In the ER, the doctor examined her. "She has hypertension. The emotional distress caused a dangerous spike in her blood pressure. She needs to be admitted for observation."

I stepped out of the room and called my father, who was overseas on business.

"Hello? Ronald?" His voice came through the line.

I told him everything.

Silence on the other end. A few long seconds passed before he spoke. "I'm booking a flight home right now. They'll answer for this."

"Take care of your mother. I'll handle the rest." He paused. "Alex Swanson and the Hardings. I'll deal with them too."

After hanging up, I sat by my mother's hospital bed and pulled up the credit card I'd authorized under Adeline's name. I revoked her access.

That card was supposed to be for groceries and daily expenses. I'd told her the monthly limit was ten thousand dollars.

What she never knew was that the card's real credit line was a hundred million.

My phone buzzed. Several messages from Alex, all on WhatsApp.

First, a photo of him and Adeline together, posing intimately.

Then a string of voice messages: "Hey buddy, real sorry about your situation. You're in way too deep, and I can't help you. But I hear delivering food pays decent. Might help you chip away at that debt."

"Plus all that running around might help you build some stamina, if you know what I mean. Adeline says you're useless in bed. That's why she came to me."

I didn't get angry. I laughed. "I never treated you badly. This is how you repay me?"

Alex burst out laughing. "Man, I thought you were actually some rich kid. That's the only reason I ever hung around you!"

"If I'd known you were just some loser borrowing from loan sharks to play big shot, I wouldn't have given you the time of day."

I didn't bother responding. I blocked him.

The next morning, I went home to grab a few things before heading back to the hospital to be with my mother.

The moment I opened the front door, there they were. Adeline, Peggy, and Alex, standing in my living room like they owned the place.

Adeline stormed up and slapped me across the face. "You've got some nerve showing up here. We agreed to go to the county clerk's office today! How dare you not show!"

Peggy kicked me for good measure. "I knew it. He never planned to go through with the divorce. He wants us to pay off that hundred million for him!"