Chapter 287: Is This Wretched Son of Mine Still Salvageable?
"Ooh, ooh, look! They’re fighting! They’re really going at it..."
Eloise Donovan and the others whispered among themselves as they snacked on sunflower seeds and peanuts, watching the spectacle.
"Oof, you can tell they’re family. He’s beating him for real—not holding back at all. You think we should go break it up?"
"Nah, let’s not. A father disciplining his disrespectful son—that’s considered fair game anywhere. It’s family business; we shouldn’t get involved as outsiders."
"Good point. So we just sit here and watch?"
"What else are we gonna do? Didn’t you see his own mother is just making a show of stopping them? She’s not really trying. I just saw her sneak in a couple of stomps on her son’s feet when she went to ’pull’ her husband back. She must be furious too."
"Whoa, Third Brother, you’ve got some sharp eyes. You even caught that?"
"Naturally. In our line of work, observation and focus are essential. If I want to, I can see every single thing that happens in this room."
"Yeah, right. Keep bragging." Hector rolled his eyes at his brother, then turned to call Arabella over. "Serena, come have some of this apple. It’s crisp and sweet."
"Yeah, yeah, and these sunflower seeds are great, too. They have that creamy flavor. The more you eat, the more you want."
"And this... and this one..."
Arabella Donovan’s eyelid twitched as she listened to them, but after glancing at the family still brawling in the distance, she thought for a moment, then took the apple her second brother handed her and took a bite.
Mmm, so good!
A few minutes later, after Arabella had been plied with a mountain of fruit and snacks by her family, Mr. and Mrs. York finally stopped, prompted by Mr. Lewis and his wife. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Mr. York looked apologetic. "Please excuse us. We’ve made a scene."
"Not at all, not at all. People aren’t machines. Everyone loses control of their emotions now and then. We understand completely."
The Donovan family’s understanding response only made the Yorks feel even more embarrassed.
They had acted on impulse in the heat of the moment. Now that they had calmed down, they realized how rude it was to come to someone’s home and start a-fight during the New Year—even if it was with their own family member.
At this realization, Mr. and Mrs. York exchanged a look and simultaneously shot a glare at their son, whose face was now black and blue.
"Master Donovan, we’ve already heard the whole story from Lewis and his wife. First of all, thank you. If you hadn’t helped solve the Lewis family’s issue, I’m afraid I’d be meeting the King of Hell right about now. You saved my life. If you ever need our help in the future, I, York, will be there without a second thought."
"You’re too kind, Mr. York."
"Then there’s my son. He’s been disobedient before, but never like this—unable to tell right from wrong, so stubborn... and certainly never threatening and talking back to his mother and me like he just did. I heard from Lewis that he’s like this because of a Curse Worm, and that you have a way to remove it."
"That’s right."
"If you remove the Curse Worm, will he go back to normal?"
Mrs. York looked at Arabella, her eyes full of hope, as if asking, ’Is my hopeless son even salvageable?’
Arabella fought to suppress a smile under their intense gazes, forcing her expression into a serious one. "Of course. First, hold him down. I need to go get something."
Arabella returned from the other room with a peculiar-looking incense stick. It was made from incense and cinnabar, materials Arabella had specifically asked Mrs. Donovan and Eloise to pick up for her when they were out shopping for the New Year.
When lit, it released a sickly sweet aroma, completely different from the incense Mrs. Donovan normally used for her daily prayers.
The rest of the Donovan family had already gathered around curiously while she was inside. The moment he caught the scent, Hector exclaimed in surprise, "This actually smells pretty good. A bit like that high-end perfume ’D-Brand’ released a while ago."
"It does. But I think this one is a bit subtler and more pleasant. It doesn’t get cloying like the D-Brand one does if you smell it for too long."
Arabella cringed. ’This is meant for a worm,’ she thought. ’Do you two really need to give it such a thorough critique?’
The two speakers were taken aback, their expressions turning awkward. The others couldn’t help but stifle their laughter.
Fortunately, Arabella’s attention had already shifted back to the York family, so she didn’t notice the strange reactions behind her.
"A few of you, help me hold him down."
The moment Arabella spoke, Mr. York and Mr. Lewis exchanged a look and quickly moved to pin Evan York down on the table.
Seeing this, Evan York began to struggle violently. The two grown men could barely hold him.
Waving a fruit knife that had appeared from nowhere, Arabella made a few threatening passes in his direction. "Hey, don’t move. If you keep squirming and my hand slips, I can’t promise I’ll be able to stop the bleeding."
The threat was undeniably effective. Evan York froze, not daring to move another inch.
Seizing the opportunity, Arabella made a lightning-fast cut across the back of his hand.
Blood immediately welled up. Eloise, reacting instantly, snatched a nearby nut dish and held it under Evan York’s hand to catch the drips, saving them the trouble of cleaning up a mess later.
The other Donovans stared for a second before giving her a unanimous thumbs-up.
Arabella couldn’t help but grin, quickly bringing the incense closer to the wound on the back of Evan’s hand.
In just a moment, the blood, which had been dripping steadily, seemed to suddenly coagulate and stopped flowing.
Everyone in the room clicked their tongues in wonder at the strange phenomenon, holding their breath as they waited for the Curse Worm to appear.
Before long, a bead-sized lump appeared on Evan York’s wrist. It traveled in jerky movements toward the cut, creating a trail of small bumps on the back of his hand.
"What the—" Seeing this, the hairs on Evan York’s arm stood on end. His eyes widened in shock, and he was about to scream when Mrs. York clamped a hand over his mouth, silencing him.
Soon, the thing inside the bump followed the scent and crawled out of the wound. Guided by Arabella, it fell with a PLOP into the dish Eloise was holding.
"It’s out! It’s out!" The curious spectators crowded forward, even shoving Evan York, the patient himself, out of the circle now that he was no longer needed.
Evan York: ??? ’Uh, hello? Do you people see what you’re doing? The victim is over here!’
"So this is the Curse Worm?" The crowd stared at the small, black, beetle-like insect in the dish. It was about the size of a fingernail and covered in blood. Along with their curiosity, they felt a bit of revulsion. "It doesn’t look much different from a regular bug."
"It was made from a bug. What did you expect it to look like, something from another species?" Arabella shot a look at her third brother for his flippant comment, then turned to the Yorks. "Where’d he go? The Curse Worm is out. Do you feel any discomfort?"
Only then did Mr. and Mrs. York realize they had pushed their son aside, and they hastily pulled him back into the group.
"I... you guys... UGH..."