Arsen was stunned by the sudden question. He had to pause for a moment before replying, his tone cautious.

"Mrs. Lewis, you shouldn’t need to ask me this question. You probably know the answer to it. Pardon me, but I have to get back to work.”

With that, Arsen hung up.

Samantha stood rooted to the ground, her face sullen. She tightened her grip over the phone, veins bulging in the back of her hand.

Mrs. Judd approached her and patted her gently on her shoulder.

“How are things between you and William as of late? What do you mean, Rachel’s returning and whether William will reconcile with her? Aren’t you the woman he loves?”

Samantha was running out of time to explain things to her mom. There was no way she could make things clear to her mom, anyway. Her mom would never understand.

“Alright now, Mom. Let me deal with my problems. All you need to do right now is to give me the money to put out the fire.”

Mrs. Judd owed everything she had today to her daughter. Naturally, she wouldn’t turn a blind eye when her daughter needed help. She pulled out a card and handed it to Samantha.

“I heard that it gets dangerous at night around here, so I keep this card with me at all times–just in case anyone might break in. The passcode is your birthday.”

Samantha didn’t expect her mother to be so generous. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Mom… Don’t you worry. I’ll find a way to earn back the money you’ve given me.”

“Of course, I trust you’ll do that.”

Samantha took the card and left.

Very soon, Cecilia received a call from Samantha. At the moment, she had just met with Rachel.

“Should I answer it?” she asked Rachel.

“Of course,” Rachel said. “She’s probably all prepared.”

Rachel was confident that Samantha would agree to their request. If she were Samantha, she would do the same–especially when faced with pressure from the company and the threat of being sued.

To make matters worse, William was stuck with the police right now. Upon release, he would probably be up to his ears in work.

Even if Samantha weren’t the one who signed the contract, she was technically one with William by name, bound together for both good and ill. Since he was suffering, it was only expected for her to have a hard time from here on.

At Rachel’s urging, Cecilia swiped to answer the call.

Clearing her throat, she said, “Ms. Judd, come round so quickly?”

“Cecilia, you know things are quite complicated at Lewis Enterprise at this juncture. William is still with the police. As an employee of the company, you really shouldn’t be kicking us when you’re down, should you?” Samantha said.

“We’re not close enough to be cracking such jokes with each other, Ms. Judd,” Cecilia replied, unperturbed. “Just get to the point.”

“Given the difficulties the company is facing right now, we were planning to sell the house. We certainly can’t afford to rent it to you. How about this? I have another apartment in Yurelia City…”

Cecilia was quite moved by Samantha’s offer.

To begin with, she wasn’t asking for much. All she wanted was a place to live. She was out of a job, relying on meager unemployment benefits renting a place in Yurelia City, where real estate prices were sky-high.

Cecilia looked longingly at Rachel, eager to jump at the offer.

However, Rachel shook her head. She couldn’t let Cecilia agree to it.

That would make things troublesome for Rachel. All her efforts...

Rachel comforted her, “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I've got you."

Cecilia came round rather quickly.