Chapter 219: Magnus is Not in the Imperial Capital
After Patricia hung up, she stuffed the $200,000 into a big bag.
The driver who caused the accident was locked up, but before he got thrown in, he gave her number and info to his wife.
Now, the driver's wife was on her case every day, begging for cash, driving her nuts.
She even threatened to rat her out if Patricia didn't cough up the dough.
Patricia had no choice but to grab the money and hand-deliver it to the family.
Once the cash was handed over, she was done with them.
No way was she letting that driver drag her down!
Patricia, rocking a hat and sunglasses, took the bag of money to their place and knocked on the door.
The driver's family was holed up in a dumpy part of downtown.
The area was a mess, with tiny two-story buildings that didn't even have bathrooms—they had to use the public restroom down the street.
A dog was tied up outside, barking its head off at her.
Soon, the rickety door creaked open, and a middle-aged woman in pajamas with messy hair stepped out.
This was the driver's wife.
She glared at Patricia and snapped, "Where's the money?"
"In the bag."
The woman stepped aside, letting Patricia in.
With a quick look over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, Patricia hurried inside, clutching her bag.
She dumped the cash onto the grimy little sofa and said, "Here's $200,000. Don't bug me again!"
The woman yelled, "You got my husband locked up for two years! Asking you for money is only fair! And this is just $200,000! I haven't even asked for lost wages yet!"
Patricia sneered, "Lost wages? How much can a driver make in a year? I'm being generous giving him $200,000! I'm warning you, take this money and leave me alone. Don't get greedy!"
"You think I'm scared of you? My husband's already in jail, I got nothing to lose! I'll take the $200,000, and I might leave you alone for a bit, but it ain't enough. You better come up with more cash soon!" The woman said boldly.
Patricia took off her sunglasses, eyes wide. "Don't push it!"
The woman calmly sneered and grabbed a calculator, "Let me figure out how much more you owe me."
Patricia gritted her teeth. "Fine, go on!"
"The $200,000 is just for my husband doing your dirty work. Now he's got two years in the slammer, which means no income for two years. I won't ask for much, just the going rate for a truck driver, $10,000 a month, which is $120,000 a year, so $240,000 for two years," the woman said.
Patricia was fuming. "Do you think I'm an idiot? How many trips can a truck driver make in a month? And can your husband get that much work? Is he driving a whole year without break? If he could make that much, why would he take my job for $200,000?"
"Our whole family relies on my husband's income, and my son is sick, which has drained our savings! He was desperate for money and made a mistake! Hundreds of thousands of dollars are nothing to you! Rich folks are so stingy, you'd rather risk exposure than pay up?"
The middle-aged woman was puzzled because hundreds of thousands of dollars were chump change to the rich.
They cared more about their reputation.
Patricia swallowed her anger, took a deep breath, and said, "How much do you want? Just spit it out all at once!"
The woman grinned, "Miss, let's make it $500,000 for two years of lost wages, and since my husband will have a criminal record and trouble finding work after he gets out of prison, another $500,000 for compensation, making it a cool $1 million."
Patricia glared at her, "Why don't you just rob a bank!"
The woman smirked, "If I could rob a bank, I would've done it already! But I'd get caught before I even got the cash. Cut the crap, are you paying or not?"
"No way! Just this $200,000, take it or leave it!" With that, Patricia turned to leave.
The woman called out sinisterly, "I heard from my husband that you have a very wealthy brother. If you don't pay, fine, I'll go to your brother. Doesn't matter who pays, as long as I get the money!"
Patricia froze.
She clenched her fists and turned back, gritting her teeth, "How dare you! I'm warning you, if you go to my brother, you won't get a dime!"
"Then you'd better come up with the $1 million quick. My patience is running out, so hurry up!"
Patricia was furious but stuck!
The woman had her leverage in her hands.
She had no choice but to agree, "Fine, $1 million is okay! But make it clear, once you get the money, don't bother me again!"
The woman said, "Miss, don't worry. Once we get the money, we'll leave here. My husband's in jail, and we won't be looking for work in the Imperial Capital anymore. We're just waiting for your money to leave and go back home."
Upon hearing this, Patricia finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A million bucks was nothing to her; she could borrow from a few friends and sell a few bags to come up with it.
After the recent drama, Christopher didn't let Juniper go to work at the company and told her to stay home and chill.
After the shooting incident at the theater, Ronald had found her a bodyguard who shadowed her everywhere.
In the evening, Jenny called her on video.
Juniper answered and, after some small talk, asked, "Did your dad take you to the zoo today? Was it fun?"
Jenny pouted and complained, "Dad said he'd take me, but we haven't gone yet!"
"Didn't he say you'd go today?" Juniper was puzzled.
Jenny's eyes widened. "No! Dad's not even home! Naomi took me out, and we went to the amusement park this afternoon! There was a bodyguard with us, and it wasn't fun at all!"
Juniper felt something was off. "Where did he go?"
"He said he went on a business trip and would be back in a few days to take me to the zoo!"
Juniper grew more curious. "A business trip? Where to?"
Jenny spread her little hands and shook her head. "I don't know. I called him on video earlier, and he said he'd be back in a few days. Mom, do you think Dad is dating another woman?"
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