Chapter 5 Shannon Shows Up

"Since you know that I've cut off my relationship with the York family, I hope you won't disturb my peace anymore, Madam Kissinger." Celeste smirked as she ended the call.

By the time she returned home, it was already the next afternoon.

Unsurprisingly, Shannon was there blocking the way to the door.

Frowning, she went straight to the point and asked, "Celeste, what exactly do you want?"

She didn't bother to keep the customary elegance that she used with others.

"You know what I'm doing. I'm simply taking back what's mine." Celeste regarded Shannon flatly. "Go away. It doesn't do well to just stand there like a traffic cone."

"Taking back what's yours? You've already cut off your relationship with Father. What does the York family have that's yours anymore?" Shannon's tone was ruthless. "I'm warning you. Don't keep hanging around Damon. He's now my fiancé."

"Your fiancé? What a joke. I still have the marriage agreement Mr. Bishop Senior wrote. How did Damon become your fiancé now?" Celeste responded.

When she thought about it from an unbiased standpoint, Damon was simply too cold and quiet.

He wasn't Celeste's type, as she preferred the sunny, boy-next-door type. But none of this mattered.

As long as Hannah and Shannon were unhappy, Celeste would be happy.

Outraged, Shannon started hurling threats. "Celeste, I became the York family's only heiress over a decade ago.

"If you're smart, you'll leave Taverdale as soon as possible. If you do, I can give you some money for your dying brother's medical fees," she continued.

"If not, I'll make sure no one ever finds your body."

With a loud smack, Celeste slapped Shannon in the face.

The words "dying brother" cut like a knife in Celeste's heart, winding her up.

"If you dare talk about Caleb like that again, I'll kill you immediately." Celeste grabbed Shannon by her collar and forcefully shoved her away. "Get lost!"

…

After she chased Shannon off, Celeste finally went into her home.

She couldn't stay here for too long, or Hannah and Shannon wouldn't let her off.

As she thought this, she turned her computer on.

"Hannah, Cel's still studying abroad, and Cal's in bad health. If you're upset, you can take it up with me. Don't give my kids any trouble."

Deep in an unassuming folder in her hard drive was a voice recording of a phone call between her mother and Hannah.

"What if I want you to die?" Hannah sounded like a devil.

No matter how often Celeste heard this clip, she was always frightened by it.

Her mother's voice was tired and weak as she said, "I'll do anything as long as you let my children go."

"Aunt Sylvia, I'll make sure Mom takes good care of Cal as long as you keep your promise." That was Shannon's voice.

What came next was a lot of noise. And then the call cut off.

Celeste clenched her fists.

Her father and mother, Henry York and Sylvia Belasco, were married before Hannah came into the picture.

Together, they started a business, and it slowly grew.

But then, as the business started thriving, Henry got into a relationship with Hannah.

Sylvia had been pregnant with Caleb, Celeste's younger brother, when Hannah moved in.

Hannah came with her daughter, who was only a year younger than Celeste.

Prideful and egoistic, Hannah had chased the pregnant Sylvia out of the York family.

Henry wasn't a kind man. After Caleb was born, he never came by to see them once.

Throughout most of her pregnancy, Sylvia had been depressed.

When Caleb was born, he was diagnosed with a defect in his heart. His condition never improved even though a lot of money was spent on his treatment.

From the age of five, Celeste never saw her father again.

As for Shannon, she became the York family's "only" daughter.

Even then, when Celeste became the top student in the city, no one thought she had anything to do with the York family.

"Mom, I'm going to make them all pay." Celeste gritted her teeth.

After her mother's passing, Celeste paused her studies and came back to the country.

The first thing she did then was to sever ties with her father.

After all, she had always been looking for an opportunity to do so.

And she finally managed it.

For the past few months, Celeste had been serving drinks at a club owned by Megan's family.

She worked harder than most. Her earnings from the alcohol sales amounted to a few tens of thousands of dollars.

But due to Caleb's condition, her money flowed away like water.

And thus, she never had any savings.

Her body ached painfully, and Celeste felt like her limbs were going to fall off.

But still, she had to endure it and head to the club tonight.

As soon as Celeste came in, she was immediately given a uniform and a tablet for taking orders.

"Cel, you're finally here. Mr. Bradley has asked for you to recommend him some drinks," said Amy Shaw, the shift supervisor.

"Can someone else take over?" Celeste rejected instinctively.

Camden Bradley was famous for his playboy ways. He was the kind of person who would stop thinking upon seeing a beautiful woman.

He'd been fussing about wanting Celeste to serve him a few times, but Celeste always managed to hide from him.

"Mr. Bradley said that he'll tear this place down if you don't go. He's a menace. There's nothing he won't do," Amy said in Celeste's ear.

"Just do it for Ms. Schultz's sake, Cel," Amy pleaded.

"Alright, I'll head over." Celeste relented. She had run out of excuses to turn the job down.

It was fine. She wasn't scared of dying, so she could probably handle this unruly womanizer. Right?

Celeste took a deep breath as she put on her uniform in the changing room.

She took the wine list and knocked on the door of Camden's private room.