Karma Doesn’t Sleep: The Revenge Queen Rises novel Chapter 41

Amelia clenched her fists, nails digging into her palm as she forced herself to stay calm.

“Stop it!” Out of nowhere, little Timmy came charging over.

He shoved the housekeeper with all his might, his round cheeks flushed with outrage. “That switch is for scaring away ghosts! Is she a ghost? If she’s a ghost, then what am I? Am I supposed to be a little ghost too?”

Amelia stood stunned, watching Timmy spread his arms to shield her. Tears stung her eyes, and, just like that, all the hurt she’d been holding onto suddenly felt worth it.

“Timmy…”

“Timmy, you’ve got it wrong.” Mrs. Salmeron crouched down, pulling Timmy into her arms and trying to soothe him. “Lee isn’t hurting her. It’s just an old tradition to chase away bad luck. But if my precious boy doesn’t like it, then we won’t do it anymore. How about that?”

She cuddled Timmy close as she walked past Amelia, but not before shooting her a cold, unfriendly glare.

Amelia barely noticed. Her mind was stuck on the image of Timmy standing up for her. Her heart turned soft and melty, the pain inside her suddenly not so heavy.

Penny, who’d been happily playing with her doll on the couch, scowled when she saw her brother defending “that bad woman.” Hugging her doll tight, she hopped off the couch, stomped over to the little side room, and slammed the door behind her.

She flopped onto the floor mat and grabbed her toy phone, quickly dialing Kristen.

Kristen picked up right away. “Hi, Penny sweetheart. What’s wrong?”

Penny’s voice was full of righteous anger. “Momma Kristen, my dumb brother! That mean lady who hurt you was getting what she deserved, and he actually tried to protect her!”

Kristen paused for a second, sounding a little helpless but gentle as always. “Penny, you can’t call her a bad woman. Amelia is your real mom. And that scratch on my hand—she didn’t mean to do it…”

“Kids always have the best instincts. Even Penny knows her birth mom isn’t any good!” Lena grumbled. “You’re too soft, Kristen. She hurt your hand, and you’re still defending her.”

Lena was getting more worked up by the second. “Honestly, Amelia is just shameless. After everything she’s done, how does she even have the guts to show her face and act all high and mighty? Has she forgotten—”

“Enough, Lena.” Kristen cut her off gently. “I know you care, but I don’t want to talk about the past.”

Lena let out a dramatic sigh, sounding both worried and annoyed. “You’re too nice for your own good. If Amelia shows up in R&D, I’ll make sure she regrets it. Anyway, everyone knows Salmeron’s heart belongs to you. It’s only a matter of time before you’re Mrs. Salmeron.”

Kristen just listened quietly, not agreeing or disagreeing.

Her eyes drifted down to her right hand, and a tiny, secret smile played on her lips.