Chapter 36

Cave me 500

“When you were hospitalized last time, I went to see you and met Sophie. I asked her for 300,000, but she gave me 1,000 instead. Joshua, Sophie is so wealthy. 230,000 is nothing to her. She’ll give it to you! I was scammed. You can’t completely blame me. Please, you must save me this time. I promise—”

Before Ferly could finish, a burst of chaotic noise erupted from the other end, followed by the man’s arrogant, rough voice.

“Do you have the money or not? If you don’t, I’ll push your mother off the building right now!”

I pursed my lips and asked coldly, “Where are you?”

“At your place! You have half an hour. If you’re not here by then, you’ll be picking up her corpse.”

“I’m on my way.”

After hanging up, I started the car engine and drove toward my home. I hadn’t realized that, while I was unconscious, Sophie had quietly given 500,000 dollars to my mother and never mentioned it to me afterward. Was this her way of easing her guilt?

On my way home, I considered my options. I decided to sell the house my mother was living in to pay off the debt. I had bought that house with profits from my company so she could live comfortably for the rest of her life. Between the property, my savings, and selling my car, raising 230,000 shouldn’t be impossible.

A quick twenty minutes later, I arrived at my mother’s house. The place was a mess, completely ransacked. She sat slumped on the floor, her hair disheveled, her expression panicked. The men trashing the house were now lounging on the couch, one of them lazily tapping a stick against the floor.

“You’re Ferlyn’s son?”

Before I could reply, my mother, with newfound energy, shouted eagerly, “Yes, that’s my son! My biological son! He’ll pay you back. His wife is the president of Holmes Group—she’s loaded!”

My frown deepened as I gritted my teeth and asked, “Do you have any documents?”

I wasn’t sure who these people were, but I figured if there was written proof of the debt, I might find a way to deal with them. If it was illegal usury, we could involve the police to buy us some time.

But they weren’t loan sharks.

The group leader, smoking a cigarette, seemed to read my thoughts. He sneered and said mockingly, “Kid, we’re a legitimate lending company. All the interest rates are fully compliant.”

He gestured to one of his men, who promptly handed me a contract. The contract was indeed legitimate, with standard terms and rates.

I took a deep breath, closed the document, and looked back at the leader.

“Can you give me two more weeks? I’ll sell the house and car to pay off the debt.”

My mother, who had been silent until now, kept her head down and slumped on the floor without a word. I found her behavior odd, but the leader spoke first before I could press her. “Your mother already used the house as collateral with us. You didn’t know?”

“What?” I turned, shocked. “Mom, is that true?”

Chapter 37