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Considering the evil intentions Stanley harbored toward Joyce and the fact that he would
definitely not tolerate the existence of the baby she was carrying, Natalie was worried that
he would force Joyce to abort it.
Stanley's chauvinistic character made it impossible for Joyce to win in a direct
confrontation.
Warmed by Natalie's concern, Joyce replied with a smile, “I'm fine. Don't worry, Nat.”
“Are you sure?” Natalie furrowed her brows. She just couldn't put her mind at ease.
Joyce nodded. “I'm really okay. Stanley did find me here, but he didn't do anything.
Instead, he was hospitalized after being beaten up by my dad.”
Natalie choked on her saliva and took a few seconds to regain her senses. “Wait... Mr.
Rivers beat him up?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtNatalie's shock was understandable, for the turn of events was truly unbelievable.
She knew better than anyone else how much the Riverses feared Stanley.
Jonathan beating him up was something that exceeded her wildest imagination.
Joyce knew the reason behind Natalie's shock, as she, too, was equally taken aback when
her father struck Stanley.
Even though she had lost all the memories she had with Stanley and didn't know the
depths of her family's fear of him, she could tell how terrified her family was of him from
how she trembled upon hearing his name and the looks on her parents' faces.
The fact that her father could overpower his fear of Stanley and beat the latter up elicited
both shock and admiration from her.
“Yes, that's what my dad did. In fact, I suspect that if murder wasn't considered a crime,
he would have probably killed Stanley and put the matter to an end.” Joyce pinched the
space between her brows while letting out a sigh.
Natalie's lips pursed in response. “Don't ever think that way. If Stanley is killed, that's the
end of Mr. Rivers too.”
“I know. That's why I stopped him at the crucial moment and called for the ambulance,”
Joyce reassured Natalie.
Natalie let out a sigh of relief. “Good. Anyway, are you and Mrs. Rivers really sure that you
don't want to leave? What made you come to such a decision?”
Jonathan had called her earlier in the day. On the phone, he had still expressed his desire
for Shane to send men and help his family move, as Stanley had already discovered their
location and would arrive anytime.
Since he was the head of the family, his intention naturally reflected that of Caitlin and
Joyce.
However, now that both ladies didn't want to move, it was clear that the change of heart
had only occurred very recently.
Natalie wanted to learn the reason behind it.
Joyce hesitated for a few seconds before answering, “To be honest, there's nothing much
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to it. We just feel like staying and fighting him together.”
“Fight him?” Natalie cocked her brow. “Since when did such an idea pop into your head?”
“When I saw my dad strike Stanley.” Joyce followed with a sigh. “It's just as you imagine.
Stanley is rich and powerful, whereas we are nothing more than ordinary folks. Under
normal circumstances, there's no way we can go up against him.”
Natalie nodded, for those were her exact thoughts.
Joyce puckered her lips. “My family shared your sentiment at first, which was the reason
why we kept avoiding him as far as possible. As time went by, our fear of him gradually
snowballed to the extent of us believing that we didn't stand a chance against him. It
wasn't until Dad struck him down easily that I had an epiphany—he isn't as powerful as we
imagined him to be.”
“Huh?” Natalie felt that something didn't quite make sense, but she couldn't put her finger
on what it was.
Joyce sighed before continuing, “After discussing the matter with my mom, we decided to
stay. Since Stanley isn't as strong as we thought, I'm confident that we can resist him
together as a family. After all, despite all the power he possesses, he's still just one man.”
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