Chapter 5

The surrounding journalists instantly fell silent; only the frantic clicking of camera shutters remained.

I stared intently at her, shaking with rage, and then let out a bitter laugh.

“You know that's his biological mother!”

Ethan avoided my furious, almost feral gaze, tugged at his tie, clearly agitated, trying to argue his way out of it.

“Didn't the doctors say? Burns just look scary, it's not like she's going to immediately…”

He swallowed his words before he could finish, as if he himself felt guilty.

I finished the sentence for him, my voice cold as ice: “...immediately die?”

Genevieve's face went pale. She quickly pulled Ethan's arm, saying softly: “Ethan, don't say anything more. Olivia is emotional right now, I understand how she feels. Let's just lend her the money first.”

Her pretense of understanding and generosity made my stomach churn with nausea.

I pulled out my phone, dialed the bank manager directly, and put it on speaker, turning the volume to maximum.

The phone rang twice before it was answered.

“Ms. Olivia?”

I forced my voice steady, asking coldly: “Mr. Davies, I'd like to confirm, where was the $500,000 deposit transferred this afternoon at 1 PM?”

Mr. Davies hesitated.

“That... it was transferred to a private account, as per Mr. Ethan's instruction.”

“I'm asking you, was it transferred to the hospital's corporate account?”

More and more celebrities and journalists gathered to watch, and the live comments on the big screen were already flipping wildly.

[What's going on? Wife publicly exposes cheating husband and his mistress?]

[Using his own mother's life savings to rent a necklace for his mistress? What kind of monster does something like that?!]

[Isn't that guy Genevieve's sugar daddy? Turns out he's just a leech, stealing his own mother's life savings?]

Mr. Davies was silent for two seconds, then finally delivered the fatal blow: “No, it wasn't the hospital. The recipient was 'Starlight Jewel Rentals.'”

I stared at Ethan's instantly ashen face and pressed him: “Ethan, what do you have to say for yourself now?”

Ethan flushed with anger, cutting me off sharply: “It's my money once it's in my account, I can spend it however I want! I'm her only son, her money will be mine eventually!”

“So you can use it to fund someone else's vanity?!”

“I said it was a loan! A temporary transfer!” Ethan was still stubbornly refusing to admit it.

I stopped arguing with him and turned directly to face all the media cameras. I held up the critical condition notice, the ICU payment request, and the bank transaction records I had printed on the way, all high above my head.

“To all my friends in the media, look closely! Ethan, to rent this pink diamond necklace for Genevieve, stole his mother's life-saving $500,000! His mother is now suffering 70% burns, waiting to die in the ICU!”

The moment my words fell, the scene exploded as if a heavy bomb had been dropped.

“Holy crap! Trading his own mother's life for his mistress's red carpet walk? That's utterly despicable!”

“Can she really still wear that? Doesn't she worry about karmic retribution?”

Genevieve frantically covered the necklace on her neck, screaming at the security personnel: “Security! Get this crazy woman out of here! Turn off the live stream! Turn it off now!”

I took a big step forward, firmly blocking the center of the camera's view.

“Don't turn it off!”

My eyes were red as I pointed at the vibrant red carpet beneath Genevieve's feet.

“This red carpet you're standing on, it's ripped from my mother-in-law's charred flesh! That diamond you're looking at, it's stained red with her blood!”

Ethan's face completely twisted. He lunged like a rampaging beast, reaching out to snatch my phone and the evidence.

“Bitch! I'll kill you!”

I was prepared. I sharply sidestepped him, coldly watching him miss and stumble and fall heavily to the ground.

“What's the rush? There's still my mother-in-law's accidental death insurance, isn't there? Didn't Genevieve just say, 'Let's just get through tonight's red carpet first'?”

Genevieve's face instantly went ashen, and she recoiled in terror.

Ethan abruptly turned, staring at her in disbelief.

“You… you told her about the insurance?”

Genevieve opened her mouth, tears instantly streaming: “I didn't mean it like that, Ethan, let me explain…”

Watching the repulsive scene of them blaming each other, my last shred of hope was completely shattered. I finally understood that they weren't just after the $500,000 in savings. They were also after the $2,000,000 accidental death insurance payout if Eleanor didn't make it!

Just then, my phone vibrated wildly. It was the hospital's dedicated number.

My heart plummeted. My fingers trembled as I pressed the answer button.

Dr. Miller's voice was more anxious than ever, tinged with a deep sense of helplessness.

“Olivia, the patient is in severe septic shock, her blood pressure is almost undetectable. Also, someone just contacted the hospital claiming to be her legal guardian, requesting to forgo all life-sustaining resuscitation and opt for palliative care. Do you know about this?!”

All the blood in my body felt like it was drained instantly, my fingers so stiff I could barely hold the phone.

“What?”

Dr. Miller paused, his voice incredibly grave.

“The applicant used your identity information. If we proceed, we'll have to remove the ventilator immediately.”