Meanwhile, Nina curled up on the hospital bed, getting some rest with her eyes closed. However, the nightmare in
her mind kept torturing her to the point where she couldn't sleep in peace.
All of a sudden, a crisp ringing of the phone woke her up from her nightmare.
Taking a deep breath, she took the phone. When she saw that it was her mother, Nina instinctively answered the
call. In a feeble voice, she uttered, “Hello, Mom...”
Isabella's voice instantly sounded from the other end of the line. “You finally know how to pick up the call, huh? Are
you still aware that you have a mother? Where have you been for the past month? Not staying at home is one
thing, but you didn't even call me at all. What's the point of raising a little pest like you? And which worthless man
are you messing around with again? Hurry up and get yourself back here. I need to talk to you. We are running out
of money, so you need to think of a way and see if you can get me some.”
Despite being covered with a thick blanket, Nina was still cold and shivering uncontrollably.
It was expected of her mother. Although she had gone missing for over a month, her mother showed no concern
about whether her daughter was fine. Instead, all her words were condemnations and demands.
Right then, the first thing her mother did when she contacted Nina was to ask her for money.
To others, the love between a mother and daughter was usually filled with infinite affection. However, it was nothing
but a speck of dust to Nina.
“Mom, I'm not feeling well and am in the hospital now. Let's talk about it when I go back. Okay, that's it...” Nina
responded weakly and hung up the phone right away.
Following that, she curled her tiny body up like an abandoned pet.
Tears rolled down her pale cheeks silently, making her look even more piteous.
“Ms. Richter, you have just had surgery. You shouldn't shed tears. If you get too emotional, it might affect your
health. By then, it will be difficult for you to recover fully.” Seeing Nina weep hysterically, the young nurse, who had
been taking care of her, couldn't help comforting her while changing the IV drip.
Due to the wound on her abdomen, it hurt when she was crying. However, it was nowhere near as painful as the
anguish in her heart.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtNina shook her head, trying to shake off all the bitterness forcefully.
When even a stranger felt sorry for her, her biological mother was so cold and indifferent to her. How pathetic can I
be?
“Hello? Hello? You have to hurry up and get me some money. I need it to help your brother build his connections,
which needs a huge amount of money...” Only when Isabella heard the beeping from the other end of the line did
she become aware that the call had been disconnected. That made her face darken to a deep red.
D*mn, how dare you hang up on me! You really need to be taught a lesson.
However, when Isabella recalled what her daughter had said earlier, she arched her brows skeptically. She has
always been healthy and seldom catches a cold. Why did she go to the hospital all of a sudden?
At the thought of that, Isabella hurried over to the hospital Nina mentioned.
Needless to say, it wasn't because she wanted to see if her daughter was sick. Instead, she hoped to get ahold of
her daughter and asked the latter to find a way to get more money.
Bethany, the daughter of Isabella's old friend, was well-behaved after becoming the lover of a rich and powerful old
man, so she was pampered and showered with affection.
Her mother had told her about the Richters' predicament. Therefore, she deliberately came to Isabella, telling her
she had a way to save Zayne.
Not only that, but she could also help Isabella connect with that rich and powerful old man.
Although that old man was not the most powerful figure in the city, he was still capable of bailing a criminal out of
jail. As long as Isabella could fork out three million, Zayne would be acquitted of all counts.
At first, Isabella doubted the veracity of those words. However, she had known that old friend for several decades,
and they were rather close. Besides, Bethany had also assured Isabella that they would be able to save Zayne.
Moreover, if Isabella was still doubtful, she could just sign an agreement with them.
If they failed to save Zayne, the three million would be returned intact.
As a result, Isabella mindlessly agreed to it.
After signing the agreement, Isabella felt much more assured.
Even if they were unable to save her son, the money would still be returned to her.
Furthermore, she found bruises all over his face each time she visited Zayne.
Her son's well-built body had not only become skinny but was also covered in injuries. Although her son was the one
injured, she could feel the pain in her heart too.
Isabella knew that her son had suffered a lot in prison. Thus, she had to save her precious child no matter what.
However, even with the two-million check given by Nina the other day and the eighty-thousand she had saved, she
was still short of nine hundred and twenty thousand. I am just an incompetent woman. Even if I work for the rest of
my life, I wouldn't be able to make that much money.
Thus, she thought of her daughter. The other day, her daughter had effortlessly made two million.
Isabella thought that if she made a request, her obedient daughter would definitely find a way and get her the
remaining nine hundred thousand or so, no matter what.
Again, Avery returned to the hospital.
In the bank near the hospital, she inserted her card into the automated teller machine to check her card balance.
Although it wasn't a lot, the money amounted to almost half of her annual salary.
After all, Trident Group paid well. As long as they were employees of the company, even if they were still in their
internship, their salaries would still be much higher than that of employees from other companies.
Having saved the money for so long, she had intended to buy herself a vehicle with it, but at this point, she had to
use it for a more critical matter.
Avery took the money out in batches.
She planned on giving all that money to Nina.
Although she knew that this amount of money couldn't make up for the trauma Nina had experienced, the latter
had lost her job after all and needed it badly.
Just as she reached the corridor outside the ward, she heard Nina crying devastatingly and a woman cursing
sarcastically.
“Do you think it was easy for me to raise you? Your father is just a good-for-nothing. He has been useless his whole
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmlife! It was I who worked hard and took care of you and your brother. Are you aware of how much suffering I have
endured all these years? Now that your brother has gotten into trouble, is it wrong for me to ask you for help?
You're my daughter. Besides you, who else can I get the money from?”
Judging from that familiar mean voice, she could tell that it was none other than Isabella.
At once, Avery's heart lurched. She immediately quickened her pace and rushed toward the ward.
“Enough, Mom! We are in the hospital! I have no money now. Not even a single penny! I have given all the money
to you. What else do you want? You have always asked me for money. Worse still, you want one million this time.
Have you ever considered the fact that I'm just a low-level employee, and I only get a meager salary? Besides, I'm
between jobs now. Where would I find that much money? As you see, I'm lying on the hospital bed now. Why
haven't you asked about my condition? You don't even show me the slightest bit of concern. Are you really my
biological mother?”
Nina covered her excruciatingly painful abdomen while tears streamed down her cheeks incessantly.
She was in a loose hospital gown, and a white blanket was covering her abdomen. One could only see her frail
body, which seemed as if it could be knocked over by a gust of wind, and her deadly pallid face.
“What kind of illness can you have?” Standing by the bed, Isabella looked unmoved and tapped on Nina's forehead
furiously. “Stop putting on an act. You have always been fit and healthy since you were a kid. You have rarely
caught a cold, too. Even if you got sick, you could still get well without taking medicine. Why are you in the hospital
wasting money? Don't you know that we are in urgent need of money?”
“Mrs. Richter, your daughter has just...” The kind-hearted nurse had never seen such a heartless mother before
and couldn't help but want to tell Isabella the truth.
Unexpectedly, Isabella rebuked the nurse until the latter fell silent. “Shut up! This is our family matter. What right
does an outsider like you have to interfere?”
On the other hand, Nina could only lie on the bed frailly as the pain in her abdomen was unbearable.
Her mother's ruthlessness had left her even more disheartened.
When Avery pushed open the door, she saw Nina, who was crying in despair, and the nurse, who dared not make a
single sound after being told off, not forgetting the unreasonably mad Isabella.
At that moment, Avery was immensely irritated by Nina's mother.