The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 291

"Ms. Lowell, you better get going," Liam taunted. "Stay here too long, and your little secret might just slip out."

Hearing this, Claire wanted to snap back, but her lawyer held her arm.

"Sir, I'd watch what you say," the lawyer warned. "Your tone sounds an awful lot like you're threatening my client."

Liam shoved his hands into his pockets and looked the lawyer up and down.

"Oh? Are you threatening me now? Buddy, the people who've got the guts to threaten me are few and far between. You must have a death wish."

The lawyer realized Liam wasn't someone to mess with and held his tongue.

"We're leaving."

Sarah took a step forward.

"Jo, do you really think there's more to this?"

A chill washed over Jocelyn.

"It's just my gut feeling..."

Liam thought about it for a moment.

"Did you see the look on Claire's face when she saw us? She looked exactly like someone who had just done something terrible and was trying way too hard to play it cool. She's definitely hiding something."

"Do you think she was actually the one behind the wheel?" Sarah asked. "And that idiot is just taking the fall for her?"

"It's highly likely," Liam replied.

"But we don't have any proof," Sarah pointed out. "We can't just go off theories and guesses."

For a moment, the air grew tense and silent.

Then, a quiet voice broke the stillness.

"I'll figure something out."

Jocelyn returned home.

Maria had already packed her bags.

The moment she saw Jocelyn, the older woman collapsed into tears, completely breaking down.

Jocelyn sighed and knelt down beside her.

"Maria, please don't blame yourself. I don't blame you."

Tears streamed down Maria's wrinkled face.

The man standing behind her moved with lightning speed, catching her before she hit the floor.

Maria was terrified. "Miss Jocelyn! Miss Jocelyn! Wake up..."

"She's exhausted," Julian said, his voice hoarse. "Let her sleep."

With that, he picked Jocelyn up and carried her toward the bedroom.

Halfway down the hall, Julian paused.

"Maria, maybe this was simply fate. And when fate steps in, none of us can change the ending."

"So please, stop blaming yourself. If there's truly blame to go around, maybe we're all at fault for being careless. How could it be just on you?"

"Maria, from now on, let's stop talking about who was right and who was wrong. Stay here and take good care of her. To her, you're already family. If you leave, she'll truly be all alone."

A soft, comfortable bed in a dreamlike room.

This was the fairytale world Marcus Evans had meticulously designed for his beloved daughter.

No matter how old Jocelyn got, in his heart, she would always be his bright, innocent little girl.

But the late Marcus could never have guessed that on her very first night in the sanctuary he had left her, his daughter would once again experience soul-crushing agony.