Third Person's POV
Barbara's gaze turned cold as she watched Melinda leave.
"Are you Barbara? Let's talk business," a man said, his hand indecently on Barbara's leg.
Barbara smiled, stood up, and said, "Sorry, I'm calling it a night. Enjoy your time."
With that, she left, leaving the group staring at each other in stunned silence.
On the other side, Vanya received the surveillance footage.
She knew these people were dangerous, but the video could finally reveal Melinda's secrets.
She listened to the conversation between Melinda and the men— "playing dead"?
As she pondered, her office phone rang.
A voice from the LA police division said, "Vanya? We found the anonymous poster's info, but..."
"But what?" Vanya asked.
"The person died five years ago," the officer replied.
"Five years? Dead?"
Vanya's mind raced. The video's words flashed through her mind—"Your mom's owed us gambling debts for five years!" "Don't think playing dead with a sugar daddy will save you!"
Five years of debt, playing dead...
The truth hit her—this was Melinda's buried secret.
At that moment, Elliot knocked on the door. "Luna Vanya, Alpha Cliff sent me to take you home."
Vanya smiled. "Alright, let's go."
Elliot stepped aside, and Vanya followed him out.
Midway, she paused and asked, "Has Melinda contacted Alpha Cliff recently?"
Elliot nodded. "Miss Coleman called a few times, but as per Alpha Cliff's orders, I ignored her."
"Got it," Vanya said with a faint smile.
So Melinda was still counting on Cliff as her sugar daddy.
Makes sense—cornered like this, who else could she turn to?
Elliot, seeing her sudden interest in Melinda, quickly explained, "Luna Vanya, Alpha Cliff truly intends to cut ties with Miss Coleman. You might not know he publicly took her to galas to make you jealous."
"No need to explain. I'm aware," Vanya said with a wry smile.
Elliot realized Luna Vanya had changed—Alpha Cliff no longer held sway over her heart.
The night deepened. After escaping the drinking session, Melinda slunk into a dim alley.
The alley was deserted, but she was bundled up tightly. At the far end, she unlocked a door with trembling hands.
"Who's there?" a shrill voice demanded from inside.
The house was a shanty—each room partitioned by thin boards, barely five square meters.
Inky black at night, it was pitch-dark even by day without a lamp.
Melinda slowly entered the pitch-black house.
This place, renting for a mere $500 a month, was the most dilapidated in all of LA.
Yet, the poor still scrambling for it—— for many, it was the only alternative to homelessness.
At the sound of footsteps, the woman inside knelt trembling, kowtowing in terror, "I swear, I have no money left! Please, don't hit me anymore!"
Melinda switched on the light.
Her mother cowered in the corner. Upon seeing Melinda, her eyes lit up. "Melinda! You're back! Save me, save me!"
Brenda lunged forward, but Melinda pushed her away in disgust.
She had grown up here and despised her mother and this place!
"Melinda, I'm your mom! If you don't help me, I'm done for!" Brenda pleaded.
Terrified, Brenda had resorted to Melinda after relentless debt collectors left her with nowhere else to turn.
Melinda's face contorted with rage. "Do you know how much you owe? And you expect me to help? I don't have that kind of money!"
"Haven't you got rich off Cliff? I heard he dotes on you, takes you everywhere. You're almost the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack! The Todd family's so wealthy—eight million dollars is nothing to them!"
Brenda's eyes gleamed at the mention of Cliff.
Melinda's face darkened. "If I were really becoming the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack, your debt collectors wouldn't have found me!"
She knew Brenda had bragged to the collectors about her soon-to-be Todd family connection.
Seeing Cliff often with her, they'd believed her.
But somehow, they learned Cliff had cut off all her funds and came after her, stripping away almost everything of value.
Melinda gritted her teeth. "If you hadn't spilled my secrets, the debt collectors wouldn't have found me! I'm suffering because of you! Why don't you just die?"
"Melinda! I'm your mother! How dare you speak to me like this? Don't forget, I risked my life to help you cover up the body! Without me, you wouldn't be studying at Wolfe, let alone in their graduate program! You ungrateful wretch! I'm asking you for eight million to save my life, and you refuse?"