"My mother had a brain hemorrhage. She's in the hospital being resuscitated. We urgently need two hundred thousand.

"That intern teller, Carmen Sanders, froze my account.

"I need you to call her right now and tell her to unlock it."

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

However, what came back was not panic.

It was something colder. Deeper disgust.

"Jane, if you're going to make up excuses, could you at least make them believable?

"Mom was perfectly fine when she went out to buy groceries this morning.

"How did she suddenly end up with a brain hemorrhage?

"Are you trying to check up on me again?

"Or are you deliberately causing trouble because Carmen is here?"

I was trembling with rage, gripping my phone so tightly I could barely hold onto it.

"Karl! Do you seriously think I'm that kind of person?

"The critical condition notice from the hospital is right in front of me!

"If you don't believe me, call Mom yourself!

"Her phone is at the nurse's station right now!"

Karl let out a cold laugh, his voice dripping with contempt.

"That's enough. Stop acting. You just want to take money back to your family, don't you? Your brother needs money again? Buying a house this time? Or a car?

"Jane, I've tolerated you for a long time already. The little bit you secretly send them usually, fine. I let it slide. But today? You actually dare to pull this?

"Do you even know who I'm hosting today? City officials. My promotion depends on this meeting!"

I shouted into the phone, tears finally spilling down my face.

"Karl! That's your mother! Your own mother is lying on an operating table waiting to be saved!

"If you have even a shred of conscience left, come downstairs and see for yourself!

"Or at least call Carmen and tell her to release the funds!"

Maybe it was the desperation in my voice.

Karl paused, sounding briefly shaken.

However, at that moment, Carmen suddenly moved behind the glass counter.

She picked up the internal phone line and dialed a number.

The next second, Karl's voice turned icy cold.

"Carmen just reported the situation to me. She said you brought police officers here to cause trouble and verbally abused bank staff.

"The system flagged suspicious fund activity. Risk control intercepted the transaction. Carmen did the right thing. She's simply doing her job.

"As the wife of a bank manager, you should be setting an example. Not taking the lead in violating bank regulations."

I listened in disbelief.

It felt like I was hearing a stranger speak.

"Karl... you believe her over me?

"You're willing to let your own mother die because of some intern?"

His voice carried that familiar, superior coldness.

"Carmen followed procedure.

"If the system made a mistake, then file an appeal through the proper channels.

"Stop making a scene and embarrassing yourself.

"Take the police and leave immediately. Don't disrupt my meeting. Otherwise, don't blame me for forgetting we're husband and wife."

The call ended.

I stood there frozen, phone still in my hand.

Behind the bulletproof glass, Carmen looked at me and burst into smug laughter.

"See? I told you. Mr. Young is a man of principles.

"If he says no, then it's no.

"And stop trying to scare people with all this mother-in-law drama.

"Everyone knows you're just trying to cover your brother's debts again."

Officer Tanner stood nearby, shaking his head the whole time.

Even he probably had never seen a husband this heartless.

"Miss... maybe we should try another bank?

"Or borrow the money from relatives and friends first?"

I slowly shook my head, my gaze turning colder by the second.

Borrow money?

Two hundred thousand. Where was I supposed to get that on such short notice?

Besides, this was my money.

Why did I need permission from other people just to withdraw my own savings and save someone's life?

I wiped the tears from my face.

Then I looked through the bulletproof glass and locked eyes with Carmen.

"So you're really refusing to process it?"

Carmen raised an eyebrow, completely fearless.

"It's not that I refuse. The system refuses.

"I'd love to help you, but there's nothing I can do.

"Why don't you just wait here?

"Maybe after three to five days, risk control will automatically lift the restriction."

Three to five days?

My mother-in-law wouldn't survive another thirty to fifty minutes.

I slowly turned my head toward the fire extinguisher in the corner of the lobby.

Since reason would not work.

Since calling the police was useless.

Since even my husband could not be relied on.

Then don't blame me for losing my mind.

I rushed forward and grabbed the red fire extinguisher by the wall. The heavy metal canister felt ice-cold in my hands, just like my heart.

A wave of screams broke out around me as the crowd stumbled backward. Even the security guards went pale, clutching their batons without daring to come closer.

"What are you doing?! Put that down! Put it down right now!"

Carrying the extinguisher, I walked step by step toward the counter.

Through the glass, I locked eyes with Carmen. Terror was written all over her face.

"Carmen, I'll ask you one last time.

"Are you processing it or not?"

She clearly had not expected me to actually go this far. She shrank back instinctively, but her mouth was still stubborn.

"Y-you dare smash up a bank?

"That's a serious crime! You'll go to prison!

"Security! Call the police! Grab this crazy woman!"

"I'm not afraid of prison!" I screamed so hard my voice sounded like something crawling out of hell itself.

"If my mother dies, I'll drag every single one of you down with her!"

Bang!

I swung the fire extinguisher and smashed it hard against the bulletproof glass.

The deafening impact shook the entire lobby.

The glass did not shatter, but white cracks spread across the surface.

Carmen screamed and crouched down with her hands over her head, trembling uncontrollably.

The alarm grew even shriller, piercing through the entire building.

Just as I raised the extinguisher to strike again, an angry roar exploded from behind me.

"Stop! Jane, have you gone insane?!"

The door to the VIP room burst open.

Karl strode out, surrounded by a group of sharply dressed executives. His face was livid, fury practically pouring from his eyes.

Clearly, I had completely ruined his 'important meeting.'

He stormed over, snatched the extinguisher from my hands, then shoved me hard.

I staggered backward and slammed into the metal waiting chairs.

"Look at yourself!

"You're acting like a damn shrew!

"Showing up with police officers wasn't enough? Now you're smashing counters too?

"Do you have to destroy my reputation before you're satisfied?"

The moment Carmen saw Karl, she rushed out from behind the counter in tears and threw herself into his arms.

"Mr. Young... I was so scared...

"I was only following procedure, but she..."

Karl patted her back gently, his voice full of concern.

"It's okay. I'm here. No one's going to touch you."

But the second he turned toward me, his expression became razor sharp.

"Jane, apologize to Carmen.

"Right now. Immediately."

I pulled myself upright using the chair and suddenly laughed.

I laughed so hard tears came out.

"Apologize? You want me to apologize to her?

"Karl, look at the time.

"It's been twenty minutes since I called you.

"And fifty minutes since I walked into this bank.

"Do you even understand what that means?"

Karl waved his hand impatiently.

"Enough with the nonsense. You just want money, don't you?

"To buy your brother a house, you'd even pull a stunt like this?

"You even cursed my mother with a brain hemorrhage. How can you be this vicious?"

He pulled a bank card from his wallet and threw it at my face.

"There's five thousand on it. Take it and get out. Stop embarrassing yourself here."

The card scraped across my cheek before falling onto the floor with a sharp clatter.

At that exact moment, my phone rang again.

The ringtone sounded unbearably harsh in the dead silent lobby.

It was the hospital.

My hands trembled as I answered and turned on speakerphone.

The doctor's exhausted, grief-stricken voice echoed clearly throughout the hall.

"Ms. Nolan, we regret to inform you..."

"The patient, Helen Walter, suffered severe intracranial bleeding. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

"She was pronounced dead one minute ago.

"Please come to the hospital as soon as possible to process the death certificate."