Chapter 489 - 486: Pay Back the Money

Netizens were stunned.

Two million might not sound like much, but in reality, many people will never earn that much in their entire lives.

In just one short year, Silas Sinclair and Liana Marsh had somehow spent it all.

"This couple is a match made in heaven. Aren’t they supposed to be farmers? How are they so good at spending money?"

"Did you guys see Liana Marsh’s bracelet in the video? That thing costs over thirty thousand. What kind of farmer dares to spend money like that? For some families, that’s a whole year’s income, yet she just bought a bracelet like it was nothing. This just proves the two-million story is true."

"It’s terrifying when you really think about it. If the two million was real, then they absolutely had money for Ryan Sinclair’s treatment. They just started a Waterdrop Crowdfunding campaign a few days ago, which proves they’re really out of money now."

"Heh, it’s just like that reporter said. What goes around, comes around. Karma is swift and certain."

"Give me back my donation!"

"Can we get a refund for our donations?"

"Refunds! We want refunds! Ryan Sinclair treated his sister horribly. He’s a grown man; even if he dropped out of school, why couldn’t he get a job? He made his sister, who was a great student, support him. Serves him right if he dies. Now give me back my money!"

"This is donation fraud. I donated three thousand. I’ve already reported them to the police."

A few days ago, Silas Sinclair and Liana Marsh launched a Waterdrop Crowdfunding campaign for one million, and it was fully funded in less than five hours.

Many of the donors had given several thousand each.

Now that they realized they’d been tricked, they all wanted their money back.

Even if Ryan Sinclair’s illness was real, their motives had clearly been corrupted.

"This is karma for Ryan Sinclair. If he had just been a little nicer to his sister, he wouldn’t be in a situation with no money for treatment."

"At the end of the day, you have to blame his parents. They blew through two million in one year and still ended up deep in debt. It’d serve them right if they dropped dead."

"Hope he gets some reliable parents in his next life."

"It just goes to show how important it is to lead by example. Look at how Ryan Sinclair turned out. It’s a good thing Chloe wasn’t warped by them."

Online, the tide of public opinion had completely turned.

Seeing that things were taking a bad turn, Silas Sinclair and Liana Marsh immediately deleted the video.

What they didn’t realize, however, was that this amounted to a tacit admission, confirming that the recording was true.

Just as Silas Sinclair and Liana Marsh decided they couldn’t just sit back and wait for disaster, they were shocked to discover their social media accounts had been banned.

Suddenly, they had no platform to make their voices heard.

"Silas, it’s okay," Liana Marsh said. "We still have the million. Once we get Ryan’s illness treated, we’ll go back to our hometown!"

Hearing this, Silas Sinclair quickly nodded.

"Right, right, right. Getting Ryan treated is the priority. Check if that one million has been deposited. The hospital was already hounding us for payment today."

So, they opened their phones, only to find that the one million in donations had been completely wiped out.

Liana Marsh’s plump face was a mask of terror. Her lips parted, and her voice trembled. "Silas, what’s going on? The money... where’s the money?"

That was one million!

How could it just be gone?

Silas Sinclair didn’t know what was happening either, so he made a call to the platform’s official support line.

The person on the other end stated bluntly, "You are suspected of fundraising fraud. We have already refunded all the money to the donors. If you believe this is a misunderstanding, you can submit proof, and we can then launch another fundraiser for you. You can discuss the specific procedure with our live customer service."

With that, the person on the other end hung up, leaving only the steady BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... of a disconnected call.

However, before Silas Sinclair could even react, his phone rang again.

Silas Sinclair answered in a daze, not even looking at the caller ID.

Before he could even speak, a coarse, gravelly voice erupted from the phone. "Silas Sinclair, when the fuck are you going to pay me back? Keep stalling, and believe me when I say I’ll have someone chop off your hand!"

The voice finally snapped Silas Sinclair to his senses. He lowered his voice, his tone almost a desperate plea. "Warren, please, just give me a little more time. I’m getting money from my adopted daughter. You know her biological father is the richest man in Kennet. Once I get the money, I’ll even pay you extra. Just give me a bit more time, okay?"

He was talking to a debt collector, and Silas Sinclair knew that this was the only way to get the man to cut him some slack.

’Once he got the money, he could pay it all back.’

Even at a time like this, Silas Sinclair’s thinking was still hopelessly naive.

He was sure he’d be able to get the money.

But a scornful laugh came from the other end of the line. Warren’s voice dripped with ridicule. "Get money from your adopted daughter? Have you no fucking shame?"

The scandal had blown up so much, there was no way Warren didn’t know about it.

"Do you have any idea who your adopted daughter is? She’s someone the entire country is protecting. Look at how many media outlets are speaking out. And you still want money? I suggest you take a good, hard look at your own predicament."

"As for the money, I’ll come asking for it after you get out. And if you can’t pay up..."

Warren’s voice was gravelly, but to Silas Sinclair, he sounded like a demon crawling out of hell.

"I’ll fucking end you!"

Terrified, Silas Sinclair hung up before Warren could finish speaking.

"What do we do!"

Liana Marsh was panicking too.

"How the hell should I know? Our only options are to get the donation money back, or go get some from that little brat, Chloe."

"I don’t know what’s gotten into that girl. She barely reunited with her family and already she’s gotten so defiant!"

Liana Marsh spat contemptuously. "It must be her brothers putting her up to it. That little brat Chloe is a coward; she wouldn’t dare do this on her own."

Hearing Liana Marsh say that, Silas Sinclair instantly calmed down.

"We probably won’t get the donation money back. Ryan has to be treated. He’s our only son; we absolutely can’t let anything happen to him."

Liana Marsh nodded again and again.

The two of them had completely forgotten that they had another child, Nina Sinclair.

"So what should we do now?"

"We find that little brat on the sly and get the money from her!"

——

Chloe Sinclair, oblivious to their scheming, went to school the next day as if nothing had happened.

This time, the stares she received were noticeably different.

Chloe paid them no mind and simply took her textbook out of her bag.

The professor for this class was Nathan Trenton. The students hadn’t expected their new professor to be so handsome, and their eyes were glued to him.

Nathan Trenton was a man of substance; his lectures were every bit as engaging as those of the veteran professors.

More importantly, Nathan Trenton was gorgeous!

His handsome face was adorned with a pair of silver-rimmed glasses, and his dark, bright eyes gave him an air of refined austerity.

Unsurprisingly, he was a hit after just his first class.

After class, Nathan Trenton adjusted his glasses and said in a gentle voice, "If any of you have questions, you can come to my office, or you can ask Chloe. She’s my junior, and she’s more brilliant than I am."

Nathan Trenton never felt the slightest bit of jealousy that his junior was more capable than him.

On the contrary, he was full of admiration for her. He would even text her for help when he ran into difficult problems over the New Year holiday.

The two of them had always been on very good terms.

With Chloe’s help recently, Nathan Trenton’s own experiments had also been progressing very smoothly.

The moment the words left his mouth, the classroom erupted in an uproar.