Our Billion-Worth Twins by Velvet Antler novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35
Catelyn felt all strength leaving her feet as she gaped at Stella’s response. “One million?”
Was that what she meant by ‘not much?
“You can’t just let me die!” Stella grabbed Catelyn’s hand and wailed. She then continued, her next words laced with a vague threat and persistence, “You have to help me even if you don’t want to, or the apartment we’re living in will be gone!”
A chilling premonition instantly overwhelmed Catelyn. “What else have you done behind my back?”
“…” With how things had already escalated, Stella decided not to hide anything and, with a flushed face, confessed, “I stole your property certificate to use it as a mortgage. Why else do you think they’d lend me that much money?”
The two-room apartment that Catelyn was living in at the time might not be spacious, but the location was very ideal, and after a few years of development in the area, the apartment’s value had surpassed one million even if they were to deduct the remaining housing loan from the bank.
Tears welled up in Catelyn’s eyes as she snapped, “How could you do that? Without the apartment, would you have us all just sleep on the road? You promised me that you’ll never gamble again!”
Stella cowered and sobbed as she pleaded, “I didn’t want to! It’s my fault, so just help me one more time… Once that project with the Mason family is confirmed,
everything will be fine!”
“…” For a moment, Catelyn did not know what to say.
Was it because of the project that she took that had Stella gambling so recklessly with their apartment as a mortgage?
All strength was drained from her body as she stared at Stella wordlessly for a long while.
Stella feared nothing more than when Catelyn was like this. If she got angry or shouted, at least that meant that she still felt something…but Stella could not help but feel terrified when Catelyn was expressionless.
Stella’s gaze darted around diffidently as she tried to say something else when Catelyn abruptly left the ward without a word. No matter how much Stella called out to her, she did not stop.
Catelyn allowed her legs to bring her to the vacant hospital garden. All the accumulated pain seemed to have reached a breaking point, and even breathing felt agonizing.
She kept telling herself that life would still work out fine, but every time she did, something would remind her of how horrible reality was.
‘What am I supposed to do? Who could possibly lend me that much money? But if I can’t borrow it from anyone, am I supposed to just watch as the loan sharks drag Stella away and throw her into the ocean?’ Catelyn fought with herself.
For the days that followed, all Catelyn could think of was how to gather enough money. Her savings along with the money she managed to borrow from her colleagues was 300000 at most, which was far from the one million she needed.
The anxiety had caused her complexion to appear dull, and she even had a pimple popping out on her forehead. The worst thing was that as the deadline approached, her mental state worsened, causing her to make mistakes at work.
Catelyn knew that if this went on, Terry would come looking for her before the loan sharks found her. She decided to put her work aside and handle the matters with the loan sharks first
Through her distant cousin Alex Clark, she learned that the company that Stella had borrowed money from was managed by a man called John Reed, and he would be in a gathering with his friends on the top floor of Riverdale Entertainment Club.
She clenched her jaw and went to apply for leave so she could approach John. She might stand a better chance if only she could see him, which would have been much better than to wait around.
With that thought in mind, she headed toward Riverdale Entertainment Club early in
the afternoon.
Riverdale Entertainment Club was the most luxurious entertainment building of Sapphire City, with countless guests spending thousands over a night in it.