Yvonne Sutton grabbed a broom and chased Mrs. Sutton out, all the way past the front gate.

"You—you rude, ill-bred little wench! I’m your grandmother!"

Yvonne Sutton ignored her completely, turned around, and shut the main gate.

Mrs. Sutton couldn’t swallow her anger and stood outside, cursing nonstop. But the nastier her words became, the more the onlookers laughed at her, with some even mocking her directly.

"It’s because of a domineering, unreasonable mother like her that you get a morally corrupt son. And it’s that morally corrupt son who raises a troublemaking grandson. They’re all cut from the same cloth, really."

Seeing everyone pointing and whispering about her, Mrs. Sutton found it too humiliating to bear and stormed off in a huff.

For the next few days, the Sutton Family didn’t show up again. That changed when the police informed them of the specific compensation amount. The police explained that if they refused to comply, Wyatt Shaw and the others could sue, and the court would then order compulsory enforcement. Their bank accounts would be frozen. If the funds were insufficient, their house would be auctioned off. In short, this was a debt they absolutely had to pay.

Only then did the family realize the gravity of the situation and start to panic.

Around noon, Wyatt Shaw was cooking in the kitchen while Yvonne Sutton was watering the flowers in the garden. Sensing someone outside the gate, she went to take a look and saw it was Sandra Sutton.

She was hiding outside the gate, looking conflicted.

"Dr. Sutton," Yvonne said, looking at Sandra.

Before she knew that Sandra’s father was Chester Sutton, Yvonne had a rather good impression of her. She was optimistic and proactive. And while her medical skills weren’t great, she was willing to learn and endure hardship, which was an admirable trait.

Seeing Yvonne come out, Sandra panicked, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Miss... Miss Sutton, I..." She bit her lower lip hard, then bowed to Yvonne. "I’ve come to apologize on my mother’s behalf. Ever since I learned the truth, I’ve found it hard to believe that she and my dad would do something like this. And my brother... he was too reckless, too out of line. I apologize for him as well."

"You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no need for you to apologize on anyone’s behalf, and besides, I don’t accept it," Yvonne said flatly.

"I... we can’t afford to pay that much money."

"So?"

"Could I write you an IOU? Once I get a job at Seacliff Hospital, I promise I’ll pay you back in monthly installments."

Yvonne sighed. ’At her skill level, she’ll never get a job at Seacliff Hospital. And even if she did, after covering her living expenses, there wouldn’t be much left of her monthly salary. To pay back over a million... it would take forever.’

Of course, it wasn’t the money she was concerned about.

"Hugh Sutton is the main culprit who vandalized our car. Your parents are secondarily responsible as his guardians. Therefore, the three of them are the ones who should compensate us, not you."

"But I can’t bear to see my parents so worried and stressed."

"I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your IOU."

With that, Yvonne turned to walk back.

"Miss Sutton, I made these little cakes. I hope you like them."

Afraid Yvonne wouldn’t take them, Sandra placed the cake box on the ground and quickly ran off.

Yvonne stared at the pastry box on the ground, hesitating for a moment before walking over to pick it up.

During the meal, Yvonne kept looking at the box, her mind clearly elsewhere.

"Are you thinking of letting the Sutton Family off the hook?" Wyatt Shaw asked, placing a chicken wing in Yvonne’s bowl.

Yvonne sighed. "When I was in college, my uncle crashed his tractor into someone’s strawberry greenhouse. It was winter, right when the greenhouse strawberries were ripe and ready for market. Winter strawberries are expensive, and he destroyed their entire crop. They needed one hundred sixty or seventy thousand in compensation. My uncle and aunt hid it from me because they didn’t want me to worry, but I found out when I called my cousin. My uncle’s family wasn’t well-off. They had already scraped together everything they had to put me through college and simply couldn’t come up with that much money."

"Back then, I was just like Sandra Sutton is now. I went behind my uncle’s back to find the owner of the greenhouse and asked if I could write him an IOU and pay him back after I graduated and started earning money. Luckily, the owner was on good terms with my uncle’s family, and he agreed. After I graduated, I moved to Seacliff, lived frugally, and finally managed to pay off my uncle’s debt in two years."

"You still need to hold them accountable," Wyatt Shaw advised. "Otherwise, they’ll think you’re a pushover and easy to bully, and they’ll keep causing trouble for you. You can ask for less—say, two or three hundred thousand. An amount they can afford, but only by scraping the bottom of the barrel. That’s the only way they’ll learn their lesson."

Yvonne thought about it and agreed. "Okay, let’s tell the police station and have them inform the Sutton Family."

She planned to call the police station the next day, but that very night, a fire suddenly broke out in the first-floor kitchen.

Yvonne Sutton and Wyatt Shaw rushed downstairs to fight the fire. Fortunately, an older woman on the first floor had noticed it quickly, so the blaze wasn’t too large yet. Moreover, a male tenant from the first floor had caught the arsonist. The culprit was clearly inexperienced, having lingered outside to watch the commotion after starting the fire.

When the lights in the courtyard came on, Yvonne Sutton and Wyatt Shaw saw that the arsonist was, unbelievably, Hugh Sutton.

He was still muttering curses, and when he saw them looking at him, he acted even more furious than they were.

"Don’t you dare frame me! I didn’t start any fire!"

The male tenant pried open his left hand and pointed to the lighter inside. "Then what’s this lighter for?"

"I... can’t I just hold it for fun?"

Wyatt Shaw was not a patient man, especially since Hugh Sutton had already provoked him once. His temper flared, and he walked over, kicked Hugh, and pummeled him with a few punches. Then he tied him up with a rope and fastened him to a tree by the gate.

The male tenant helped call the police, but before the officers arrived, the Sutton Family showed up.

They took one look at the scene and knew Hugh had caused trouble again. But seeing him tied up and injured, their anger immediately shifted toward Yvonne and Wyatt.

"How could you do this to a child? This is outrageous!" Chester Sutton spoke first.

Mindy Lynch was also overcome with distress for her son. "No matter what my son did wrong, you should have told us and let us discipline him."

Mrs. Sutton planted her hands on her hips, pointing at Wyatt Shaw and Yvonne Sutton. "You’d better apologize to my grandson right now! And not just apologize, you have to compensate him! Or I’m not done with you!"

This family was something else.

Thankfully, there was one normal person among them. Sandra Sutton yelled at her brother, "Are you insane? Coming here to set a fire? If it had gotten out of control and hurt someone, you would go to jail!"

Hugh Sutton was still defiant. "They were bullying our family! I wanted to burn them to death!"

Sandra slapped him across the face. "How did you turn into this?!"

Seeing her granddaughter hit her grandson, Mrs. Sutton immediately rushed over to shield him, even giving Sandra a shove.

"He’s your own brother! How can you be so clueless? Why are you siding with outsiders?!"

"Grandma, he committed a crime!"

"You shut your mouth! What’s wrong with a kid playing with fire? It’s not like anyone actually burned to death."

"By then, it would be too late!"

"You, get back home! This has nothing to do with you!"

Wyatt Shaw’s gaze turned icy as he looked at Chester Sutton. "My wife was originally planning to let you off easy, but she clearly underestimated the wickedness of your family. From now on, you don’t need to come looking for her. I won’t let her get involved in this anymore. I’ll be the one dealing with you from now on!"