Chapter 45
Jasper struggled wildly, out of control. "Aiden, you bastard, come at me if you dare."
Nora's bandaged ear was injured again. This time, her left ear might truly be deaf.
Lying on the ground, Nora weakly tried to crawl toward Samuel.
He was terrified, still wiping his nosebleed.
"Jasper, Evelyn almost got killed by this bitch yesterday, and she still has the nerve to get Michael involved. Pretty impressive, huh." Aiden kicked Nora hard in the stomach, seemingly furious that Nora had found a backer.
"Nora, you're getting more and more capable. What tricks did you use to seduce Michael?" Aiden grabbed Nora's hair again, forcing her to look. "Watch carefully."
With that, Aiden signaled the bodyguards to go after Jasper. "Which hand did you use to molest Evelyn? Let Nora watch closely how I destroy you."
Jasper struggled as his right hand was pressed to the ground.
He had learned repairs from his comrades in the military, and after discharge, he specialized in car repair. He was skilled, and his livelihood depended entirely on those hands.
If they destroyed Jasper's hands, they would truly be taking his life.
"No." Nora knelt on the ground in panic, begging Aiden. "No, please, take my hands instead, don't hurt Jasper, please don't."
Nora shouted hoarsely, begging Aiden to spare Jasper.
But Aiden just held her there coldly, forcing her to keep her eyes open and watch.
A bodyguard picked up an iron hammer used for car repairs and smashed it down hard on Jasper's hand, again and again, until it was a bloody mess.
Nora knelt there stiffly, her body gradually becoming numb and cold.
Samuel was still crying, throwing himself forward to hold Jasper's hand.
Those people's hammers were about to come down again.
He was just a child.
How could they bring themselves to do it?
Jasper struggled like a madman, gripping his bloody fist and punching the bodyguard in the face over and over. No one could pull him off—he looked like he wanted to kill someone.
These people had pushed him to this. They had all pushed him to this.
Nora just knelt there, surrounded by silence.
She looked up at Aiden, her voice hoarse. "What I owed the Adams family, I paid back long ago. Why do you keep pushing me?"
She wasn't even afraid of death anymore. What else was there to fear?
"Nora, what you owe the Adams family, what you owe Evelyn—you think you can ever pay that back? Evelyn was bullied since childhood and has severe depression. She'll be tormented by those nightmares for the rest of her life. She lost a kidney from a suicide attempt in a car crash, and you made her condition worse until she fell into a coma. You think the Adams family and the Smith family will let you go? I'm telling you, this is just the beginning."
Aiden was telling Nora the truth. Evelyn had fallen into a coma from the shock, and Ava and Owen had lost control. They wanted Nora dead.
By coming here himself, he could at least keep Nora alive.
"Let's go." Perhaps satisfied, Aiden threw Nora aside and left with his people.
Jasper held Samuel, constantly comforting him.
Samuel was in shock, trembling all over.
They both knew this couldn't go on. If it did, Samuel would get sick.
Nora sat on the ground, quietly silent for a long time.
Maybe coming back was a mistake.
She should stay away from Samuel so he could have a peaceful childhood.
"Jasper, I have to leave." Nora had thought donating a kidney would make up for her debt, but now it seemed the Adams family didn't deserve it.
What the Adams family wanted, what they had taken from her, was far too much.
She had more than repaid twenty years of raising.
"Where are you going?" Jasper's voice was hoarse as he leaned against the wall, smoking continuously.
Samuel had fallen into an exhausted sleep, badly shaken.
His condition hadn't been effectively treated or relieved. Nora needed money, lots and lots of money.
"Out to work." Nora glanced at Jasper. "Jasper, I'll send money home every month. Don't be stingy about food, and if Samuel's school situation really can't be solved, just don't send him to kindergarten."
Jasper nodded. There was no other choice.
"If I stay, the Adams family and the Smith family won't let me go, and Samuel will keep getting traumatized. He has autistic tendencies—he can't take any more shocks." Nora wiped her tears. The tears soaked into the cigarette burn scars on her face. It hurt so much.
"Going away to hide is probably for the best." Jasper agreed. "Take this money. I found a job that's not as tiring as car repair—24 hours on, 24 hours off. Pretty easy, and I can take care of the kid."
Nora only took five hundred-dollar bills from the money Jasper gave her for travel expenses, stuffing the rest back to him. "Taking care of Samuel costs money."
Choking up, Nora turned and left.
"Nori." Jasper called out. "Wherever you go, give me a call."
Nora's left ear was deaf. She didn't stop.
She had to leave.
Escape.
Go earn money.
If she didn't donate a kidney to Evelyn, the Adams family would hunt her down even more frantically.
Maybe one day she'd end up dead in the wilderness, all her organs harvested.
With a bitter laugh, Nora limped away.
After a few steps, Nora looked back.
What she couldn't bear to leave most was Samuel.