The Unveiling of Secret Queen

Chapter 485: Nathalie Gets Angry - Part 1

Nathalie Quinlan knew he was stubborn and didn’t waste words with him, saying succinctly, "If you won’t tell me, I can find out. It’ll just take a little more time. Also, if you don’t tell me, I’ll tell Aunt Cagwin about the beating you got in here, which she probably doesn’t know about, right?"

Freddy Cagwin suddenly lifted his head, his swollen eyes looking toward her, biting his lip and inhaling sharply, "Don’t, don’t say anything."

Nathalie held a bit of a bandit air, her eyebrows raised, calmly looking at him, "If you don’t want me to tell your mom, then you tell me who did it."

After a few seconds of staring into her eyes, Freddy Cagwin admitted defeat.

He said dejectedly, "Nathalie, can’t you just let this go? I’m already in this state, I don’t want to drag you into it."

"Whether I’m dragged into it or not is my business, and I don’t think it’s an imposition if I say so."

She had owed Aunt Cagwin too much before; if it hadn’t been for Aunt Cagwin’s protection at the Quinlan family’s, she wouldn’t have been driven out by Emilia Sullivan, lost her job. Uncle Cagwin and Freddy had also taken good care of her before; anyhow, she never considered the Cagwin family a burden.

Isn’t living all about protecting the things and people you want to protect? She too had people she wanted to protect.

Freddy Cagwin couldn’t resist her, his voice embarrassed as he began, "Before, my mom and Uncle Quinlan came to see me. After they left, a group of thugs showed up. They gave me a bank card with a hundred thousand yuan in it and asked me to take the blame for this incident. I didn’t agree, so they started beating me. Later... they took out a photo of my mom and told me if I didn’t cooperate, they would go after her. I... have already signed."

After he finished, he felt quite distressed. He had been educated and knew what it meant to be caught by the police with contraband—it wouldn’t lead to a long jail time, but he would definitely have to spend some time in juvenile detention and it would leave a mark on his record. No university would want a student with that kind of record; his future prospects of attending university were already impossible.

Freddy Cagwin hung his head, not wanting Nathalie to see the pained expression on his face, and said in a low voice, "So Nathalie, just leave me be. You can’t change anything by getting involved, I... I’m fine. It’s just missing out on university, like you said, as long as a person is capable, academic qualifications are not the only path. Worst comes to worst, I’ll learn a trade and be able to support my parents in the future."

Nathalie pursed her lips, holding back the emotion in her eyes, "I’ve also told you that while university isn’t the only path, it is a stepping-stone to society, and if possible, you should still strive to attend."

"I know." He spoke as if he had expended all his strength, hunched over, his head nearly buried in the chair, not daring to look into Nathalie’s eyes, "I’m sorry, Nathalie, I let you down..."

In the end, he couldn’t withstand the threats. He wasn’t afraid of being beaten, but he was genuinely afraid of those people harming his family.

With those people bold enough to beat someone up in a police station, they surely had powerful backgrounds. His parents were just ordinary people, and with him locked up here, the choice between university and his parents’ safety didn’t require much consideration; he had already made his decision.

He wasn’t afraid of getting beaten, yet he didn’t dare to gamble with his parents’ safety!

Freddy Cagwin clenched his fists, his heart as tormented as he was resentful. Society was like that, survival of the fittest. He had taken a leave of absence to mix with society, hoping to grow up faster, but this time he realized there were chasms that ordinary people, no matter how hard they try, simply couldn’t cross, such as class...

There were some people who could simply flick their fingers and make others weep bitterly.

Nathalie watched his dejected expression, her lips twitching slightly, her restrained gaze seemed to hold a ferocious beast about to pounce.

"Heh."

She gave a cold laugh, her voice very calm, and said indifferently, "Alright, now I understand."