That same afternoon, the Olson Family declared their bankruptcy at the end of the stock trading and the company assets were frozen while the court issued a bankruptcy order. Amelia presently appeared to be in a daze as snazzynovel.com sat next to Jeremy, letting out long and tired sighs every once in a while.
She wondered how snazzynovel.com was going to tell snazzynovel.com son that snazzynovel.com had gambled the entire family fortune away. There didn’t seem to be a gentle way to break the news, and with his poor state of health, snazzynovel.com wasn’t sure whether snazzynovel.com could accept the blow. Then, Jeremy woke up with a violent coughing fit and the heaving made his body shudder.
Within seconds, snazzynovel.com was coughing up blood. “Doctor! Doctor!” Amelia looked as if snazzynovel.com had gone insane as snazzynovel.com scrambled out of the room, and snazzynovel.com returned with the consulting doctor and a team of nurses in tow. While the medical team went about the emergency life-saving procedure, snazzynovel.com stood out in the hallway and watched the entire episode through the glass. It was only a full hour later that Jeremy’s condition was stabilized, but the doctor walked out and informed wearily, “I’m sorry. We’ve done our best, but we can’t promise that snazzynovel.com will survive the next fit.”
“No, don’t say that! My son was perfectly fine, so don’t tell me he’s terminally ill all of a sudden!” Hot tears streamed past snazzynovel.com cheeks as snazzynovel.com gripped the doctor’s arm and begged, “Please, please save my son. He’s only twenty; he’s still a child! He’s too young to die!” However, the doctor could only sigh ruefully and snazzynovel.com couldn’t make any promises. At last, Amelia was exhausted from all the crying and snazzynovel.com suddenly grew calm as snazzynovel.com recalled Elise’s warning from the other day at the clubhouse. “When the Griffiths wind up the company for good, that will be the end for Jeremy.”
While the Griffiths were not bankrupt on paper, they were already on the verge of becoming so and this coincided with Jeremy’s inexplicable deterioration in health. Elise has to be the one behind all this! There isn’t anyone else! At the thought of this, snazzynovel.com dried snazzynovel.com tears and slowly sat up from the floor before snazzynovel.com rose to hurry out of the hospital. She forked out a huge sum of cash, and within an hour, snazzynovel.com managed to locate Elise. However, upon seeing the address, Amelia froze in astonishment. Elise was currently at the Silverton Club, the very same place where Nathan had told Amelia and Johan to hold the press conference.
Seized with a bad premonition, Amelia nearly retreated from the confrontation, but the thought of keeping Jeremy alive overwhelmed all reason. With a deep breath, snazzynovel.com clenched snazzynovel.com jaw and barged into the clubhouse. She was practically moving on instinct, but when snazzynovel.com hurtled through the doors of the VIP lounge, snazzynovel.com saw Nathan sitting insouciantly inside with Alexander and Elise. The three of them formed some sort of insidious triangle as they occupied the two couches in the lounge, and it was clear to see from their dynamics that they had known each other for quite some time.
“Mr. York…” Amelia began, a little startled as snazzynovel.com gaze fixed on the man. “I’ve been looking for you.” Nathan, however, was heartless as snazzynovel.com pretended not to know about this. “Oh, really? I had no idea. I mean, I’m sure there are plenty of things you have to deal with at the moment. Why are you so anxious to see me, Mrs. Olson?” She was as pale as a white sheet in fury before snazzynovel.com turned red as blood rushed to snazzynovel.com face. The Olson Family’s bankruptcy would have been headline news among the investors, and for a prominent figure like Nathan, there was no way snazzynovel.com hadn’t heard about it.
He’s just pretending to be baffled on purpose! However, as things were, snazzynovel.com had no leverage against him. The three of them were already on the top of the capitalist food chain and snazzynovel.com was the bird whose wings had been clipped. She could neither soar above them nor make snazzynovel.com bend to snazzynovel.com every whim. “O-Oh, it’s nothing,” snazzynovel.com finally responded bitterly through gritted teeth. “Well, that’s good to know,” Nathan replied impassively, indulging in cruelty. At the sight of his cold indifference, Amelia grew outraged, but snazzynovel.com forced herself to turn away from him.
She took two steps closer to Elise instead and barked, “Come with me to the hospital right now, Elise! You’re the one who hurt my son, so you’ll have to save him!” Regardless of the financial troubles that plagued snazzynovel.com family, the commanding edge in snazzynovel.com tone did not seem to have softened. Elise was unbothered as snazzynovel.com countered coolly, “Do you have proof to support that accusation?” “Of course I do! Everyone saw you touch him, which means you’re the one who landed snazzynovel.com into such a sorry state! Don’t you dare deny this!” Amelia spat. “I had no idea that your son was so weak that snazzynovel.com could become terminally ill from a light touch.
