17
Tears streamed down her face as she instinctively held her belly, her expression was filled with heartbreak and disbelief
“So now everything is my fault? I must’ve been blind to ever think you were someone I could depend on.“%
She tumed and stormed out of my office, devastated.
Winston didn’t chase after her. He just stood there, looking at me.R
“Bianca… I’m sorry. If one day I manage to pay back all the money I took from you, would you ever be able to forgive me?” “No,” I replied coldly. “If you really don’t want to hurt another person again, go check on Kiara, I’m busy–please see yourself out.“>
Seeing I remained unmoved, he finally gave up and walked away in defeat !!
Originally, I planned to use legal action to force Romina to return my mother’s necklace.X
But to my surprise, five days later, Winston showed up at my office with the necklace in hand.
He presented it to me like he was claiming credit, his eyes were filled with hope.
“I got the necklace back for you. So…. no need to call the police anymore, right? Aunt Romina was hospitalized over it. She’s in bad sha
shape and jumps at the slightest sound. You got your revenge, didn’t you?”
“Revenge?” I let out a cold laugh. “You think this is about revenge? She stole something that didn’t belong to her. What happened to her is Just karma.
Winston fell silent. Then he pulled a bank card from his pocket.
“There’s thirty million dollars in here. Think of it as the first repayment. I’ll retum everything I took from you, piece by piece. I promise make it right:“3
I was stunned. Although the company had begun to recover, it was hard to believe he could gather so much money so quickly
A sense of suspicion crept inside me.X
“Winston, what did you do? Where did this money come from? I’m not going to accept dirty or illegal money.”
He gave a stiff, awkward smile, bowing his head.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I told you- repay what lowe. I know you’ve already accepted Denver. I can’t pretend to be happy for you, but I also don’t want to hold you back anymore. I’m sorry.”
I didn’t know how to respond
I carefully took back my mother’s necklace.
After Winston left, he also left behind the bank card. Over the next six months, I received several more from him.”
The total amount was enough to buy out the struggling company.
But the very next day, I received a call from Kiara.
“Biancal Come to the hospital quickly–Dad just collapsed
At that moment, I was resting on Denver’s lap, reading. Our wedding was scheduled for the following month.
Even though my relationship with my father was strained, I couldn’t ignore something this serious,
Denver and I rushed to the hospital. My father had already been taken into the operating room.
Kiara was squatting by the doors, her stomach no longer round–clearly, she had already given birth. Her tear–swollen eyes locked up at
exhausted.!
- me.
“Dad had a brain hemorrhage,” she said hoarsely. “If it’s serious, he might never wake up again. He could be bedridden for the rest of his life.
Her voice cracked as she snapped. “This is all your fault! How did it get to this point?”
I frowned, confused. “What happened? Why did he suddenly collapse?“!!
“It’s your fault!” she screamed, losing control. “If you hadn’t forced us to repay the money, Winston wouldn’t have resorted to smuggling! He did it all to repay you and keep the company afloat! Now look what happened–our baby was just bom, and he might go to prison! Dad collapsed from the stress, and my mom–she’s completely broken, mentally ill! I’m the only one left, Bianca! Are you happy now?!”
I didn’t know what to say. My father was still in the operating room, and arguing with her wouldn’t help.
So I swallowed my anger and asked calmly, “What exactly did Winston do? Why would it cost him his life?“!
Kiara sneered bitterly, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“To pay you back and save the company…he smuggled goods. It’s been going on for over
ver
hall a v
a year.
- r. Dad fainted the moment he found
Her voice trembled as she sobbed. “If he can repay the tax penalties, he might avoid jail. Please help us. Our child just arrived. She can’t grow up without her father.”
Denver, standing beside me, pushed her hand away from mine, clearly displeased.
“This has nothing to do with Blanca,” he said coldly. “Smuggling was Winston’s decision. Why should she take the blame for his crimes? Everyone is responsible for their own choices. Settle this yourselves
He gently pulled me to sit on the waiting bench, letting me lean on his shoulder for support!
Kiara didn’t say anything else. She just sat there in silence, her face streaked with tears and resentment!!
7:13 AM C
Two hours later, the surgery ended. My father was wheeled out of the operating room.
The doctor said the operation had been successful. He might wake up within 24 hours, and if he did, he’d likely recover. But if not, we needed to prepare for the possibility of long–term care !
7:13 AM
