Chapter 9 Aggrieved

• “I’m at Cloud Casino. Heather, bring all the cash that you have with you,” Lucas replied.
• “You...” Heather trailed off in anger and nearly flung her phone to the floor. Her fury had heightened when she heard that her brother was gambling in a casino.
• Carmen snatched her phone away and asked in concern, “Lucas, how much do you owe them?”
• “Are you Lucas Jennings’ mother? He owes us five million. Come here in an hour with the money. Otherwise, I’ll chop off his hands,” a man’s voice replied to her before the call was hung up.
• “Five million!” Carmen staggered back in shock, nearly losing her grip on the phone.
• Where would they get five million?
• “Mom, I told you to stop spoiling him but you wouldn’t listen. Look, he’s in trouble now. How will we get five million to save him?” Heather took her phone back, utterly annoyed.
• “Heather, Lucas is your only brother. If I don’t spoil him, who else should I spoil? I need him to take care of me later on!” Carmen cried.
• “What about now? Where will we get five million?” Heather was cross.
• Carmen fell silent. After a moment of brief hesitation, something occurred to her. “Heather, why don’t you call Mr. Wallace? The casino will release Lucas if he helps us,” she suggested.
• “Even if the casino is willing to release him, what about the money?” Heather returned exasperatedly.
• She had no intention of asking for Walt’s help.
• “Then borrow five million from him! He had lent us thirty million previously. We can add the five million to our debt,” Carmen told her shamelessly.
• “Mom, am I nothing but a pawn for you to get more money?” Heather shouted, her cheeks flushed with anger.
• “Heather, you’re going to Mr. Wallace the day after tomorrow anyway. If you ask him nicely, he’ll even lend forty million to us!” Carmen exclaimed, delighted at her brilliant idea.
• “Hey!” Heather nearly choked in anger.
• “I’ll deal with this.” Suddenly, Alex spoke. He had remained silent the entire time, with the divorce agreement still in hand.
• “You?” Both Carmen and Heather turned to look at him, regarding him with disdain.
• “Heather, I can help Lucas pay back the five million he’d owed the casino,” Alex stated firmly.
• He wasn’t boasting, of course. Fifty billion was nothing to him, let alone five million.
• “Shut up!” Heather glowered at Alex as she resisted the urge to deliver him a huge slap.
• Back then, Alex might have been a loser, but he had never boasted this much.
• Hence, her hatred for him intensified.
• “Heather, I’m telling you the truth. I can help you,” Alex repeated.
• “Enough! Shut up if you want to help me,” Heather retorted in fury.
• “Loser, get out of my sight. Scram!” Carmen shoved Alex away and looked at Heather.
• “Heather, those people in the casino are dangerous. If you don’t ask for Mr. Wallace’s help, they’d chop off Lucas’ hands for sure!” Carmen cried in despair.
• Heather was heaving with anger.
• She was torn between saving her brother and asking for help from the man she hated.
• Stumped, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed and upset at Lucas.
• After a short silence, Heather announced, “Mom, this is the last time I’ll help Lucas. If he doesn’t learn from this, I’ll refuse to help him anymore!”
• “Heather, don’t worry. I promise you I’ll discipline him after this.” Carmen was shocked by Heather’s sudden burst of anger as she nodded profusely.
• “Give me Walt’s number,” Heather declared after taking a deep breath.
• Carmen hurriedly leafed through her contacts and found Walt’s phone number.
• “Heather, don’t go to Walt for help. I can help you!” Alex declared irritably.
• Heather spun around and shot him a disdainful look.
• “I told you to shut up. Don’t you understand?” She was so furious that she had wanted to kill him on the spot.
• After shooting another look at Alex, she dialed Walt’s number and waited for him to answer her call.
• “Walt, this is Heather. Are you free right now?” she asked when he picked up.
• Soon, Walt’s voice sounded over the phone. “Oh? Heather? I’m with a client right now, but if you need me, I can reschedule my appointment.”
• Heather was slightly touched. Walt might have insulted her with his request, but his attitude was certainly better than Alex’s.
• She hurriedly explained what had happened to Lucas. “But if you can’t help him, forget it,” she concluded.
• “Cloud Casino? I’m not that familiar with it, but I’m sure that the owner will accommodate my request,” Walt replied.
• “Thank you. We’ll wait for you there,” Heather thanked him gratefully.
• “It’s nothing. You know my feelings for you, right? Are you at home now? I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes,” Walt informed her and hung up.
• “Well, the comparison is a killjoy. We had to ask for an outsider’s help. Look how capable Mr. Wallace is,” Carmen sneered. “Unlike this parasite in our family, who’s nothing but a loser who loves to brag!” She had relaxed, ever since Walt had agreed to help them.
• She was evidently full of disdain, for this live-in son-in-law of hers.
• Alex’s expression had darkened as he clenched his fists tightly.
• As his nails dug into his skin, blood trickled down his fists. However, the pain didn’t bother him at all, as it was nothing compared to Heather’s anger and distrust directed at him.
• Both Heather and Carmen ignored him and headed outside to wait for Walt.
• Alex drew in a deep breath. He refused to concede defeat and decided to go with them.
• “Stanley, let’s go out.” Alex placed the divorce agreement down and looked at his son, who appeared terribly upset.
• “Daddy, I don’t want Mommy and Grandma to yell at you,” Stanley confessed.
• Alex felt his heart clenching in pain as he patted Stanley’s head and smiled. “Stanley, Mommy, and Grandma won’t yell at me anymore.”
• “Okay,” Stanley nodded obediently.
• Alex looked up and sighed despondently. He wondered if he should proceed with the divorce.
• Divorce wasn’t in his plan unless it was the last resort.
• He loved Heather, of course. Besides, he knew that it would be a huge blow to Stanley if they had agreed to a divorce.
• Alex brought Stanley out of the house and got onto his electric scooter. When he arrived at the entrance of the neighborhood, he saw Heather and Carmen getting into Walt’s car.
• He was instantly overwhelmed by anger. He proceeded to follow the car on his electric scooter.