The bills smacked against my face and scattered into the spilled soup on the floor. All the grease from the soup got onto them.
I stared intently at Edwin's arrogant face. My fists clenched so tightly that my knuckles cracked, and my nails dug deep into my palms.
The siren of the ambulance grew louder in the distance, piercing through the noise on the street.
"Move aside! Everyone move aside!"
The medics rushed in carrying a stretcher and quickly began administering emergency treatment to Mom.
"Her blood pressure is critically high, and her heartbeat is irregular. We must get her to the hospital immediately!" the doctor shouted with a grave expression.
I couldn't spare any attention for Edwin or Celia anymore. I scrambled after the stretcher and climbed into the ambulance.
As the doors shut, I looked through the window and saw Edwin flashing a victory sign at the livestream camera. Celia leaned against his chest, smiling.
At the hospital in the city center, outside the emergency operating room doors, the glowing red sign above weighed heavily on my heart. I sat on the freezing plastic chair, still covered in greasy soup stains.
The attending physician walked out holding a critical condition notice and spoke in an urgent tone. "The patient suffered a severe cerebral hemorrhage. She needs immediate cranial surgery. For the surgery and ICU expenses afterward, you need to pay a 20-thousand-dollar deposit first."
I shot to my feet, my hands trembling as I accepted the thin sheet of paper.
20 thousand dollars...
All my savings were with Celia. She had also changed the password for the card linked to my bank account to which my earnings were paid.
At that moment, aside from the lottery ticket worth 120 million dollars hidden in my inner pocket, I couldn't even scrape together 200 dollars.
Claiming the prize money would take time. Even if they were quick, I wouldn't get the money until tomorrow.
Grinding my teeth, I pulled out my phone and started calling relatives and friends I'd once been close to.
"Hello, Uncle Will. Mom is suffering from a brain hemorrhage. I urgently need 20 thousand dollars for her surgery. Could you lend me some money first?"
There was silence on the other end for three seconds before Will Lorenz's cold voice came through.
"Zac, it's not that I don't want to help. It's just… Celia was livestreaming earlier. She said you owe loan sharks 100 million dollars. What little money we have wouldn't be enough for you. You should figure something out yourself…"
In the next second, a long beep rang out. He had mercilessly hung up on me.
I made seven or eight more calls in a row and received almost identical answers every time.
Celia's livestream hadn't just ruined my reputation. It had severed every social connection I had.
I had run out of options. Just as I was about to swallow my pride and turn to loan sharks, the sound of high heels clicking against the floor echoed from the end of the hallway.
Celia walked toward me holding a selfie stick while speaking to the livestream camera. Meryl and Edwin followed closely behind her.
She said, "Guys, I'm at the hospital right now. No matter what, his mom ended up here because of him. As her former daughter-in-law, I should still pay her a visit."
Celia stopped in front of me and pointed the camera at my exhausted face while asking, "Zac, I heard the old hag needs to undergo surgery. But then, you don't have any money to pay the deposit. Is that right?"
She pulled a bank card from her Hermès bag and waved it in front of my eyes. "There's 30 thousand dollars on this card. It's the money you handed over to me for safekeeping these past two years.
"As long as you kneel in front of the camera right now and sign the debt assumption agreement to admit that the 100-million-dollar debt is yours, I'll pay the surgery fees for you immediately."
I lifted my head and stared coldly at the woman I had once deeply loved. It was clear she had no regard for the dying woman inside the operating room. She kept calling her "old hag" without any respect.
"Celia, that's the money I earned," I said in a hoarse voice.
"It's mine now," she said, lifting her chin arrogantly. "You hid the debt from me. That makes you the guilty party in our marriage. That money is to compensate me for the emotional damage."
Meryl chimed in from the side, "Exactly! My daughter spent three years with you. You should be grateful she didn't ask you for compensation for wasting her youth."
Edwin stepped forward and let out a sigh. "Zac, don't be so selfish. Your mother is lying in there waiting for the money that can save her life. Can't you let go of your pride just once? What matters more—your pride, or your mother's life?"
A flurry of livestream comments poured in instantly.
"My gosh! Celia is too kind. She's still willing to fork out money at a time like this."
"That guy is disgusting. To avoid paying back the debt, he doesn't even care whether his own mother lives or dies."
"Just sign it already! Don't delay the old lady's surgery!"
The three of them used the most righteous excuses to crucify me on moral grounds.
I looked at the bank card in Celia's hand, and then at the tightly shut operating room doors.
If I didn't have that lottery ticket… If I really were just an ordinary lottery shop owner… My only option right now would be to kneel down, sign the papers, and helplessly take on a debt of 100 million dollars. But what other choice did I have?
I took a deep breath, and my hand slowly slipped into my inner pocket.
Just as my fingertips brushed against the edge of the lottery ticket, the operating room doors suddenly swung open.
A nurse hurried out and said, "Is Darla Ford's family here? An anonymous donor has already paid the full 50-thousand-dollar deposit for the surgery and hospitalization fees. We will start the surgery immediately!"
Celia's hand that was holding the selfie stick froze midair.
Meryl and Edwin looked at each other. The smug expressions on their faces froze.
I slowly withdrew my hand and looked at them icily. "Take your filthy money and get out of the hospital."
