Chasing the Unexpected

Chapter 730

Ruby shook her head, lowering it in guilt. “Nyla, I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night… I promise I won’t make any mistakes this afternoon.”

Seeing Ruby’s exhaustion and the dark circles under her eyes, Nyla realized she truly hadn’t rested well, so she didn’t scold her further. “Alright, go get some lunch and take a good rest.”

“Okay, thank you. I’ll finish organizing the documents and then head out,” Ruby replied. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Nyla didn’t say anything more and left the office, heading to the top floor to find Damon.

Not long after Nyla left, Ruby’s phone started ringing. Seeing the number flashing on the screen, her face went pale, and she didn’t pick up.

The calls kept coming like an ominous reminder.

She grabbed her phone, intending to block the number, but hesitated at the last moment.

Very soon, her phone rang again. She took a deep breath and answered, “I sent you all the money I had last night. I don’t have any left!”

“Ruby, your brother has been taken by the debt collectors. They said if we don’t repay by midnight, they’ll cut off one of his hands. Only you can help him. Can you really just watch him die?” Margaret Tinnin, Ruby’s mother, said, her voice sharp and cutting.

It was like a knife to Ruby’s heart, leaving her wounded and bleeding.

Her parents had always favored her brother. They had wanted her to drop out after middle school to work and earn money for his tuition. If it hadn’t been for her grandmother’s strong opposition, she wouldn’t have had the chance to attend high school, let alone university.

Ruby had paid for all her university expenses herself by working part–time jobs, with no help from her family. At her lowest, she had only a few dollars left–a single loaf of bread had to last her for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Despite it all, she never felt bitter because she knew her life would have been far more miserable if she had dropped out.

When she wasn’t working, she studied hard, aiming for scholarships as her way out of the family’s oppressive favoritism.

Eventually, she earned a place in a graduate program, and only then did her parents see value in her education. A master’s degree meant prestige in their village, and it also made her a prime candidate for marriage, as they saw it.

Whenever Ruby went home to visit her grandmother, her parents would arrange blind dates for her or ask how much she would earn in the future. They hoped she would send all her wages home.

When she resisted their matchmaking, they once went so far as to tie her up and send her to a man’s room. If she hadn’t fought back with all her strength, she would have been assaulted.

To placate them, she had promised to send half her salary home once she started working, and only then did they ease up on her.

Now, they had tricked her into giving them all her savings again. Some parents they were!

“I’ve lived frugally to save 30,000 dollars over the past few years, and you took it all to pay his gambling debt. You lied, saying it was for Grandma’s medical bills. If she hadn’t called me when she had the chance, would you have ever told me the truth?” Ruby demanded.

“What else could I do? He’s my son, the future of our family. Do you want me to just watch him get beaten to death? Ruby, you can’t be this heartless!” Margaret cried.

Ruby let out a cold laugh. “I’m heartless? He chose to gamble. If he gets his hand cut off, that’s his fault. Stop calling me!”

With that, she hung up.

Setting down her phone, she was about to continue organizing the documents when she noticed

someone at the door. She quickly turned her head.

Her expression changed when she saw it was Sullivan.

“Sullivan, how long have you been standing there?” she asked.