「In the hospital room.」
Yara Fairchild kicked Angus Grant out of the way to shield Zinnia Lawrence.
"Zinnia, are you okay?"
Zinnia Lawrence shook her head at Yara Fairchild. Meanwhile, Angus Grant lay on the floor clutching his chest, wailing in agony.
"Angus, what happened to you?" Gloria Grant cried, rushing over to him.
"Sis, I think that damned girl broke my rib with that kick! It’s killing me! We have to demand more money for medical expenses from them!" Angus snarled, glaring furiously at Zinnia.
Holly Tilton also clutched her lower back and dramatically sat on the floor, starting to make a scene. "My back is injured too! Zinnia, you’d better compensate us with at least another million for medical expenses!"
The commotion in the hospital room had already attracted a crowd of onlookers at the door, some of whom were recording with their phones.
With tears in her eyes, Holly Tilton turned to the crowd and pointed at Zinnia. "Everyone, look! This is my husband’s niece. Her brother is in a vegetative state, and her mother is counting on her for support in her old age. But now that she’s married a rich man, she doesn’t care if her own mother lives or dies! She won’t pay a single cent for her upkeep and is even planning to leave the country and never come back!"
Holly Tilton tugged at Gloria Grant, who stood beside her. "Sis, your life is so tragic! How could you raise such a heartless daughter!"
Angus Grant propped himself up against the wall and stood, blocking Zinnia’s path.
"Zinnia Lawrence, you refuse to support your mother. She’s my older sister, so as her brother, I have to step in. But you can’t just refuse to give her any living expenses, can you?" He then turned to the onlookers. "Tell me everyone, is what she’s doing right?"
The spectators didn’t know the full story. Seeing Gloria Grant and the others crying and seemingly injured, and then noticing Mason Lawrence lying senseless in the hospital bed, they immediately felt sorry for Gloria. They all turned on Zinnia, pointing and showering her with condemnations.
"She’s dressed so nicely. If she can afford to go abroad, how can she not support her elders?"
"Your parents had a hard time raising you. How can you only think about yourself and run off to a better life?"
"That’s right, she has to pay for their support! If she doesn’t, they can sue her!"
"Don’t you worry, ma’am. If your daughter refuses to pay, I’ll post this video online. She won’t be able to hold her head high, even if she goes abroad!"
They pointed and jabbed, filled with righteous indignation. One person even produced an egg from somewhere and hurled it at Zinnia Lawrence.
"She won’t even support her own mother! She’s an animal who deserves to be beaten by all!"
Yara Fairchild shielded Zinnia. The egg smashed against the back of Yara’s head, the sticky liquid running all through her hair.
"Haha, serves her right! So satisfying! It’s just a shame it didn’t hit Zinnia in the face."
「In the hospital parking lot.」
Crystal Sutton sat in her car, holding her phone and watching the live stream from the hospital room. She had wanted Gloria Grant to cause a scene, and of course, she had to see it for herself to feel satisfied. She had arranged for someone to start a live stream in advance and even paid to boost its traffic.
By now, the stream’s popularity was already high, with tens of thousands of people watching online. The live comments were filled with curses aimed at Zinnia Lawrence.
[This woman is pretty, but she’s so heartless! Ignoring her own brother and mother, and even hitting her elders!]
[Doesn’t matter how pretty she is, a person like that is just an animal.]
[Carrying a bag worth tens of thousands but won’t support her own family and is heartless toward her sick brother. She should just go die!]
[With a face like that, she’s obviously a vixen. Bet she’s some rich guy’s mistress.]
Seeing the frenzy of insults in the live chat, Crystal Sutton was ecstatic. Zinnia Lawrence and Jenson Forrest had already registered their divorce, so Jenson certainly wouldn’t involve himself in Zinnia’s mess anymore. Even if Zinnia managed to go abroad, she wouldn’t be leaving comfortably. She would have to be driven out of Veridia like a hated rat!
