Chapter 596: The Debt Collectors Come Knocking
Cecily looked over. "Nathaniel?"
"Try hitting up Aurelie, I can't get through to her." Nathaniel's gut was screaming that something was off.
"Same here, no luck." Cecily held up her phone, showing it was ringing but no answer.
Nathaniel's worry deepened. Aurelie dodging his calls was one thing, but ignoring Cecily? That was a red flag.
"Can you send someone to check on her in Detroit?" Nathaniel asked, already heading out.
He remembered Cecily personally seeing Aurelie off at the airport. She should've made sure Aurelie got on that plane.
But the scary part? What if Aurelie never got on that plane? What if she was snatched and in danger? There was no other reason for her to ghost them.
Of course, it was just a hunch. Maybe something went down after she landed in Detroit.
So, he asked Cecily to send someone to look for her in Detroit while he searched around Silver Frost Capital.
Cecily didn't waste a second and called Desmond, asking him to help find Aurelie in Detroit.
"Mom, what's up with Aurelie?" Griffin and Rowan, who had been quietly watching TV, noticed Cecily's stress and got worried too.
Cecily patted their heads, trying to calm them down, "She'll be fine, don't worry."
Aurelie was pacing around the house. Maybe it was because too much had gone down lately, and she felt this heavy sense of dread.
By now, she should've reached Vivienne and called Cecily to let her know she was safe.
After some thought, Aurelie picked up her backup phone and called Cecily. If she didn't call, Cecily would freak out.
But if she spilled what happened today, Cecily would freak out even more.
In the few seconds she hesitated, Cecily picked up, "Hello, Aurelie, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me." Aurelie replied.
Cecily asked, "Finally! What happened? Why are you using your backup number?"
Aurelie felt torn and paused for a few seconds before saying, "I didn't go to Detroit. I'm still at home."
"Why?" Cecily had thought maybe the plane was delayed or something happened in Detroit, but she never expected Aurelie hadn't left at all.
She had watched Aurelie board the plane before leaving.
"Did something happen?"
"It was the Kensington family. They detained me." Aurelie responded.
"The Kensington family?" Cecily murmured, suddenly remembering the weird guy who greeted her at the airport.
"What did they do to you?" Cecily asked.
"They didn't do anything to me. I can't explain it all over the phone. I haven't figured it out myself. I just called to let you know I am safe."
Cecily frowned, thinking about Nathaniel who had just rushed over to find Aurelie. "Nathaniel was just here, freaking out about you. You should hit him up and let him know about the Kensington family."
Aurelie's eyes flickered. Nathaniel was worried about her?
She felt a sense of absurdity. Seriously, what was going on today? It was like everyone decided to find her.
"Alright, got it. I have pasta cooking, so I'll catch you later." Aurelie hung up and headed to the kitchen to turn off the stove.
She had just made some pasta for herself. Even though she wasn't hungry, the baby inside her needed nutrition, so she forced herself to eat a bit.
As she scooped the pasta into a bowl, her mind wandered.
Cecily had just said Nathaniel was looking for her, and he was super anxious.
Was he freaking out because he found out she had lied and that her baby was still alive?
She felt a pang of nervousness.
The bowl slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor.
Startled, Aurelie stepped back. The hot pasta soup splashed onto her leg, causing a burning pain. The mess on the floor was still steaming.
The chaotic mess on the floor mirrored her current situation and life.
Suddenly, Aurelie felt like she was about to break down.
Joshua was dead, people were trashing her online, and the Miller family was trying to use public opinion to force her to take on a $200 million dollars debt.
The Kensington family had also come to her, asking her to spy on Nathaniel. She refused, which meant she had pissed off the Kensington family.
Now, Nathaniel probably knew about the baby, and he had never wanted to let her go.
It was just one thing after another. She hadn't even dealt with the first problem, and now more were piling up. When it rains, it pours.
Aurelie slowly squatted down, hugging herself tightly.
She felt very sad and tired but couldn't cry.
Sometimes, living was really a tough gig.
The security door was suddenly pounded on forcefully, startling Aurelie. She looked up.
The pounding continued.
She composed herself, stood up, and looked towards the door.
"Open up!" a rough voice came from outside.
It was chaotic. Besides the pounding, there were voices, sounding like a group of people.
They had been knocking for a while. Aurelie didn't know who they were. Alone at home, she didn't dare open the door or make a sound.
She tiptoed to the door and peeked through the peephole, holding her breath.
Outside were several burly men, along with Barbara, Nicole, and John.
These people were probably debt collectors, and Barbara and the others had deliberately brought them here.
"Is there anyone inside? You better not be messing with me," the impatient debt collector grabbed Barbara and questioned her.
Barbara was shaking like a leaf, pointing inside with a trembling finger. "We've been watching her. I saw her come back. She's definitely in there, just keeping quiet. If I wasn't sure, why would we bring you here and waste your time?"
