Deanna looked deeply at the man in front of her and suddenly laughed mockingly.
"You're right. Legally, I do have an obligation to support you."
She said this as she turned and walked to the nearby sofa, picking up her phone and tapping on it a few times.
Garrett frowned and questioned, "What are you doing?"
"I'm checking the average support cost for the elderly nationwide."
Deanna replied without looking up.
Hearing this, Garrett breathed a sigh of relief.
After a while, Deanna put down her phone and said coldly to Garrett, "I checked the national data from recent years. According to public data, the average support cost for the elderly is about two to three thousand dollars a month. I'll give you three thousand a month."
"Three thousand?! Are you treating me like a beggar?!"
Garrett was furious after hearing Deanna's words.
In his view, Deanna was so wealthy that his monthly support should be at least tens of thousands.
Deanna sneered coldly and mocked, "If I could, I'd rather give this money to a beggar. At least not everyone is like you, ungrateful and always complaining it's not enough."
Garrett's face turned a mix of blue and black with anger.
Before he could say anything, Deanna continued, "You can take the three thousand dollars in support or leave it. If you don't want it, I'll donate it to someone in need."
"Who said I don't want it? Give me this month's payment."
Garrett couldn't allow Deanna to give the money to someone else.
He was penniless now. Although three thousand dollars was little, it was still something, and he wouldn't starve if he was frugal.
Deanna glanced coldly at Garrett but didn't transfer the money immediately. "I'll give you the money, but first, we need to sign a support agreement. I don't want to see you frequently in the future."
She knew Garrett too well. Three thousand dollars might not even be enough for him to have a meal. To prevent him from pestering her again, it was best to sign an agreement.
Garrett knew Deanna was guarding against him but had no choice. He suppressed his anger, signed the agreement, and left with the three thousand dollars.
As he walked down the hill, he couldn't help but look back at the grand estate behind him, feeling overwhelmed by regret.
But there was no turning back...
Garrett withdrew his gaze and left with a grim expression.
Thinking about his current situation, he vowed never to let Mia and Emily off!
While he was lost in thought, a black car drove past him.
Old Ashley noticed Garrett outside the window and leaned forward to get a better look, wondering why he was here.
The driver noticed her reaction and asked, "Madam, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, hurry back to the estate."
Old Ashley withdrew her gaze and instructed the driver to speed up.
The driver nodded and accelerated.
Within minutes, Old Ashley entered the estate.
She quickly walked into the living room but didn't see Deanna. She called a servant over and asked, "Where is Deanna?"
"Missus went to the third floor."
The servant answered truthfully.
Old Ashley waved her hand to dismiss the servant and headed towards the stairs.
On the third floor, she saw Deanna coming out of a temporary sickroom.
"Deanna," she called out.
Deanna responded with a smile and approached her. "Grandma, you're back."
Old Ashley nodded and glanced at the temporary sickroom behind her. "How is that girl doing?"
"She still has a slight fever, but it's not serious."
Deanna reported her findings from her recent check-up and then helped the old lady downstairs while chatting casually. "Did you have fun outside today, Grandma?"
"It was quite enjoyable. We hadn't seen each other in a long time and talked about many things." Old Ashley briefly recounted her day outside.
Finally, she remembered her purpose for finding Deanna and changed the subject. "I saw Garrett when I came back. What does he want now?"
Deanna wasn't surprised by this and directly explained Garrett's intentions.
"He probably found out that Lance is back and wanted me to ask Lance for help to take Jones Group back from the Howard family. But I refused. I'll get the company back, but not for him."
She then mentioned giving Garrett support money. "I didn't want to give him money, but he is still my father in name. I don't want him to make an issue out of it. So I came up with this plan. Plus, we've signed an agreement to prevent him from causing trouble later."
Old Ashley agreed with this approach.
"You did the right thing. He is still your father. Even if he has hurt you before, you're related by blood. It's an undeniable fact. We can't let people criticize us for it. It's just a few thousand dollars anyway."
"I thought so too."
Deanna nodded in agreement.
That evening, Lance stayed late at the office.
Meanwhile, Eula also encountered some issues. They only exchanged a few hurried words over the phone before each got busy with their respective tasks.