Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1311

Debbie's face lit up with desperate hope. "Yes! That's a great idea, Lucas. A pre-recorded video is much safer than going live.

It still creates the pressure we need, but hosting it on foreign servers makes it incredibly hard for local authorities to trace us."

Lucas pressed his advantage, his voice smooth and persuasive. "It's a billion dollars, Bella. A billion. You desperately need cash. The Blood-Debt Vultures are breathing down your neck. Why not..."

"Are you absolutely certain you're willing to lose another hand?" Bella interrupted, her resolve finally hardening.

Debbie flinched. The phantom agony of the blade slicing through bone the previous day flared up, sending a violent shudder through her body.

But a second later, she grit her teeth, her eyes manic. "It's just a hand. If it buys me millions of dollars, it's worth it.

I'm your prisoner anyway. You beat me half to death every few days; it's not like I have a life left to live.

If we get the money, you forge me a new identity, and I disappear to live like a queen. That's the best-case scenario.

I don't care about anything else. I'm willing to sacrifice my hand. The question is, do you have the guts to take it?"

Bella scoffed coldly. "Why wouldn't I? You said it yourself—you don't want the hand."

Debbie glanced down at her mangled, bandaged hand. Missing a palm wouldn't make much of a difference at this point, and it was her left hand anyway.

She could still play cards, still indulge her addiction, and still feed herself.

"Take it," Debbie spat. "But Sebastian has been incredibly defiant. He needs to suffer for it.

Originally, we only asked for a billion. Today, it has to be $1.2 billion."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "$1.2 billion?"

Lucas, whose initial $20 million payoff had just doubled to $40 million, was ecstatic. He nodded vigorously, terrified they might retract the offer.

"Yes! Thank you, Bella! When do we start? Do we need more supplies? Check this out, I've got the basics, but I can run out and buy whatever else you need."

Bella inspected the gear Lucas had hoarded: hemostatic injections, medical-grade painkillers, heavy-duty gauze, and a gleaming, vicious-looking machete.

The preparation was solid, but a gnawing anxiety remained. Doing this inside a hotel room was wildly unpredictable.

If things went sideways...

"We can't do this here," Bella decided. "If we make too much noise in a hotel, someone will call security."

Lucas shuddered in agreement. The logistics of the past two days had been a nightmare. Sneaking bloody evidence out of a high-end hotel without getting caught was agonizingly stressful. "Agreed. Let's find somewhere off the grid. The Desolate Hideout would be perfect."