Chapter 656: Solution
Just the interest. Not the principal.
And because they had repeatedly failed to repay the loan on time, penalties and compound interest had continued to accumulate over the years.
The original one-billion-dollar debt had snowballed into an unimaginable twenty billion dollars.
Twenty billion dollars... The number alone was enough to make anyone lose hope.
Even if she spent her entire life working without resting for a single day, she still wouldn’t be able to repay such an astronomical debt.
’How... How did things become this bad...?’
Meanwhile, her father stood frozen in place.
His usually straight posture had collapsed, and his shoulders looked heavier than ever before. He opened his mouth. Then closed it again.
He simply didn’t know how to explain everything.
Just then, the study door slowly opened.
Jacqueline’s mother quietly walked inside.
From the calm expression on her face, it seemed she had been standing outside the entire time, listening to every single word that had been exchanged between father and daughter.
She looked at her husband before speaking in a composed yet exhausted voice.
"I’ll explain everything."
She gently placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder. "Leave your father out of this."
Jacqueline let out a hollow chuckle. The sound carried not the slightest trace of amusement.
"I wanted to talk to you as well."
She looked directly into her mother’s eyes.
"After all... It looks like you’re hiding something too."
Her mother lowered her head. "I’m sorry..."
She slowly closed her eyes as though gathering every ounce of courage she had left.
"Jacqueline..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"My dear... Believe me."
"There is nothing in this world more important to your father and me than you."
After saying those words, she slowly reached into the leather folder she had been carrying.
Her movements were unusually careful. Almost hesitant.
She pulled out a thick stack of documents before extending them toward Jacqueline with slightly trembling hands.
"Read these."
Jacqueline instinctively frowned.
Medical documents? Confusion flashed across her face.
’Why is Mom giving me hospital records at a time like this?’
For a brief moment, she looked from the papers to her mother’s pale face.
Something inside her heart suddenly became uneasy.
An invisible sense of dread slowly crept into her chest.
With a hesitant movement, Jacqueline accepted the documents.
Taking a slow breath, she lowered her gaze and carefully opened the first page to see what was written inside.
+She had been born with a severe congenital heart disease.
From the moment she entered this world, her life had depended on finding a compatible heart donor.
As she continued reading, her hands began to tremble.
According to the records, after the doctors confirmed her condition, her parents had searched desperately for a matching donor.
Every hospital they visited gave them the same hopeless answer. No suitable donor had been found.
Just when they had begun to lose all hope... Someone appeared.
A man had voluntarily come forward. His heart was a perfect match for Jacqueline.
The moment the compatibility test results came back, Jacqueline’s parents had rushed to meet him, overwhelmed with gratitude and disbelief.
"What do you want? We’ll do anything within our power."
The man had looked at them calmly before replying with only one sentence. "I want one billion dollars."
At that time, Jacqueline’s parents had only recently begun building their careers.
They weren’t famous. They weren’t wealthy. They were merely hardworking people who earned enough to live comfortably.
If they had continued on that path, they might have eventually become millionaires.
But... one billion dollars... that amount completely shattered every bit of hope they had. The report described how devastated they had been.
Even so... They refused to give up on their daughter. They searched everywhere for money.
Eventually... after every respectable lender had rejected them, they had no choice but to borrow the money from an underground loan shark.
The interest rate... Twenty-five percent.
The moment Jacqueline read those words, she felt as though the air had been sucked out of the room.
That single decision had become the beginning of their endless nightmare.
The report continued. At the time, none of their so-called friends had been willing to help.
Even the relatives who constantly spoke about family had refused to contribute.
Despite exhausting almost two hundred million dollars of their own savings, Jacqueline’s parents had only been able to cover a small portion of the ever-growing interest each year.
Everything they earned... everything they owned... had been poured into repaying the debt. Yet the amount never became smaller.
Instead... it continued growing. Year after year. Until the debt eventually snowballed into nearly ten billion dollars.
The more Jacqueline read... the more shattered she became.
Her vision blurred. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks before dripping onto the papers in her trembling hands, leaving dark wet stains across the ink.
Her entire body shook uncontrollably. "I’m sorry... I’m so... so sorry... So it was all because of me..."
She had blamed her parents. She had questioned them. She had even suspected her father of betraying the family.
But in reality... they had sacrificed everything... Just so she could continue living.
The guilt crushed her heart so heavily that she could hardly remain standing.
She suddenly dropped to her knees. "I’ll take responsibility."
She cried so hard that every word became broken.
"Leave everything to me. I’ll repay every single cent. You don’t have to carry this burden anymore."
Hearing those words, her father immediately shook his head. His eyes had already become red.
"How could we possibly allow our daughter to bear all of this?"
He hurriedly walked over before helping her back onto her feet. "Don’t worry."
He gently wiped away her tears.
"Your mother and I will definitely find a solution. You don’t have to shoulder this burden."
Jacqueline simply continued crying.
She knew. Deep inside... There was no solution. A debt of ten billion dollars wasn’t something an ordinary wealthy family could overcome.
She had initially believed that the financial disaster had been caused by accounting errors.
Who would have imagined... her parents had deliberately hidden this truth from her all these years.
They had silently endured endless suffering just to make sure she would never discover the burden her existence had placed upon them.
’Maybe... Maybe I should just give this heart back.’
She lowered her head.
’That man... Why did he ask for one billion dollars?’
Taking a shaky breath, she looked toward her mother. "What happened to him? The man who donated his heart..."
Her mother gave her a sorrowful smile. "He was actually a distant relative of ours."
She lowered her eyes.
"After donating his heart... he eventually passed away."
A trace of sadness flickered across her face. "After all... no one can survive without a heart."
She continued quietly,
"All the money was inherited by his daughter. She had been suffering from cancer."
Her mother smiled faintly.
"Thankfully... her treatment was successful. She’s completely cured now. And these days... She has become a philanthropist."
Jacqueline remained silent. She didn’t know what to feel anymore.
Every emotion tangled together until her mind became completely numb.
Feeling utterly drained, she slowly stood up before dragging her exhausted body back to her bedroom.
Her father and mother silently followed behind.
The moment she entered her room, her mother gently grabbed her wrist. "Child..."
Her voice trembled.
"This isn’t your fault. Please... don’t blame yourself. We’ll find a solution. I promise. It was never your mistake."
However, Jacqueline slowly removed her mother’s hand.
From her perspective... she had been the root cause of everything. Without another word, she closed the bedroom door behind her.
She remained there for an entire day and an entire night.
She simply curled herself into a corner of the bed while tears silently soaked the pillow beneath her face.
As endless dark thoughts slowly crept into her mind... a gentle knock echoed from outside the room.
Then came a calm, familiar voice.
"Jacqueline. Open the door. I’m outside."
Theodore. The moment she recognized his voice, she hurriedly wiped her swollen eyes.
"No..."
Her voice sounded hoarse.
"Please don’t come in. Just let me stay here. I don’t want to see anyone right now."
The moment those words left her mouth, another sob escaped her lips.
She hugged her knees tightly against her chest.
’How laughable... I always believed I was such a perfect daughter. I even carried myself with so much pride. But in the end... Everything was just a joke. I was the burden all along.’
She buried her face even deeper into her arms.
Outside the room, Theodore leaned gently against the door before speaking in his usual calm voice.
"If you don’t open the door... I’ll have no choice but to break it down."
Jacqueline immediately shouted back through her tears,
"We don’t even have money to repair the door!"
The moment she said those words, she felt even more miserable. Theodore couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
"Then I’ll reimburse the repair costs."