After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 83: Doubts About Her Background

Judith Caldwell still didn’t know that the footage of her being taken away by the police two days ago had made the local news.

Claire Mercer’s interview had pushed her into the eye of a public firestorm.

The ensuing backlash had even made her a trending topic online.

She wore the same acrimonious, harsh expression as always, speaking with brazen confidence:

"Considering your circumstances, you should feel blessed to marry Mr. Bower."

"We’ve already made an agreement with Mr. Bower. There’s no room for negotiation on this matter."

At her words, Claire Mercer let out a soft chuckle.

’How dare she still try to marry me off to Mr. Bower?’

’Then again...’

The two of them had been at the police station for three days and three nights.

They had no idea what a huge storm the Mercer and Sinclair families had stirred up online these past few days.

Even Mr. Bower himself had been completely exposed by the internet’s sleuths.

The families of his three deceased ex-wives had even banded together to report him for suspected murder.

’Right now, Mr. Bower is probably still at the station being questioned.’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

’And Judith Caldwell is still delusional enough to think she can sell me to Mr. Bower?’

The thought almost made Claire laugh.

"Why don’t you go and find out what kind of situation Mr. Bower is in right now?"

Judith Caldwell was taken aback. "What situation? What’s wrong with Mr. Bower?"

It was only then that Oscar Mercer spoke up. "Mr. Bower was taken in for questioning by the police."

GASP! Judith Caldwell’s mouth gaped open.

"What’s going on? Why would he suddenly be taken in for questioning?"

Oscar continued, "The families of his three dead wives reported him together, accusing him of murder. They even produced the autopsy reports."

"All three wives had injuries from physical violence before they died, so he was taken in for questioning."

"Ultimately, this is all that little bitch’s fault."

"If she hadn’t spread the word online about you two trying to marry her off to Mr. Bower, why would anyone have thought to dig into his past?"

"And if no one had dug into his past, those three families never would have used the public outcry as an opportunity to report him."

The moment he finished, Judith Caldwell pointed a finger at Claire Mercer and cursed, "You’re nothing but a jinx!"

Oscar chimed in angrily. "Mom and Dad raised you, and this is how you repay their kindness?"

"Claire Mercer, I finally see you for what you are: a completely ungrateful snake."

"Don’t make it sound so noble," Claire Mercer said coldly.

"I was just a living blood bag your family raised for you."

"Have you lost count of how many blood transfusions I’ve given you over the years?"

At the mention of this, Oscar’s arrogant demeanor instantly deflated.

Claire, on the other hand, had been thinking a lot these past few days and had started to question her own origins.

"I’m quite curious now. Did you really just find me by the side of the road, or did you deliberately kidnap me?"

"After all, you and I, Oscar Mercer, have no blood ties, yet we share the same rare ’Panda’ blood type."

"And what a coincidence that you have hemophilia, bleeding uncontrollably from the slightest serious injury."

"How could it be such a coincidence? You just happen to pick a random child off the street, and she has the exact same rare Panda blood as your sick son."

"So... I simply don’t believe I was abandoned by my parents."

"You brought me to the Mercer family for a reason."

"As for my real identity, I’ll find out the truth myself."

The moment she spoke, the expressions on both Judith Caldwell’s and Julian Mercer’s faces changed.

They exchanged an involuntary glance, a single question echoing in both their minds.

’Could this little bitch have actually discovered something?’

’If the truth about what happened back then comes out, it won’t just be our family that’s ruined.’

’Even that personage in Caspian will likely be dragged into it.’

Claire Mercer took in every subtle expression on their faces.

’This made her even more certain that she hadn’t been abandoned by her parents.’

’There was, in all likelihood, a hidden story behind her adoption by the Mercer family.’

She would find the time to slowly investigate and confirm it in the future.

’If her parents really had abandoned her, and the Mercers just happened to find her, then she would simply consider herself an orphan from this day forward.’

But for now, the most important thing was to completely sever ties with the Mercer family.

’Otherwise, who knew who else they might try to sell her off to in the future?’

"Hurry up and sign the adoption termination agreement. I don’t want to waste any more of our time."

"From this day on, I, Claire Mercer, will have nothing more to do with the Mercer family."

Judith Caldwell snorted coldly.

"Hmph. If you want us to sign, fine, but I have a condition."

Claire Mercer frowned. "What condition?"

"You have to pay us back double for the cost of raising you all these years," Judith Caldwell said, looking completely justified.

"We can’t just have raised you for all this time for nothing, can we? We deserve something in return."

At that, Claire Mercer laughed.

"And how much, may I ask, does Mrs. Mercer expect me to pay?"

Judith Caldwell held up two fingers.

"Two hundred thousand?"

’Two hundred thousand would be manageable.’

’She had some savings, and if she took out a small loan, it shouldn’t be a major issue.’

But to her surprise, Judith Caldwell’s eyes widened as she snapped.

"Two hundred thousand for twenty years? Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?"

"You have the nerve to ask for two million?"

Claire couldn’t help but marvel at the Mercer family’s shamelessness.

’She did a quick mental calculation. The Mercers had spent two hundred thousand on her, at most.’

’Ever since high school, she’d worked summer jobs to pay for her own tuition and living expenses.’

’The Mercers had never paid for her to take any sort of extracurricular classes for hobbies or skills.’

’She ate their leftovers and wore the cheapest clothes from street stalls.’

’So two hundred thousand was truly the upper limit.’

However, she had thought it was already shameless enough for Judith Caldwell to ask for two million.

But she had still underestimated her adoptive mother.

"Twenty years, principal plus interest... twenty million. That’s not too much, is it?"

The comment made Claire laugh in exasperation.

’She had no idea where Judith Caldwell found the audacity to demand twenty million from her.’

She didn’t get angry. Instead, she just smiled faintly and said,

"Fine, but I have a condition too."

Judith Caldwell’s eyes widened as she demanded sharply,

"You dare to set conditions for us?"

At this moment, Julian Mercer spoke up.

"I’m curious to hear what this condition of yours is."

Claire said in a leisurely tone,

"Have Oscar return all the blood I’ve given him over the years, and I’ll give you your twenty million."

The moment the words left her mouth, Judith Caldwell’s breath caught in her throat. "You..."

Claire blinked at her. "I think that’s perfectly fair, don’t you?"

"I can’t have given him all that blood for nothing, only to get not a single penny in return, right?"

"Or are you saying your precious son’s health isn’t worth twenty million to you?"

With a dark expression, Julian Mercer stared at Claire and said,

"Claire Mercer, you’ve really grown some wings now."

Claire met his gaze, her own expression unyielding. "I’m just finally seeing reality for what it is."

"Just hurry up and sign the termination agreement—"

Judith Caldwell interrupted her. "In your dreams! Don’t think you can just walk away from this unscathed."

"Fine. Then I’ll take legal action."

With that, Claire didn’t stay a moment longer. She turned and walked away.