Chapter 3: She Agreed
All of their relatives and friends were avoiding them like a plague since the Scott family was sealed off. Ann made calls for days but eventually fell into depression.
Thinking of what her father had said to her in prison... she bit her dry lower lip tightly. All this was too overwhelming and her slender body could fall any minute now.
At this moment, her phone rang. It was an unknown number.
"Ann, have you met your father? What do you think? Do you want to agree to the deal I said?"
Ann closed her eyes and bit her lower lip until it turned pale.
The knuckles of her hand turned white from her firm grasp of the phone. Her voice was trembling.
"What if I am not pregnant?”
“I’ll think of another way. You’ll get pregnant.” The woman sounded desperate. “Wait there. I’ll have someone take you to the hospital.”
Ann couldn’t say no.
Tears fell silently from the corner of her eyes. She comforted herself in her mind.
'Ann, it's okay. All of this is for Dad. You can make it through. There is still hope in life.'
...
The person Hilda sent took Ann to the hospital and had her thoroughly examined.
Ann didn’t know whether she should say she was lucky or the other way around. She was pregnant!
Anyway, she could save her father now.
As soon as Ann’s pregnancy was confirmed, Hilda gave her the money instantly according to the terms of the agreement.
Ann felt a little bit surprised and ironic.
"You gave me the money now? Aren't you afraid that I won't give birth to this baby?"
Hearing this, Hilda sneered, "I could send your father to prison once, then I can also do it twice. You are smart, and you know what you should do."
Ann smiled bitterly. Yes, she was right.
She was the weak one. She had no right to say no.
She took a deep breath and offered her conditions.
"I'll move to the place you arranged for me until I give birth to this baby. But before that, you need to give me time to take care of my father and the whole school thing."
Hilda seemed to be in a good mood today. "Alright. It will take three months for the court to decide. I'll give you three months. After that, I'll send someone to pick you up."
...
The Second Prison
Using that money, Ann paid off the debt when the Scott family went bankrupt and pulled some strings.
She also spent the money that her father left for her to study abroad on a reliable lawyer to get him the best commutation possible.
Finally, within three months, the court's judgment was released.
William's sentence was reduced from eleven years to five years. And if he behaved well during the term, he might be able to be released even earlier.
Although William couldn't get out of the prison immediately, it was still a comfort for himself and Ann.
At the same time, he asked Ann how she managed to have his sentence reduced.
Ann didn't want to upset him, so she said that all this was because she turned to his friends for help, and went to apologize to those consumers involved one by one.
Her eyes turned red. She looked at her father, who had lost a lot of weight in the past few months. She managed to squeeze out a smile.
"Dad, as you said, every cloud has a silver lining. God will never cut off the way for the hard-working. This time is not an exception."
William, a man in his late forties, looked at her who was crying while laughing, choked, his eyes also red.
"Daddy owed you."
After all, he had been in the business circle for so many years, so he knew that the whole thing could not be solved as easily as what she had said.
Yes, God wouldn't cut off the way for the hard-working, but they still had to pay a painful price.
His daughter had also suffered a lot because of him.
...
Hilda found a place for Ann in the remote Dains Town for her delivery.
Although the town was not advanced in economy and transportation, it boasted beautiful scenery.
The baby was due in March when the River City was still in the early spring cold spell. The temperature there was low.
Thus Ann could only stay on the second floor of the house.
She was slim, but her belly was unusually big.
The doctor who examined her mentioned that she seemed to be pregnant with twins.
When being sent to the delivery room that had been prepared for her, Ann touched her bulging belly with her hand. Somehow, her pale face showed a wisp of sorrow and sadness.
What did she feel sorry for? Why would she be so sad?
After all, all of this was just a deal. She was not a qualified mother.
The sharp pain in her body made her unable to think. Her entire face was covered in sweat, as pale as a piece of paper.
When she felt the baby got out of her body, something streamed down from her eyes. She couldn't tell whether it was sweat or tear.
Before the doctor took the baby away, she instinctively grabbed his arm.
"Can I see it?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone