"Sis, you have to come to my place, quick! Mom collapsed!" Zeke Jennings grabbed Kimberly Jennings and bolted, completely forgetting that Seraphina Sterling was still in the house.
Kimberly Jennings was no match for Zeke Jennings's strength and was simply dragged away. Seraphina Sterling quickly changed, locked the door, and raced after them.
"Grandma, hurry, they're here! Get down!" Ray Jennings scurried back in from outside.
The old woman hastily took a sip of water, then immediately lay down and closed her eyes.
Eleanor Young crouched by the bed, a look of desperation on her face. "Mom, wake up! Please, wake up! You have to be okay!"
Sylvia Jennings caught sight of a navy-blue lapel and immediately started to cry. "Grandma, don't worry. Auntie will be here any second. As soon as she's here, we'll have money for the hospital!"
"What in the world happened?" Kimberly Jennings stared at the old woman on the bed, breathless from having run all the way there.
"Kimberly, you're finally here! Mom came to see Ray today and suddenly collapsed on her way home tonight. We can't wake her up! Quick, come and see!" Eleanor Young pulled Kimberly Jennings right to the bedside.
"If Mom is sick, why didn't you take her to the hospital right away? What are you waiting for?" Kimberly Jennings's anxiety grew as she looked at the old woman's tightly shut eyes.
"Auntie, please don't blame my mother. She wanted to take Grandma to the hospital, but we don't have any money. There's no point in taking her if we can't pay the medical fees—they won't treat her!" Sylvia Jennings's explanation was a work of art, and everyone could read between the lines.
"Auntie, thank goodness you're here! Dad just paid you back all that money, so you must have enough to pay for Grandma's treatment, right? Auntie, hurry, give us the money so we can take Grandma to the hospital!" Ray Jennings clutched anxiously at Kimberly Jennings's sleeve, afraid she would turn and leave.
"Sis, we're really at our wits' end. Our eldest brother doesn't have any money, I don't have any money... we had no one else to turn to but you!" Zeke Jennings said, his face a mask of utter helplessness.
"Kimberly, we can't just stand by and watch something happen to Mom! You've bought a house and are all settled now, so just use the leftover money for Mom's treatment!" Eleanor Young pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"What are you talking about? Of course I won't abandon Mom when she's sick. Zeke, hurry up and carry her. We're going to the hospital now!" With that, Kimberly Jennings moved to help the old woman up.
Zeke Jennings immediately shot Eleanor Young a look. If they actually went to the hospital, their whole charade would have been for nothing.
"Kimberly, it's already so late," Eleanor Young cut in, immediately playing the Seraphina card. "We're worried about Seraphina being home by herself. You should leave the money with us. Zeke and I will take Mom to the hospital, and you can go home to be with Seraphina. We wouldn't want anything to happen with her all alone."
Kimberly Jennings hesitated. She had rushed out in such a hurry, and she worried that Seraphina would be frightened at home alone. "Alright then, I..."
Zeke Jennings and Eleanor Young were thrilled. Their plan was about to succeed. But their celebration was premature.
"Mom, you were moving so fast, I could barely keep up!" Seraphina Sterling arrived, panting for breath. She glanced toward the bed. "What's wrong with Grandma?"
"Your grandma is sick. We're about to take her to the hospital!" Kimberly Jennings said, then turned to Zeke and his wife. "Now that Seraphina is here, I don't have to worry anymore. Let's hurry and get Mom to the hospital!"
Zeke Jennings and Eleanor Young looked awkward, unsure of what to say. Finally, Zeke spoke up. "A hospital is no place for a child. It's best if Seraphina doesn't go; we wouldn't want her to catch something. If she got sick, it would be a terrible trade-off. Just give us the money, and we'll take Mom to the hospital."
Seraphina Sterling looked from the old woman on the bed to the rest of the family. "Uncle Zeke, I'll be fine. Saving Grandma is what's most important right now. You don't want Mom to come to the hospital, you just want her to leave the money... You aren't planning on just pocketing it, are you?"
The expressions on Zeke Jennings and Eleanor Young's faces grew even uglier. 'This little brat! She's young, but her mind is sharp—she saw through our plan instantly!'
Seeing their silence, Kimberly Jennings also began to feel that something about the situation was deeply strange.
A strange light flashed in Seraphina Sterling's brilliant eyes. She suddenly screamed, "A snake! There's a snake! There's a snake on the bed!"
The old woman, who had been lying weakly on the bed just a moment before, shot up and scrambled nimbly onto the floor. "Where's the snake? Where?"
"Grandma, aren't you supposed to be sick?" Though Seraphina Sterling was smiling, a furious fire burned in her eyes. 'They're all your children, yet you show such blatant favoritism. I've never seen anything like it!'
"Seraphina Sterling! So young and already telling lies to frighten your elders! What would we have done if you'd given Grandma a heart attack?" Zeke Jennings suddenly roared, scolding her with a grave expression.
"I wasn't lying. There really is a snake on the bed!" Seraphina said, pointing to a limp toy snake in the corner of the bed. It had to be said, the toy was remarkably lifelike.
Realizing it was Ray Jennings's toy, everyone fell silent. There was no longer any grounds to find fault with her.
"Since Mom is fine, we'll be heading back." Kimberly Jennings was now utterly disappointed. This so-called family would do anything for money. "Zeke, if you need money in the future, don't come to me. What little I have left is for Seraphina's school fees. If you're a man, earn it yourself! What kind of man schemes to take money from a widow and her child?"
Without waiting for Zeke Jennings to react, she took Seraphina Sterling by the hand and left.
Zeke Jennings's face flushed crimson with humiliation. "Mom, did you see her attitude? I'm her brother, how can she talk to me like that? She acts like some high-and-mighty lady for a few days and suddenly forgets who she is!"
"What's that saying? Like mother, like daughter. You look at Kimberly Jennings, and it's no wonder Seraphina Sterling is so disrespectful!" With their plan in ruins, Eleanor Young directed all her fury at Seraphina.
"Zeke, don't say that," the old woman interjected. "It's not easy for your sister, raising a child by herself. I have some money here. Take it and buy some inventory. The business has to continue, or how will our Ray eat and dress!" Though the old woman doted on her grandson, Kimberly Jennings was her daughter, after all. It was impossible for her not to feel a shred of pity.
After Kimberly and her daughter returned home, Seraphina felt it was crucial to have a serious talk with her mother. 'I just provoked Terrence Grant, and I have no idea if that Mr. Grant will even keep his promise. If my own family is going to hold me back at a time like this, things will get really dire.'
Little did Seraphina Sterling know, something even more severe was waiting just around the corner.