Twenty-five

Rudi knew his income as CEO and the income from his restaurant were not much. But he didn't want to put himself down any more than this. His dignity as a father was gone.

"You think I will die without your mom's money?" Rudi said fiercely. He felt a little offended by the fact that Claudia's daughter dared to belittle him just because of his humble background.

Although he had started his restaurant business with Claudia's money, it had been able to bring him a considerable profit.

Renessa knew she had gone a little too far with her words but she knew she wasn't completely wrong. Uncle Jefri had shown her a recap of Rudi's monthly expenses. The data was obtained illegally but he only did it because he was worried about Renessa who looked unkempt and very thin.

The data showed Rudi's expenses were mostly sourced from the monthly money that should have been given to Renessa. Claudia had arranged for a sizable monthly sum until Renessa was 25 years old to be sent to a certain account every month. Since Renessa was still young and unable to manage her finances, Rudi as her father was given the responsibility to manage all the money.

It was actually Renessa's grandfather who was responsible for managing Renessa's finances every month but as he fell ill shortly after her mother's death, the five lawyers of the Pratama family decided that it was Rudi who would manage Renessa's finances.

Since living in the dormitory 11 years ago, the money Rudi had set aside for Renessa from her mother's savings was even less than 1% of the total monthly allowance given to Renessa.

While Renessa lived in poverty, Rudi used all the money inherited from his late wife to pamper Laura and Mary.

"That's it. I'll stop all disbursements from mother's estate until you tell me where mother's grave is," Renesa said fiercely before turning and walking away, leaving Rudi alone.

Rudi threw the glass ornament left on his desk at the closed door. Their conversation had really hurt his pride. He did use Renessa's money to have fun with Laura and Mary and although he proudly boasted about the restaurant's turnover and his salary as CEO, the amount from both jobs was nothing compared to Claudia's family inheritance.

Rudi had to say that he was genuinely surprised by the amount his wife gave him for Renessa's needs every month. But he became furious after realizing that his wife had not left him a penny despite having a fortune that would not run out even after the eighth or tenth generation.

Rudi smiled slyly, Claudia didn't know that after her death, her dear father would fall ill and be unable to take care of Renessa's finances so she dared to leave her that much money. If she knew the circumstances that Rudi was sending Renessa such a small amount each month, she was sure the woman would not be resting peacefully in the afterlife.

Rudi took a calming breath. He could hold on a little longer. In four years, the girl would be twenty-five years old, he had to be patient and wait when the time came to get rid of Renessa.

Claudia's will could only protect Renessa until the child was twenty-five. And after that, he would take over Renessa's finances and throw her out on the streets. The girl should be thankful he only threw her out on the street and didn't kill her.

**

Vina's face paled when Liam met her to deliver her salary in the afternoon. Liam also told Vina to leave the house immediately before Miss Mary and Laura came back. Vina's legs felt weak and she could only slump to the floor. She didn't expect to be kicked out of the Santoso family home. She didn't expect things to turn out like this.

Vina sobbed on the floor of her room, lamenting her tragic fate.

Liam looked at Vina calmly. He had expected this to happen sooner or later. Vina was overconfident and sometimes forgot her status as a servant just because she was favored by Miss Mary.

"Madam Laura also advised you not to try to get close to Miss Mary or she will report you for attempted murder. She also wants you not to talk any nonsense out there about the Santoso family," Liam said again after remembering Laura's message.

"Liam, then could you let me see Miss Renessa. I won't be long. I just want to apologize for what I did." Vina burst into tears. She was very sorry for what she had done. She didn't expect her mister and madam to finally dump her after all she had done for Miss Mary.

"You know there's no point in seeing Miss Renessa again, right? You should have apologized the first time she kicked you out and threatened to report you to the police, but instead you went to see Miss Mary. You know there's no point in seeing her now," Liam advised.

In the end, Vina could only lament her fate and walk away from the Santoso family home. There was no point in regretting her actions. She had no family in the city and she really had to start all over, maybe she could do that in other places.

The news of Vina's dismissal was the talk of the town at Santoso's house. No one expected that Vina would meet such a tragic fate. Some said that her luck had run out after using her for years. Some of the servants who had been victimized by Vina were happy that the woman had finally learned a valuable lesson from this incident.

From then on, the servants began to respect Renessa. They knew that although her presence was not well received by their madam and master, Renessa could influence their decisions. The servants who had underestimated her and cursed her behind her back with Vina could only remain silent after Vina's departure. They would not make the same mistake as the careless woman. They needed this job to support their families.

"Uncle Jeff!" Renessa ran up to the old man and hugged him, "Has it been that long?" Renessa asked as she sat in front of the middle-aged man.