You Had Me, You Lost Me, You'll Never Find Me novel Chapter 106

Sylvia listened with a deadpan expression. Since she was a little girl, the moment she was old enough to work, she had been making her own money. From collecting cans for recycling to working part-time at coffee shops, she did whatever it took. She paid her own way with scholarships. She had barely spent a dime of the family's money.

Hugo, on the other hand, couldn't even test into a public high school. The family had drained their savings to put him through a private one, where he just goofed off and constantly begged for cash. She had no idea how he possessed the sheer audacity to say that.

Sylvia cut him off sharply. "Did I ask you? Valerie, tell me."

Valerie gritted her teeth. "Hugo owes a lot of money, and the collectors showed up at our door. I didn't know what else to do."

Sylvia's heart plummeted into a black abyss. "Again?"

She was at her breaking point.

Valerie cast a guilty, fearful glance at Ashton, and the horrifying truth instantly clicked in Sylvia's mind.

Hugo desperately tried to defend himself. "It wasn't my fault! I was just having fun at The Reign. That's Ashton's club! I figured running up a little tab was no big deal. I had no idea the stakes were so high in those VIP rooms. And I definitely didn't think Ashton would actually come after me to collect..."

Hearing that, everything fell perfectly into place. Ashton had deliberately set a trap for Hugo at the club, allowing him to rack up an astronomical debt. Knowing Hugo, the number had to be staggering.

Hugo kept talking. "Sylvia, why don't you just make up with Ashton? We're all family..."

Sylvia's restraint snapped. Her voice hit a shrill peak. "He is not your family! Your brother-in-law isn't here!"

The atmosphere in the room froze solid. No one dared to breathe.

Ashton dipped his head and let out a dark, mocking laugh. "Look at you, full of pride. Fine, then pay up. Hugo owes me fifty million dollars. I have the signed paperwork to prove it. If he doesn't pay, I'll sue him until he's bankrupt. Since he doesn't have the cash, I guess prison is the only option left. Let's see if your mother's little savings account can cover that kind of hole."

Sylvia was so furious she couldn't speak. Of course Valerie had no money, and there was no way Valerie would stand by and let Hugo rot in a cell.

Fifty million dollars. How could Hugo possibly gamble away that much?

He looked at Ashton, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the floor, begging. "Ashton, you can't do this to me! I was just playing around! We're practically brothers! You can't force me into a corner like this, or else I'll..."

Ashton had never responded to threats in his entire life. He shot Hugo a dead, freezing glare.

"You lost the money yourself. You inked the contracts yourself. Did I put a gun to your head?"

"It's all in black and white. Pay up, or go to prison. You have no other choice."

Hugo finally realized Ashton was entirely serious. He scrambled over to Sylvia on his hands and knees, frantic.

"Sylvia, you have to save me! You're the only one who can! The other guys at the table dragged me into it! It wasn't my fault!"

Sylvia closed her eyes, refusing to look at him, turning her heart to stone. "This is your debt, and it has nothing to do with me. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. You dared to borrow the money, now you face the consequences. I am not helping you."