Chapter 147 Unfamiliar Faces
Harper felt it hard to refuse him, so she agreed to keep in touch by phone. After Keith left, Harper called a car and went straight to the cemetery.
The rural cemetery was less organized than those in the city. It was filled with mounds of earth. However, Harper had spent extra money to erect a tombstone for Delaney.
When she saw that Delaney's tombstone had been splashed with red paint, she was so furious that she trembled all over.
She found a family living next to the cemetery and asked if they knew what had happened.
The family didn't know Harper but recognized Delaney. When they heard Harper was her granddaughter, they told her that it was a resident who had done it.
They had heard that Delaney owed money to a man named Connor Reed. They had tried to stop him from splashing the paint, but he was a thug, and they didn't dare say much.
Harper had never heard of Delaney owing anyone money. She was furious, but the immediate priority was to clean the tombstone.
She borrowed some tools for cleaning paint from the family, knelt in front of Delaney's tombstone, and scrubbed it carefully while tears streamed down her face.
She controlled her emotions and quietly vowed, "Delaney, I will find out the truth for you."
After everything was cleaned up, Harper left $2,000 with the family to ask them to help look after Delaney's grave and to call her if there were any issues.
The family was, of course, happy to oblige. They were living there because they were poor.
She then asked for Connor's address and went to town to find him.
However, before she could find him, her neighbor Seraphina called to inform her that a lot of people had gathered at her house to demolish it, and the landlord who had bought the house had also arrived.
Harper rushed over.
When she arrived at the old house, a large crowd had already gathered, and even the police had been alerted.
The landlord, Samantha, looked displeased when she saw Harper. She said, "Harper, we're all neighbors. When your uncle wanted to sell the house, we bought it. And we rented it to you. We didn't expect you to conspire to deceive us. We can't rent this house to you anymore. Explain to everyone that this house has nothing to do with you or your uncle anymore, please."
Harper was stunned. She didn't understand why they were accusing her and her uncle of deception. It wasn't true.
Since the incident at the hospital, where Thorne was detained, she hadn't seen him.
Just as Harper was about to ask what was going on, she was grabbed by her hair and dragged to the ground.
"Stop talking nonsense and pay up."
The police were maintaining order and stepped in to stop the violence. "Let's talk this out. There is no need for violence."
The landlord called the police because these people were making trouble in the house she had bought. She showed them the property deed, but they still wouldn't leave.
Harper looked up and saw that the person who had grabbed her was the thug described by the family living near the cemetery, Connor.
She was immediately furious and demanded, "Was it you who vandalized Delaney's grave?"
Connor showed no remorse and shouted, "Yeah, I did it. If I hadn't, would you have come back? You bitch, you and Thorne conned us. That money was our savings for retirement."
At this point, a police officer named Brandon Mitchell explained to her that Thorne had recently come back with a luxury car, claimed he had made a lot of money, and persuaded the villagers to invest so they could all profit together.
He had even confidently used the house as collateral.
No one knew that he had already sold the house, and since Harper had rented it, no one suspected anything.
Now Thorne was missing.
So everyone assumed Harper and Thorne had conspired to scam the villagers.
This was a civil dispute, and since the money had been willingly given to Thorne, Brandon explained that they needed to find Thorne.
But Thorne had long disappeared, and everyone was blaming Harper.
Brandon tried to mediate and ask everyone to talk things out and not to hold Harper responsible, as Thorne's actions had nothing to do with her.
Some villagers didn't understand and asked Brandon if they would get their money back if Thorne were caught.
Brandon looked troubled and explained, "If Thorne hasn't spent the money, then yes. But if he has, and he can't repay it, he'll go to jail, but your money will be gone."
Immediately, the crowd erupted in wails.
Many of them were elderly and had no means of earning money. Now that their money was gone, they wouldn't afford daily expenses soon.
An older woman named Grace Reynolds was rolling on the ground and crying. This was all their hard-earned money.
Harper finally understood the situation.
Although Thorne had scammed the money, the misunderstanding arose because she had rented the house.
She asked everyone, "How much money did Thorne take from you?"
