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Gwendolyn fished out her ID card from her purse. “I have my ID with me, and I've previously signed a
contract with you before. They should be proof that I'm the child's mother, so please let me see her.”
The man eyed her, then the ID card in her hand, only proceeding to open the door once he ascertained
that she was the same person on the card.
The thick, acrid cigarette smoke hovering in the air caused her to erupt in a coughing fit, and a few men
were drinking and swinging fists at each other.
“Samuel, the indebted woman is here.”
A man seated at the head of the table with a glass of alcohol glanced over.
Before Gwendolyn came upstairs, she had deliberately ruined her makeup to appear less desirable.
Smudges of mascara rimmed her eyes like a panda, and she smeared bright red lipstick sloppily
across her lips, giving her the appearance of an insane grin.
He quickly averted his gaze, clearly dismissing her without a second thought.
“Take your daughter and leave after paying your debt,” he said coldly. A scar tugged his face as he
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtspoke, making others feel slightly uncomfortable at the sight of that.
Gwendolyn slid the card to him. “The money's all there. You can swipe it, or I can transfer it to you.”
She didn't want to use this card at first, knowing the five hundred thousand inside was from her
grandpa.
She didn't want to use it; she couldn't.
Today was the exception. Juliette was in their hands, and Gwendolyn needed to save her.
Pride and honor be damned. It wouldn't matter anyway if she lost Juliette.
Samuel signaled for his subordinate to swipe the card while she stood in place guardedly. It was her
first time observing the men's vulgar conversation and swearing while drinking.
Some affluent individuals were handsome and suave like Patrick, as well as men from the seedy
underworld—odorous, filthy, vicious men with foul tempers.
Her grip tightened convulsively around her bag, and she silently thanked her lucky stars that she had
streaked her makeup beforehand.
Otherwise, those men would have devoured her alive. Leaving an impression on them could mean
certain death for her.
Eugene and a burly man were among the men sitting at the bar table drinking. They were red-faced
drunk from guzzling alcohol while gorging on a plate of meat. Their voices overlapped each other until
they were a muddle of noise.
Gwendolyn cast a sidelong glance at the room where the subordinate had disappeared, puzzled as to
why it took so long.
She wanted to pay up and leave as soon as possible with Juliette. It was not a good idea to stay in the
company of a bunch of drunken men.
Her eyes darting to the door betrayed her growing anxiety.
Suddenly, a woman in a skin-tight red dress sauntered out. “The money is insufficient, Samuel!”
He locked his lethal gaze on Gwendolyn. “Are you toying with us, Ms. Ashton, by attempting to pay the
ransom with insufficient money?”
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Gwendolyn hastily clarified, “There should be five hundred thousand inside, which is the principal
amount. I'll pay the interest tomorrow, okay?”
The events were too precipitated tonight, and she didn't have time to look for Lucy. Hence, she only
had five hundred thousand on hand and was hoping they would accommodate her.
They didn't have to worry she would shirk payment since she had paid the principal amount.
Samuel barked a laugh. “Ms. Ashton, what makes you think we'd make an exception for you?”
The woman beside him slung an arm around his neck and snickered.
“Let me do the math for you, Ms. Ashton. You borrowed five hundred thousand and failed to pay it back
within a month. As a result, you owe five hundred fifty thousand. Now you have deferred payment
another month, and your debt has snowballed to another hundred thousand. Do you understand the
concept of compound interest? Yours has accumulated to a total of two million.”
Gwendolyn's eyes widened comically. “Two million?”
“That's correct. More accurately, it's two million two hundred thirty thousand today. Tomorrow's figure
will be different.”
“This is daylight robbery! How could you tally like that?” Gwendolyn fumed.
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