[Chapter 32]
Hannah had been waiting for the transplant for a long time. It was finally happening. Natalie prayed for Hannah to find a suitable donor and get better.
Now, all she needed to do was arrange the money. Lauren owed her a large sum anyway for marrying Sebastian in place of her daughter. The next day, Natalie went to the Quinn family's villa again. "What the hell are you doing? If you break into the house again, I'll call the police!" The maid tried her best to drive Natalie out. "I'm here to see Lauren. Let me in!" Natalie tried breaking into the house.
"They haven't come back yet! Get out of here! Or I'll call the police!" The maid stood by the door like a human shield.
Natalie sneered and pointed at the window upstairs. "Do you think I'm an idiot? I saw through the window. Lauren is right inside, walking around."
Lauren didn't even bother hiding when she wanted to deceive Natalie. Perhaps she thought Natalie was a fool, whom she could easily deceive.
Sound of laughter and the muffled voices of Lauren and George came from the house.
The maid rolled her eyes to hide her guilt and tried shutting the door. "They're not here. Is something wrong with your ears? If you don't leave right now, I'll ask the security guards to drive you away!"
Natalie quickly hurried to the door. Her heart sank with dejection.
It looked like Lauren didn't even bother to lie or come up with an excuse this time. Now that Natalie was married to Sebastian and her plan had succeeded, she didn't feel the need to pay her anymore.
"No. I'm going to wait right here. You go in and tell them if they don't give me the money today, I'll tell Sebastian that Lauren asked me to marry him in place of her daughter Cassie, and this wedding was a hoax. Sebastian was supposed to marry Cassie in the first place. If he knows the truth, he won't spare Lauren for deceiving him. If I can't get the money, I'll make sure she doesn't live a peaceful life either."
Seeing that Natalie was dead serious, the maid went into the house and told Lauren about what Natalie had said.
"Did she really say that?" Lauren was enjoying her strawberries. Her hand stilled when she heard that. Her gentle face reddened with rage.
She looked at George, who was sitting next to her. "Natalie has gone too far. How could she talk to her parents this way? After all, we adopted her. Although she is not close to us, I wish she at least showed us some gratitude for the things we have done for her. Do you remember what I said back then? Your parents insisted on letting us adopt her. It was unnecessary, wasn't it? Look at what trouble it has brought us. Now, she is blackmailing us. What do you think we should do?"
The memories of the past made Lauren hate Natalie even more. She pulled a tissue from the box and wiped her tears.
Seeing Lauren cry again, George shook his head helplessly. "No, Natalie is not that kind of a person. She would never do that. It was all your fault. Why didn't you just give her the money as promised? None of this would have happened if you hadn't gone back on your word."
Lauren dramatically cupped her face and wailed loudly. "Cassie is our biological daughter — our flesh and blood. Doesn't she need money to live on in the future? We have raised Natalie all these years, and for what? Her marriage with Sebastian is a way of repaying us for raising her all these years. It seems fair. Why is she still coming here and making trouble?"
On the one hand, she was resentful, and on the other hand, she was terrified that Natalie would reveal the secret that she had married Sebastian as Cassie's substitute.
Cassie was Lauren's precious daughter — the true heir of the Quinn family. She was far superior to an adopted child like Natalie. If Sebastian knew that he wasn't married to Cassie, he would undoubtedly make trouble.
Lauren had met Sebastian — the man looked cruel. Judging from his appearance, she knew he was not someone to be trifled with. Moreover, he had the strong support of the Klein family. Although Sebastian was just an illegitimate son of the Klein family, the Quinn family still couldn't afford to offend him.
George picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of tea. His face darkened. "Natalie just wants money. How about we give her some money to calm her down. It's not like we don't have any."
Lauren wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and the jade bracelet on her wrist jingled. She looked at him and reluctantly nodded.
She was unwilling to give Natalie even a penny. Her heart sank at the thought of giving her money.
Lauren went upstairs with her phone. In a fit of anger, she called Natalie. "Natalie! You've gone too far this time. Are you going to fall out with your family for money? We have raised you all these years. How could you turn into such a selfish woman? Are you really going to force your parents this way?"
She scolded Natalie, venting out the resentment that had accumulated in her heart over the years.
Natalie had become immune to Lauren's hatred and maltreatment. "Where is the money?" she asked coldly. If you don't give it to me, I'll tell the truth to Sebastian right away."
Lauren's anger reached its peak. She tried her best to control herself and said, "We have tried our best to raise money for you. I don't have money. I'll ask the maid to give you some things later. You can use them to meet your expenses."
Natalie was standing at the door of the Quinn family's villa. After a while, the maid came out with several bags and threw them at her.
"Take these and get out!" The door of the villa slammed shut.
Squatting on the ground, Natalie rummaged through the bags. Inside were old-fashioned, outdated jewelry, used expensive clothes, and second-hand bags.
"Are you collecting scraps? There are a few paper boxes in our house. You can take them too." The woman living next door glanced at Natalie as she entered her house.
"No, thank you." Natalie smiled bitterly. Lauren didn't want to give her money, so she insulted her by treating her like a beggar. Natalie picked up the bags and slowly walked out of the villa.
It wasn't the first time Lauren had humiliated her. She could sell these second-hand goods and get money. It was better than going home empty-handed.
However, even so, the money would probably be less than one-fifth the fee for Hannah's liver transplant operation.