Part 3I'm the Joke of the Elite Circle

When I reached the hospital, my legs gave out. I dropped to my knees beside the bed and clutched Mom's hand.

"Eric, don't go begging Joanna on my account," she said, her voice coming through the oxygen mask as if from another world.

Back when Mom was gravely ill, Joanna had arranged the best hospital room for her and cleared her schedule just so she could personally be there to take care of her.

I spent my days holed up in my room, refusing to eat or drink. So, Joanna had to tear herself away to feed me.

"Eric, as long as I'm here, Anita's going to be fine."

But later, she became so consumed by her rivalry with me that every promise out of her mouth rang hollow.

A quick check at the billing window confirmed it—someone had cut off Mom's hospital and medication payments.

I turned around and came face to face with Joanna and Marcus.

My eyes burning red, I couldn't help but march up and demand, "Was it you or Marcus who cut off Mom's hospital and medication payments?"

Joanna's expression instantly darkened.

She snapped back, "So, it really was you. Did you hire online trolls to accuse Marcus of embezzling funds and call him an ungrateful upstart?"

Confusion spread across my face.

Marcus stepped forward and begged, "Mr. Tuttle, the company is cutting costs right now. I wasn't trying to target you. Please just call off those trolls."

With every shaky word out of his mouth, Joanna's gaze toward me grew colder with disappointment.

"Eric, I've put up with all your antics before, but Marcus has worked his fingers to the bone for this company. How dare you frame him? Apologize to him right now!"

Barely holding myself up against the wall, I mustered what little strength I had and rasped, "Fine, let's just get divorced. We can split everything right now if that's what you want."

My words clearly caught Joanna off guard. She opened her mouth but couldn't get a single word out.

Marcus cut in pitifully. "Mr. Tuttle, please don't get divorced over me. Ms. Lockwood already works herself to exhaustion every day. It pains me to see her like that, so I'm begging you, please don't make things any harder for her."

No sooner had he spoken than the bystanders shot me scornful looks, as if I were the unreasonable homewrecker.

Joanna rushed to comfort Marcus, her gaze toward me dripping with disgust.

"You're not really serious about divorce. You just want money so you can keep making everyone miserable, don't you? What other scheme have you cooked up to go after Marcus? If you want money, get on your knees and apologize to Marcus!"

I suddenly froze.

Joanna once swore she would take care of me forever, that I would never have to worry about money.

But that was then.

I bit down so hard that I nearly drew blood from inside my cheek.

I was about to get down on my knees when Marcus reached out and caught me. Then, he said with mock sincerity, "Mr. Tuttle, you have lived a life of luxury and have no idea how hard it is to earn money.

"Since you've caused me and those other men to suffer, the least you can do is show some sincerity by apologizing on a live stream. Once you do, I'll wire the money to you."

After a brief silence, something unreadable flickered in Joanne's eyes. Then, she said, "Marcus is right. It's time you knew what humiliation feels like. Since you're so fond of stripping other men bare, why don't you take off your clothes and apologize to everyone?"

I stared at Joanna in shock.

"Joanna, I'm your husband, for crying out loud!"

Just then, a notification from the hospital about Mom's critical condition forced its way onto my phone like a nightmare.

My mind went completely blank.

Joanna glanced at it, then ordered me with even more confidence, "Since Anita needs that money for her treatment, you'd better decide fast."