Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1161

Martin looked bewildered. "Me? I need to leave too?"

Bella offered a bittersweet smile. "Mom has been under so much emotional strain lately. She mentioned having mild chest pains before, and she was terrified it was something serious.

She's just scared right now. Let me talk her off the ledge."

Having no other options and desperate for his wife to calm down, Martin nodded and shuffled out into the hallway.

The second the door clicked shut, Bella locked it and turned a deadpan stare on her mother.

"Alright, Mom. Drop the act. What's actually going on?"

The moment the words left Bella's mouth, Sabrina stopped thrashing, sat straight up in the bed, and smoothed down her hospital gown.

"Hmph! That useless old fool!" Sabrina sneered, all traces of pain vanishing from her face. "He doesn't care about me at all anymore. Do you know what he did, Bella? He actually had the nerve to ask me for our shares. He brought it up himself!

How could he do this to me?

We had a deal, and now he's trying to backtrack and snatch the shares away.

Do you know how hard we fought for those? Even if they had fallen into our laps, I wouldn't just hand them over.

Does he think I'm an idiot? The second Lillian Mercer comes crawling back, the value of those shares will skyrocket. It's our ticket to ultimate power."

Bella rolled her eyes, unfazed. "Is that all? Honestly, I thought someone died. It was only a matter of time before he brought it up. For the sake of the company's profits, he was always going to ask.

But seriously, what's your endgame here?

Faking a heart attack to get admitted to the hospital? We're already here, you can't just drag this out forever. How do we explain this?"

"It's easy," Sabrina waved a hand dismissively. "We just make up an excuse."

Then, her expression darkened. "But listen, if he brought it up once, he'll bring it up again.

Bella nodded. "Got it. Lie down and rest. Don't say a word. I'll handle the old man."

When it came to their financial survival, mother and daughter were an impenetrable united front.

There was no way Bella was going to let those shares go, either.

The moment they surrendered their equity, they surrendered their only safety net.

As long as they held onto those shares with an iron grip, Martin and his sons would be forced to find another way to beg for Lillian's mercy.

They had schemed and clawed their way into the Mercer family. They weren't about to hand over their ultimate prize without a brutal fight.

Decision made, Bella unlocked the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Martin rushed up to her immediately, his face pale with anxiety. "Bella, how is she? Will she let the doctors examine her?"