Chapter 112 One Hundred Million Dollars, I Won't Pursue This
Liam blinked his grieved little eyes. When Max told him not to cry, he managed to stop his sobs, but tears continued rolling down his cheeks.
The crowd outside the door watched with sympathy, whispering among themselves.
"What's going on?"
"Are the parents getting divorced?"
"Must've been scolded. How could anyone have the heart to yell at such a sweet child?"
Alexander slammed the door shut, cutting off the gossip from outside.
Liam jumped at the sound, his crying catching in his throat. He looked up at Alexander, then at Max, and obediently stopped crying altogether.
Max realized his hatred for Alexander shouldn't be taken out on Liam. He walked over and gently ruffled the little boy's hair. "I won't send you away anymore. Please don't cry."
Liam nodded frantically.
As long as Max didn't send him away, he'd be good and not cry.
Liam hugged Max's leg, then turned to glare hatefully at Alexander, clearly united with Max against their common enemy.
The hospital room fell into long, deadly silence.
Alexander said to Max, "Take Liam outside. I need to talk to your mother."
Max shook his head. "No! You're a bad man who only bullies my mommy."
Alexander said, "I won't bully her."
Max became even angrier. "You say you don't bully Mommy, but you're helping that bad woman..."
"Max." Grace suddenly interrupted him.
Max looked at Grace with surprise.
Grace said, "Take Liam outside. I have something I want to discuss with him too."
Hearing this from Grace, Max reluctantly took Liam's hand and left the room, though he was still worried.
The hospital room door closed again.
Alexander sat down on the sofa beside the bed, head lowered, his expression unreadable.
Grace said, "You know the truth. Emily wasn't trying to pull me up, and it wasn't an accident. She deliberately pushed me down, trying to kill me. You're just protecting her, making excuses for her."
Alexander closed his eyes and numbly repeated, "She didn't try to kill you. This was a misunderstanding."
Grace said, "I can choose not to pursue any charges against her. But..." She had no expectations of this man whatsoever. Without expectations, how could there be disappointment?
But she wouldn't just take this loss lying down either.
Grace looked at Alexander and smiled faintly. "How will you compensate me?"
Alexander's eyes flickered with surprise.
"Give me one hundred million dollars." She suddenly named her price.
Alexander hadn't expected her to ask for money.
For him, money was the simplest and most brutal way to handle problems.
Grace looked at him coldly. "Is that too much? One hundred million dollars shouldn't be much for you, should it?"
Alexander said, "I just didn't expect you to make that kind of condition."
Grace asked seriously, "Is this condition harsh? Just one hundred million dollars—isn't my life worth that much? Isn't Emily's freedom from murder charges worth one hundred million? Alexander, I'm not asking for much. Give me one hundred million dollars, and I'll act like this never happened."
Alexander looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected Grace to voluntarily propose a settlement.
Grace said, "I'm exhausted from talking, even breathing is difficult. I don't have the energy to negotiate with you. Either accept my terms, or we have nothing to discuss."
With that, she closed her eyes, waiting for Alexander's response.
Alexander let out a bitter laugh. "Deal." He barely hesitated.
Grace's heart felt even more bitter.
She naturally knew that one hundred million dollars meant nothing to Alexander—an astronomical sum for ordinary people was something this man could give her without batting an eye.
But his quick agreement left her with a taste of bitterness.
So in his eyes, her life could be measured and settled with money and numbers.
Grace's tone suddenly turned cold. "Then stop wasting time. Give me the money quickly—write a check or wire transfer, whatever."
After speaking, she closed her eyes and said nothing more.
Alexander said, "I'll transfer one hundred million dollars to your account by the end of today."
Grace said, "Leave now. I don't want to see you right now. Liam can stay, but you go." She expressed her dismissal tersely.
Alexander stood up silently and walked to the door.
Max and Liam were sitting on the bench outside. When they saw Alexander emerge, they looked inexplicably dejected.
Liam asked, "Daddy?"
Alexander turned to look at Liam. "Liam, do you want to stay and keep Grace company?"
Liam nodded seriously.
Alexander said, "Then stay here and be good. Tonight, Daddy will send a driver to pick you up."
With that, Alexander left.
Max immediately pushed through the door into the room, with Liam following behind.
Grace lay on the bed with her eyes closed, but tears streamed steadily from the corners of her eyes, trailing into her ears.
Max, sensitive and perceptive, immediately noticed her tears. He walked over and carefully pulled out his handkerchief to wipe them away. "Mommy, did that bad man bully you again?"
Grace shook her head and mustered a bit of energy. "No, it hurts."
Liam immediately became worried and walked over.
Max was somewhat suspicious. "Where does it hurt?"
Grace said with a mixture of tears and laughter, "Silly boy, Mommy got hurt, of course it hurts! Everything hurts." She used pain as an excuse to cover her heartbreak.
Liam believed her and gently touched Grace's head with sympathy, but Max saw through it without saying anything.
"Mommy, it's okay. I'll always stay with you."
Liam also nodded solemnly, showing his determination to protect Grace.
A phone notification chimed from the small bag.
During Grace's days in the coma, Max had been keeping her phone safe. Thinking it might be an important message, he took out the phone and saw a transfer notification from Alexander.
Two hundred million dollars.
Max said in shock, "Why did he transfer money to you?"
Grace asked, "How much?"
Max said numbly, "Two hundred million dollars."
Grace was somewhat surprised by Alexander's efficiency. He'd said within a day, but in less than an hour, he'd transferred the money to her account—and double the amount.
Was he afraid she'd change her mind, so he acted this quickly?
Max asked suspiciously, "Did Mommy make some deal with that bad man?" Could it be that the bad man agreed to give Mommy two hundred million dollars to let Emily go and not pursue charges?
Grace said, "Not really. This is compensation he's giving me." Two hundred million dollars could accomplish a lot.
In this cruel world, only by becoming strong yourself could you avoid being bullied.
Grace said, "Don't worry, Max. Mommy won't let anyone bully her anymore."