The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 145

Dead silence fell over the hospital room.

Eleanor and Michelle stared at each other in sheer terror.

They had assumed Jocelyn was completely in the dark.

They never imagined she already knew everything.

And they certainly never expected her to just rip the band-aid off and say it out loud.

Jocelyn had nothing left to lose.

"You've all been plotting to kick me out of the Lowell family for one simple reason: you want my sister-in-law to take my place. You want her to be Mrs. Lowell."

"Sure, I have no problem with that."

Under their horrified stares, Jocelyn remained perfectly composed and completely unfazed.

"As long as my husband looks me in the eye and asks for a divorce himself, I'll sign the papers. But..."

Jocelyn scoffed. "I'm not a doormat you can just walk all over. I don't need to be your daughter-in-law, but over the last three years in the Lowell house, the injustice, the abuse, the humiliation..."

Her eyes sharpened like daggers. "I am going to make you pay for every single bit of it, with interest."

Her meaning was crystal clear.

If she was going down, she was taking them all with her.

Eleanor felt her blood pressure spike, but she couldn't formulate a single word.

Even Michelle, who usually had a vicious comeback for everything, was rendered entirely mute.

She wasn't stupid.

She knew exactly what Jocelyn was implying.

If they pushed her too far, the Lowell family's filthy little secret would be broadcast to the world.

The Lowell family would become the laughingstock of the entire city.

In that moment, Jocelyn was no longer the soft, obedient daughter-in-law they thought they could manipulate.

She looked like a queen holding a knife to their throats, fearlessly warning them to watch their step.

Audrey grabbed Jocelyn's arm, tears streaming down her face as she played the pathetic victim.

"Jocelyn, it's all my fault! I begged Adrian and Grandma! They just felt sorry for me, that's why they agreed. If you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at—"

"Get off me!"

It felt as if he had been the one slapped.

Every instinct screamed at him to lunge forward and tear Caleb apart.

But then he remembered the massive financial stakes between their families, and his courage evaporated.

Right now, Adrian's company, Momentum AI, had poured almost all of its capital into a massive new R&D project. Their cash flow was completely dried up.

They were desperate for funds to expand their new production facilities.

Caleb Preston's massive investment had swooped in to solve Adrian's financial crisis entirely.

Naturally, the Lowell family treated this deep-pocketed partner like royalty, constantly reminding Adrian to keep Caleb happy.

They were practically begging Adrian to officially become Caleb's son-in-law.

It took Jocelyn a long moment to shake off the dizzying ringing in her ears.

She reached up and touched her rapidly swelling cheek.

It burned like hell.

The metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth.