Chapter 3
For the next two days, I wandered around like the walking dead, empty and numb.
Edward must've thought his threat that night worked because I'd gone quiet. So, in his twisted idea of generosity, he decided to throw me another "gift."
He sent me 150,000 dollars with a note: [Go buy yourself a new bag. Stop looking so miserable all the time.]
I stared at the number. It was repulsive. I didn't accept it and sent it right back.
Less than a minute later, my phone rang.
It wasn't Edward. It was his mother, Madeline Foster.
The moment I picked up, her shrill, venomous voice came through.
She snapped, "Grace, what kind of tantrum are you throwing with my son now?
"You won't even take 150,000 dollars? Is that not enough for you?
"You bitch, how much more money do you want?"
I gritted my teeth and said, "Mrs. Foster, could you please show me some respect?"
Madeline sneered, "Respect? Someone like you?
"Your half-dead sister is living off the Foster family's money. What makes you think you can act so self-righteous?"
I took a deep breath, saying, "I'll pay back every dollar of the medical bills. Lily and I will leave the hospital soon."
"Pay back? With what? Are you going to sell yourself?" Her tone suddenly turned venomous. "You want to leave the hospital? Fine."
She hung up on me.
Half an hour later, I got a call from Maple Care Hospital.
The nurse sounded panicked. "Grace, you need to come right away. Mrs. Foster is forcing Lily out of the special care unit."
"What?" I dashed out of my apartment.
By the time I got to the hospital, Lily had already been moved to a cot in the hallway.
She was wearing an oxygen mask, her face a sickly bluish-purple, shivering under a threadbare blanket.
"Grace..." Tears streamed down her face. "They said I don't deserve to be in there."
It felt like someone was stabbing my heart with a knife.
I stormed over to the nurse's station to argue, but the attending doctor pulled me aside, looking helpless.
He said, "Miss Parker, Mrs. Foster made the call.
"It's not just the room. Mrs. Foster stopped the imported targeted therapy Lily was supposed to get, too.
"Without that medication, Lily won't survive the holiday."
I pulled out my phone and called Edward.
It rang for ages before someone finally picked up.
But it wasn't Edward.
"Hello?" A girl's voice came through, sweet and innocent.
It was Charlotte.
"Edward is waiting in line to buy chestnut fudge for me. He left his phone in the car. Who are you?" Charlotte asked.
Her voice was brimming with happiness.
I bit my lip, not saying a word.
When I didn't respond, Charlotte called out in confusion, "Hello?"
Right then, I heard a car door open, and Edward's gentle voice drifted over.
"Charlie, who are you on the phone with?" Edward asked softly.
"No idea. They didn't say a word," Charlotte replied.
"Just hang up on those random calls." He took the phone, and his voice turned colder, saying, "Speak."
I tried to keep my voice steady. "Edward..."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Then Edward's voice came through, low and laced with anger. "Grace, didn't I warn you not to call this number?"
"Edward, your mother stopped Lily's medication and threw her out into the hallway!" I nearly screamed into the phone.
He chuckled, his tone utterly unconcerned. "So what?
"That medication was paid for by the Foster family. My mom can give it to anyone she likes. Got a problem with that?"
"Edward, Lily will die without that medication!" I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
Edward replied, his voice icy and merciless, "Then beg me.
"You have thirty minutes. Go stand at the gate of Maple Manor and wait for me.
"Grace, who else do you have besides me? Making you stand out there is to teach you your place, so you'll stay by my side and behave. If I don't see you there in half an hour, the meds stop for good."
Then he hung up on me.