bChapter /bb397 /b

    b“/bThree million dors,” Peter announced without a hint of shame.

    “Your brother’s getting married. He needs to buy a house and a car, prepare wedding gifts, cover the wedding banquet, plus all the extra little costs that pile up. Three million dors is barely enough for that,” he continued.

    “Your father’s right, sweetheart. Just help your brother get married this once, and your father and I will finally have peace of mind. After that, we promise we’ll never trouble you again,” Grace coaxed, tugging lightly at Peter’s sleeve to signal his support.

    Reluctantly, Peter said, “Just like your mother said, this three million dors is thest we’ll ask of you. Be a good girl and get the money out quickly to help your brother bring his bride home, and then

    everyone c

    can have some peace of mind.”

    Madeline dug her nails deep into her palm, struggling to hold back her curses after much effort. But that didn’t stop her from fuming inwardly, ‘Three million dors? Do they think money just falls from the sky for me?‘

    After all these years of working at Atkinson Group, leveraging Brian’s influence and taking kickbacks, she still hadn’t managed to save that much.

    She had recently spent half of her savings, and now her ount barely had i300 /ithousand dors left. Even if she emptied itpletely, she couldn’t scrape together even half of what they were demanding.

    “I don’t have that kind of money, Mom and Dad. Can’t you be reasonable? I’m just an ordinary employee. How could I possiblye up with three million dors?” Madeline pleaded, trying to y the pitiful daughter.

    But her parents didn’t buy it for a second. Peter barked, “Drop the act! I know you’vetched onto some big–shot boss. You might not have the money, but don’t tell me he doesn’t either.”

    Madeline’s eyes went wide with shock. “How did you know?”

    Peter smugly crossed one leg over the other. “Don’t you worry about how your old man knowsb. /bJust fork over the money, or I’ll go straight to your boss myself!”

    In truth, he had no idea which big shot his “precious” daughter hadtched onto. But that didn’t stop him from using it as a weapon to threaten her.

    Now that he had this supposed leverage, he felt bold enough to demand three million dors, and he fully intended toe back for more once the

    money was used up.

    To him, he had every right to ask his daughter to support them, soft wouldn’t matter if they broke their promise. Madeline, of course, didn’t believe a single word of their so–called st time” nonsense.

    She knew they were just trying to bleed her dry, but she simply didn’t have that kind of money, And even if she did, there was no way she’d ever hand it

    over to them.

    Thinking of this, Madeline rubbed her eyes as her tears fell. “Please, Mom and Dad, stop pushing me. I really don’t have it. To tell you the truth, he fired me a long time ago. He never cared about me, and was just fooling around with me.”

    At first, her tears were forced. But the moment she recalled all the humiliation she had suffered with Brian, the fake tears turned real, streaming down her face uncontrobly.

    “He fired you? Fooling around with you?” Peter stared at her iin /istunned disbelief. Then, in the very next second, he kicked her viciously.

    Petershed out. “You useless bitch! You couldn’t even hold on to such a golden meal ticket? What good a

    Madeline winced in pain, biting back a cry. At this moment, all she felt was utter destion. To think she had actually held out bhope /bfor her parents before this made her feel like ba /bfool.

    Peter continued to rain down punches and kicks, each blownding with cruel precision. Finally, when Madeline was bcurled /bup by the bcoffee /bbtable/b, trembling and bruised, he red down at her coldly.

    11:37 Tueb, /bb29 /bbJUL /b27

    “I don’t care how you do it, but you’d better scrape together three million dors for your brother’s house and car. Otherwise, us you all ing

    bhim /bba /bwife!”

    Madeline bit her lip so hard it nearly bled, and she stayed utterly silent for what felt like an eternity.

    “Cat got your tongue? Answer me!” Seeing her look only fueled Peter’s infuriation, and he kicked her again..

    Madeline was kicked so hard that the back of her head mmed into the coffee table with a sickening thud. Her vision went darki, /iand the nearly passed

    out on the spot.