The debt collector shoved Barbara aside and kept yelling, "Listen up, I know you're in there. If you don't open this door, don't blame us for busting it down and storming in."
Aurelie, alone at home with a bunch of burly guys outside, was freaking out, wondering how long her door could hold them off.
"Aurelie, I know you're in there! Open the door! You killed your father, and now the debt collectors are all over us. This is all your fault. Open the door!" Barbara screamed, her voice raw.
"You better make her open the door. If you can't pay today, I'll chop you all up," one of the men threatened.
Nicole, hiding behind Barbara, cried, "She's loaded, and her friends are too. If you just get her out, she'll find a way to pay you back, I swear."
John nodded like a bobblehead, "Yeah, go after her. We can't pay, but she can. If you get her out, you'll get your money."
"Then hurry up and get someone to open the door," the debt collector barked impatiently. "And don't think for a second that Joshua's death wipes out his debts. You're still on the hook for every penny, and if you try any funny business, you'll regret it."
"Yes, we know. The locksmith is on the way. We'll make sure she opens the door. Just wait a bit longer. She's inside, she can't run," Barbara tried to calm the agitated debt collector.
While waiting, Barbara kept threatening Aurelie from outside, "Aurelie, open the door. Do you hear me? If you don't open the door, when they break in, you'll be in even more trouble. You killed your father, and he left such a huge debt. Do you think you can escape?"
Of course, Aurelie wasn't dumb enough to open the door right now.
Facing such a menacing group outside, Aurelie was filled with panic.
The only thing stopping them from getting in was the security door, which was being kicked so hard that the door frame shook. It was clear how much force they were using.
At that moment, her phone rang.
Aurelie jumped in fright.
Without thinking, she grabbed the phone.
Nathaniel's voice came through, "Where are you?"
Aurelie clutched the phone tightly. The sound of the door being kicked continued, growing more forceful as if they wanted to break it down.
Nathaniel could hear the commotion on her end and asked urgently, "Where are you?"
Aurelie's voice trembled, "I'm at home."
"I'll be there soon. Don't be afraid," Nathaniel said, then hung up.
Aurelie blinked hard, quickly dialing 911.
After calling the cops, Aurelie clutched her phone, knowing she needed to stall.
She took a deep breath, found her courage, and marched to the door. "I've called the cops. You better leave. I cut ties with Joshua ages ago. His debt has nothing to do with me. I can't pay a cent. Staying here won't help."
Hearing this, Barbara was livid, her face twisted with rage. "Bitch, what did you say? I've never seen someone as shameless as you. You killed your father, and now you won't pay his debt, trying to dump it all on us. Are you even human? Open the door and get out here, Aurelie, get out here."
"If you hadn't tried to use Joshua's death to force me to pay his debt, he wouldn't have accidentally fallen to his death. Who are you calling a bitch? The ones you should be blaming are yourselves. All he dreamed about was getting rich quickly through gambling, and none of you three bothers stopping him. What a recipe for disaster! Who should you blame? I said I won't pay this debt. Don't think you can pin it on me." Aurelie's firm stance infuriated Barbara and the others at the door, who kicked the security door even harder.
Just then, Aurelie heard Barbara's voice, "The locksmith is here. Hurry up and open the door."
The locksmith, seeing the scene of a dozen people, including burly men who looked like gangsters, was hesitant.
"Are you the owners of this house?" the locksmith asked nervously.
"Yes, of course. The person inside is my daughter. She owes money and is hiding inside. Open the door for us," Barbara quickly pulled the locksmith to the door.
The locksmith, seeing the door dented from the kicks and sensing these people weren't the owners, hesitated, "You're not the owners, are you?"
The debt collector, seeing the locksmith's hesitation, grabbed his collar and threatened, "Stop talking and open the door, or I'll beat you up."
The debt collector raised his fist, his muscular arm looking powerful enough to crush the frail locksmith.
The locksmith trembled in fear.
He was just a locksmith, terrified by the situation.
His eyes darted around nervously, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I'll do it."
"Hurry up," the debt collector said, shoving the locksmith against the door.
The locksmith, trembling, raised his hand to the lock.
Barbara and the others sighed in relief, shouting towards Aurelie inside, "Aurelie, the locksmith is here. Hiding inside won't help. When we get in, you're done for."
Hearing the sounds at the lock, Aurelie's face turned pale, cold sweat dripping down her cheeks.
Aurelie swallowed hard, ran to the kitchen, and grabbed a kitchen knife, holding it tightly.
Suddenly, the sound of the lock being opened came.
Then, the door was kicked open, slamming against the wall with a loud thud.
Aurelie's heart pounded wildly as she saw the crowd of people pouring in through the door, making it impossible to stay calm.
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