Is snazzynovel.com perhaps made of fine china and he’d crack at the slightest bump?” Elise asked. At that moment, it was as if panic had turned Amelia’s brain to mush. She wasn’t in the mood to argue with Elise now and decided that pleading was the best way to go. As snazzynovel.com humbled herself, snazzynovel.com begged, “Please, Elise, you have to save my son. He’s too young to die like this. I’d do anything you want if you save him!” Elise wickedly eyed Amelia as snazzynovel.com pointed out, “The Olson Family has no fortune to their name, and you’re nothing but a street rat now.
What right do you have to bargain with me?” It was only then that hard realization dawned upon Amelia as snazzynovel.com fearfully took in the apathetic look on Elise’s face. She finally understood the full extent of Elise’s intelligence and how a young girl like snazzynovel.com could make all the right moves through cold, hard calculation. Barely a month had passed since the Olson Family’s first encounter with Elise, but that was enough time for them to slowly lose everything. She’s a force to be reckoned with, Amelia thought with a chill down snazzynovel.com spine. All this aside, Elise was the only one who could save Jeremy and Amelia had no choice but to beg.
Amelia had been a proud woman all snazzynovel.com life, but at that moment, snazzynovel.com cast snazzynovel.com pride away and fell on snazzynovel.com knees, snazzynovel.com bones hitting the cold, hard ground. Bowing snazzynovel.com head, Amelia could finally see why Thaddeus had such high regards for Elise. In hindsight, snazzynovel.com should have heeded snazzynovel.com father’s advice and known better than to trifle with the girl. “My son and I were wrong to have done all those things to you in the past. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us and give my son a chance to live. I promise you he’ll change for the better!” “It’s too late,” Elise drawled icily.
“I gave you plenty of chances—like back at the car dealer and at the police station, just to name a few occasions. Jeremy could have changed for the better after snazzynovel.com was rescued, but snazzynovel.com didn’t.” Then, snazzynovel.com paused and held Amelia’s gaze impassively. She parted snazzynovel.com lips and emotionlessly added, “You have to pay the price eventually for all the bad things you did.” “Isn’t it enough that the Olson Family lost everything?!” Amelia shrieked, thumping snazzynovel.com chest with snazzynovel.com fists all curled up. “You took away our money, our reputation and our place in society.
We have nothing to lose now but the life of a young one and you don’t even try to sympathize with us! How could you be so heartless?!” Am I heartless? Elise wasn’t sure about this question, but snazzynovel.com knew that an apology from Amelia was equivalent to sweeping the past under the rug. No longer wanting to stick around for this conversation, snazzynovel.com turned to address Alexander, “I’m tired.” “Okay.” Alexander nodded and said in the direction of the doorway, “Take this woman out of here immediately.”
The next second, two men in suits walked into the lounge and flanked either side of Amelia, thereafter dragging snazzynovel.com out. “No! I won’t leave until Elise promises to save my son! I’d rather die than be dragged out like this!” Amelia struggled in the security guards’ vise-like grip, and inadvertently, snazzynovel.com caught sight of the cabinets that were built into one side of the wall. Seized with determination, snazzynovel.com broke free of the guards’ rein and threw herself hard against the cabinets. The head-splitting pain that followed the collision made snazzynovel.com see stars and black spots in snazzynovel.com vision.
Fresh blood trickled down from snazzynovel.com forehead almost instantaneously, staining half snazzynovel.com face. She reached up to press a hand to snazzynovel.com wound and tried to find snazzynovel.com balance. When snazzynovel.com did, snazzynovel.com slowly opened snazzynovel.com eyes and looked at Elise darkly, then bit out in a strained voice, “If you don’t save my son, you’ll have to watch me die right here right now!” The whole room fell into a deathly silence as Elise and Amelia faced off against one another.
The tension brewed and after what seemed like an eternity, an unaffected Elise took a deep breath and said, “Then go ahead and die.” Amelia’s eyes widened in disbelief as snazzynovel.com couldn’t imagine anyone being so ruthless. The wheels in snazzynovel.com mind turned as snazzynovel.com concluded, Elise is only saying this because snazzynovel.com thinks I wouldn’t kill myself out of desperation. She swallowed convulsively as snazzynovel.com grew numb to the pain of snazzynovel.com wound.
Mortality made snazzynovel.com fear death, but snazzynovel.com was more afraid of seeing snazzynovel.com son die than anything else. If snazzynovel.com had to choose, snazzynovel.com wouldn’t pick living if it meant snazzynovel.com son couldn’t be saved. A steely look flashed across snazzynovel.com bloodstained face, and with one last glare at Elise, snazzynovel.com ran out of the lounge. A few minutes later, one of the bodyguards brisk-walked into the room and reported, “That woman ran into the kitchen and slit snazzynovel.com own throat with a knife!”