Chapter 109 No Room to Breathe
The tension around him never let up.
Stella snuck a few glances his way. “Abraham, are you mad?”
She’d been thinking about it the entire ride, but couldn’t make any sense of it; finally, she just asked him directly.
Abraham raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “Eat your food.”
Stella fell silent. Seriously, what did I even say to make him mad?
She went over it again and again–she didn’t think she’d said anything wrong. definitely nothing disobedient. So why was he suddenly upset?
That meal left her feeling like she was walking on eggshells.
Meanwhile, in the car on the other side of town, Ethan had changed his clothes.
Jason, hesitant at first, finally asked, “Mr. Keene, do you want to go to the hospital and get your leg checked?”
Ever since they’d left the hospital, Ethan had been walking a bit off. Jason was worried it could be something serious. But the moment the question was out of his mouth, the air inside the car turned icy cold.
Jason added, “Also, Madam Susan said Ms. Lillian started chemotherapy. She’s in pain and keeps asking to see you”
Right now, Ethan’s mind was entirely consumed by the image of Stella and that man.
Especially the thought of the gun strapped to the man’s waist.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Ethan’s head. He couldn’t keep putting things off with Stella. But the way she’d treated me lately…. had she really never felt anything for me these past two years!
His chest tightened even more.
“Mr. Keene! Mr. Keene!
Jason, driving in front, saw Ethan completely unresponsive no matter what he said and had to call out twice.
Ethan finally snapped out of it. “Take me to the hospital.”
“Yes, Mr. Keene!”
Jason nodded.
At the hospital, Lillian was feeling slightly better after receiving specialized treatment Her color had improved a little.
But no matter what, a sick body couldn’t compare to a healthy one.
Susan said, “Rest for a bit. I’m going to make a phone call,”
She still needed to figure out what to do about Eddie and Kianne.
As for Stella–Susan had a gut feeling that there was no way to get through to her at all.
Just thinking about Stella made Susan feel suffocated.
Lillian nodded obediently. “Okay, mom. I’ll be line.”
That only made Susan feel worse inside. She walked out with her phone.
Left alone, Lillian’s own phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID. That number again.
The man’s voice on the other end was deep and clearly angry.
Lillian wasn’t much calmer. Her own emotions had long been consumed by rage.
She shouted into the phone, “You think 14000 dollars isn’t enough? Where the heck am I supposed to get 140000 dollars?”
was already a lot.
14000 dollars tous a
Their relationship had always been transactional–nothing emotional. Now this man had latched back onto her out of
nowhere.
Her body was already in pain, and now with these threats hanging over her, even recovery felt impossible.
“I don’t care. I want 140000 dollars. If you won’t give it to me, I’ll go to Stella. I’m sure she’ll be willing to pay me.”
Lillian went still.
The second she heard him mention Stella, it felt like a wad of cotton had been shoved into her chest–she couldn’t breathe.
“Ms. Lillian, I wouldn’t be asking if I had any other choice. I really don’t know what else to do.”
“And you think I do?” she shouted. “I’m sick–I’ve got three types of cancer. I’m dying. And you’re still threatening me?” She couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her voice cracked as she yelled.
She’d come back from overseas just to quietly recover under the Reed family’s protection.
She’d wanted to stay with them–with Ethan nearby.
But this call had shattered what little peace she had left.
“I already feel horrible being sick, and now you’re threatening me too.”
Her voice dropped lower after the outburst–tired, defeated.
For a moment, her pity cut through the phone like a blade, so sharp it even reached the man on the other end.
The line went quiet.
Then Lillian added softly, “I’m already dying. Do you think I still care about what I did wrong in the past?” There was sadness in her words, and regret–for what she’d done, and the life she had left.
Anyone else might’ve felt sorry for her in that moment
But the man on the other end–he wasn’t just anyone.
In the next breath, he said. “Then use whatever time you’ve got left, Ms. Lillian, to get me that 140000 dollars.”
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