He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 241

Yara Jenkins always said Beatrice's preference for sons was bizarre. Beatrice loved taking advantage of people—whether it was her son or her daughter.

For instance, before Brooks got married, Beatrice would actively demand the money he earned working out of town.

But whenever the family actually needed cash, Beatrice would make endless excuses, claiming she was broke and that all their funds had gone toward social obligations and gifts.

When Juniper needed textbooks or study materials, Beatrice would stall for as long as humanly possible, only reluctantly handing over the cash when she had no other choice.

It never crossed her mind that students who hadn't paid for their materials would be called out in class. Being singled out in front of everyone, repeatedly asked when her fees would be settled—the humiliation of those moments still brought tears to Juniper's eyes every time she thought about it.

As a mother, Beatrice had inflicted far too much grief on her family.

Hearing Brooks still sobbing on the other end of the line, Juniper forced herself to sit up. "Are you just going to cry?"

Brooks's crying paused. He rubbed his eyes. A man in his thirties sobbing like this was truly pathetic and utterly useless.

But he had been useless his entire life. He was just a failure.

"Yeah, I have no backbone!" he roared in a fit of self-loathing. "I'm useless! I'm nothing but a burden to this family. I'm not as good as you—I never will be!"

He hung up the phone and continued to cry on the floor.

Watching him, Beatrice felt a heavy ache in her chest. She helped him up. "This isn't Juniper's fault either. It's Nelson Saint. He's the kind of man who wants to destroy us, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Brooks's eyes were bloodshot. "Yeah, so we just have to let people trample all over us. We deserve to be trampled on. Mom, what's the point of people like us even living? I might as well be dead."

Over a decade ago, that same orphanage had received a massive donation from his older brother, Sebastian Sterling. At the time, the Sterling family was under heavy scrutiny and needed to rely on charitable endeavors to divert public attention. As the heir, Sebastian had to attend numerous charity events.

The first stop had been Zara's orphanage. According to Director Vance's account, Sebastian had noticed Zara's bright potential and relentless work ethic. He had personally sponsored her with a hundred grand, temporarily deposited with the director to distribute as a fixed monthly allowance.

It was clear from this alone that while Sebastian had charitable intentions, he wasn't particularly invested. He never seemed to consider what might happen if the director turned out to be corrupt.

If he had truly cared about Zara, he would have set up a bank account for her and had his people deposit the money directly.

The orphanage also received a massive corporate donation from the Sterling family. Fortunately, the director was an honest man who dutifully managed Zara's funds from middle school all the way through college and graduation.

Zara had fought tooth and nail, overcoming countless obstacles to enter the Sterling family's corporation without hesitation. Starting from the very bottom, she earned Sebastian's trust within a few short years, eventually becoming his personal assistant. Later, when Sebastian got married, it seemed necessary to avoid any gossip—so his personal assistant was promoted to director.