Return Of The Prodigy
Return of the Prodigy Chapter 128

Daniel had paid off Amanda to make false accusations about Katie. Ever since the incident, Adam had never seen Amanda and her daughter.

What is she doing here now? Has she already burned through the money?

Adam could not help wondering what Amanda was doing here.

Amanda instantly stood up and said impatiently, "Gemma, you're finally home. Why couldn't I reach you on the phone? You must be ignoring your poor relatives now that your daughter is the CEO of Hartley Group, right?"

Gemma was caught by surprise. She frowned and said, "What nonsense! Why would you have problems reaching me on the phone?"

Gemma retrieved her phone from her pocket as she spoke. When she checked her phone, she finally realized its screen was shattered. It probably got damaged from her brief encounter with the building management of Greenhouse District. Gemma somberly held her broken phone and explained powerlessly, "See? My phone's damaged. I didn't deliberately ignore your call."

Amanda remained upset and replied huffily, "God knows if you did it on purpose."

Gemma did not know what to say and kept glaring at her sister.

Adam simply shook his head. Even after the earlier episode, Amanda had learned nothing and refused to change her ways.

"Why are you looking for my mother-in-law?" asked Adam quizzically.

Amanda finally remembered what she was doing here. She said anxiously, "Gemma, you have to lend me money. Riya's in trouble and I need to save her."

A startled Gemma asked worriedly, "What happened to Riya?"

Amanda replied impatiently, "It's a long story. Just lend me the money first. Else, Riya's dead meat."

"How much do you need?"

"1.2 million."

"Huh?" Gemma opened her eyes wide in shock. For a moment there, she thought her ears were playing tricks on her.

Amanda repeated awkwardly, "It's just 1.2 million. Do you have to react so strongly?"

Gemma said sadly, "Amanda, where do you expect me to get so much money? 1.2 million is simply too much."

Amanda instantly got angry. "Gemma, how could you do this? Riya is your niece. Are you going to stand by and do nothing when she is in trouble?"

"Katie now controls Hartley Group and is head of the clan. 1.2 million is nothing. you have the money, but you just refuse to lend it to me!"

Gemma explained powerlessly, "Amanda, it's not that. Even though Katie is the head of the clan..."

"Shut up. I don't care. Just lend me the money. Or else, I will have Dad give you a call and speak to you about it," Amanda interjected in annoyance.

Adam could not go on listening to the conversation. He sneered coldly, "Aren't you here to borrow money? How could you take such an attitude with my mother-in-law?"

Amanda turned her head and shouted, "Shut your gap. It is not your place to speak. You married into the family, and live off Katie, so you have no dignity to speak of."

Gemma looked at Adam. In the past, she would not have given a hoot if Amanda took this tone at Adam. However, Adam had just helped her yet again today. He had just summoned the owner of Ocean Group with a single call. The guy even knelt and apologized. Naturally, Gemma's opinion of Adam had changed vastly.

"Amanda, you shouldn't be rude. After all, Adam is Katie's husband. Also, he's not as useless as you think." For the first time in her life, Gemma defended Adam.

Amanda rolled her eyes and glared at Adam in disdain. "He married into the family. Why do I have to talk nicely to him?"

Gemma sighed without explaining further. After all, she was not even entirely sure about Adam's true identity.

She opened the door and entered the apartment.

Gemma pulled Amanda over to the couch and sat her down. She said, "Calm down. Tell me about Riya. What happened? Why do you need all that money?" Amanda felt embarrassed just thinking about the situation she was in. She hesitated for some time before finally saying, angrily, "Those bastards conned Riya." Before long, Amanda told them the entire story.

Ever since taking money from Daniel, Riya had gone on a shopping spree buying designer bags, cars, and beauty salon memberships. In just a week, she had burned through all her money and even had a huge credit card debt.

After she had spent all the money, Riya decided to find a job. She went for a few interviews, but no one offered her a job.

Riya finally chanced upon a recruitment advertisement claiming to offer an annual income of 150 grand and other perks. Also, she was only required to sing and dance in front of the computer without doing any real work. They wanted her to become an online influencer. If she did well, they would help her debut as a true celebrity.

Riya was instantly enticed by the job prospect and dressed up flamboyantly for the interview. Since she was pretty, she got the job.

For the first few days, things went just as described in the advertisement. Riya simply had to sing, dance, and chat with her viewers in front of the computer. When she got to the tenth day, the company claimed she was not doing well, so she had to dress more scantily in order to attract more viewers.

Riya thought about it all night. Since her other female colleagues were doing the same thing, she finally decided to do it. Initially, she would appear online wearing spaghetti dresses and stockings. As time went on, she even roleplayed as an air stewardess and wore micro mini skirts.

After changing her style, Riya's viewership soared. Unfortunately, she was unable to keep it going. Before long, her viewership started to dip again.

This time, the company suggested she dress more provocatively. Since they wanted the viewers to pay, she was told to strip if that was what it took.

Finally, Riya learned the truth about the company. Although she was materialistic and wanted money, there were lines she refused to cross. She decided to quit and terminate her contract.

The company agreed without putting up a fight. However, they produced Riya's contract and demanded she pay 1.2 million for breach of contract.

Riya was dumbstruck. It was as good as working for nothing. She had yet to get a dime from the company, but they wanted her to fork out 1.2 million!

The company stopped trying to force her to stay and simply gave her a choice. She could either pay up or continue creating s****l content for them.

Riya could only tell Amanda about it and see if her mother could come up with the money.

Amanda kept approaching their friends and relatives to borrow money, but she was unable to get a dime. The deadline was drawing near, so she had no choice but to humble herself and beg Gemma for help. If this could be considered begging that is. After listening to the story, Adam laughed coldly. He was not at all surprised about the trouble Riya had gotten herself into. Also, it was normal for Amanda to have trouble raising the money.

Like mother like daughter. Considering their personalities, they should count themselves lucky that no one drove them away with a stick in hand.

"How could she get conned? Did you call the cops? You should sue the company," suggested Gemma.

Amanda shook her head and said, "I've already tried. The contract has no loopholes, and we have no evidence Riya was forced to sign it against her will, so it's useless."

Gemma sighed and said, "It seems you have no choice and just have to cough up the money, but I really don't have 1.2 million." Then she suddenly turned to look at Adam. "Adam, is there anything you can do about it?"

Amanda instantly exploded. "Gemma, if you don't want to lend me the money just give it to me straight. He's the last person who can help, right? Why bother asking him? What can a good for nothing do about it? Are you trying to kill Riya?

"I was blind to think you could help. From now on, I'm severing ties with you. You are not my family. If anything happens to my daughter, I'll never forgive you for the rest of my life."

Gemma's face turned red. She wanted to explain, but she did not know what to say, so she turned to look at Adam.

Adam sneered and said, "I don't mind saving your daughter, but first, you have to apologize to my mother-in-law!"