanessa appeased the old lady. Her eyes squinted as she forced a warm smile on her lips. 

'That brat, hmp!' Vanessa would definitely drag her to the court and marry that 50-years-old gambler! Since that impetuous niece of hers repeatedly disobeyed her strongly, she finally opted to use dirty tricks to juice out the remaining wealth of her brother-in-law.

The greed of human beings was fearsome. They could also use hideous schemes even to their blood relatives. One would eventually wonder if they really were.

“Mrs. Faustina, 15 is an auspicious date for marriage. I'll bring her at that time. Please be assured, your son will get married.”

“I thought your niece is still 17? She'll turn 18 in the next five months, won't it?”

“She is.” Vanessa nodded, then hurriedly explained, “But we can pay the judge to let them get into the ceremony.”

The woman from the balcony grinned evilly. 

What does her aunt want from her? 

She never thought that visiting her aunt would be fruitful. Her aunt’s blood should still be flowing within her. Who would have imagined that this night would be something good for the meeting?

Only her and Vanessa Honey. 

Her arrival here must have meant something. She believed in fate. She believed that someone was manipulating everyone’s life behind the scenes. 

Regarding the person whom her aunt wants her to marry, it was the popular idiot in the RMR or also known as the Regional Main Regiment. 

His name was Houston Rey Tiang, 55 years old, and the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Tiang. He was spoiled since he was born. His parents were willing to give everything for him. Eventually, having such kind parents instilled arrogance within him. 

If one failed to appease him, he would throw a tantrum in the Regiment Club. He’s also willing to spend rashly without care if he wins or loses. If he loses, well, he’ll just pay another person until he wins or until his money budget for the day vanishes. 

He would spend money just to win. Houston Rey was an overly competitive young man, earning him the title of the Foolish Gambler. As for how he was able to reach such an old age, the reason lies behind his foolishness.

He couldn’t care about getting a wife. Moreover, no one was willing to marry a sedentary old man. 

The only good thing about him was he had no other source of addiction. He was only filled with arrogance. He also let go of his enemies alive. 

The members in RMR both hated and loved him. Houston Rey was akin to a golden goose pooping golden sh*ts after all. 

Even though he was not totally bad, she would never marry him. She has her own dream. She promised herself to vanquish all the adversity coming on her way. She would destroy everything that dares to block her to achieve her goal.

“Persevere with Grit.” She would hold onto that proverb until she was dead.

“I’ll send you out, Mrs. Faustina.” Vanessa Honey's anxious voice was heard. She put down the tea and quickly stood up.

The seemingly quiet creak of the door was loud for the woman on the balcony. All the actions happening inside were loud and clear in her ears. But if it was someone in the same position as them, they wouldn’t hear it. Her senses were multiple times heightened than a normal person has.

Knowing they were getting down, she opened the wooden sliding door from the balcony and entered. Her actions were bold yet natural. She went together with the elements’ vibrations, giving her the most advanced camouflage skills. 

She roamed her eyes around. The traces of the meeting were still there. She could picture out their actual positions according to where the temperature was centralized. 

She only spent a short time surveying the surroundings before swiftly entering her aunt and his husband’s bedroom. 

She squatted down, grabbed an inconspicuous box under the bed, and opened it. The box was filled with money, but it was not her intention. Her aunt has been robbing her only source of funds since her father died. Even though she suffered unfairly, she didn’t mind giving it to them. 

It's not even half of her current wealth. 

She took out the money carefully. She was so relaxed; not even an ounce of nervousness exuded from her body. 

After a few seconds, the things she had been looking for came into view. 

There were three pages stapled together. One was handwritten, seemingly coming from a primary schooler. 

The woman’s face twitched with incredulity. She was the one who wrote it. Her English was also very bad when she was a child. Even the current her could not comprehend the details written there. 

Fortunately, she could still remember what her little self meant. Her aunt would hold onto her Guardian Rights and received the government’s grant for her in the meantime. When she reached the legal age, she would take back everything. 

Both of them signed her agreement with a thumb mark. 

However, how would her aunt know what her little self meant? Her aunt must have also forgotten the word “temporarily.” 

The second paper was printed neatly. The word “Guardian Rights” was typed using a bold font. It was an official document printed from the government office, signed by an official. There were only two copies of that in the world. 

One was for the guardian, and the other was in the hands of the government. 

Supposedly, she would get these papers five months later. However, Vanessa Honey was anxious about something. 

The woman could feel her aunt’s anxiousness and expectations. Vanessa Honey would also exude dreamy vibes that confused her. 

Series of footsteps resounded on the woman’s ears; her aunt's walking upstairs. 

She folded the papers neatly and tucked it inside her inner clothes. She calmly returned the money to the box, closed the lid, and returned it back under the bed. 

The woman walked calmly towards the door. 

“What are you doing there?” Vanessa’s voice was filled with indescribable rage. 

The woman continued walking outside the bedroom. She pulled the door open and glanced at her aunt. 

A playful smile printed on her lips. ‘I won, aunt.’

Her aunt was facing the balcony, calling someone. The wooden sliding doors were widely opened. The breeze of the air brought a cold gust of wind. 

Vanessa Honey failed to notice her niece’s appearance in her home. Moreover, she was oblivious of the robbery happening with her presence around.

District 12, Slums in Yolo City. 

The woman went back to her home in the slums. She stretched her hands as she did some stretching. The muscles she forced to relax in her body caused quite a strain on her body. 

She changed her pair of black clothing and wore pajamas, ready to sleep.

She looked around her previous home. It could be considered empty. Her previous home had only one item for each of the daily necessities. One cup, one plate, a pair of spoons and forks, one knife, one pot, a rug, and a circular primary schooler chair. 

Her eyes lingered on the chair. It was something her father bought for her when she was eight. 

Public schools lacked the resources to provide their students everything. Moreover, if resources were available, the private schools were the first ones to hoard them. The used and broken ones were left for them in the public schools. 

Bang!

Boom!

As she was reminiscing, she heard an unusual source of the sounds that snapped her back to reality. 

The woman frowned. 

Could there be a group of people fighting in the middle of the night?

--

International Banknote(IB) is an innovative currency for this story. It is equivalent to USD in current times. The currency of the world in the story is divided into two: Western Dollar and Eastern Dollar. Under Western are the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and North Antarctica. Under Eastern are the continents of Asia, Africa, and Australia. 

This is an edited chapter. Three first chapters are done editing while the next chapters will soon be edited.