Star Actress 220

Chapter 220 

“Why is it always about Hayden? Can’t you see I’m struggling here? Bianca shot back at Cleo, her frustration bubbling over. 

Cleo’s barrage of questions had finally pushed Bianca to her breaking point. The humiliation she’d suffered, the near-death experience, and then coming home to find no one cared about her, only Hayden-it was too much. 

“Bianca, what is going on with you?” Cleo was taken aback. She was used to a life of comfort and admiration, and Bianca’s outburst was like a slap in the 

face. 

Bianca’s anger simmered down a bit as she realized she might have overreacted, but there was no way she was going to apologize. 

“How dare you speak to your mother like that? Something must have happened to Hayden, right?” Eli’s stern voice cut through the tension as he entered the 

room. He’d been in his study with Aiden, discussing the company’s latest projects and their dismal performance. 

Bianca’s defiance wavered under Eli’s authoritative gaze. “Dad, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at Mom. I’m just really worried about Hayden, and I lost it.” 

Aiden, always the level-headed one, chimed in, “Bianca, we can talk about apologies later. Just tell us what happened. Weren’t you supposed to meet Mr. 

Green? 

Bianca tried to spin the situation to her advantage. “I don’t know why Mr. Green changed his mind. Maybe Emily found out I had his attention and got jealous. Who knows what she said to make him misunderstand. When I asked him why he was backing out on saving Hayden, he said he agreed to save him but never guaranteed Hayden would be alive when he did.” 

Cleo nearly fainted at the news. “What are we going to do now?” she cried, her face pale. 

“Mom!” “Honey!” Eli and Aiden rushed to her side, trying to prevent more chaos in their already turbulent household. Thankfully, Cleo’s concern for Hayden kept her from passing out completely, and she soon regained her composure. 

Bianca stood by the bed, feeling like a criminal. Cleo, tears streaming down her face, turned to Eli and Aiden. “What are we going to do? Bianca was so sure she could save Hayden, but we’ve wasted two days. Today is the last day. How can we possibly save him now?” 

Though Cleo didn’t outright blame Bianca, her words and the look in her eyes made it clear she held Bianca responsible. 

Bianca felt a mix of frustration and anger. She had done her best, and now she was being blamed for failing. “Eli, Aiden, we need to gather a hundred million dollars quickly, or it’ll be too late, Cleo pleaded, clutching Eli’s arm. 

All three of them immediately objected. ‘No way!” 

“Why not? Are you really going to give up on Hayden? He’s your son, your brother!” Cleo’s voice was filled with despair. 

Bianca, tears brimming in her eyes, spoke up, ‘Mom, we’re just as worried as you are. But handing over a hundred million dollars might be pointless. I’ve asked around, and even if we pay, there’s no guarantee they’ll let Hayden go. They might kill him anyway.” 

Despite her frustration, Bianca was telling the truth. Eli and Aiden had also heard similar stories and were hesitant to part with such a large sum. 

Cleo’s frustration boiled over. ‘If you won’t do it, I will! I’ll hire mercenaries if I have to, but I won’t abandon Hayden!” 

Eli, exasperated, finally snapped, ‘Enough! We’re not there yet. We’re still trying to figure out a solution.” 

Cleo looked at Eli with tearful, hopeful eyes. Eli turned to Bianca, who felt a sense of dread. 

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11:30 pm DDDD 

Chapter 220 

Bianca, we can’t come up with a hundred million dollars. The only hope we have left is you. If Mr. Green won’t help, we need to turn to the Smith family. Use your unborn child as leverage. When Hayden comes back, he ll be grateful and will protect you and the baby. What do you think?” 

Though it seemed like a question, Bianca knew refusal wasn’t an option. Eli would likely accuse her of ingratitude if she declined. But she couldn’t tell them she had lost the baby, possibly because of the Smith family’s machinations. Without the baby, she had no leverage. 

“Dad, using the baby as leverage is risky. The Smith family might resent us for it. I don’t want to jeopardize our standing with them.” 

Bianca had no intention of risking everything for Hayden. “Emily offered to help. Why not ask her?” 

Eli hesitated. ‘If we give Emily twenty percent of the Johnson family’s shares, we might lose control of the company.” 

Cleo was anxious, wanting to say something. 

But Aiden felt that Bianca knew about this all along and was clearly against it, so she wouldn’t just change her mind so easily. 

‘Do you have any plan?” Aiden asked. 

Bianca thought for a moment and said, “Kind of, we don’t have to give Emily the twenty percent shares. We can use the Smith Group to threaten her. She’s 

so stubborn now, isn’t it because of Mr. Smith? If we threaten her and she doesn’t want Mr. Smith to know that she’s heartless to her own family, she’ll have 

to agree to help save Hayden.” 

At that moment, she was still naive. 

She clearly underestimated Emily. 

Eli and Aiden fell silent. 

However, Bianca knew that if they didn’t object, they were considering her proposal. 

In fact, she continued to persuade them. “If direct threats don’t work, then we can create a scene, make a big fuss publicly. By then, Emily, in order to protect her reputation and not be despised by the Smith family, will definitely consider negotiating with us privately to resolve the situation.” 

“Even if she remains unmoved, if this matter escalates, the power of public opinion can also force the other party to release Hayden!” 

She had taken all of Eli and their concerns into consideration and provided a solution.