###Chapter 91: The Thirty-Million-Yuan Mess
Mrs. Wainwright couldn’t help but start crying. "That’s her father! Is she really going to just ignore whether her own father lives or dies?"
Hearing this, Catherine Grant unconsciously licked her lips and scratched her head. "Then are you just going to ignore whether *she* lives or dies? She’s not working right now. If she divorces Zachary Hawthorne later, how do you expect her to survive on her own?"
"Then she shouldn’t get a divorce. Why get divorced for no reason? What is there that a husband and wife can’t get through? In our generation, isn’t that how we all did it? Even if he’s done something wrong, a wife should be more tolerant." As soon as she heard them mention divorce, Mrs. Wainwright became upset.
Catherine Grant was absolutely furious.
What was there to tolerate? Zachary Hawthorne was already keeping another woman on the side, and she was supposed to tolerate that?
"Ma’am, Nina is your daughter, isn’t she? How can you only remember that your husband is missing and force her to grovel and beg people for help? Have you ever stopped to think about how wronged she feels?" Catherine Grant said, glancing at Nina Wainwright, who was busy attending to customers. She clutched the phone and turned to walk toward the restroom.
With Nina Wainwright present, she couldn’t speak too harshly.
"What could someone so young possibly have to feel wronged about? Besides, wasn’t her father doing this for her sake? Hurry up and have her take the call! How much money can she make at that job? The allowance Zachary Hawthorne gives her in a single month for keeping him happy is more than what others earn in years. As her friend, you should be talking some sense into her." Towards the end, Mrs. Wainwright’s voice grew increasingly impatient.
Catherine Grant reminded herself this was Nina’s mother and tried not to be too harsh.
But she remembered when Nina was short one hundred thousand yuan, Zachary Hawthorne had refused to pay up, no matter what.
Once she was in the restroom, she could no longer hold back her fiery temper. "That one-hundred-thousand-yuan surgery last time? No matter how Nina begged Zachary Hawthorne, he didn’t lift a finger. If she hadn’t come to me for help, that husband of yours—the one you’re always pinning your hopes on Zachary for—would have been long dead and buried!"
"All you do is talk about how she needs to be tolerant. Well, I don’t get it. Why should she tolerate anything for you two? As her elders, can’t you do something to make her life a little easier? You’re so good at sucking up, why don’t you go suck up to Zachary Hawthorne yourself? Oh, right, you can’t even get him on the phone, can you?" Catherine Grant had never seen such selfish parents.
Her own parents weren’t very involved, but they would never force their children to suffer injustice.
Nina’s parents claimed everything they did was for her, but in the end, she was the one who ate all the bitterness and endured all the grievances. Meanwhile, those two hid in the background, practically getting hand cramps from counting all the money.
"Let Nina Wainwright take the call!" Mrs. Wainwright snapped, angered by her words.
Catherine Grant said, "I’ll find someone to help you look for him in a bit. Stop bothering her while she’s working."
"Just let her take the call!" Mrs. Wainwright shrieked.
"Hey, lady, what are you yelling about?! If you can’t solve your own problems, why don’t you go make a scene at the police station? You rely on your daughter for everything. Do you think outsiders don’t know? You and your husband took tens of millions from Zachary Hawthorne, but when there was an emergency and you were hospitalized, you still made your married daughter beg him for a lousy hundred-thousand-yuan surgery fee. If I lived my life like you, I’d be too ashamed to show my face!" With that, Catherine Grant hung up the phone.
She took a deep breath.
Just then, the door opened.
Nina Wainwright stood in the doorway, frowning. "Why are you hiding in here to take a call?"
"Your mother is driving me crazy!" Catherine Grant said angrily, handing the phone back to Nina. "You have to stop worrying about them. It’s because you get too involved that they can exploit you without any limits."
"I’m so sorry..." Nina said, her voice full of apology.
"You don’t need to apologize to me. You should apologize to your past self... I’m going to take care of your family’s mess. You just focus on work. Promise me you won’t get involved in this anymore. Just wait for my call," Catherine Grant said, heading straight for the door.
Nina Wainwright ran after her. "Thank you, Cathy."
She was the one who helped pay last time when she didn’t have the money.
And now, she was troubling her again with her father’s situation.
"We’re sisters. What’s there to thank me for?" Catherine Grant said with a wave of her hand.
Nina Wainwright worked until the end of her shift, but she still felt uneasy and decided to call Catherine Grant.
She had to call several times before Catherine finally answered.
"Cathy, I don’t mean to bother you, I just wanted to ask... how are things with my dad?" Nina asked.
"They’re still investigating, but from what we can tell so far, your dad signed a fraudulent contract and owes the bank thirty million. I just left the bank," Catherine Grant said, her voice heavy.
Nina Wainwright fell silent.
’She refused to ask Zachary Hawthorne for money, so Raymond Wainwright went around making a mess... Thirty million. I’m not getting involved.’
"We still can’t get in touch with your dad. I’ve already spoken with the police. The police and my brother are both out looking for him. I’d bet he’s been detained by someone because of this money." Catherine paused here, then continued, "Nina, you need to prepare yourself."
"I know... It’s okay," Nina Wainwright replied calmly.
After hanging up, she sat in the bar for a while. Only when Lucy Stratton and Lily arrived did she sling her bag over her shoulder and leave.
Just as she stepped out of the bar, she saw Mrs. Wainwright pacing by the entrance. The moment her mother saw her, she rushed forward and grabbed her by the wrist. "Is this how you treat your father?! He’s in trouble, and you’re still here working!"
Her voice was loud, drawing the gazes of several onlookers toward Nina Wainwright.
Nina Wainwright suppressed her annoyance and said with a grim face, "If you speak to me properly, we can talk. If not, then forget it!"
"Speak properly? Your father has been missing for almost two days! Do you even have a heart?!" Mrs. Wainwright shouted.
The shouting gave Nina Wainwright a headache.
Just as she was about to reply, her phone rang.
Nina Wainwright thought it was Catherine Grant, but to her surprise, it was an unknown number. She shook off Mrs. Wainwright’s hand and pressed the answer key. "Hello."
"You’re Nina Wainwright?" a sinister voice came through the receiver.
Nina’s expression grew heavy. "Yes... What is it?"
"Your father took out a loan from us and hasn’t paid it back. We’re at your house now. You should come home," the person said in a stern voice.
Nina Wainwright bit her lip. "Even for loan collection, it’s not this fast, is it?"
"I wouldn’t know about that. Your house has already been mortgaged to the bank. We’re just here to repossess the property according to procedure," the person continued.
Nina Wainwright just grunted in acknowledgment and hung up.
She stood frozen in place, not moving or speaking, a bellyful of anger with nowhere to go.
"Nina... who was on the phone? Is there news about your father?" Mrs. Wainwright asked in a low voice.
"The house has been mortgaged to the bank. Congratulations. Starting today, you can be homeless," Nina Wainwright said, looking at her with cold eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"How is that possible? There must be a mistake..."
"We’ll know if there’s a mistake when we get home," Nina Wainwright said calmly.
In this situation, getting angry would be pointless.
When the two of them arrived home, Nina Wainwright saw men in suits standing downstairs by the apartment building entrance. She took an involuntary breath and walked toward them.
*****