Shining Through the Chaos with My Bulldog
"Who's getting arrested?" Tiffany jumped at the sudden voice. The key she'd just found slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor. She didn't bother picking it up. Spinning around, she stared in shock at the person on the stairs. "Natalie? What are you doing here?" Something seemed to click in Tiffany's mind, and her face turned sour. "Were you following me?" Natalie ignored her question and asked again, "Who did you say was getting arrested?" Tiffany eyed her warily. "The cops, obviously! You know what you did yesterday, don't you?" Natalie smirked. So this woman thought I stirred up some trouble and sent someone after me ... Turns out, she thinks I killed a cop and is just waiting for me to get hauled off to jail. Dream on. Natalie said, "If I'm about to get arrested, why are you running?" Tiffany's eyes went wide. "Who said I'm running? I'm just here to drop off some stuff for Braxton!" "Oh? So why is Braxton running?" "He ... " Tiffany was stuck. How was she supposed to explain that Braxton, thinking Natalie was about to get arrested, got so scared he packed up and bailed? How embarrassing! She puffed up and snapped, "Braxton owns a bunch of houses! He just moves around. What's it to you? "And besides, you still haven't answered my question. Why do you keep dodging and asking me stuff?"Only now did Tiffany realize she'd been letting Natalie lead the whole conversation. Natalie hadn't answered a single thing, while she'd spilled everything. She put her hands on her hips, trying to look tough. "Why are you here, anyway? Are you following me?" Natalie stayed calm. "Yeah. Got a problem with that?" "You—you're unbelievable!" Tiffany glared at her, feeling a tightness in her chest. "You beat me up so bad I'm covered in bruises, and I haven't even gotten back at you yet!" She rolled up her sleeve, revealing her arm covered in burn marks. Natalie raised an eyebrow at the scars. "Who says I did that?" "If it wasn't you, then who?" Tiffany snapped. "Braxton told me himself! He said you took advantage of me when I wasn't all there!"Natalie couldn't help but laugh. "Braxton said I did it?" That guy is something else. He beats up his own cousin and won't even admit it—just blames someone else? Tiffany thought Natalie was mocking her and shook with anger. "Natalie, what makes you so cocky? "You really think you can get away after killing a cop? The apocalypse is over—you're in big trouble now!" Natalie looked totally unfazed. "Oh, is that so?" Tiffany was speechless. So arrogant! Way too arrogant! Ugh! She's driving me crazy! Tiffany felt like she was throwing punches at thin air—no matter what she said, nothing landed. Natalie watched her get all worked up and suddenly knew exactly how Tiffany should be taken down. She grinned to herself, but her face turned serious. "The apocalypse really is over. The government even announced they'll be giving out relief money to survivors of the flood." "What?" Tiffany was completely thrown off. When did that happen? How come I never heard about it? But Natalie looked so serious, Tiffany couldn't help but ask, "Really? They're giving out money?" Natalie nodded. "It's true. And the government said if your house was illegally occupied, you can claim ten times the rent and damages." Tiffany's eyes lit up. Natalie watched her, as if she'd just remembered something. "That's right, your place—Unit 802—was taken over by the neighbor downstairs, wasn't it? You're about to hit the jackpot." Next door in Unit 702, Roderick listened with a confused look. What is Ms. Ashford even talking about? There's no way the government would make an announcement like that ... Tiffany's brain had only just started working again, and now she was completely swept up in Natalie's story. She stopped worrying about old grudges and started doing the math in her head. My place was squatted for four months, rent's about ten grand ... so ten times is a hundred grand, plus damages and relief money ... Her eyes sparkled. She could finally buy that car! Natalie watched her get all excited and held back a laugh, but her mouth kept going. "Honestly, I had a reason for suddenly cutting you off before." Tiffany snapped her head up—she'd always wondered why Natalie turned on her and Braxton so suddenly. Natalie gave her a wistful look. "It was because I was jealous of you." Tiffany froze. "Jealous of me?" Natalie? Jealous ... of me? She couldn't believe it. What did she have that Natalie could possibly envy? Natalie said, "You know about the Holland Group, right?" When she mentioned the Holland Group, Cassian and Roderick—the CEO and his assistant—eavesdropping from Unit 702 next door, both froze in surprise.
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