In the hospital bed, Lucas was so terrified by Nelson's overwhelming aura that he didn't dare move a muscle. He still remembered the terrifying force behind that stab and the agonizing, soul-tearing pain.
He finally understood that Nelson genuinely cared about Juniper. Why else would he be so merciless?
If Nelson ever found out what happened all those years ago...
Lucas's scalp went numb. Would he even be allowed to live?
He swallowed hard. He didn't dare mention Juniper's name now. Instead, he screamed hysterically, "I want that bastard to pay! Mom, Dad, it hurts so much! Make him pay! I didn't get a good look at his face. It must be... someone I pissed off in the past. My brother-in-law is the one who got me to the hospital."
The 'brother-in-law' was, of course, Nelson.
Yvonne finally exhaled completely. "I thought this had something to do with Nelson. But seeing how close Nelson and Lydia are, I knew it was impossible. You scared me to death."
Harold furrowed his brow. He knew his son. Lucas looked as if he had just seen a ghost. There was definitely more to this story.
But with Nelson sitting right there, he couldn't push the issue.
He would investigate this himself.
Nelson left them with a brief instruction. "Get some rest."
He stood up to leave and glanced at Lydia. "Walking out together?"
Lydia swallowed hard. He definitely wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart.
Sure enough, once they were standing in the hallway, Nelson asked her, "You were the first to get the news. Who called you?"
The incident tonight was handled incredibly quietly. The only people present were him, Juniper, and Quinn waiting outside.
Quinn was the one who had Lucas sent to the hospital, and Quinn would never call Lydia. So who was it?
Lydia's heart raced. She forced a smile. "A friend of mine at the hotel saw Lucas being taken away. They said they also saw you and Juniper..."
She pinched the bridge of her nose in feigned exhaustion. "Nelson, I was genuinely terrified that you were the one who did it to Lucas. He's my cousin, and we've always been close. He only just got back to the country."
Nelson's gaze locked onto her face. Ever since Lydia had tried to frame Juniper, his opinion of her had plummeted.
Lydia already knew that winning favor with a man like Nelson was nearly impossible.
She was thankful she had prepared an excuse before coming. She did indeed have a friend at the hotel, though that friend wasn't the one who had tipped her off.
Inside the room, Yvonne was still comforting the Thorne family. Lucas lay on the bed, silent and motionless, looking essentially dead.
Once Yvonne left, Harold stood up. "Tell me the truth. What exactly happened tonight?"
Though Lucas was a degenerate scumbag, he was terrified of Nelson's ruthlessness. If he told his father the truth, he would only drag the entire Thorne family down with him. If Nelson dared to act this brazenly, it meant he wasn't afraid of going to war with the Thorne family. Plus, there was that massive secret from the past hanging over his head. Lucas didn't have the guts to speak up.
He squeezed his eyes shut in agony, his hands trembling. "Dad, I've offended too many people over the years..."
That much was true. Harold had wiped his son's backside countless times, and every time, Lucas had crossed numerous people.


VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means