Chapter 117

Latisha stared at him for a few seconds before typing on her phone: [If I give you the money, will you bring Mrs. Dashiell back?]

Preston grinned. "Of course. If someone else is willing to take care of her, that's one less burden for me. Seeing as you and my mom are so close, it shouldn't be a problem for you to help her out financially, right?"

Latisha was silent for a moment before typing again: [Bring Mrs. Dashiell here, and I'll give you the money.]

Preston's smile vanished. "She's an old woman. It's not convenient for her to be running around. You give me the money first, and I'll bring her back later.”

Latisha didn't trust him. Mrs. Dashiell had called him a bottomless pit. If she gave him the money now and he didn't bring her back, or worse, used Mrs. Dashiell to demand more, she would have nothing left to give.

[Bring her here, and I'll give you the money.]

"You..." Preston was starting to get angry. He had never intended to stop at five hundred thousand. The Lambert family was incredibly wealthy; five hundred thousand was nothing to them. He wasn't leaving without at least five million.

"If that's how you want to play it, fine. I won't beat around the bush. Five million. You give me five million, and I'll bring her over immediately. If you can't, then we have nothing to talk about!"

Latisha froze, staring at him in disbelief. She never imagined he would demand such an outrageous sum.

Seeing her reaction, Preston knew she didn't have that kind of money. "Give me a date,” he said. “When can you have the money? I'll bring my mom with me then."

Latisha couldn't give him an answer. She had to borrow the first five hundred thousand from Nikita. Where was she supposed to find five million?

Preston held up five fingers. "Five days. Is that enough? I'll be back in five days."

[I can't get that much money.]

He frowned. "Who are you kidding? The Lambert family is loaded, and you can't come up with five million? You expect me to believe that?" He sneered, "I don't care. Five days. If you don't have the money then, yo can forget about ever seeing my mother again!"

With that, he turned, got into his old Volkswagen, and sped away.

A sharp pain shot through Latisha's stomach again. She clutched her abdomen and hurried into the villa took out the medicine the doctor had prescribed, and swallowed it with a glass of water. It didn't help. She then found her painkillers and poured out a handful swallowing them like candy. One of two pills did* nothing for her anymore; she needed a large dose to feel any relief.

After taking the medicine, she let out a long breath. But as she stood up, the world

began to spin. Her vision went black, and she collapsed to the floor.

This time, Latisha had another dream. It wasn't filled with memories of her and Clifford. It was just red. The entire world was a suffocating, crimson haze She ran through the red mist, desperately trying to escape, but no matter how far she ran, there was no way out. The air grew thinner and thinner, and her breathing became more and more difficult.

"Latisha."

A voice called her name, distant and ethereal, as if it were coming from the heavens. She looked up, searching for the source of the sound. The next second, the ground beneath her gave way, and she was falling.

Latisha's eyes flew open. She gasped, desperately sucking in air. The feeling of suffocation had been so real, as if it had followed her from her dream into reality. "Having a nightmare, Latisha?"

The voice came from above. She stiffened and turned her head to see Santino looking down at her, a faint smile on his lips.

Latisha quickly sat up, signing, *What are you doing here?*

Santino smiled gently. "I came to see Clifford. The door was unlocked, and I thought

he was home. But then I saw you had passed out, so I decided to wait."