?Chapter 1438:


    Breaking the silence, Lorna asked, “What sort of ce do you want to live in?” Lorna wanted to test Ruby—would she grow greedy, knowing Brenna was wealthy, and try to use her rtionship with Brenna to demand more?


    Ruby said, “I’ll settle for something simple, miss. I’m not particr. After all, I failed Brenna before. How could I still have the audacity to livefortably? A fine home doesn’t suit someone like me…”


    With a cold tone, Lorna said, “I see.”


    She pulled out her phone and began scrolling through listings of shabby apartments.


    Ruby spoke under her breath, grieving over her ungrateful children. Her son had drained her retirement savings and sold the house she had once owned. Her daughter had stopped visiting long ago, and when she finally gathered the courage to ask her daughter for help, she was tly denied.


    The story left Lorna quietly shocked. This elderly woman’s life was full of misery. Still, she could not help but think it was retribution for her past mistakes. Once, she had treated Brenna cruelly. Now, it seemed like a stroke of mercy that Brenna still offered her shelter at all.


    A taxi slowed to the curb as Lorna raised her hand, tugging Ruby inside with her. The ride carried them through streets lined with aging houses. Their search led them to a crowded quarter where families packed into small homes, and tucked among them was a room for rent advertised online. The listing promised little: bare cement floors, whitewashed walls, and a single bed beside a small table. Nothing more.


    The monthly rent was three hundred dors.


    “This should work,” said Lorna, pulling out her phone to confirm with the agent. When they reached the area, the reality was harsher than expected. Cars couldn’t fit through the narrow alleys here, forcing them to walk the rest of the way.


    Inside the courtyard, doors lined the walls on every side—four along the north, three to the east, and three more to the west. More than twenty people shared the crampedpound. The bathroom and kitchen weremunal, and the restroom was usable at best.


    1@?€$? ￠#4??€?$ 1? g??novels.c?m


    Lorna’s nose wrinkled. “Well, what do you think of this ce?” she asked Ruby.


    Ruby’s expression soured. In the past, she had lived in a sprawling house under the Barrett name. Even after their family’s bankruptcy, she managed to livefortably in Isabe’s ce. Later, after Isabe forced her out, she still ended up in a clean, tidy apartment. Now, staring at the cracked walls and crowded space, she realized how far she had fallen.


    She had assumed Brenna, no matter her dislike, would at least provide her with something halfway respectable.


    Ruby’s voice came out low, uncertain. “Isn’t this a little too shabby?”


    Lorna shot her a sharp look. “Stop whining. Other people survive here, so you can, too. If you want a better ce, pay for it yourself. Rent a house for all I care, but don’t expect Ms. Harper to cover it.”<fn5d63> Th?s chapter is updated by Find1Novel</fn5d63>


    Ruby pushed the door open with a heavy sigh. The room barely stretched ten square meters, the air stale and the corners caked with dust. Nothing about it looked weing.


    .


    .


    .