My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Do You Want to Give Candy a Bright Future?

Claire Clark nearly died of fright.

She never imagined Mrs. Vaughn would be so ruthless, that the price for telling the truth would be so steep.

Fifty million? Repay it within forty-eight hours? They could kill her and she still wouldn’t be able to do it!

Forget fifty million, she didn’t even have five thousand in her bank account right now!

"No! Ma’am! I really didn’t mean to! I-I know I was wrong! I’m begging you, please forgive me just this once! As long as you don’t make me pay it back, I’ll do anything! I... even if you beat me to death, I couldn’t possibly come up with fifty million!"

She had no spine at all.

The more she acted like this, the more Mrs. Vaughn despised her.

"Get out of the car. I don’t want to hear another word from you. If you don’t have the money, you can choose the second option."

"Don’t even think about running. A lawyer will be visiting you shortly to discuss the specific details. You can say whatever you have to say to him."

With that, Mrs. Vaughn unlocked the car with a CLICK.

Claire Clark wanted to say more, but one look from the older woman sent her scrambling out of the car.

Mrs. Vaughn sped off, leaving Claire Clark standing there, devastated. As she replayed the woman’s words, her head was ringing.

’This can’t be real, right? What just happened must have been a hallucination.’

Just as she was trying to deceive herself, her phone rang.

She pulled it out and saw it was her mother.

"Mom."

"Claire? Where have you been? What on earth is going on today? Why are so many people here at the house looking for you? Can you come back right now? There’s a lawyer here with a group of people..."

Claire Clark took a taxi and rushed home in a panic. By the time she arrived, the lawyer had already explained the whole situation to Ms. Clark.

When Ms. Clark saw her finally return, she lunged forward and slapped her across the face.

"Look what you’ve done! I was wondering why Damien hadn’t been in touch lately. It turns out... Claire! How could you be so foolish!"

"What are we going to do now? The house back home has already been sold! Our whole family’s livelihood depends on this shop, and now they want us to pay them back!"

"We can’t go on like this! Oh! Your brother was counting on this house to get married and have kids, and now you’ve ruined everything!"

"Hurry up and call Damien! Beg him to let us off! Oh, if we lose the house, your father and I won’t be able to go on living! You’ve brought this curse upon us!"

Her mother’s wailing gave Claire Clark a headache, but she also felt deeply wronged.

It was wrong of her to deceive Damien Vaughn back then, but she had done it for the sake of her family.

’The whole family had lived comfortably off her for years, eating and drinking without a care. Not a shred of gratitude, and now that trouble has struck, they’re pinning all the blame on me?’

She was about to argue with her mother, but the lawyer was in no mood to watch their mother-daughter melodrama.

"The evidence is conclusive and the facts are clear. If you cannot repay the debt in full within forty-eight hours, I will have no choice but to initiate legal proceedings. This is the madam’s wish. Calling President Vaughn will be useless, so save your breath. You’d be better off using this time to figure out how to raise the money."

After speaking, the lawyer raised his wrist and glanced at his watch.

"Thirty-seven minutes have already passed. You have twenty-three hours and twenty-seven minutes remaining."

Claire Clark was speechless.

The Clark family descended into a panic.

Her father and brother returned, and after a round of accusations and arguments, the four of them started to calculate.

All of their current assets, even if they liquidated everything in a fire sale, would only amount to twenty million at most. There was no way in hell they could come up with fifty million. What were they going to do?

Damien Vaughn had blacklisted her number long ago. With no one to turn to for help, she thought of Vivian Mason.

Vivian Mason was a clever person; maybe she could help her think of a solution.

After Vivian Mason and Claire Clark had confronted Cecelia Archer at the mall, they were taken to the police station and now had a record. The two hadn’t been in contact recently.

Claire Clark was no longer Damien Vaughn’s woman. There was no point in associating with her anymore; she would only cause trouble. Vivian Mason was utterly sick of Claire.

Hearing her tearful account, Vivian Mason couldn’t have been more delighted. And then, a malicious plan began to form in her mind.

"It must be Cecelia Archer’s doing. Think about it, who else in this world hates you this much? She’s Damien Vaughn’s favorite right now, so it must have been her idea! It’s useless to look for anyone else; you can only go to Cecelia Archer!"

Claire Clark also thought it was Cecelia Archer’s doing.

’But what’s the use in finding her? She won’t help me.’

"Then use her daughter to threaten her, force her to help. Isn’t the only reason she’s risen to prominence because she gave Damien Vaughn a daughter? Kidnap her daughter and see if she doesn’t panic!"

"But I don’t even know where she is right now..."

"Then hurry up and find out! Are you just going to sit at home and wait to be destroyed?"

After a great deal of effort, using some old contacts she had from her time at the hospital, Claire Clark actually managed to find her.

’There’s no other way. To protect my family, I have to take a desperate risk!’

Claire Clark dug out a white lab coat she had kept from her hospital days, put her hair up in a bun, donned a mask, and quietly made her way to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Vaughn, having confirmed Candy’s identity, had one more thing to do.

Before Damien returned, she needed to secure custody of Candy and make Cecelia Archer leave Veridia.

She planned to take Candy abroad to raise her alone, keeping the secret of her identity hidden forever.

That way, Damien Vaughn would still be single, still the noble and respectable President of the Vaughn Group in the public eye.

With Cecelia Archer gone, he could marry into the Morgan Family, ensuring the Vaughn Group would forever remain an unshakeable pillar in Veridia.

’Oh, Cecelia Archer, don’t blame me for being cruel. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for your humble origins. You are unworthy of being the mother of the Vaughn Family’s young miss, and you are unworthy of standing by Damien’s side.’

Mrs. Vaughn found a coffee shop, had a cup of coffee to collect her thoughts and compose herself, and then drove back to the hospital.

In the hospital room, Cecelia Archer was sitting by Candy’s bed reading a book when Mrs. Vaughn suddenly returned.

"Ma’am, why are you..."

Mrs. Vaughn’s mood was very calm now. She looked at her coolly.

"I’d like to have a proper talk with you. The weather is nice today. Let’s go to the rooftop."

’Talk again? What else is there to talk about? Does she just want to insult me again?’

Cecelia Archer didn’t want to go, but Mrs. Vaughn was insistent.

"You don’t want the child to overhear unpleasant things, do you? I’m trying to let you keep some dignity."

With no other choice, Cecelia Archer had to follow her to the rooftop.

The hospital was eight stories high. Though the sun was warm, the wind on the rooftop sent a chill through one’s heart.

Mrs. Vaughn walked to the railing at the edge of the roof, gazing out at the prosperous cityscape of Veridia for a moment.

"Cecelia Archer, do you want to give Candy a good future?"

Cecelia Archer stood two steps away, looking at Mrs. Vaughn in confusion.

"Ma’am, what do you mean?"

"You are not worthy of Damien. You will never marry into the Vaughn Family in this lifetime; that is a foregone conclusion. But to be honest, I am quite fond of Candy. I can’t bear the thought of her leaving with you, only to suffer and lead a life of mediocrity."

Mrs. Vaughn turned her head slightly to look at Cecelia Archer.

"So I’ve thought it over and decided to help her. Take this card. The twenty million from selling the house yesterday is untouched."

"You are still young and single. Without a child and with twenty million to your name, you can easily find another good man."

"Leave Candy with me. I will make her the young miss of the Vaughn Family. I’ll take her abroad for her education, personally raise her, and give her a bright future. What do you think?"