Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 919

Mr. Peregrine was still residing at Halfridge Villas, though his medical focus had shifted from Lillian to Leonard and the comatose old Mrs. Mercer.

He administered rigorous acupuncture treatments to old Mrs. Mercer daily. According to his prognosis, there was a high probability she would awaken from her coma within a month.

Lillian had been praying for that day. She desperately wanted her grandmother to open her eyes and see her standing tall, reclaiming her life and her throne as Li.

She knew it would bring her grandmother immeasurable joy.

Unfortunately, the corporate launch couldn't wait another month.

But even if she woke up a little later, seeing the global empire Lillian had built would surely make her incredibly proud.

That day, the internet's trending lists were completely dominated by a split narrative: half obsessed with Lillian's triumphant return, the other half addicted to Bella's catastrophic downfall.

While Lillian's engagement was entirely organic, Bella's viral scandals showed clear signs of a highly funded, coordinated digital attack.

Bella had desperately tried to fight back. She was bleeding cash, but she still begged her shady PR contacts to scrub the negative headlines.

However, without upfront payments, their efforts were agonizingly slow. Worse, someone immensely powerful was actively fueling the fire, making the scandal utterly impossible to erase.

Bella was out of options and rapidly losing her grip on sanity.

It was past closing time. She had spent the entire afternoon pacing the executive floor, yet Sebastian hadn't shown his face once.

Her presence at the office, however, proved incredibly convenient for Sebastian's legal team, who promptly hand-delivered The Blake Divorce Settlement right to her face.

Already fueled by a psychotic rage, Bella didn't even bother reading a single clause. She violently tore the thick stack of papers into shreds and hurled them into the air like confetti.

The lead lawyer didn't flinch. He simply pulled a fresh copy from his briefcase and calmly handed it to her.

"Miss Ward," the attorney said, his voice dripping with condescension. "We have printed dozens of copies. You'll tire your hands out before you run out of paper to tear. I highly suggest you actually read it.

"If you have any counter-demands, state them. We can negotiate with Mr. Blake, or you can take it up with him personally."

Bella slammed the settlement onto the desk, grabbed her purse, and stormed out of the office.

The second she was gone, a supervisor signaled, and half a dozen terrified janitors rushed in to clean up the wreckage of the CEO's office.

Bella's bank accounts were drained dry. After Sebastian had brutally frozen the Black Card, she had absolutely zero financial leverage left.

Given her toxic, highly publicized downfall, even the shadiest loan sharks refused to lend her a single dime.

Realizing that hunting Sebastian down was useless, she knew she had to secure quick cash. Without money, she couldn't execute her next move.

It wasn't that she didn't have her own nest egg—it was that Debbie Harris had deceitfully drained every last cent she owned.

Right now, finding Debbie was her absolute top priority!

She was going to drag that old degenerate gambler back down into the mud with her and force her to pay back every single dollar.