Chapter 357 - EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL

In the old Yamazaki home, the Old Madam banged her phone on the table with anger as she sat down. The living room was quiet and tense. No one wanted to speak in fear of irritating her further.

The worst part was that Elder Yamazaki was not at home. He had gone to attend a calligraphy symposium with his student outside of Mountain Ridge.  ​​

And when he was away, no one could keep a hold on his wife. The only person who could influence her was her daughter Makiko. But Makiko was always happier when her mother was angry and fighting with her brothers.

"Is this the person you insist on calling your daughter?" The old woman shouted. 

"Mom, what are you talking about? What happened? And can you tell us why you think Akira is colluding with outsiders?" Daiki asked. 

He tried to remain calm because he was dealing with his mother. However, he was getting impatient. He had already told his mother that Akira had gone out. However, she insisted on waiting for Akira to come to the house before revealing her cards. 

"Do you take me as your mother? Of course, you don't. If you did, you would not have brought that jinx into the family." The Old Madam hit the table. 

"Mother, what could Akira have possibly done? You have never met her, yet you have all these accusations." Sayaka was always polite with her mother-in-law, but her temper had become bad after listening to the woman disparaging her daughter. 

"You are not going to admit your wrongdoings until the final moment." The grandma scoffed. "Makiko, show them." 

Makiko was sitting at the side, watching the drama unfold with happiness in her eyes. She took out her phone and tapped on it before giving it to Daiki. 

In the beginning, she intended to hold on to the photo of Akira and Kaito for a few weeks. However, since Akira decided to embarrass her, she could not sit still. If she did, the anger in her belly would consume her. 

She looked at her brother's face becoming dark. When Sayaka leaned over to look at the photo, her face lost colour. 

"That is the good daughter you insisted on bringing home." She said with superiority. 

However, Sayaka and Daiki were not thinking about complicated things. The image of an evil pig kidnapping their white cabbage filled their minds. The photo proved that the Takahashi boy had long taken action to get a hold of Akira.

They could not help their anger.

"I told you. Next time, you should believe in my instincts." Sayaka looked at Daiki with some scorn. 

"Is this the time for you to be boasting? We must settle scores with this boy." Daiki lost his composure, especially when he thought about Akira going on a date for the whole day.

The Old Madam realised that the two of them were not as shocked as she had hoped. She thought that once they saw the photo, they would understand the situation. But they were not blaming the wicked girl. 

"Are you so blinded? Not only is she behaving shamelessly in broad daylight, but she also beat up people in the house. How can this be a daughter of the Yamazaki family?" She asked angrily. 

"Mother, it is normal for girls to have personal relationships. Akira has done nothing wrong." Sayaka responded. 

Even though the picture was incriminating, it was not indecent.

"Mom, what do you mean by Akira beat people up? Did someone attack Akira?" Daiki focussed on that critical detail.

"I merely asked the butler to invite her to the house since you are incapable of handling such a small matter on your own. Who knew that the wild child would beat up people before leaving?" The grandma was irked. 

Her family had always been peaceful. But as soon as that wild girl had returned, everything seemed to be in a complete mess. How could they not see that she was a jinx? They wanted to drive her to the grave. 

"I know my daughter. She would never hurt anyone if no one attacked first. What exactly happened, Mom? I can find out with just a phone call." Daiki was frustrated. 

"So she is your precious daughter, and I am not your precious mother? I merely asked people to bring her here, but she beat them up and threatened me." The woman realised that hard tactics were not working, so she changed to emotional blackmail. 

But what trick had Daiki not seen while growing up?

"Mom, it seems that our presence here is aggravating you. We will just leave you and check on things at home." Daiki stood up and helped Sayaka up. 

"We will come to visit you on another day, Mother." She added. 

As the Old Madam sputtered at their cold-hearted behaviour, they exited the house without another word. She could not figure out why they were defending that girl they did not know.

"Mom, what happened with Akira?" Makiko asked. 

"She said that she would come to visit me on Friday and bring me local specialities. Is she cursing me?" The Old Madam grumbled. 

Makiko felt like her mother was completely useless. If it were her father, he would have directly made Daiki go in for a DNA test or even kicked Akira out. However, she did not get along with her father. He did not even like the fact that she visited her mother so frequently. 

"She is a wild seed. She is capable of anything. If she is coming on Friday, you can make preparations and reveal the truth to Daiki and his wife." Makiko responded. 

"You are right! As long as I can prove she is not the real daughter, Daiki will have to believe me." The old woman became happy again. "Do you want to stay over tonight?" 

Makiko smiled. "Of course, I will keep you company." 

As the two continued chatting, Makiko's phone rang. She checked and found it was her husband. She excused herself and went outside.

"What is it?" She answered. 

"What time are you coming back home?" He asked. 

"I will stay with my mother tonight." She responded. 

"You are always running over to your mother. You are already a grown-up. Can't you take a second to think about your children?" The man asked angrily. 

"I am thinking of my children. If I can harness the power of the Yamazaki family, won't the Satou family rise to the upper echelon?" She retorted. 

"If you were thinking of your children, you would be home. Have you noticed that our youngest son also stopped calling you 'mom' just like his siblings? Do you even know anything about their lives?" The man asked. 

"They will thank me when they are enjoying a comfortable life in the future," Makiko said stubbornly. 

"Our Satou family does not need to be at the top. We are content with a good life. If you insist on going down this path, we will have to go our separate ways." The call ended suddenly. 

Makiko snorted. 

Is he threatening me? Does he have the guts to leave me?

He should understand that he married above his station.