Back in the hospital room, the live stream continued. Zinnia Lawrence pulled Yara aside to anxiously check her head.
"Yara, are you okay?"
"I’m fine, I’m fine! It was just an egg, not a rock. They’re just trying to mess with me... Ugh, why did it have to be a rotten one?!"
Yara touched the egg goo in her hair, and the stench made her gag. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel⦿fire.net
Zinnia’s expression suddenly hardened. She realized something was terribly wrong.
How could Gloria Grant and the others know she was going abroad? And how did they manage to ambush her at the hospital so perfectly? Moreover, if these people weren’t plants, how could they just happen to have rotten eggs on hand?
Even the medical staff trying to maintain order were blocked by the crowd and couldn’t get through.
Zinnia’s sharp gaze scanned the doorway, her eyes finally locking onto a tall man in the crowd. While others were holding their phones to record, this man was using a tripod for his live stream.
Just then, Gloria Grant stepped forward with a sorrowful expression and grabbed Zinnia’s hand, blocking her line of sight. "Zinnia, you’re my own flesh and blood," she sobbed. "You can’t just abandon your mother and leave. If you do this, I’ll have to listen to everyone here and call the police."
Zinnia forcibly yanked her hand free from Gloria’s grasp and said loudly, "Fine! Let the police come and decide how much support I should pay and whether I can take my brother with me."
She then turned and whispered to Yara, "I think someone’s live-streaming."
Yara reacted instantly. She pushed past Angus Grant and Holly Tilton, who were blocking their way, and charged toward the door. She shouted to the crowd, "You’ve all been deceived! This woman is no loving mother! My friend and her brother grew up being starved and beaten. After her brother, Mason, was left in a vegetative state from a car accident over a year ago, my friend has been the one paying all his medical bills and taking care of him. Meanwhile, this woman only ever shows up to demand money from my friend. She doesn’t even visit the hospital once every month or two!
"Now that she’s heard my friend wants to take her brother abroad, she’s afraid she won’t be able to leech off her anymore, so she brought her own brother and sister-in-law here to cause a scene! They’re demanding ten million from my friend! That’s not asking for support, it’s extortion! If you don’t believe me, you can ask the nurses!"
Hearing Yara’s words, a family member of a patient in the next room spoke up.
"That’s right. I’m from the room next door, and I often see that young woman coming to visit her brother."
"I saw her when I was paying a bill last time. But this woman who claims to be her mother... I’ve never seen her before."
The tall man who was live-streaming saw the tide turning. He hurriedly tried to end the broadcast and run.
Yara squeezed through the crowd, grabbed the man by the shoulder, and dragged him back into the room. She pinned him against the wall and snatched his phone.
Unfortunately, the livestream had already been shut down.
"What are you doing! Give me back my phone!" the man panicked.
Yara jabbed her elbow squarely into the man’s chest, making him groan and unable to try snatching the phone back. She let go, and the man slid down the wall, clutching his aching chest.
Yara sneered, "You love live-streaming so much? Why the hurry to turn it off? Don’t worry, I’ll be nice and turn it back on for you."
As she spoke, she reopened the livestream.
The viewers had been engrossed when the stream suddenly cut off, and most of them hadn’t left. Seeing the livestream restart, they all flooded back in.
Yara aimed the camera directly at the head nurse’s name badge on her chest.
"Head Nurse, would you please tell them what you know?"
"The patient in Bed 23 has indeed been under Miss Lawrence’s care and responsibility. Miss Lawrence comes every two or three days. I’ve only seen the woman claiming to be her mother twice at most, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen this uncle and aunt." The head nurse then addressed the crowd sternly. "This patient is extremely weak and requires absolute quiet! If anything happens to him because you’re all here making a racket, can any of you bear the consequences?"
At that moment, a tall figure strode over. He spoke to the noisy crowd in a deep voice.