“Has my granddaughter gained weight? Is she becoming more beautiful now?” Mrs. Waters asked casually, seeming genuinely concerned about Janelle.
Nana was extremely disgusted by her hypocrisy and coldly reminded her, “You don’t need to concern yourself with my daughter. What is the purpose of your?”
Mrs. Waters didn’t appreciate Nana’s indifference, and she glared at her before pulling out a card from her Hermès bag.
Although Mrs. Waters had been married for many years, she still held shares in the family business, and her annual dividends alone amounted to nearly eight figures.
So money was never a problem for her.
“There’s 10 million in the card, enough for your whole family to live comfortably for the rest of your lives.”
Mrs. Waters pushed the card on the table towards Nana and continued with her proposition, “All I want is for you to give up custody of the child, write a guarantee letter, and cut off contact with Carl. You can take this money and leave.”
After speaking, Mrs. Waters took out a guarantee letter from her bag and placed it in front of Nana, waiting for her signature.
Nana hesitated for a moment, and a nameless anger surged within her upon facing Mrs. Waters’ arrogance.
“Do you think money can buy everything?” Nana sarcastically laughed, “In terms of wealth, my family may not compare to yours, but my family doesn’t have a tradition of selling children. So please take back the card.”
Upon hearing that Nana refused to accept the money, Mrs. Waters’ eyes flashed with a fierce determination, and she impatiently threatened, “If you want to go to court, we’ll accompany you. I believe the judge will be on our side, and then you will be left with nothing. Is it worth it?”
” ‘We’?”
This word caught Nana’s attention.
She glanced around, suppressing her anger, and asked, “Did Carl ask you to do this-use money to buy custody of my daughter?”
Recalling Carl’s recent late-night disturbances, Nana naturally made the connection.
Initially, Mrs. Waters had been negotiating with Nana unilaterally, but upon hearing her mention Carl, she nodded in agreement, going with the flow.
“Yes, Carl has grown tired of you, and he will be engaged to Grace next month. He hopes to resolve the child’s issue as soon as possible.”
Mrs. Waters knew that the relationship between the two of them had always been complicated and entangled. By saying this, she intended to make Nana give up.
Nana’s eyes flickered, not expecting Carl to ultimately accept Grace.
A subtle pain tugged at her heart, but Nana forced herself to remain calm and responded firmly, “I don’t care who Carl marries, but no one can take my daughter away from me!”
“Who said anyone is trying to take your child? We’re only discussing custody,” Mrs. Waters retorted sharply, attempting to persuade Nana, “You can come and see the child in the future, we won’t stop you. Isn’t it better for you to take the money and live your own life?”
“I want to raise Janelle by my side as she grows up.”
Nana smiled and shook her head in refusal, “Even if you gave me 100 million, I wouldn’t hand my daughter over to you.”
At this moment, Nana felt thoroughly disappointed in Carl.
She had worried in her heart that one day Carl would join forces with his mother to come after her, even before their relationship had deteriorated to this point.
And it turned out to be true…
Nana bit her lip. She felt there was no need to continue the conversation with Mrs. Waters and stood up, leaving the private room.
Watching Nana walk away, Mrs. Waters clenched her teeth in anger.
“What an ungrateful person! So you only respond to force, huh?”
That evening, when Mrs. Waters returned home, Grace could tell from her gloomy face that things had definitely fallen apart between them.
“Nana didn’t agree to give up custody of the child, did she?” Grace asked.
“Yeah, she’s the type who won’t take a hint even when you show her the consequences,” Mrs. Waters responded angrily, taking out the unsigned guarantee letter and tearing it into pieces before throwing them into the trash.
Although Grace didn’t have much interaction with Nana, she knew that she wouldn’t easily back down.
“Don’t be angry. Since this approach won’t work, we can think of another way!” Grace said with a smile, looking at Mrs. Waters and suggesting they come up with a strategy together.
The two of them talked for a while, and just as Grace was giving her suggestions, Mrs. Waters’ expression suddenly changed.
“No, no! We can’t go that far! I’ve already said we can’t resort to violence!”
Upon hearing Grace’s suggestion of making Nana disappear, Mrs. Waters immediately refused. She didn’t like Nana, but she hadn’t thought of taking it to the extent of causing harm.
Seeing Mrs. Waters’ intense reaction, Grace indirectly understood her bottom line.
“Okay, how can we completely separate Carl and Nana?” Grace asked.
Mrs. Waters pondered for a moment, realizing she didn’t have a clear solution in mind, so she passed the task to Grace.
“What I mean is, as long as you can force Nana to leave or make her give up custody of the child out of helplessness,” Mrs. Waters suggested, wanting a win-win outcome.
However, Grace felt that Mrs. Waters was being too idealistic, as human emotions were the most unpredictable thing.
“Alright, then tomorrow I’ll go out and find someone. We can discuss it further then,” Grace agreed to Mrs. Waters’ plan on the surface, but her murderous intent remained in her heart.
That night, Nana put Janelle to sleep and found herself tossing and turning in bed. She couldn’t shake off the memory of Mrs. Waters insulting her with money earlier in the day, which made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Especially Carl, who had now completely taken a stand against her.
Nana spent the entire night in anguish, increasingly eager to escape from the current chaos.
The next morning, after feeding her daughter, Nana discussed her thoughts with her parents.
“Mom, Dad, I want to take Janelle and move to another city, find a moderately-sized place to settle down,” Nana said.
Jerry and Tracy were surprised upon hearing that Nana wanted to leave the city.
“Don’t joke around, Janelle is so young, and you can’t work for the time being. How will you manage taking care of her alone?” Tracy directly opposed, while Jerry patiently tried to persuade Nana, saying, “If you stay at home, we can help take care of the child. But if you’re out there on your own, what will you do if something unexpected happens?”
Jerry and Tracy’s concerns were valid, and Nana agreed with them deep down.
However, she was afraid that the Waters family would use their money and influence to forcefully take custody of Janelle.
“It’s okay, I’ll figure it out. Besides, Janelle’s health has improved, and I have some savings. I can take care of her until she starts preschool, and then I can find a job without any problem,” Nana reassured her parents and insisted on settling in another city.
After trying to persuade Nana for a long time with no success, Jerry and Tracy had no choice but to accept Nana’s plan to leave the city next month.
With hope for the future, Nana’s mood improved over the next few days.
Whenever she had free time, she researched second and third-tier cities in the country, trying to choose a stable place to settle down.
Nana had no knowledge of Carl’s recent situation or his renewed determination, encouraged by Hailey, to rebuild his career as a scriptwriter.
Carl no longer wanted to rely on his mother. Every day, he hoped for the day when Nana would return to his side with their daughter.