Chapter 3 Your Mother Passed Away

Cassie furrowed her eyebrows and stared into space. "No. How is that possible? She was fine when I left!"

Sean sighed. Cassie could hear that her father was trembling at the other end of the line. "The debt collectors were coming. After you left, she acted very strangely. She said that she wanted to go out and buy some vegetables...but she never came back. Last night, the police reported that they'd found a corpse in an abandoned area. Rita was the one who had informed me that it was your mother."

Although he said the facts as slowly as possible, it still didn't seem to register in her mind. Suicide. It wasn't possible. No matter how much Cassie thought about it, she just couldn't imagine that her mother would commit such a thing. 'Why would she do that? Hasn't she already paid off all her debts?' Cassie gritted her teeth.

"No. That isn't possible! When I finished the book, I wired all the money to their account. She's practically debt-free! Why would Mom do that?" she asked him a series of questions, failing to comprehend the depth of the scenario. After everything that had happened this morning, it would be an understatement to say that she was drained from the events.

"There are three more creditors. Your mother owes five million in total," he reiterated.

Cassie's mind was already buzzing as different thoughts went through her mind. Her hands were trembling at the thought of her mother owing this much money.

Before she could ask anything more, a deep voice took over the phone. "It's either you pay your money back or consider your home destroyed."

Cassie almost dropped her phone from the shock. She closed her eyes, wanting this nightmare to end. "What are you doing with my father's phone? Who are you?" she yelled.

"Cassie, right? Listen, I'll give you a week to raise that five million. Generous, right? Now, if you don't get that money wired to me by the end of the week, then don't expect to see your father again!"

Her father screamed at the background and she stiffened.

"My father is sick! What the hell are you doing to him?" she demanded hoarsely. Cassie could barely string her words together as she shook in fear. It was as if her world was falling apart right in front of her. "What you're doing is illegal!"

A scream came from the other end of the line.

Without adding anything more, the man hung up.

Cassie finally broke down.

Tears streamed down her face as she threw her phone at the edge of the bed. She gritted her teeth.

Everything was out of control. It was as if Alice herself planned her whole life to crash at this very moment.

Cassie breathed shakily, and her body couldn't stop itself from trembling. "Calm down," she whispered. "Calm down."

She gradually steadied herself. Grabbing her phone, she stared at all the missed calls, seeing that Sean had called her countless of times before this.

Cassie wanted to pick up her dress and put it on again, but she found that the fabric had already been torn to pieces.

A sense of helplessness overwhelmed her.

Although the warm sun shone through the windowpane, Cassie still felt as if she was trapped in an area of winter and despair.

What the hell was she going to do now?

Her father was the only family she had left. How was she going to raise 5 million dollars to save him?

The reporters followed Dylan all the way into the hall, pointing their cameras towards his face.

"Mr. Dylan, could you explain the photos that were taken of you and that mysterious woman last night?"

"Is the woman your girlfriend?"

The reporters squeezed all the way from the hall to the private elevator. Although some of them tried to sneak in, the bodyguards caught up to them and pulled them out of the tight space. Soon enough, the elevator closed, keeping the noise outside.

In the aisle outside the presidential suite, Dylan pulled his tie irritably.

'How did the woman get in that night? How was I drugged by that glass of wine?' he thought.

With a click, the bedroom door swung open.

Cassie was still sobbing at the edge of the bed. It was obvious that the man didn't expect her to be here at this time.

Dylan strode over to the side of the bed and wrenched her face to look at him in the eyes.

"Woman," he snarled. "Were you the one who sent the photos to the press? Do you want to blackmail me? Huh? Let me tell you that you're not the first woman who wanted to hook up with me. You're not getting anything from me. You got that?"

The tears in her eyes still hadn't faded. She stared up at him, wincing in pain.

Glancing at his expensive clothing choices, Cassie was reminded of how the kidnapper had threatened her. Her father's scream echoed in her mind.

A glimmer of hope rose in her heart.

"Sir, do you mind lending me five million dollars?" Cassie choked out. "I–I want to save my father. Please. If you don't agree, then–then I'll sue you!"

She asked for money as soon as he came here? Did she have any shame? She even dared to threaten him! Was she sent by Jasper Geng to set him up?

However, even then, he just couldn't bear to see a woman cry in front of him. Women were just incredibly troublesome to deal with. He squinted his eyes and sighed irritably.

But there was something about her tear-streaked face that softened his heart.

He turned around. "Fine, but you'd better not talk to the press."

Cassie quickly wiped her tears and swallowed down her sobs. "Yes. Yes, of course. As long as you can save my father now, then I'll do anything! Three years! In three years, I can pay you back."

Dylan couldn't help but think back to what his grandmother Pearl Qin had just demanded from him half an hour ago.

"Why didn't you tell me you have a girlfriend? Do I need to watch the news to receive any update from you? I'm 74 already! And you're 28! Is it that difficult for me to have a great grandson? I don't care who she is! She's going to be my granddaughter-in-law. Either take her home and let me have a look, or you might as well hand over the shares of the HY Entertainment and come back to your family company!" she demanded before hanging up.

Dylan turned around. Sunlight reflected from his back. He looked similar to a god that was descending from the heavens.

It was hard for Cassie to see his face clearly. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

He cleared his throat and attempted to comfort her. "Don't cry. I'll fix this, but you have to promise me one condition."

She blinked in surprise.

Cassie stopped crying and took the handkerchief from his hand. "I won't do anything that's against the law," she warned.

Astonishment flashed in his eyes. "I'm not interested in finding someone who would do such a thing," he said lowly.

Cassie handed him back the handkerchief. He waved his hand dismissively. "Keep it."

She raised her gaze to look at him. "What's your condition?"

"We'll talk about it later. Can you do me a favor first?" he asked, thinking back to the reporters that he had seen downstairs.

Cassie nodded.

He then made a quick phone call. "Simon, prepare a dress for me. Inform the stylist and dresser to come to my room in half an hour."

"What's the size, sir?"

He glanced at Cassie. "L would be fine."

Cassie gaped at him in horror. "How did you know?"

He raised his eyebrows shamelessly. "I've already seen everything I could've seen. How would I not know?"

"You!" Her cheeks flushed.

Seeing her rimmed eyes and messy hair, he frowned.

What nonsense would the media have written if they had seen her like this?

Feeling a little embarrassed under his glowering face, she bowed her head. "Is there something on my face?"

"Don't say anything later, okay? Just follow me."

Still worried that she might say something, he pointed at her with a warning. "Five million dollars."

Cassie nodded rapidly.

Simon Ji was extremely reliable, and he had already fixed everything up.

The beige dress that he bought fitted Cassie well. In fact, it highlighted her curvy figure.

Seeing her in a light dress, Dylan almost felt as if he had fallen into a trance. She glanced up at him. "Anything wrong?"

"Nothing," he said coldly.

The stylist and the dresser had already gone upstairs. Cassie sat in the middle of the room and allowed them to fix her up.

Half an hour later, the stylist approached him. "Mr. Dylan, it's done."