Hearing this, everyone felt hopeful. They knew Harper worked in Northfield and was a college graduate, so she must be successful.
They all took out Thorne's notes. Harper estimated that about twenty households had been scammed, and the money Thorne owned totaled nearly $400,000.
Because she had left for school early, she only recognized a few of these neighbors.
But most of them were dressed plainly and looked honest, and they were clearly hardworking people who had painstakingly saved tens of thousands of dollars for their retirement, only to be tricked by Thorne.
Harper pursed her lips and said, "Everyone, I'll help Thorne repay this money, but if he tries to scam you again in the future, it has nothing to do with me."
Brandon said, "Don't worry. Thorne's case has been reported and informed in town, and no one will be fooled again."
Someone smiled and said, "Alright, then go get the money for us now."
Harper felt a bit troubled. "I don't have cash right now. I'll need to go back to Northfield, sell my house, and raise money for you."
Her apartment still had a mortgage, and after paying it off, she estimated she would have about $280,000 left. She would have to repay the rest slowly through her job.
Hearing this, everyone became unhappy.
"You promised to repay the money, and now you're saying you need to go back and sell your house. Are you trying to trick us?"
Connor heated the argument as he said, "She's family with Thorne. I think she's a scammer, too."
This made everyone agitated again, and they wanted to push her around. Even Brandon couldn't stop them.
Seeing the chaos, Harper found a small stool, stood on it, and shouted, "Stop."
Everyone quieted down and looked at Harper.
"Could you get the money by shouting?" Harper looked at them. "Since I promised to help Thorne repay the money, I won't go back on my word."
Harper's fair and pretty appearance made her stand out from the people in Silvercrest, and her words carried some weight.
Grace said, "Then you need to give us a definite date. How long will it take for us to get the money?"
Harper apologized, "I can't give you an exact date, but I'll do it as soon as possible."
Selling a house wasn't something she could do immediately. Even if she sold it, she would still be short about $150,000, which she would have to repay slowly through her job.
Connor added, "I told you she's tricking you. Don't think she's pretty, so she won't lie. Once she goes back to the city, she'll disappear."
The room, which had been calm, became noisy again.
Harper noticed that Connor deliberately stirred up trouble every time, but he hadn't shown any IOU.
She questioned, "Did Thorne borrow money from you?"
Connor replied, "Of course he did."
"How much?"
Connor's eyes flickered, and he said, "One hundred and twenty thousand dollars."
Harper didn't believe him. She remembered the man near the cemetery saying Connor was lazy and probably didn't have $120,000. He was likely trying to extort money.
"Where's the IOU?"
Connor couldn't produce an IOU and said, "I don't have one, but I'm telling the truth."
"Just because you say it, does that make it true?"
Harper looked at Brandon and said, "He splashed red paint on Delaney's tombstone. I took pictures of the scene, and there were witnesses. I'm reporting this to you now. Also, I don't think Thorne borrowed money from him. He's just trying to take advantage."
Connor was busted.
How could a lazy bum like him have $120,000? He just liked to make trouble and take advantage.
He was so furious that he ignored Brandon's presence, grabbed Harper's hair, and slammed her head against the wall.
Everyone was stunned.
Harper's scalp hurt from his grip, and as she was about to hit the wall, she instinctively closed her eyes to brace for the impact.
But instead of the hard wall, she felt a familiar presence.
Harper reflexively opened her eyes and saw Francis' chiseled jawline.
Her mind was still a bit foggy, and when she met his deep eyes, she thought she was hallucinating.
Why would Francis be here?
She instinctively stepped back, but he pulled her close and held her against him.
Connor was already subdued by Brandon, who had him pinned to the ground.
Brandon asked Harper, "Do you want to call 911?"
Harper felt a bit dizzy but was otherwise fine, so she said no.
Brandon was about to take Connor away when he looked at Francis and hesitantly asked Harper, "Do you two know each other?"
"Yes."
"No."
Francis and Harper answered simultaneously.
Instantly, Francis's expression turned visibly sour, and his hands clenched her so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He felt like he was just being foolish.
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