The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 812

Her subconscious question was another brutal blow to Baillie's already shattered pride.

He felt a wave of humiliation wash over him. "Forget it. Don't worry about it," he said coldly, and hung up.

Ivy stared at the disconnected call, her face grim.

"What happened?" Jamison asked.

"He asked for twenty thousand. I was so surprised I just repeated it, and he hung up," Ivy murmured. "If he can't even get his hands on twenty thousand, he really must have hit rock bottom."

"Do you want to go see them? I can have someone find out which hospital they're at."

Ivy nodded. "Okay, find out where they are." She might as well go see for herself just how bad things had gotten.

Jamison made a quick call, and within fifteen minutes, he had an answer. "They're at Cedar Ridge Medical Center. It's the closest one to where it happened."

"Alright, let's go."

They bundled up in heavy coats, Jamison carefully wrapping a scarf around Ivy's neck before they headed out.

The pre-holiday traffic was a nightmare. It took them an hour to get to the hospital. They found Rosetta sitting alone in the emergency room. She was still well-dressed, probably in clothes from her former life, but her hair was grayer, and the lines on her face were deeper. Maintaining a youthful appearance costs money, and with the family bankrupt and homeless, there was no money for beauty treatments. The sudden halt to her routine had caused her to age rapidly.

She was in a wheelchair, with scrapes on her face and hands. Her legs were covered by her pants, but the wheelchair suggested they were injured as well.

Ivy paused for a moment, then continued toward her.

Rosetta had been staring blankly at the floor, but as Ivy approached, she slowly looked up. Her eyes, which had been dull and lifeless, slowly focused.

"Ivy…" she whispered, her eyes instantly filling with tears. "You… you still remember me… I was wrong, Ivy. I was so, so wrong. I'm so sorry for how I treated you. Please, you have to help your brother… The debt collectors… they're going to drive him to his death…"

Rosetta's sobs drew stares from the people around them. Ivy didn't want to cause a scene, but she didn't know how to respond to her mother's tearful apology and desperate plea.

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