Robingat
Sure, but he
message loud and clear. Tids was a warning not to run her mouth in front of Clayton. Even if the did say something, ClayEn
protect his own wife. He might even slap Robin with a false accusation charge.
“Heh. Robin let out awkward laugh. “You two chat. I’m gonna go get some medicine for my dad”
Robin went back behind the curtain, quietly warned her lather not to say anything stupid, then left the room.
Valerie glanced at the IV bag that had been empty for ages. She walked from the foot of the bed to the head, speaking gently. “Clayton, all my money i tied up in that seal. Our medical bills..”
She tucked his blanket around him and tested the waters. “If things are light on your end, maybe your mom could cover it for now? Once I sell the emerald brooch, we’ll pay her back?”
Under the covers, Clayton’s hand gripped his phone so tight his knuckles wont while. He was borning with rage inside but couldn’t let it show. It wasn’t time to blow everything up yet,
“The police said Audrey has solid evidence. If she decides to press charges, she’s got a really good chance of winning.”
Valerie wouldn’t spend a dime on him, but if it was money for herself, things might be different.
Sure enough, when Valerio heard this, her whole body went rigid and she could barely keep the twisted expression off her face. “Will I go to jail?”
Clayton nodded.
Panic flashed in Valerie’s eyes as she grabbed Clayton’s hand. “Even if you step in, it won’t help?”
Clayton really wanted to pull his hand away, but he held himself back. “You know, my law license was…”
Before he could finish, Valerie quickly covered his mouth with her hand and nervously glanced toward the curtain. She’d just been bragging about having a lawyer husband. She couldn’t let him contradict her so quickly,
“This whole thing really isn’t my fault, Valerie hissed. “I was planning to buy gold because it was going up in value, but Audrey got jealous and talked me into buying that emerald brooch instead.
“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have known any better, and none of this would’ve happened.”
Valerio slid down to sit against the wall, taking Clayton’s hand and placing it on her stomach. “If I go to prison, it’ll definitely affect our child’s future. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
Clayton’s fingers trembled slightly as he gently touched her belly, which showed no signs of change yet.
For just a moment, he found himself wishing there was nothing inside Valerie’s stomach at all. His child shouldn’t be born to a woman who was so full of lies, so lake and selfish.
“Of course I don’t want that, but Audrey is being stubborn about pressing charges,” Clayton said.
Valerie silently cursed Audrey to hell, but on the surface, she started putting on her signature performance–the single tear trick.
Maybe her heart was too twisted inside, because even after trying for ages, Valerie couldn’t squeeze out any bears. Her eyes just got a little red around the edges. “So there’s really no other way?”
Clayton went quiet, as if he was actually trying to think of a solution.
When Robin came back, she had a nurse with her. The nurse helped her dad disconnect from the monitoring equipment and wheeled the machines away.
1/3
So, my dad got moved to a reputer ward, Robin came over to say gondays. Ite
If you can’t fight them, avold them, Valerle thought, she’d gotten the doctor in transfer her father to a different room
After they left, the curtain was pulled back and the hospital room fell much more spacious with better air circulation
Clayton spoke slowly, “If we could give Audrey some money to write a settlement letter, maybe we could resolve this whole thing.”
Valerie clenched her jaw. ‘Money, money, money, Has Audrey completely lost her mind over cash?‘ the thought. When she was married to Clayton and they were splitting everything fifty fifty, she didn’t care about any of this. Now that she’s divorced, she’s constantly scheming to get money from Clayton
She can hook any man with that face of hers, right? Why doesn’t she go ask someone else for money instead of bleeding Clayton dry?
‘That guy who beat me up to defend her and left me scared–he can buy Audrey a house but can’t cover her shopping expenses? She’s probably taking Clayton’s money and spending it all on that man
“If you don’t want to pay, I’ll have to go talk to Audrey myself,” Clayton said, taking her hand with a gentle tone. “You know she still hasn’t gotten over me, and if she-”
“No.” Valerie shook her head frantically. She couldn’t give Clayton and Audrey a chance to be alone together. “How much do you think would be fair?” Clayton thought for a moment. “She wasn’t injured, so 30 thousand dollars should work.”
Valerie bit her lip and stood up. “Let me call my mom and see if she’s available,”
Valerie walked out to the back garden and called Cheryl. She explained the whole situation.
“It didn’t sell?” Cheryl asked, and her focus on that detail made Valerie’s heart sink. She forced down her anger and kept her voice calm. “We can figure that out later. Right now we need to give Audrey 40 thousand dollars so she’ll write a settlement letter.”
40 thousand dollars? I already gave you everything I had, didn’t keep a cent. I lost a thousand dollars playing cards today too.”
“Mom, those people are all seasoned players–you can’t beat them,” Valerie couldn’t help complaining. They let Cheryl win a few times to get her hooked, but once she was addicted, she lost nine times out of ten.
Valerie didn’t know exactly what the problem was, but she knew something fishy was definitely going on.
“I raised you from nothing, and I got rid of your father too. Now I can’t even play a little cards?
“I’ve spent my whole life thinking about you kids, and now that I’m old, I can’t even have one tiny hobby of my own?” Cheryl launched into her usual complaints.
Valerie quickly cut her off. Otherwise, Cheryl’s sob story would dragon forever. She could complain from dusk till dawn if you let her. Valerie didn’t have time to listen to all that whining.
“We’ll talk about this when we get home. Right now, you need to go find Clayton’s mother and make her pay that 40 thousand dollars, no matter what it
takes,” Valerie said.
Cheryl still had a belly full of complaints she hadn’t gotten out yet, but Valerie shut her down completely. She reluctantly agreed and immediately. headed to Lillian’s place.
Lillian had been staying at Wyatt’s house lately. The housekeeper said she wasn’t home, but Cheryl didn’t believe it and insisted on going inside to check
Once Cheryl got in, she refused to leave. She planted herself right at the front gate, sitting on the ground and stapping her thighs while crying and screaming. She threatened that if Lillian didn’t come out to face her, she’d hang herself right there at the doorstep.
Clayton was lying in his hospital bed, just about to fall asleep, when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID–it was Lillian calling
Clayton let out a cold laugh and hit the mute button. Just what I expected, he thought. Lillian didn’t care whether he lived or died, so now, he wasn’t
2/3
Chapter 189
going to get involved either. He’d just wall and see who could hold mut langer,
Lillian was running around like a cat on a hoi tin tool, completely frantic Cheryl had already ruined the Patel family’s reputation throughout the entire Starise House.
glock hard with her twisted –
If Lillian didn’t show up, Cheryl would just keep spreading lies and making the Patel family s home, Alexa definitely wouldn’t let her return here again.
Lillian steeled herself and refused to go back. Soon enough, the neighbors started calling “Cheryl, Clayton’s wille’s mom is causing such a some that none of us can get any peace. You can’t just hide and pretend this isn’t happening.
“My husband has an important meeting in the city tomorrow, and this is seriously disrupting his rest. If you don’t come frack and deal with this, fm calling the police. And once that happens, whether John gets treated fairly inside is none of our concern.”
The moment John got dragged into it, Lillian knew she had no choice but to go back and sort this mess out.
When Cheryl saw Lillian approaching the doorway, she scrambled to her feet, Not caring about the dirt all over her clothes, she rushed forward and grabbed Lillian by the collar.
“You Patels have no shame at all,” Cheryl shouted “You won’t pay a dime for your grandson’s support, and now your own son is in the hospital fighting for his life and you won’t contribute a penny. What, are you planning to bury your own child?”
C
