Chapter 860

Rebecca froze, her gaze fixed on Zoey. The corners of her slightly sagging eyes lifted, filling with scrutiny as she tried to gauge whether the younger woman was joking. But it was clear Zoey wasn't joking—she was dead serious.

A rush of blood flooded Rebecca's head. She struggled to catch her breath, scarcely able to believe Zoey was asking for money to buy medicine. They were family by marriage; this was for medicine. Did Zoey have to be so calculating?

Suppressing the humiliation bubbling inside, Rebecca shot a glance at Tara. There were some things she couldn't voice, given her senior status.

Recognizing the cue, Tara mustered the courage to ask, "Could you lend us the money for now, Madam Zoey? We can pay you back later."

"I rushed out this morning. How could I possibly have that much money on me?" Zoey replied.

"You could always go back and fetch it," Tara suggested, her voice barely a whisper.

Zoey chuckled. "Isn't that a bit redundant? I'd have to make an extra trip. Why not just give me the money directly? After all, you'll need to pay me back eventually. You can't be saying a prestigious family like yours can't come up with two hundred silver coins, right?"

Rebecca's face flushed with anger, her complexion darkening. It was clear Zoey was humiliating her.

Tara tried to laugh it off. "How could that be? The steward isn't here at the moment, soso we can't access the funds right now."

Zoey stood, her demeanor cool. "Then send someone to fetch him. I'll check on Viola in the meantime. Once you have the funds, send them to Grace Mansion. It's just an errand; there's no reason I shouldn't help family."

With a polite nod, Zoey left. Once outside the courtyard, a cold smile crept onto her lips. The audacity of it all—daring to ask her for money to buy medicine!

Viola had been resting for the past few days, finally settling after narrowly escaping death. The thought of her brush with the afterlife sent chills down her spine.

Previously, she'd held a ridiculous and pitying attitude towards Amelia's death, thinking it absurd for someone to be so fragile and unable to bear any burden. If living was so difficult, what was the point?

But now, having nearly died herself, Viola understood death's terror. And yet Amelia, that timid woman, had chosen death. She'd first tried to throw herself into the river; failing that, she'd hung herself. It showed the depths of her despair, the sheer hopelessness that led to such a drastic end.

Viola felt a pang of sadness for Amelia, along with guilt. Initially, she believed her late sister-in-law's death had nothing to do with her, but Zoey scolded her, pointing out Amelia's suicide was connected to her actions.

Viola initially resisted this notion. Yet, Zoey laid out point after point, painting a picture of a bitter, sharp-tongued, and selfish woman—Viola Prince.

Viola couldn't understand how she'd become this way. She was the third daughter of the Earl of Silverstone's family, a lady who'd never known hardship. It was no exaggeration to say she lived a life of luxury. But after marrying into the Warren family, why had she begun to value money over lives?

When Zoey entered, Viola quickly wiped away her tears. Even though she knew her sister-in-law despised her, she choked out, "Zoey, I don't know why I treated her like that. I really didn't mean to go against her."

Zoey sat down, silent for a moment. Noticing Viola continually dabbing at her eyes, she finally spoke, her tone measured, "You didn't mean to harm her, but you did intend to go against her. Amelia had no money, and you looked down on her shabby ways.

"You wanted to humiliate her by depriving her of money, to see her embarrassed and struggling, all to highlight your own wealth and status. You couldn't compete with Carissa or Kayla, so you chose to compare yourself to Amelia. You won, but at what cost? She's dead"

Zoey paused, aware her next words would be harsh, but felt they needed to be said—a wake-up call to Viola.

"She's dead, and your child is gone too. Have you thought about what it would have meant if she hadn't died? With just a little effort to gather some money, she could have bought Snowdrop Pills. The people at Arcane Sanctum acknowledged her and would have sold the pills to her."

Viola covered her eyes, tears streaming down her face. "I truly didn't think she would die. I never thought"

Zoey watched her cry. "When you deliberately inflict malice, you must consider the worst consequences your actions could bring."