Vera Xavier had originally intended to follow Zachary Preston’s advice. As long as Rona Langdon stopped causing trouble for them and kept to herself, Vera wouldn’t make things too difficult for her. But now, Rona was actually planning to raise hell at the hospital over the house in the compound. It was time to teach Rona a lesson she would never forget.

She whispered a few words in Jack Judd’s ear, and his eyes immediately lit up. He gave Vera Xavier a thumbs-up. "Brilliant! You’re something else, sis!"

Vera Xavier said coolly, "Cut the flattery. Get your people in position tomorrow, and don’t mess this up."

"You can count on me, sis!" Jack Judd said with a wide grin.

The next morning, Rona Langdon, along with Patricia Thompson, Jason Langdon, Taylor Langdon, and her two older sisters with their husbands, swept into the hospital like an invading army. They marched menacingly toward Zachary Preston’s room.

Other patients and their families stared at the spectacle, quickly moving aside to let them pass.

They all froze when they reached the door to the room. Standing at the entrance was Vera Xavier, holding an eight-inch-long watermelon knife. A table had been set up by the door, and on it sat several large watermelons.

This was not what they had expected. They had assumed that with the grandparents being elderly and Vera Xavier being just a delicate little girl, she would be an easy target.

But the scene before them told them that this time, Vera Xavier had come prepared.

Vera Xavier smiled when she saw them. "Mom, perfect timing. I was just cutting up some watermelon for Dad. You, my uncles, and aunts should all have a slice!"

Rona Langdon looked into her icy eyes and immediately remembered the last time Vera had taken a pair of scissors and shredded the clothes right off her body. She shivered involuntarily.

Patricia Thompson had never witnessed Vera Xavier’s tactics. Seeing how delicate she looked, she didn’t take her seriously in the slightest and immediately started cursing. "You little bitch! You’re heartless! Your mother went through hell to give birth to you, and you help that spineless loser bully her! Get the hell out of my sight right now, or don’t blame me for what happens next!"

Technically, Vera Xavier should have called Patricia Thompson "Grandma." But since she wasn’t actually Rona Langdon’s biological daughter, Patricia Thompson was hardly worthy of the title.

Vera Xavier looked at her with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "And you are, ma’am? This is a hospital. If you’re here to see my father, I must ask you to lower your voice so you don’t frighten him. If you’re not, then please go back the way you came. You’re disturbing the other patients."

Patricia Thompson was momentarily choked speechless, then she roared, "You disrespectful little brat! Are you blind? Don’t you know I’m your grandmother?"

Vera Xavier feigned a startled look and turned to Rona Langdon. "Mom, is she really your mother? How come I’ve never seen her since I came home?"

Patricia Thompson had always been cheap. She knew that if she visited the Preston Family to see Vera Xavier, as an elder, she’d be expected to give a customary first-meeting gift. Being completely unwilling to part with any money, she had never once visited the Preston Family after Vera came home.

Rona Langdon, for her part, had never considered Vera Xavier her daughter and would never have dreamed of taking her on a visit to her parents’ home. This was, therefore, the first time Vera and Patricia Thompson had ever met.

Rona Langdon hated her to the very bone. If it weren’t for the knife in Vera’s hand, glinting with a cold light, she would have already rushed forward to slap her.