Chapter 170: She’s Gone (Part 1)
Jack opened his eyes, finding money and a key in the bundle—Alison clearly didn’t want to owe him, though the sum was less than 1.2 million dollars.
He roared inside, Alison, are you trying to distance yourself from me?
Do you think you can repay everything? Don’t even think about it—you’ll owe me forever.
With a flick of his wrist, the bills scattered like darts, fluttering everywhere.
The keys clattered onto the carpet, lonely and isolated—just like him.
Everything was gone. She had left with the kids, taking all their happiness with her.
Jack slumped onto the carpet.
She didn’t want money or the house. So what the hell did she want?
He had argued with his mother for her sake—argued long before they ever went to the volcanic geological park.
How much had he sacrificed for her? And yet she had slipped away silently.
He was always the one to say goodbye, yet now Alison had dumped him without even giving him a chance to confront her.
He sat in the cold room helplessly, longing running wild.
Alison, Sophia, and Ethan filled his mind.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when the phone suddenly rang.
The sound made him jump to his feet.
Rushing to the phone, he snatched it up. “Alison? Is that you?”
“Jack, snap out of it. This is Aimée. Your mother’s wound has worsened. The doctor is urging us to go back.”
“When are you coming down?” Aimée added impatiently.
“Go back yourself,” he replied casually.
“Hey, don’t you even care about your mother?” Aimée was on the verge of exploding.
“Nurse can handle it.” With that, he slammed the phone down, yanked out the cord, and shut her out.
Once he had calmed down, he thought: she wouldn’t have left for no reason. But he couldn’t figure it out.
Could it be because I hadn’t called her in the past few days? She couldn’t be that petty…
He genuinely couldn’t get away that time—his mother was watching him closely and had nearly died. He had to play along.
Yet it was definitely connected to his mother’s injury.
“Jack, open the door! Come out!” Aimée pounded and yelled from outside.
He ignored her, just let her yell.
The noise grew louder, but he still slumped on the carpet.
“Jack, if you don’t open the door, I’ll call security to break it down!” Aimée screamed. His silence made her both furious and worried.
Was he thinking of doing something reckless?
“Jack, Alison might have just taken the kids back to her hometown. Open the door, don’t scare me.”
The words jolted Jack awake. It wasn’t impossible. Perhaps Alison really had taken the children to visit her adoptive parents.
At last, his tension eased slightly.
“Open the door, or I’ll call the police!” The house remained eerily silent, and Aimée felt a chill of dread.
Jack had heard everything. He hated any noise disturbing the peace he craved.
Slowly, he rose and opened the door.
Aimée burst in. Seeing the floor littered with bills, she froze. Jack’s expression terrified her even more.
“Jack, what’s wrong with you?”
“Anything else? If not, we’re leaving now,” said the apartment security guard outside impatiently. The woman’s shouting had already drawn the neighbours.
People were peering curiously. Why was all that money scattered across the floor? Did he run a bank?
Aimée hurried to the door, telling the guard, “Oh, it’s fine now. Thank you.”
After closing the door, she turned back to Jack. He looked haggard, a cigarette between his fingers as he drew in deep puffs.