Chapter 161 A Fire Breaks Out

Chapter 161 A Fire Breaks Out

Paula urgently said, "If Laura gets sent to jail, we'll have no one to rely on!"

"Do you think your daughter Monica is reliable now? Does she even acknowledge you as her father?"

"Forget Monica, let's put all our energy into Laura."

As she spoke, she clung tightly to Henry's arm, her eyes filled with pleading and despair.

Henry pondered for a moment after hearing Paula's words. His eyes showed a hint of struggle, weighing the benefits against family ties.

Finally, he slowly nodded, then quickly raised his head and said, "I can hand Kathie over to you, but an hour is too rushed. You go back first, leave Laura here, and I'll make sure Kathie is delivered to the Robinson Mansion."

He was trying to buy some time to find a solution.

"No way!"

Monica stood up abruptly upon hearing Henry's words, her voice sharp, "If you don't bring my mom over now, I'll take Laura away. I wasn't here to negotiate; I was informing you of the terms."

Her eyes were firm and resolute, declaring her bottom line to Henry.

Seeing Monica's strong stance, Henry's anger flared up again. He stood up, reaching out to teach Monica a lesson.

However, Brandon quickly stepped in front of Monica, blocking Henry. He glared down at Henry, his eyes full of warning and intimidation.

Henry was so frightened by Brandon's gaze that he took two steps back, feeling a surge of inexplicable fear.

He stammered, "An hour is impossible. The nursing home where your mother is located is far from here; she can't get here in an hour."

He tried to use the distance as an excuse to delay further.

Brandon, holding Monica, sat back down on the couch. 

He looked at Henry and said calmly, "It's okay, I'll wait as long as it takes. When Monica's mother arrives, Laura can stay here completely."

His voice was calm and steady, yet it made Henry feel an invisible pressure, as if he was already under Brandon's control.

Hearing Brandon's firm support for Monica, Henry felt his scalp tingle. He knew that the situation had spiraled out of control today.

But in this critical moment, he had to maintain his composure. 

He quickly pretended to be in a hurry to make a phone call, grabbing Paula and rushing upstairs.

Once in the room, Henry quickly pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed the number. Lowering his voice, he said harshly, "Hey, bring Kathie over here."

A muffled response came from the other end of the line, and Henry's face instantly darkened, his anxious expression becoming more sinister. 

He gritted his teeth and growled, "What? Didn't I tell you to keep her alive?"

"Damn it, a bunch of useless idiots. I pay you so much every month, and you let Kathie die on me."

Each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with endless anger and frustration.

"What, dead?"

Paula, already tense, widened her eyes upon hearing this, instinctively grabbing Henry's arm tightly, her voice rising in panic, sharp and piercing.

Henry was startled by the sudden noise. 

In his panic, he quickly covered Paula's mouth, glancing warily at the door, and whispered urgently, "Keep it down. If that troublemaker downstairs hears, we're screwed."

At this moment, he was like a frightened bird, afraid that Brandon downstairs would notice something was wrong.

"What do we do? That little brat insists on seeing Kathie before letting Laura go. If we can't produce Kathie, we'll have to watch Laura get taken away."

Paula pried Henry's hand away, her face full of anxiety, her voice tinged with tears as she paced the room.

"Calm down, I have a plan." Henry's brows furrowed, his eyes flickering uncertainly. He comforted Paula while quickly devising a strategy in his mind.

After a brief moment of thought, he picked up his phone again and made several calls.

During the calls, he alternated between pleading and threatening, his expression changing with the responses from the other end.

After finishing the calls, he took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, then said to Paula, "You stay upstairs and take care of Laura. Don't go down; you tend to get flustered and make things worse. I'll handle it."

"Can you do it?"

Paula's face was full of worry, her eyes revealing a hint of doubt. 

She knew Henry too well and wasn't sure he could turn things around in such a critical moment.

"Trust me, I've got this."

Henry patted his chest, trying to reassure Paula, but his slightly trembling hands betrayed his inner tension.

After speaking, he took a deep breath, put on a look of urgency and pain, and walked downstairs.

"Bad news. I just got a call saying a building at Serenity Nursing Home caught fire, and your mom was in that building. I need to rush over there now."

Henry spoke as he made a show of being in a hurry, ready to leave.

"What? My mom is at Serenity Nursing Home?"

Monica, who had been anxiously waiting for news about her mother, stood up abruptly, her face full of shock, her eyes wide as if she had heard something unbelievable.

Serenity Nursing Home was renowned in Maplewood City for its high-end luxury. 

Monica had searched almost every nursing home in the city for her mother but had never checked Serenity Nursing Home.

She knew Henry's stingy nature would never spend a fortune to place her mother in a place where the nightly rate was nearly three thousand dollars. 

Monthly costs, including care fees, would be close to a hundred thousand dollars, an astronomical figure for Henry.

Because of this, Monica had overlooked this place, but now the truth hit her like a bolt from the blue.

Monica was instantly thrown into a panic.