Chapter 222: Sinclair Woke Up
Magnus rolled back into the Imperial Capital at the ungodly hour of 3 AM.
He'd been MIA for a couple of days, and Jenny had gone full-on wild child, turning her days and nights upside down.
She heard the engine purr in the yard, and while peeking out the window with her big eyes, she quickly turned off the cartoon.
Jenny thought to herself, 'Oh crap! Why the heck was Dad back so soon?'
Panicking, she scrambled to hide the half-finished drinks and food, but there was just too much junk, and she couldn't stash it all before Magnus walked in.
Jenny stood by the table, trying to block the mess. "Dad! What are you doing back so early?"
She was totally freaked out!
Magnus eyed her and asked, "Why aren't you in bed? What kind of mischief have you been up to while I was gone?"
Jenny swayed side to side, trying to block Magnus's view, rubbing her eyes with her little hands, "I took a nap and got thirsty, so I came down for some water!"
Magnus glanced at the trash can full of drinks and snorted, "After chugging all those drinks, you're still thirsty?"
Jenny's eyes went wide, and she quickly slapped a hand over her mouth.
Was Dad gonna make her write another self-reflection?
Last time, she snuck a ton of candy, and Dad made her write "candy" a hundred times. Her hand hurt so bad she swore off candy for a while.
This time, would it be "drinks" a hundred times?
Jenny, steeling herself for her dad's inevitable anger, felt the tears welling up.
She was about to say, "Dad, I messed up!"
Before she could start wailing, Magnus just said coldly, "It's late; go brush your teeth and hit the sack."
"OK." Jenny blinked, thinking she misheard.
She couldn't believe Dad didn't punish her.
But she was quick, and before Dad could change his mind, she grabbed the trash can and swept all the junk from the table into it.
"Leave it, let Naomi handle it in the morning," Magnus said.
"OK."
Jenny put down the trash can, hugged her tablet, and obediently headed upstairs, "Good night, Dad!"
She was about to leave.
Magnus asked, "Who got you the drinks?"
"Mom ordered them for me. Dad, I won't drink them anymore, don't be mad!" She braced for a scolding.
He just sighed, "You both love junk food."
Magnus's voice was deep, but not angry.
But in his dark eyes, there was a deep sense of loneliness.
Jenny, in her little slippers, walked over and asked with concern, "Dad, what's wrong?"
Dad looked so sad that he didn't even have the energy to scold her.
Magnus looked deeply at her innocent little face, suddenly feeling a bit grateful.
Even if he and Juniper could never reconcile, at least they had Jenny.
He reached out and ruffled her hair, "Go upstairs and sleep; I'm fine."
It had been seven years since he lost Juniper, he should've been used to it by now.
He'd been through worse, and now with Jenny by his side, and Juniper still alive and well, even if they couldn't be together, it was no big deal.
In this noisy and chaotic world, sad endings were the norm, happy endings were rare.
After Jenny went upstairs, Magnus sat on the couch in the living room, looking down at the silver ring on his finger. After a while, he finally took it off.
He was not only letting Juniper go but also letting himself go.
In the Imperial Capital's X City Prison, Isolde visited Alexander, conversing with him through a glass partition over the phone.
Alexander had aged a lot in the past year in prison, his hairs turning gray overnight.
Isolde was fuming, "Juniper's so ungrateful! I told you ages ago she had no conscience! You didn't listen and blew so much cash on her!"
Alexander was all riled up, "Make her come see me! I'm her dad, for crying out loud. I've been stuck in here for a year, and she hasn't visited once. Is that fair?"
Isolde yelled, "Didn't she send you to prison for Magnus? She's all about him, and you still expect her to visit? Last time I saw her at the mall, I even got on my knees and begged, but she didn't care! Don't count on her! Figure out a way to get out! Our son is still young; what's gonna happen to him if you stay in here for a few more years?"
Alexander's temples throbbed with rage, "She's so ungrateful! When I get out, she'll pay for this!"
"You gotta figure it out! Don't you have any old buddies or connections who can help you get out?" Isolde asked.
Alexander's eyes flickered, and he lowered his voice, "Go find Virgil Newman; he'll help me."
Isolde was skeptical, "Is he reliable?"
"I've got dirt on him. It's my last card. Go find him, explain the situation. If he wants to keep his position, he'll find a way to get me out."
"Alright, I'll give it a shot!"
"Isolde, when our son and I get out, we're moving abroad," Alexander said.
Isolde snapped, "Our assets are confiscated, where are we gonna get the money to move abroad?"
A fierce look flashed in Alexander's eyes. "How dare Juniper betray me? I spent so much on her, she pay me back when I get out."
"She's all about Magnus, she never cared about you. Expecting money from her is a joke!" Isolde taunted.
"She'll have to give it!"
Meanwhile, Patricia had managed to scrape together only a few hundred thousand dollars from friends.
She'd been making calls non-stop for days.
But those so-called friends, none of them were willing to lend her the full amount. At most, they offered twenty or thirty thousand dollars.
"Patricia, don't blame me for being heartless. You always lived off your brother. Now that he's not helping you, how can I lend you money?" one friend said.
Patricia said, "I'll pay you back when I find a job! It's just a few hundred thousand dollars. I used to spend more than that in a day. You think I can't pay it back?"
The friend on the other end was impatient. "That was your brother's money. How much can you earn yourself? Enough, I can only lend you thirty thousand dollars. I think I'm being generous. Sell your bags, you have so many. You can get some money for them."
With that, the call ended.
Patricia was livid. She'd always been generous with friends, but now, none of them were willing to help.
Her luxury bags, many of which were limited editions, couldn't be sold in the second-hand market.
A bag priced at tens of thousands of dollars, those poor folks couldn't afford it, and they even wanted her to sell it to them for a thousand dollars. They were dreaming!
The second-hand store owners were all very shrewd. Seeing her desperation, they offered a low price!
Patricia was at her wit's end and had to turn to Michael for help again.
She hadn't visited Sinclair in a long time. It seemed Sinclair wouldn't wake up, but she had to pretend to care about her.
She planned to visit Sinclair to butter up Michael.
That driver's wife called her every day to demand money from her!
Patricia couldn't take it anymore!
Dialing Michael's number, she softened her tone. "Hey, Michael, how's Sinclair doing?"
"She just woke up, still not fully conscious," Michael answered.
"She woke up?"
Patricia jumped out of bed in shock.
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