Mia's heart skipped a beat as she hastily said, "She didn't come. Sometimes, it's not appropriate for children to be present."Frowning, Timothy turned to Sharon. "Mom, weren't you discharged from the hospital this morning? Why are you back here again?""Tim, I've returned to see you. Take a good look at yourself. This dire situation you're in—it's all a consequence of your bone marrow donation. And forcing Luna out of the Barrett family over this, she didn't deserve it, did she?""Mom, I've made my decision about Luna. Either Asher stays, or she leaves with him.""But you can't do that. Asher must stay! He's your son, for goodness' sake."As Sharon brought up Asher, she purposely glanced at Mia before continuing, "Now it's your turn."It seemed as though Sharon was signaling to Mia to break up with Timothy at that moment.Mia pursed her lips, realizing that several minutes had passed. Peyton should have left with Ginger by now.Observing Mia's silence, Sharon presumed she migh
After ending the call, Mia skipped packing and decided to head straight to the rooftop for the helicopter.However, remembering her encounter with Sharon in the elevator earlier, she chose to be cautious and took the stairs to the rooftop this time.Panting heavily, Mia reached the rooftop and pushed open the door.Her smile faltered as soon as she spotted Timothy standing outside. "What are...?"Turning to face her, Timothy interjected, "You're wondering what I'm doing here, right?"Mia leaned against the door, catching her breath. She realized she had been caught.Fortunately, Timothy's bone marrow sample had already been transported out of Bern City with Ginger. Thus, even if he had discovered the truth, it would have been too late.With deliberate steps, Timothy moved closer to her. "After all the trust I placed in you, is this how you repay me? Using me and then walking away like it's no big deal?"He had hoped not to find Mia here, but unfortunately, his hopes were crushe
Mia couldn't deny Timothy's astuteness. She countered, "Do you really think I'd allow Ginger to accompany me?""Mia, do you seriously not trust me? Despite knowing your true identity for a while now, I've still kept my promise about donating my bone marrow to Ginger."But what about you? Are you planning to take Ginger and run as soon as you get what you need from me?"Timothy had never been manipulated by a woman before, but it appeared that Mia was testing his boundaries.Mia's lips curved into a smirk. "Mr. Barrett, since you're already aware, could you please step aside," she demanded.With a swift motion, Timothy reached out and firmly grabbed her wrist. "Do you think you can simply walk away now?""Timothy, why aren't you letting me go? Could it be that you've actually developed feelings for me?" Mia retorted, her demeanor composed as she regarded him as though he were a stranger.An eerie silence filled the air.Timothy maintained his firm grip on her hand, a subtle warm
Mia was sharply stung by Timothy's remark.She scoffed, saying, "Even your mother considers Ginger a burden. Besides, don't you have a son named Asher? Why are you so fixated on Ginger?""I've told you before, Asher isn't my son!" "If he's not your son, then whose child is he? Timothy, you're truly despicable!"As Mia tried to leave, Timothy pulled her into an embrace. He lowered his head and whispered hoarsely, "It seems like this matters to you after all. Could it be that you're jealous?"Mia was utterly furious. She forcefully stomped on Timothy's foot and then swiftly turned, aiming a kick toward his groin. "So, you think you're a player, huh? Let's see if you've got what it takes!"Timothy let out a grunt, his muscles tensing, while beads of sweat formed on his forehead.He glared at Mia as she backed away, gritting his teeth. "Stop right there!"Nonetheless, Mia had no intention of staying. She proceeded directly to the elevator, determined to leave the hospital.Upon r
Mia stayed rooted on the spot calmly, her gaze focused on Shelly who seemed to have shrunken from cowardice. Mia asked, "What did you say? I didn't catch you clearly. Mind saying it once more?"Shelly's face drained of color as she stuttered, "I-I'm Shelly Barrett! If you hurt me, my family will never let you get away with it!"Mia snorted. "Very well. I shall make your wish come true. I'll strip you guys off and wait for your family to come at me."Following that, the bodyguards trapped Shelly and Luna in a circle.Shelly screamed, "What do you think you're doing! I'm Shelly Barrett! Tim will never let you go if you do this!"Luck wasn't on Shelly and Luna's side. They just had to confront Mia when she happened to be in a bad mood.Mia decided to let off some steam by playing with them.Coldness shrouded Mia's eyes. "How about this? You both discuss who'll stay and who'll leave."Luna huffed, "Ms. Monalize, you're trying to drive a wedge between Shelly and I. Just how low ca
"It's alright. Timothy found out about it anyway. This is the Barretts' territory after all. Keeping a secret from him isn't easy. Thankfully, the bone marrow along with Ginger have been safely delivered to Nord City.""Did he make things difficult for you?" Nicholas asked, feeling concerned about Mia’s wellbeing.Mia suddenly thought of the argument that happened on the rooftop of the hospital.Nonetheless, she recounted calmly, "Nothing I couldn’t settle. I'm Mia Lane. Can he do anything to me?""Take a private flight back then," Nicholas suggested."Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing, but I want to go see Aunt Patricia before I leave. It's already late now, so I'm going to meet her tomorrow morning. "Maybe have breakfast with her before heading back. Timothy already found out about it anyway. Returning early won't make any difference."The next time she would come to Bern City would be a few months later, so she didn't want to miss the chance to meet Patricia.She really hop
How could the container be empty?Color drained from Mia's face. Her voice trembled. "How could this be?"Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach the moment she heard that."I will never make jokes about something this important, Mia. I checked thoroughly several times and even checked the delivery process with Peyton. Everything was done as planned. Seems like there was a problem before the container was dispatched from the hospital."There was a problem before the container was dispatched from the hospital?In other words, someone did something to the bone marrow before that!Taking deep breaths, Mia attempted to calm herself down. There was no room for mistakes right now.Her hand ruffled through her hair. "There shouldn't be any problem with the hospital. We already made the arrangements."She thought everything was going according to plan. When the bone marrow was delivered to Nicholas, Sage could undergo the treatment.However, the container arriving at Nord City empty
Mia took her phone out to call Timothy immediately.The line got through right away and his voice sounded, "I didn't expect you to call me again. I thought you returned to Nord City."She rolled her eyes at his acting.Still, she asked patiently, "I heard that you're discharged from the hospital. Where are you?""At work. Need something from me?"She gritted her teeth. "Yes, I need something from you."She hung up the call and instructed the driver, "To Barrett Group."Now, she had to go to Barrett Group to interrogate that man in person, to ask him why he retrieved the bone marrow. He clearly knew that that was the key to saving her child!She held her phone tightly. The sheer thought of Sage waiting in the vacuum chamber broke her heart.If they lost the bone marrow, Sage's life would be in danger!She would never let him die in the vacuum chamber! Never!The car reached Barrett Group at full pelt.She alighted from the car and slammed the door shut. Then, she walked into