Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

Chapter 140: Chapter 136: It Looks Like Miss Thorne Is Injured

She was especially grateful to Georgia, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. "In the end, you’re still the best."

Jared Thorne had always been obsessed with money; Lynn had never held out much hope that he’d be willing to part with any.

She had already thought it through on the way here.

It was a fifty-fifty chance, but she didn’t want to give up on it.

"Don’t cry. It’s really not that bad." Georgia moved her wrist slightly to show it wasn’t a major issue.

’It already feels much better than right after it happened,’ she thought. ’At least I can feel my arm again.’

Georgia comforted Lynn, her arm throbbing with a dull ache.

The taxi stopped at the hospital entrance. Lynn paid the fare, and the two of them got out.

"Be careful, don’t let anyone bump your arm." The hospital entrance was crowded, so Lynn carefully shielded Georgia’s arm.

In a black van parked at a distance, Owen Sawyer quietly watched Georgia and Lynn enter the hospital before glancing at Elliot Sheridan in the back seat.

"Sir, it looks like Miss Thorne is injured. Should we...?"

Of course, both women shared the surname Thorne.

But it was an unspoken rule that "Miss Thorne" referred to Georgia.

A chilling aura radiated from the man’s handsome dark eyes. As Georgia’s slender figure disappeared into the hospital, the fury in his gaze intensified.

His handsome brows furrowed. "Drive!" he commanded coldly.

Owen Sawyer snuck a glance at his boss’s dark expression in the rearview mirror, utterly baffled.

’What exactly is the relationship between him and Georgia Thorne?’

’They run so hot and cold.’

’Take now, for instance. He followed her all the way to the hospital but refuses to go inside.’

Owen sighed to himself and drove away from the hospital.

He summed up his boss’s personality in two words: completely unpredictable.

The examination results were reassuring: no broken bones.

Still, the angry red mark from the club on her slender, fair arm was a shocking sight.

The doctor prescribed a bottle of ointment to help with the bruising—the kind that comes in a small white jar. The hospital visit ended up costing three or four hundred dollars.

After they got home, Lynn said, "I have a few tens of thousands saved up, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough!" freёwebnovel.com

Lawsuits were incredibly expensive these days.

Georgia thought for a moment. "I have some money, too."

She went into her room, took an envelope from a drawer, and handed it to Lynn.

The money in the envelope was from her contract with Zane Lennox.

’I was planning to return it to Zane, but I never got the chance. I guess I’ll have to use it for now.’

’Once I have money again, I’ll pay him back.’

"I can’t take your money!" Lynn refused, trying to hand it back to Georgia.

"Lynn, just take it for now. Think of it as a loan. You can pay me back when you’re back on your feet. I don’t need the money right now anyway." Georgia insisted, pressing the envelope firmly into Lynn’s hand. "Leah is what’s most important, right?"

At the mention of Leah, Lynn’s heart ached anew. She accepted the money hesitantly. "Thank you."

"We’re sisters. There’s no need for ’thank you’ between us!"

"No, I really mean it!" Lynn wiped away a tear, offering a small smile. "Thank you for letting me stay here, thank you for taking that hit for me, and thank you for lending me this money."

Portmire wasn’t a huge city, and it only had a handful of well-known law firms.

The Sutton Family was rich; they would naturally hire a top-tier lawyer. Lynn was afraid that if she chose a lesser one, she would lose the case.

She dragged Georgia to the biggest law firm in Portmire—Everlight Law Firm.

Everlight Law Firm was very well-known in Portmire.

Even their most junior lawyer charged a retainer of a hundred thousand dollars, and the fees for their star attorneys were astronomical.

An ordinary family couldn’t possibly afford a lawyer like that.

Georgia grabbed Lynn’s arm as she was about to enter. "Lynn, are you sure about this? We don’t have that kind of money."

The day before, Lynn had pooled all her savings from over the years, but even with Georgia’s twenty-thousand-plus, it only came to about eighty or ninety thousand in total.

Lynn knew it was expensive, but nothing was more important than her child.

"Georgia, whether we succeed or not, I have to try for Leah’s sake."

With grim determination, she walked in alone. Georgia had no choice but to hurry after her.

In a consultation room, Georgia nervously watched the lawyer in front of them. He wore a black suit and glasses.

"Pardon me, but which of you is looking to hire an attorney?" the man asked formally, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Georgia eyed the smiling lawyer, then discreetly tugged on Lynn’s sleeve, trying to signal her not to rush into hiring him.

’This lawyer’s fee is two hundred thousand for a single case!’

"I am," Lynn said with a smile, her intention perfectly clear.

’Even if it means drowning in debt, I can’t give up on my child.’

Lynn explained her situation to Attorney Larkin, who helped her structure the case.

A divorce stemming from marital conflict where the husband is at fault and the wife is seeking child custody. It was a very common type of case.

"Attorney Larkin, Leah is so important to me. I can’t lose him."

Attorney Larkin tidied his papers. "I believe I have a clear enough picture. The next step is gathering evidence."

