The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

Sue and Ann exchanged a glance, then ran forward, grabbing wooden poles and joining the fight.

"Go!" Una shouted, and the other girls quickly followed suit. "Go!"

The entire scene turned into chaos. The villagers had the advantage in numbers, but they fought clumsily and without coordination. In contrast, Natalie's group worked together seamlessly.

On top of that, the village women were visibly shaken. It wasn't long before the battle was over, and Natalie's side had won.

Maverick lay pinned under Marcus' foot, and his face was pressed against the dirt as he continued spewing curses.

Marcus pressed down harder, and soon enough, Maverick could no longer speak.

The other villagers had all been subdued. Natalie turned to the crowd, stepping under the red flag as she swept a cold gaze over all the villagers present.

"Anyone else not convinced?"

Her voice was cold as she continued, "If you're not convinced, step up. I'll beat you into submission myself. The days of you lot playing petty tyrants are over. Are girls' lives worth nothing to you?

"They are your daughters, not your enemies. What gives you the right to treat them like this? Do girls have to be born inferior? Do they deserve to be belittled and discarded?

"And you!" She pointed at the group of women in the crowd. "You've been through this suffering yourselves. So why would you force your daughters to endure it too?

"Instead of hoping for a better life for them, you're dragging them into the same pit of misery. Is that your idea of being a mother? Having mothers like you is the real tragedy in their lives."

"Natalie!" Maverick yelled. "Stop pretending to be so righteous! We all know you're just training them to be your maids in the future."

Natalie laughed out of anger. "My maids? Are you serious? Before I came, what kind of lives were they living? And since I arrived, what kind of life have they had?

"If not for Lynette and the other girls, do you think we would've stayed and helped your village? Scum like you don't deserve our help."

Her words were blunt and sharp-edged.

Federrick had warned her about this place long ago. He told her that the men here were selfish and arrogant. They treated women as nothing more than disposable tools.

In some families, if too many girls were born, the younger ones would be thrown into the mountains or drowned.

Federrick had made it clear that there was no need to show mercy to men like these. That was why she immediately used force to suppress them after their first negotiation fell through.

When talking didn't work, a show of force did the job.

Now, things had simply come full circle.

But they hadn't fought for nothing. At the very least, the girls here had learned something. They had learned that men and women were equal.

That they were just as capable as anyone else.

That they could forge their own path forward.

Federrick had always been a kind man. He never sought anything in return for the children he saved. Who knew how many there had been?

He had only hoped that his kindness could be passed on. That every child he rescued would save themselves in turn.

Natalie had once been one of those children, rescued by Federrick from the Langley family. She knew better than anyone how hard it was to survive as a girl in a world like this. So she had never forgotten Federrick's words.

"Natalie!" Lynette suddenly stepped forward and dropped to her knees before Natalie. "Thank you for saving us. We don't want parents like these anymore."

"Lynette, Ann, don't do this!" Lorraine sobbed. "Maverick isn't all bad! Why are you listening to outsiders and turning against us?"

Lynette shook her head. "Mom, let me ask you this. Was it 'not so bad' when Dad got drunk and beat me?

"Was it "not so bad' when Martin messed up and blamed me, and though you knew I was innocent, you just stood there and let Dad beat me half to death?

"Was it 'not so bad' when Natalie came to collect herbs, and I was burning up with fever, but you still forced me to hand over Martin's share too?

"I had a high fever but still had to go out and pick herbs. I fell from the mountain and broke my leg, and what did you and Dad do? You didn't even care!

"Instead, you slapped me across the face and yelled at me for breaking my leg, for ruining my ability to make money for the family! If it weren't for Taylor, I wouldn't even have a leg anymore!

"He got me medical treatment, helped me catch up on my lessons, and even gathered herbs himself to cover for me. He never asked me for anything in return.

"But you?" Lynette's tears fell in

heavy drops. "You said that since I

broke my leg, I was useless and just

another mouth to feed. You told me I

was a burden, that I should never have

porn, and that I didn't

to exist.

"But Mom, do you remember what you did when Martin got sick?"

Lorraine froze. Of course, she remembered.

When Martin fell ill, she went door to door buying eggs and cooked homemade chicken soup to help him recover.

"That's... That's because he's a boy. Boys need to be strong! Otherwise, how will they study? How will they work?"

Her eyes welled up with tears. "This is just how it's always been! You're only complaining because you went to school. Letting you go was a mistake. Maverick was right. We never should've let you study.

"Ever since you started school, you don't listen anymore. You just want to leave! How do you know that Natalie and her people are good? What if they take you away just to sell you somewhere else?"noveldrama

Lynette didn't argue anymore. She simply took the hoe in front of her and placed it on the ground. Then, she kneeled.

"Either you beat me to death today, or you take this 10,000 dollars and let us go. Once we leave, we'll be gone for good. No matter what happens to us, it will have nothing to do with you.

"This is the road we chose. Whatever happens, we'll bear the consequences ourselves. If you refuse, then we'll die right here."

Sue and Ann stepped forward and kneeled beside her. "Dad, Mom, we feel the same way.

"If you hadn't forced us into a corner, it never would've come to this. But since you keep pushing us to the edge, we have no choice.

"If we die, you won't get a single cent. You'll have nothing. Think carefully about what you want to do."

They turned to Natalie and the

tor

others, bowing in gratitude. "Natalie, thank you all. You owe us nothing yet you stayed in this place, spending your money, time, and energy just to teach us to read, to show us that there's more out there. Without you, we would've lived our whole lives like this.

"Natalie, we're grateful. But this fight isn't yours. You shouldn't have to suffer

because of us. You shouldn't have to deal with these people.

"So if they won't let us go, then we'll

die here. Leave if we die, and never come back. Let this place rot on its own. Let them cling to their precious sons and live out their miserable lives in this miserable little village."