"Oh, don't you be smug about that. That money must've come from the loan sharks you borrowed from!" Meryl argued stubbornly, pointing at me and refusing to give up.
Still, her confidence had clearly wavered.
Seeing this, Celia quickly squeezed out a few tears for the camera. "Guys, you saw it yourselves, right? He'd rather borrow from loan sharks than admit his mistakes. I really can't keep filling this bottomless pit anymore. Tomorrow, at the courthouse, I'm cutting all ties with him for good."
After saying that, she linked arms with Edwin and left the emergency room hallway with Meryl in disgrace.
I paid no attention to their clownish behavior.
The money that had been paid earlier actually came from an emergency call I'd made to Harlan of the city lottery center, Harlan McGill.
As the super VIP who had just won the city's highest-ever jackpot of 120 million dollars, my request for help had immediately been given the highest priority.
When Harlan heard that Mom had suddenly fallen critically ill, and I urgently needed to pay a deposit, he didn't hesitate for a second. He personally transferred 50 thousand dollars from his own private account to save her life.
On top of that, he repeatedly assured me over the phone that first thing tomorrow morning, he would personally arrange the best VIP fast-track service for me. He promised to make sure Mom's future treatment would never be delayed.
I had once believed that I would never have to humble myself over money in this lifetime. And out of my wildest expectations, the thing that gave me support at my most desperate moment was a lottery ticket, and not the wife who had carefully schemed to leave me with nothing.
The surgery lasted a full six hours. When the doctor finally wheeled Mom out of the operating room and told me it had been successful despite the fact that she would need long-term recovery, the tension holding me together finally snapped. I collapsed onto the floor weakly.
Early the next morning, I washed my face and changed into clean clothes. Then, I took a cab to the courthouse.
The moment I arrived at the entrance, the scene before me made me sick. Edwin had laid out a red carpet walkway in front of the courthouse and decorated both sides with flowers and balloons.
Anyone who didn't know better would've thought they were there to get married.
Celia wore a tight red dress, deliberately accentuating her still-flat stomach. Meryl was decked out in gold jewelry, standing beside them with a face glowing with excitement.
The moment Celia saw me walking over, she covered her nose in disgust.
She said scornfully, "So you still dare to show up, Zac. I thought the loan sharks would've chopped you up and dumped you in some filthy ditch by now."
Edwin stepped forward and handed me a pen.
He grinned arrogantly and urged, "Hurry up and sign the papers to have the certificate issued. Celia's my precious darling now. I don't want her to have even the slightest connection to you anymore."
I didn't bother wasting my breath to say a single word to them. I walked straight into the courthouse.
After checking our information, the staff member asked the routine question. "Have the property division and debt issues all been settled between both parties?"
Celia slapped the agreement onto the desk impatiently. "It's settled! I don't want a single cent from him, and his debts have absolutely nothing to do with me."
The staff member glanced at me.
I nodded calmly and echoed, "That's right. It has nothing to do with her."
The moment they stamped the official seal onto the paper, Celia let out a long breath of relief. Clutching the divorce certificate, she rushed out of the hall and threw herself into Edwin's arms.
She gushed, "Edwin, I'm finally free! I finally got rid of that loser!"
Meryl clapped excitedly from the side. "This is wonderful! From now on, you'll be a rich man's wife!"
Edwin wrapped an arm around Celia and looked at me tauntingly. "Zac, see the difference now? I casually place a few overseas bets, and the money I earn in one day is more than your pathetic lottery shop could make in a lifetime. You have nothing going on for you anymore."
He snapped his fingers. The lackeys he'd brought with him immediately set off confetti poppers. Colorful shreds of paper rained down onto my shoulders, making the scene all the more ironic.
I watched their celebration frostily and pulled out my phone to check the time.
They should be here any minute.
Just as Celia held up the divorce certificate and prepared to start another livestream to show off, there came the ear-splitting loud screeches of tires against asphalt. Five black vans suddenly stopped right in front of the courthouse.
The van doors slid open swiftly, and more than 20 burly men covered in tattoos and carrying metal pipes poured out of them.
The one leading them was a bald man with a vicious-looking face. A thick gold chain hung around his neck. There was half a cigar clenched between his teeth as his fierce gaze swept across the crowd.
Edwin and his lackeys instantly froze. Celia screamed in fright and hid behind him. Meryl's legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the ground.
"Z-Zac's debt collectors found him!" Meryl said in a trembling voice while pointing at me.
She scrambled to the side while waving a photocopy of the divorce certificate and explaining, "Gentlemen, my daughter has already divorced him. His debts have nothing to do with us. Go get him if you have a debt to settle!"
Celia hurriedly spoke up after her. "Y-Yeah! We didn't take a single cent from him. His debt is his own."
The bald thug, Jonah Tauber, spat out his cigar and strode toward us.
Without even glancing at me, he walked straight up to the pale-faced Edwin.
"Are you Edwin Grant?" Jonah asked coldly.
Edwin swallowed hard, trying to appear calm. "Y-Yes, I am. But sir, I think you've got the wrong person. The one who owes you 100 million dollars is Zac, not me."
Jonah grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth. "The wrong person? Not at all. I'm here for you."
