Chapter 534: Secret
"Storm Xavier was half-dead to begin with. What’s so surprising about that?" Raina said dismissively.
Patricia Jacobs sighed. "It’s all because of opium. I heard that Old Mrs. Xavier was the one who cured Storm Xavier’s addiction. That old lady is truly formidable. I’ve seen plenty of opium fiends before, and none of them could ever quit. They’d get as thin as a ghost and be dead within a few years."
"Old Mrs. Xavier’s medical skills are incredible, I’ll give her that. I’ve heard she’s cured many people. Maybe she has some secret remedy for kicking an opium habit," the village head’s wife speculated.
Phoebe Huxley scoffed. "Secret remedy? Do you have any idea how she made him quit? With a wooden club this thick..."
As she spoke, she made a circle with her hands the size of a bowl, saying with great exaggeration, "This thick... That old lady brought the club down and snapped both of Storm Xavier’s legs. He screamed louder than a pig at slaughter. I saw it with my own eyes."
She and Storm Xavier were from the same generation, though she was two years his junior, so she knew most of his business. The incident caused a huge stir at the time. No one ever thought Old Mrs. Xavier could actually be so ruthless. It stunned the entire population of Xavier Village.
The other women gasped. Even Raina found it hard to believe. "The old lady really broke his legs with her own hands?"
"Of course it’s true. I saw it with my own two eyes. Storm Xavier was eighteen back then, a total degenerate—drinking, whoring, gambling, you name it. The old lady had him dragged back from a casino and, in front of the entire Xavier family, broke his legs with her own hands. Then she set the bones herself, locked him in the ancestral hall for over half a year, and that’s how he finally kicked his opium habit. But ever since that day, Storm Xavier has been a man half-dead."
Phoebe Huxley spoke with great animation, and the others listened, completely engrossed. They all couldn’t help but sigh at the story.
"Old Mrs. Xavier really has a heart of stone. Her own son! How could she bring herself to do it? I know I never could!" the village head’s wife exclaimed, a hint of admiration in her voice. ’No wonder her family managed to keep such a vast estate. I can’t even hold a candle to her.’
Raina chimed in, "I couldn’t be that ruthless, either."
She might have come off as fierce and domineering, but if it came down to actually killing or maiming someone, Raina wouldn’t have the guts—let alone doing it to her own son.
Tang Xiaonan was secretly stunned. ’Another piece of juicy gossip! That old lady is an absolute beast!’
’And I’m sure Phoebe Huxley isn’t exaggerating. Last time at the Xavier residence, I saw Old Mrs. Xavier knock Storm Xavier out with a stool. Her speed, ruthlessness, and precision were not that of an ordinary woman. If the old lady is this decisive even now, she must have been even more fearsome in her youth.’
’That old lady is a true matriarch. What a badass!’
Phoebe Huxley hesitated for a moment, but she couldn’t hold it in. Her voice dropped instinctively. "Actually, I heard something when I was little..."
But Phoebe Huxley left the sentence hanging, making the others so antsy they stopped working and urged her to continue. Raina even gave her a playful slap. "Why do you always do that? Don’t start if you’re not going to finish! The suspense is killing us!"
"I just heard this from someone else when I was a kid, so I don’t know if it’s true. You all better not go spreading it around."
Phoebe Huxley’s warning only made everyone more curious. They all rushed to promise they wouldn’t tell a soul, and their earnestness made Tang Xiaonan want to laugh. ’She knew with absolute certainty that this story her mother was about to tell would be all over half the village before nightfall.’
’Still, she was also curious what Phoebe Huxley was about to say. It had to be a huge secret, right?’
"I heard back in the day that Storm Xavier isn’t Old Mrs. Xavier’s biological son..."
Before Phoebe Huxley could finish, Raina cut in excitedly, "You mean he’s not Anton Xavier’s son, either?"
’Could the old lady have cheated on her husband?’