Chapter 27
Andrew left the Lewis family and searched the entire building, but he still couldn’t find Lillian. The only thing he discovered was the surgical gown she had tossed in the trash.
As dusk settled in, the hospital saw fewer visitors. A white BMW was parked outside.
Lillian sat inside, her eyes closed, trying to calm down. But the sharp pains and dizziness made it tough to relax. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and her breathing became uneven.
Her body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and high–intensity work was too much for her. Right now, she looked extremely unwell.
Her phone rang without pause. Growing frustrated, she finally answered a call from Yale. “I’m still alive,” she said curtly and hung up.
She stayed in the car for what felt like forever. As night fully arrived, she finally drove away from the hospital.
At the Wilson residence, Harold appeared genuinely apologetic. Mr. Wilson, I’m here to apologize on behalf of Sierra. She’s just a kid and didn’t know any better. Whatever compensation or apology you need, just let me know.
“I only have one daughter–she’s been spoiled since she was little. Forget being locked up for years; she can’t even handle a single night of detention.”
Mr. Terrell, I assure you it wasn’t me. I didn’t even know your daughter was taken away,” Bradley explained again.
Harold seemed skeptical. “Really?”
Bradley was confused. This wasn’t a serious crime like murder or arson. With the Terrell family’s resources, they should have been able to bail Sierra out. “Have you been to the police station? What did they say?” he asked.
Harold thought for a moment. “I have a good relationship with Franklin. At first, he wouldn’t say anything, but after I pressed him, he admitted it was an order from the higher–ups. He told me not to waste my time trying to get her out.”
“An order from the higher–ups? They told you not to bother?” Bradley was taken aback. “I’m just a businessman. I don’t have those kinds of connections.”
Harold thought it made sense. His family was on equal footing with the Wilsons. If Bradley had been behind it, Harold would’ve figured out a way to handle it, and Franklin wouldn’t be afraid to share information.
For Franklin to clearly state not to bother and that Harold couldn’t compete showed how powerful the higher–ups really were. In all of Jerisburg, very few people wielded that kind of influence.
Moreover, since they were both businessmen, it didn’t make sense for Bradley to go to such extremes over what seemed like a minor issue, especially if he truly cared for his daughter.
Then, Harold suddenly mentioned, “I heard Lillian has some connections with the Smiths. Could they be involved?” Bradley shook his head. “You’re really overthinking this. What do they have to do with it? They wouldn’t want to attract any investigation. Besides, they have always been careful and wouldn’t stir up trouble over issues among the younger -generation.”
But deep down, Bradley secretly wondered if the Smith family might be involved. If anyone were to stand up for Lillian, it would be them.
Still, no matter how talented Lillian was or how much Kevin appreciated her, Bradley didn’t think the Smiths would
go that
far.
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Chapter 27
“There must be some misunderstanding. When Lillian gets back I’ll ask her about it. You should think carefully about whether you’ve offended anyone else,” Bradley suggested.
After a lengthy discussion, he finally managed to send Harold on his way.
Mindy, who had been listening from the hallway upstairs, stormed back to her room, fuming, “She must have asked Mr. Smith for help!”
72%
Yetta echoed, “She is a piece of work. I can’t believe she managed to get the Smith family on her side like that. Do you think Zack likes her?”
“No way!” Mindy shouted, her voice full of emotion. “She’s just some wild girl from the countryside. Why would Zack ever like her? What makes her think she’s even worthy of him? She shouldn’t even dream about it!”
Yetta tried to calm Mindy down while muttering under her breath, “Why is that girl such a handful?”
Bradley saw Harold out and then waited in the living room, and he didn’t see Lillian until after ten o’clock.
Facing the rebellious Lillian, who seemed to be taking out all her anger on him, Bradley felt lost–her mother had always been gentle and caring.
“You’re back late. Did you eat dinner? I saved some food for your He tried talking to Lillian in the same kind of tone he used with Yolanda.
But Lillian completely ignored him, and Bradley soon realized that being nice wasn’t working.
He then returned to his usual tone. “I heard about what happened at school today. I’ve already talked to Mindy about it, and yeah, Sierra really crossed the line.”
Knowing Lillian didn’t have much patience, Bradley got straight to the point. “Sierra’s dad came to visit. He wants to apologize to you in person and hopes you’ll go easy on Sierra. Is the Smith family backing you on?”
Lillian’s head felt foggy, and she stumbled slightly as she ignored his words and headed straight for the stairs.
Soon, Bradley noticed something was off with Lillian. As she got closer, he was taken aback by how pale she looked: He immediately stood up and approached her.
“Why do you look so bad? Are you feeling sick?” he asked and then turned to the butler, “Call the doctor.”
“Don’t bother me,” Lillian snapped and used the stair railing to pull herself upstairs.
This case, Bradley couldn’t get any answers from her.
Lillian stayed home and rested for two days, gradually starting to feel better.
Only then did Yale call her. “Do you have something against the Lewis family? The night you got to Jerisburg, Samuel’s men were already checking up on you.
“At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal. I mean, every day, tons of people are snooping around, right? But this time, you saved Samuel’s life, and wanted to keep it under wraps–something feels off.
“We’re talking about Samuel here. Do you know how valuable he is? Just one favor from the Lewis family is a big deal. Yet, you risked so much to save him and didn’t ask for anything in return. That’s just not like you.
I’m giving you a heads–up. Samuel is more complicated than anyone you’ve dealt with before. Let’s try to avoid conflict with him if we can. But since you already saved his life, shouldn’t any hard feelings be behind you now?
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“So… should I ask for a consulting fee? If I could become friends with the Lewis family, my company’s future would be secure. Maybe I could even go public. Wait, since you saved Samuel, I should just go for a publicly listed company.”
Lillian lay on the bed with her eyes closed. “Don’t push me to curse you out.”
Yale chuckled, “You’re usually so polite, even when you’re cursing. So, something’s definitely up with Samuel. I don’t care about anyone else, but Samuel? I need to know. Come on, spill the beans. I’m too lazy to find out myself.”
Lillian was really annoyed. “He’s the jerk from Neragion who nearly killed me.”
“What?” Yale exclaimed, and in his excitement, he toppled off his chair, landing in a clumsy heap on the floor. A sharp pain shot through him, making him grimace while tears streamed down his face.
He struggled to crawl back into the chair, still trying to process what Lillian had just said. “Holy cat! You almost shot him, and he nearly blew you up. After four months, you risked your life to save him?”
The more Yale talked, the more Lillian frowned. She had never encountered anything so maddening in her life at all.
SEND GIFT