Evidence, in this case, meant proof of Finn Sutton’s affair with his mistress.

Hard evidence, like photos, text messages, or videos.

Lynn nodded. "Attorney Larkin, about your fee...?"

"If you provide the evidence, my fee is two hundred thousand. If you need my firm to get involved in evidence gathering, it’s an additional fifty thousand," Attorney Larkin said, taking a placid sip of green tea.

"I’ll transfer the money to your account tomorrow."

"Good. Then it’s settled."

Attorney Larkin shook Lynn’s hand. "I hope we have a pleasant collaboration."

"Thank you, Attorney Larkin."

The moment they stepped outside, Georgia said anxiously, "Lynn, two hundred and fifty thousand! Where are we going to get that kind of money?"

’We couldn’t get that much even if we robbed a bank.’

"I still have some jewelry from my dowry. If I sell it, that should be almost enough."

Georgia knew how desperate she was to get her son back. "Lynn, you can’t sell your dowry!"

"Why can’t I? My husband is already gone. What good is a dowry to me now?"

Georgia was speechless. "Er..."

Georgia and Nancy Hughes had just gotten home when Nancy handed a package to Lynn. "Big Sis," she said, using the same term of address as Georgia, "you have a delivery."

Very few people knew that Lynn was living there.

"What is it?"

Lynn opened it and found a court summons.

Georgia glanced at it and immediately knew who had sent it.

’The Suttons are truly ruthless. They’ve even beat us to the punch on this.’

"I think I’ll go lie down for a bit." Lynn clutched the summons and went into her room.

"Hey, what was that she just opened?"

"A court summons." Georgia sat down and sighed deeply.

"Your sister is so unlucky, marrying such a heartless man. It’s a good thing she’s divorcing him now. While she’s still young, she can find someone better!"

"I hope my sister can see it that way."

’But judging by Lynn’s reaction, that’s probably not going to happen.’

"By the way, why do you smell like medicine?"

Following the medicinal scent on Georgia, Nancy’s eyes fell on her arm. "What happened to your arm?"

"It’s nothing, just a small injury." Georgia subconsciously pulled her arm behind her back.

"If it’s nothing, why are you hiding it!" Nancy didn’t believe her for a second. She leaned over and grabbed Georgia’s wrist.

"Ow, gentle!"

"Oh, oh, sorry!"

Nancy had grabbed Georgia right on her injured wrist, causing her to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.

"Holy crap! A mark that red and you tell me you just bumped it? Who do you think you’re kidding!"

The angry red welt on her arm had clearly been caused by a blow.

"My dad was going to hit my sister, so I stepped in," Georgia explained with a small smile. "The doctor said it’s just a superficial injury. It looks scarier than it is, it’s really no big deal."

"Your dad is ruthless. If he’d had a knife instead, your arm would be gone."

Nancy grumbled, found the ointment in Georgia’s bag, and applied some for her.

That evening, Lynn still hadn’t come out of her room. Feeling worried, Georgia knocked on the door.

"Lynn, it’s me."

"Come in," a listless voice called from inside.

Pushing the door open, Georgia saw Lynn sitting on the bed, a pile of jewelry spread out before her. "Sis, what are you doing?"

Lynn hadn’t been sleeping at all. The moment she got back to her room, she had started calculating the value of her jewelry.

’It’s not much, and it’s all several years old. It won’t be worth much secondhand.’

After calculating, she was still short by about a hundred thousand.

Lynn gave a bitter smile. "I never thought I’d be the kind of person to count every penny."

"How much are you short?" Georgia glanced over and picked up the little notebook she was using for her calculations.

The jewelry, all the bits and pieces added up, was only worth about seventy or eighty thousand. Lynn had overestimated the value of her dowry.

All the money they had scraped together—her savings, Georgia’s loan, the jewelry—didn’t even add up to a hundred and fifty thousand.

"Lynn, if it’s not enough, we should just find another lawyer. Attorney Larkin is too expensive."

’Two hundred and fifty thousand, non-negotiable.’

Lynn shook her head. "You’re not a mother yet. When you are, you’ll realize that money is nothing compared to your child."

"Then where are you going to get the other hundred thousand?" Georgia sat on the bed. Seeing Lynn’s small pieces of jewelry, she suddenly remembered the one she had locked away in her cabinet. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Georgia bit her lip as she heard Lynn say, "Dad definitely won’t give me any money. I’ll try talking to Mom privately. She must have a lot of savings after all these years."

Georgia hummed in acknowledgment. "Come out and have some dinner."

"Okay."

After dinner, Lynn called Hayley Sullivan.

At first, no one answered. Then the call connected. Lynn had just said, "Mom," when Jared Thorne’s voice boomed from the receiver, "I told you! If you don’t get back together with Finn Sutton, don’t even think about getting a single cent from the Thorne family!"

His furious roar was so loud that even Georgia, standing several feet away, could hear it clearly.

Getting money from Hayley Sullivan, it seemed, was hopeless.