Chapter 595: Trouble Comes Knocking

Miles Mercer dropped Nina Scott off at her apartment building.

Downstairs, Nina waved him off. "You should head back. I can go up by myself."

Miles nodded, watching her figure disappear into the residential complex.

Nina took the elevator upstairs, completely unprepared to find Mrs. Scott waiting by her door.

Mrs. Scott’s face lit up the moment she saw her. "Nina! You’re finally back! Where have you been the past couple of days? I couldn’t find you anywhere!"

Nina felt a headache coming on. "What exactly do you want? Do you have nothing better to do than ambush me here every day?"

Mrs. Scott had sought her out numerous times before. Ever since discovering Miles was staggeringly wealthy, the older woman had become utterly shameless.

"You didn’t answer my calls or reply to my texts. Coming here was my only option. Why are you alone? Where’s your husband?" Mrs. Scott peered behind Nina, confirming that Miles was nowhere in sight.

"Stop looking. He didn’t come back with me."

"What happened? Did you two have a fight? Let me tell you, Nina, men have careers to manage out there. I know your temper better than anyone. You need to give him face. Men just play along with social obligations. Even if he does something wrong by you, you need to swallow your pride and endure it, do you hear me?"

Nina found Mrs. Scott’s attitude absolutely laughable.

"Don’t you think you’re being utterly hypocritical? What did you say about Miles before? You called him a broke loser who wasn’t worthy of the Scott family! Look at yourself now. You’re acting like a sickening clown!"

"Nina! What are you saying? I’m your mother!" Mrs. Scott immediately dropped all pretenses. If Nina hadn’t lucked out and married a wealthy man, she wouldn’t have bothered coming here in the first place.

"I visited Old Mr. Mercer earlier. Did they transfer the bride price to you? Nina, we went through so much hardship to raise you. That bride price rightfully belongs to us."

Nina flared up instantly. "What did you say? You went to the Mercer family to demand a bride price?"

No wonder Miles had inexplicably transferred an extra three hundred million to her account later! He claimed it was just for her to spend as she pleased, and she had even teased him about having too much money to burn. Only now did she realize the money was the result of Mrs. Scott’s extortion!

"They’re incredibly rich! What’s wrong with asking for a little bride price? I raised such a wonderful daughter—was I supposed to just hand you over to the Mercer family for nothing? Are you just going to let that man sleep with you for free?"

"Judy Archer!" Nina yelled, using her mother’s full name. "Have you no shame?!"

Mrs. Scott glared at her. "What did you just call me? Have I no shame? Who do you think I’m doing this for? It’s all for you!

"You’re asking for nothing and just letting them use you. What happens if the Mercer family decides they don’t want you anymore? Who else would want a damaged piece of goods like you? Asking for a measly three hundred million as a bride price is hardly excessive!" Mrs. Scott’s words grew increasingly vile.

Nina’s expression darkened, but Mrs. Scott continued to rail at her without pausing for breath. "Are you planning to keep the money I secured for you all to yourself? You’re out here living it up every day, enjoying your life as a wealthy wife, but do you have any idea how much the family is struggling right now?

"The Walker family has been targeting us non-stop. The project your brother just secured has run into massive problems. If we don’t spend some money to grease the right palms, Seth is going to jail!

"I know you’ve always harbored resentment toward your father and me, but you and your brother have always been close, haven’t you? Take your money out and ask the Mercer family for a bit more. Help Seth tide over this crisis first. We don’t expect anything from an ungrateful wretch like you, but surely you won’t turn a blind eye and leave your own brother to die?"

The Walker family had indeed helped the Scott family secure a business deal previously. However, following the fiasco involving Nina and Yara Scott, the Walkers were furious and had turned against them.

The incident at the shopping mall had been the final straw. Unable to vent their frustration on Miles, the Walkers redirected all their hostility toward the Scott family.

What a masterful attempt at emotional blackmail. Unfortunately for Mrs. Scott, Nina wasn’t buying it.

"Aren’t the Walkers the in-laws you practically begged for? What does any of that have to do with me? The things the Scott family has done have never had anything to do with me. Why should I be the one to help?"

Nina was not someone who could be easily manipulated by familial ties. Her greatest blessing over the past few years was that she had barely spent a dime of the Scott family’s money.

Otherwise, she would be hopelessly entangled in their mess right now.

"Nina, you truly are an ungrateful wretch. Are you really going to stand by and watch your brother go down? He’s been so good to you! He has always taken your side! Even if you don’t care about us, you can’t abandon him!"

"Seth has been good to me," Nina replied calmly. "I have some savings, and I’m willing to give them to him for this emergency. But the money is for him, not you."

"How much do you have?" Mrs. Scott demanded.

"You don’t need to pry into my finances. Everything I have to my name, all the money I’ve saved over the years, totals ten million." To Nina, that was a small fortune she had spent years carefully accumulating.

Mrs. Scott scoffed, clearly dissatisfied. "What is ten million going to do? That paltry sum isn’t even a drop in the bucket."

"Take it or leave it. That’s all I have."

"Didn’t the Mercer family give you hundreds of millions? Hand it all over!"

"The Mercer family’s money belongs to the Mercer family. What does that have to do with you or me?"

She was willing to help bail Seth out, but only with her own hard-earned money.

Her relationship with Miles wasn’t like that. Every cent of his money would eventually have to be returned. She absolutely refused to touch it!

"You are part of the Mercer family now, which means their money is our money! They’re incredibly rich. What’s the harm in taking a little out?"

Nina stared at Mrs. Scott. Previously, she had thought the older woman was merely being manipulated by Yara, making her somewhat pitiful. Now, she realized that Mrs. Scott was nothing more than a greedy, money-grubbing opportunist, no different from all those other materialistic women.

A mocking smile touched the corners of Nina’s lips as she looked down at the woman with sheer pity.

"Do you know what you look like right now? You look like a stray dog wagging its tail the moment it sees a scrap of cash!"

"You!" Infuriated, Mrs. Scott raised her hand, ready to slap Nina across the face.

"Stop right there!" a sharp, commanding voice rang out from behind them.

The elevator doors had just slid open, and a tall man strode out.

The hallway lights cast a faint, almost ethereal halo over him, making his sudden appearance feel completely surreal.

Miles stepped up to Nina’s side and leveled a cold glare at Mrs. Scott’s raised hand. "There are security cameras in this hallway. If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will find a way to make you rot in a jail cell. Try it, if you don’t believe me."

His expression was frigid, and his tone left no room for argument. Mrs. Scott was frozen in shock.

"I... I wasn’t going to hit her," Mrs. Scott stammered, scrambling to explain. "I just saw some dust on her shoulder and wanted to brush it off for her, that’s all."

To play the part, she lightly patted Nina’s shoulder, feigning a dusting motion.

Nina scoffed. What a classic bully—fierce toward the weak, but a total coward in the face of the strong. Where was all that venom from just a moment ago? How quickly she had changed her tune!