Turning on her charms, Ashley thanked Finnick sweetly, “Thank you, Mr. Norton,”
However, Finnick was immune towards other woman and their tricks, except for Vivian. “Have a good rest,” He replied emotionlessly.
Finnick kept his promise as he ordered Noah to arrange the call for Ashley and Emma to meet before he left.
In the afternoon, after Ashley was discharged, Noah drove her to a house in the outer suburbs to let her have her video call with Emma.
In the video, Emma was sitting in a shabby-looking house. With its mottled walls and dirty floors, the house looked to be in poor condition. Aside from that, the room was poorly insulated due to the broken windows.
Emma was relieved when she saw Ashley in good condition. However, she couldn’t help but burst into tears at the thought of her current situation.
She looked filthy and skinny. She also looked haggard, as if she had been working tirelessly without rest.
Ashley cried as her heart felt like it was sliced into half at the sight of her mother’s misery.
As the saying goes, a mother’s heart aches at the sight of her child’s injury. The same could be said when a child was forced to see how their mother was suffering.
Emma had always been treated like a queen. She lived in a villa with housemaids to serve her. For her to experience such suffering… I couldn’t imagine how terrible she must have felt! Ashley thought to herself as her heart ached in pain.
Noah closed the door behind as he left the room.
Once he was gone, Ashley cried while asking, “Mom, a-are you alright?”
“Yes… I’m fine…” Emma covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.
How could I possibly say that I’m being severely punished? My days here are like hell! I’m forced to work like a slave, and the meals are horrible. There’s no meat like fish and chicken, and instead, I’d be considered lucky to have leftovers.
I was also bullied by a bunch of rude country folks. They’d spit and throw punches at me. Emma’s body was covered with bruises and wounds. However, she hid them away from Ashley with her clothes.
Tears streamed down Ashley’s face as she said, “Mom, you’ve lost weight. Please take good care of yourself. W-Wait for Fabian, dad, and I. We’ll come for you. Please hang in there, Mom!”
“Alright, I’ll wait for you,” Emma replied weakly, her arrogant and domineering attitude from the past had all but disappeared.
“I don’t know what happened to your Dad but please get him to save me! I can’t stand it here anymore, Ashley!” Emma pleaded.
Ashley nodded repeatedly.
She then looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping before asking softly, “Mom, why did you own up to Vivian’s incident two years ago? It was me who did it. If you didn’t admit to it, perhaps you could have saved yourself from all this suffering. This is all my fault!”
Emma was a mother, after all. And as a mother, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to let her daughter suffer such a cruel fate.
Emma replied, “Silly kid, of course I knew you were the one behind what happened two years ago. Yet, I didn’t stop you, right? Listen to me, never admit to it, and just put the blame on me, do you understand? Finnick is too powerful for you to go against him.”
Ashley was deeply touched.
“All I wanted is for you to be safe and sound. It doesn’t matter if I’m suffering a little. You should blame Vivian for this. If she hadn’t brought this up to Finnick, he wouldn’t have investigated this incident in the first place. It’s her fault! The world would have been a better place without Vivian and her mother! Ashley, please look after yourself and live a good life with Fabian, alright?” Emma comforted her daughter.
Ashley felt extremely guilty towards Emma. Mom has sacrificed so much for me to be happy.
Mom’s right! This is all Vivian’s fault. She’s the cause of my Mom’s suffering!
Ashley replied, “Mom, don’t worry, I’ll avenge you one day! Both Vivian and Rachel will pay the price for the suffering they’ve caused us! I hereby swear that I won’t go easy on them! Mom, please take care of yourself!”
“I will, don’t worry,” Emma promised.
Emma had always been Ashley’s pillar of support and her guardian angel. Now that they were separated, Ashley felt isolated and helpless without her mother by her side.
