Chapter 270
After being slapped by me, Ava didn’t cry. Instead, her large eyes glared at me with soch batzer 1 could practically feel her desire to tear me apart limb by limb.
Her grotesque expression, combined with her rebelliously dyed multicolored hair–electric blue, hot pink, and neon green streaks–made her look like some kind of monster. The effect was bone- chilling.
“Who do you think you are?” she spat, venom dripping from every word. “Is Grandma’s treatment even decided? I’m her direct blood relative–I should be making these decisions, not you! Treatment or no treatment, that’s for me to decide! You just need to hand over the money. What right do you have to make decisions for us? You never even married my brother!”
Ever since Ava had squandered all their family assets, life had been on a downward spiral.
When she first ran out of money, she still had a few so–called friends who would talk to her. But as her financial situation deteriorated, those fair–weather friends disappeared, seeing no more potential benefit in maintaining the relationship.
In Ava’s twisted logic, if I hadn’t spent money on Harper’s treatment and instead given it all to her, she would still have plenty of “friends” around her.
Who would dare look down on her then?
And all of this–in her mind–was entirely my fault.
Six years ago, there had been another crucial reason I married Henry: I had nowhere else to go. If I left Harper’s home, I wouldn’t even have had a roof over my head.
Ava had hit her rebellious phase and fought with me constantly. Whenever I said anything she didn’t like, she threatened to run away. To spare Harper the difficulty and to prevent Sam from worrying about family matters while on deployment, I had moved out.
At that time, I was heavily pregnant and afraid to stay in university housing for fear my classmates
would discover my pregnancy.
I went to Scarlett, hoping she would take me in, but her response crushed me: “A woman who gets pregnant before marriage is shameless–she deserves to die.”
Just when I was caught between impossible choices, news came that Sam had died during a mission.
The world seemed unbearably cruel, and in my despair, I decided to end it all by jumping into the
sea.
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Then, Henry saved me.
That man with a face so similar to Sam’s became my last tenuous connection to this he
Against Ava’s vehement objections, I made an almost frantic decision to donate Sam’s heart to the critically Ill Henry.
It was precisely because of this decision that Ava had been blackmailing me for six years,
Looking at the still–immature Ava now, I didn’t hesitate to slap her again, harder this time.
“Is this what they teac
h you in school?” I shouted, my patience completely gone. “To take money meant for your grandmother’s life–saving treatment and waste it? Which teacher taught you that?
My voice rose with each word. “To ignore your family member’s life? To abandon your responsibilities when your family falls on hard times? All for the sake of those worthless friends! Ava, you’re twenty years old now–not a child anymore. Can’t you understand something so simple? When you had no money, did a single one of those friends check on you? Did any of them care about you? Did even one of them ever ask how you were doing?”
My words struck a nerve. Ava jumped up and down in fury, screaming, “Shut up! Just shut up!”
The rage in her eyes was about to erupt as she glared at me. “I told you to shut up!”
I ignored her anger, grabbing her hair and slamming her against the cold, hard hospital wall. “Who do you think you are? Do you think I enjoy dealing with you? If it weren’t for your brother, I wouldn’t even bother looking at a maggot like you if you were dying at my feet!”
I tightened my grip on her hair. “The only reason I still bother with you is because of the promise I made to your brother! Listen carefully, Ava: from now on, you will stay away from those so–called friends and take proper care of your grandmother. If you do, I’ll cover your basic living expenses.”
My face was inches from hers as I continued, “Of course, you can choose not to listen to me. Go wherever you want. But remember this: from the moment you choose to leave, you’ll have no connection to your grandmother anymore. You’ll no longer be part of the Davis family! Even if you die, you’ll have no right to face your brother!”
I’m typically even–tempered–I rarely lose my cool unless someone crosses my boundaries.
But Ava’s shamelessness was truly beyond belief. If not for Sam, I wouldn’t care whether she lived or
died.
The force I used when grabbing her hair made her scalp burn with pain.
She’d never seen me angry before, and witnessing my fury seemed to subdue her somewhat. After my scolding, her rebellious attitude diminished. With reddened eyes, she mumbled reluctantly, “Easy for
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Chapter 270
you to say. Can your pathetic salary support us?
Her eyes narrowed as she added, “Or are you counting on that ex–husband of yours?”
I slapped her again without hesitation. “Just take care of your grandmother. These aren’t things you need to worry about!”
Seeing that Ava was finally subdued, I released her and walked to the bench outside the emergency room to wait. But before I could even sit down, the emergency room doors swung open.
“Who’s the elderly patient’s family?” the doctor called out.
I rushed forward. “I am!”
The doctor’s face was drawn with defeat. “The elderly lady doesn’t have much time left. She wants to say her final words. You should go in.”
Hearing this, I didn’t hesitate, rushing straight into the emergency room. By the time I entered, the medical procedures had already stopped. The doctors and nurses saw me and quietly withdrew, giving us privacy.
Harper couldn’t see, but she heard my footsteps. “Sophia? Is that you?”
I hurried to her bedside and took her hand in mine. Before I could speak, tears were already streaming down my face.
“Grandma Davis, I’m here. It’s me.” My voice trembled.
“Sophia, don’t cry,” she whispered, her voice frail. “I’m finally going to see Sam. After all these years without seeing him, I’ve missed him so much. This is a good thing–you mustn’t cry.”
She squeezed my hand weakly. “Sophia, dear, I know you’ve endured so much hardship these years. It’s my fault for not protecting you properly. I’m sorry, child. You’ve suffered so much.”
Her breath came in shallow gasps. “The girl doesn’t understand things. Don’t hold it against her. Discipline her when needed, scold her when necessary. If she listens to you, please look after her. If she doesn’t, cut all ties with her. You don’t owe her anything.”
She paused, gathering her strength. “What I’m about to tell you, don’t let Ava know. In my room at the old house, under the bed, there’s a box hidden in the wall. It’s for you. Here’s the key.”
As she finished speaking, Harper was struggling to breathe. Her hand moved feebly toward the string around her neck, trying to reach for the key.
Before her fingers could touch it, her hand fell heavily to the bed.
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