CHAPTER 281

Unable to accept the fact that Belle was going to die, Brian pulled himself together despite his grief and gave his older brother a phone call. Then, he kneeled beside his mother's bed and cried uncontrollably, finally knowing the pain of losing his beloved one. Back then, he always took his mother for granted, thinking she would understand his situation with his work and children for not visiting her.

At the same time, he was waiting for his children to grow older as time passed by. Then, he would take time out of his busy schedule and apply for a long leave so that he could go home and accompany his mother. In fact, he was even planning to take Belle on a trip to visit someplace surrounded by Mother Nature. After all, his mother had never had a chance to go on a trip because she had dedicated her whole life to raising him and his brother. While Brian had his plan figured out, he didn't know that he was actually running out of time. After the tragedy that happened, his plan had gone down the drain as he could never actualize it ever again.

On the other hand, Rachael, who entered the ward, angered Alex with her mere presence while the child glared at the lady and snarled, "Get lost!" If Alex had said that to her back then, Rachael would have retaliated with severe punishment, but at that moment, she was too timid to do anything.

Meanwhile, Laine was afraid that her daughter would provoke Alex unknowingly, so she shielded her behind her and smiled at the boy. "Alex, your mom is just concerned about your grandma, which is why she came to visit her."

"I only have one mother, and it's not her!" Alex hatefully added, "She is the reason Grandma is lying here. She is my enemy! I hate her!"

While the child's angry gaze made Laine's heart pound rapidly, the latter was forced to continue reacting with a brittle smile. "Your mom didn't mean to do that. After all, conflicts are normal among

family members. Don't you think so? Who would have thought that your grandmother would sustain such a severe injury from the fall? I know it was your mother's fault for what happened, but she didn't really mean it. She…"

"Miss Taylor…" Belle, who was unconscious all the while, suddenly opened her eyes and called out to Madeline with a weak voice.

Madeline quickly walked closer to the older lady. "Yes, Mrs. Carter."

Holding her hand, Belle struggled to turn her head and looked at Rachael's parents. "Come closer. We need to talk."

At that moment, Derrick had never felt so embarrassed before as he wished he could just walk out of the ward and stay away from the Carter Family for the rest of his life. However, the reality didn't unfold as Derrick and Laine wished because they were forced to put up with the older lady for the sake of their daughter. As her husband remained still, Laine seized his arm and dragged him to the bed, showing her concern with a smile on her face. "How do you feel, Mrs. Carter? Do you feel better now?"

"There is no way I'm going to feel better again." Belle struggled to utter every single word. "I heard what the doctor said. My time is almost up, and I'm dying…" Despite being bedridden with her eyes shut, she was conscious most of the time, having heard the doctor's words vaguely from a distance. I'm dying and running out of time. I must settle the matter with Alex while I'm still sound and able to talk; otherwise, there is no way I can rest in peace.

Laine smiled awkwardly and replied, "You must have misheard the doctor, Mrs. Carter. There is no way a fall like that could hurt you so severely. Anyway, I'm sure you'll be up and around again with a few

days' rest."

"Enough with your nonsense. I don't believe you." Belle shook her head with immense difficulty. "Let's talk about business while both of you and Rachael are right here with my lawyer. I want to announce my last wish before I die…"

"Mom…" Brian cried out loudly in misery. "Please don't say that, Mom. I won't let you die! I'll be sure to save your life!"

"Shut up!" Belle knitted her eyebrows and grunted in a frustrated manner while Brian covered his mouth with his closed fist even though he still failed to suppress his sob. Soon, Belle addressed Rachael's parents and said, "My time is almost up, so I'm going to cut to the chase and speak about my wishes. I knew my days were numbered with my poor health, but if Rachael hadn't shoved me down the stairs, I'm sure I wouldn't have had to die so soon. So, if I call the cops, it'll probably be the end of Rachael's life…"

Meanwhile, Laine shook like a leaf as she quickly tried to pacify the elderly lady. "Please keep a cool head, Mrs. Carter. Rachael was just blinded by her anger back there, and I'm sure she didn't mean to do that to you. In fact, she only tried to nudge you but didn't expect that you would fall because of that, not to mention your serious injury from that." My poor daughter, Rachael! Who would have thought that a fall like that could kill someone? Why does fate have to pull such a prank on my girl, Rachael?!

"Spare me your nonsense." Belle waved her hand weakly. "Here is my wish—I want the house in which Brian and Rachael are living to be transferred to Alex's name. After that, Brian and Rachael will move out of the house with their children."

"W-What?" Rachael was stunned. "That house belongs to me and Brian, so what right do you have to

demand that we transfer the ownership to Alex?"

Belle gave the lady a cold look. "I'm about to die now because of you, so is that a convincing reason to you? You may disagree with me, but if you do, I'm going to call the cops to arrest you…" The older lady then turned her attention to Madeline and said, "Miss Taylor, I want you to be my witness. If the two of them refuse to transfer the ownership of the house to Alex, I want to sue this lady for attempted murder."

"I got you, Mrs. Carter." Madeline nodded and said, "But I think we may likely lose the case if we charge for attempted murder. However, if we charge for attempted assault, we stand a pretty good chance of winning." In fact, she mentioned attempted 'assault' instead of 'murder' because she still had a glimmer of hope that Belle would survive and live longer despite the doctor's pessimistic answer.

"H-How could you do that?! Where is your heart?!" Rachael cried and complained. "Alex is your grandson, as are Lucy and Larry. So, why am I expected to give the house to Alex? How prejudiced!"

"You owed that to Alex because you abused him in the first place. Furthermore, I'm only lying right here because you nearly killed me, but I guess your plan still succeeded because I don't think I can live for another few more days. However, I can assure you that this is a sweet deal for you." Belle added, "I know you didn't have a job all the while, so that means Brian bought the house solely with his own money. Therefore, if Brian transfers the house to Alex, his son is not exactly taking advantage of his father…"

"I might have been jobless, but that doesn't mean I didn't contribute to the family." Rachael shook from head to toe in exasperation. "If I hadn't stayed home and looked after Lucy and Larry, would Brian have been able to put his mind to ease and focus on his work in the office? Ever since Brian and I got married, every single penny he makes is part of our joint matrimonial asset. Do you have any idea what

that means?"

"Your joint asset with Brian will still remain the way it is." Belle weakly added, "But like I said, this is going to be a sweet deal for you. All you have to do is just transfer the house under Alex's name and give the boy three million in cash. In return, I'll drop the charge and forget about your crime. Besides that, I'll even dissuade Brian from divorcing you. Think about it. If Brian doesn't file for a divorce with you, it should probably take you about two to three years before you earn back the three million… Other than that, I want you all to write a letter of guarantee in which Brian agrees to transfer a quarter of his total pay to Alex on a yearly basis…"

"T-That's impossible!" Rachael screamed out loud subconsciously. "Are you out of your mind? What are we to you? A bank vault?" exclusive content.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then." Belle closed her eyes in exhaustion. "Fine, I'm going to call the cops now." She then seized Madeline's hand. "Miss Taylor, please call the cops for me. I want to sue her for attempted murder."