Chapter 105: Chapter 105

Adrian Gordon’s father, Preston Gordon, was getting out of a black Mercedes, and we ran into each other.

"Lily Miller?" Seeing me, Preston Gordon looked surprised and then said, "You still came to the hospital to see Adrian."

I was also shocked. Adrian Gordon is in this hospital? Isn’t he always at an expensive private hospital for treatment? Why is he at a public hospital now?

"Hello, Uncle Gordon. I’m here with a colleague. I didn’t know Adrian Gordon was also at this hospital." I greeted politely, honestly stating the situation, not wanting the Gordon family to have any misunderstanding.

Preston Gordon’s expression immediately became awkward, and he said a bit sheepishly, "I thought... you came to see Adrian."

I smiled but said nothing.

"Since we met, can I trouble you for a moment? I’d like to talk to you." Preston Gordon shifted his tone, looking at me seriously.

Feeling uneasy inside, I replied candidly, "Uncle Gordon, your son and I are completely over. I hope you understand. I can’t do anything about his illness now."

"I understand, don’t worry. I won’t make things difficult for you. It’s just that after so many years of feelings between you two, it’s a shame things have come to this. I didn’t mean to persuade a reconciliation. I just heard you still have that video of Amanda in a moment of foolishness, and this..."

Preston Gordon’s voice became hesitant, his gaze shifted behind me.

Calvin Yance immediately understood, told me a few things, then turned and left with our colleague to the car.

The parking lot wasn’t convenient; I looked around, "Uncle Gordon, let’s go to that little garden over there. Whatever you need to say, please make it short. I have matters to attend to."

With those words, I took the lead and walked towards the garden.

Preston Gordon dismissed the driver and followed me.

When we stopped in the garden, he looked at me with surprise in his eyes: "Girl, it’s been a few months, and you’ve changed a lot. You’ve become more mature and composed."

I knew why he was making such a remark.

Given his status, he surely took the lead in dealing with affairs outside.

But now, in our conversation, I was the one in the leading position.

For an elder to be led by a younger person was somewhat of a blow to his pride.

But I couldn’t care about that.

I smiled faintly, with a deep meaning: "Encountering a massive upheaval in life, if I can’t grow a bit, then I’m probably destined to be devoured."

Preston Gordon’s smile froze slightly, his face showing a hint of guilt: "Adrian is the one who owes you; he was momentarily confused and stubborn, ruining the happiness within his grasp."

At this moment, I thought perhaps this elder in the Gordon family was one of the clear-headed ones left; the rest were bizarre.

But soon, this belief was overturned.

I had no proper response to his apology on behalf of his son, so I just smiled lightly.

Preston Gordon also saw the resistance in my heart, and stopped mentioning his son, turning instead to talk about Amanda’s matter.

"Amanda has been spoiled by us since childhood, and her mind is too simple. She acts on her own thoughts, and now she has paid the price for her words and deeds. That video, I wish... you could destroy it?"

I looked at Preston Gordon and said directly, "Uncle Gordon, your daughter’s video of framing me, I promise I won’t let it spread recklessly, but I can’t destroy it completely right now. I have to wait until your son confirms our divorce."

Preston Gordon promised, "Adrian won’t bother you anymore. His old illness has relapsed, and he will have fewer opportunities to go out in the future, spending most of his days in the hospital. That video... has become Amanda’s inner demon. If you delete it, we all can rest assured."

I laughed coldly inside, suddenly finding Preston Gordon a bit ridiculous too.

The video is with me; they don’t know how many copies I’ve backed up.

If I just delete it from my phone, will they be assured?

Even if I intend to destroy Amanda Gordon, I can restore it with help even after deletion.

However, since they want a self-deceptive result, I shall oblige.

Pretending to be in a difficult position, I nodded after a moment: "Alright, for Uncle Gordon’s sake, I’ll delete it."

I took out my phone, found the video, and deleted it completely in front of him.

"Is that satisfactory?"

Preston Gordon asked, "Are there any backups?"

I opened the cloud platform and deleted the data from the cloud services in front of him, "All gone."

"Mm, I’m sorry for troubling you." Preston Gordon nodded, his face showing relief.

Putting away my phone, I gave a polite nod: "I’ll be leaving now."

"Wait!" Preston Gordon suddenly called after me again.

"Uncle Gordon, is there anything else?"

"Lily... could you give Uncle Gordon one more face and since you’re already here, go up and see Adrian? He fell into a coma due to alcohol poisoning, and despite acquiring a blood source and giving him transfusions, he remains unconscious..."

Preston Gordon, who was once a powerful figure, now looked sorrowful, his brow furrowed, speaking with eyes reddened, tears welling.

"Since Amanda’s accident, this home hasn’t known peace for a day. Now Adrian is down, and we two old folks haven’t truly rested for the last day and night, thinking about all that’s been happening lately, unsure where things went wrong."

He hadn’t finished speaking before raising a sleeve to dab his eyes. "Sorry, I lost my composure."

I looked at him, my brow furrowing, feeling somewhat heavy in my heart.

From a father’s perspective, I could understand his helplessness and anguish at this moment.

A daughter defiled, her reputation destroyed, living under a shadow for life.

A son relapsing with a severe illness, uncertain if he could be cured.

Two children suffering simultaneously, a double layer of misfortune stacking upon these parents is indeed a world-crashing despair.

Yet, I couldn’t muster any sympathy.

Their daughter tried to frame me, ruining my life.

Their son betrayed me, viciously trampling my true feelings, repeatedly torturing my wounds.

I’m no saint; I lack that merciful heart.

"Uncle Gordon, I’m sorry, I don’t want to see him again." With those words, I gave a courteous nod, turned, and left.

"Lily Miller, after all, you were married once, do you have to be so heartless? If you agree to see Adrian, whatever you ask, we’ll meet your requirements, Lily Miller..."

Preston Gordon called from behind me, but I didn’t turn back, heading straight to the parking lot and driving away.

Back at the company, Cherry rushed to me as soon as she saw me.

"Ms. Lily, President Yance reported to the police, and I heard they summoned Lady Turner for questioning. I don’t know the situation now."

I nodded: "Alright, got it."

Before the words finished, my phone rang with an unfamiliar landline number.

It was the police, asking me to come over.

I didn’t have time to catch my breath and immediately turned around, driving straight to the police station.

When I appeared, Shirley Turner rushed up to me: "Lily Miller, he’s holding me responsible. Please, help talk to him for me; I can’t be detained. I’m willing to compensate, whatever the cost, I’ll pay it."

I directly asked, "Compensate? You’ve been blackmailing me; where would you get the money to compensate others?"

"I’ll think of a way, or you can lend me the money, and I’ll work for you for another year," Shirley Turner said proactively, looking defeated.

It seemed that before I arrived, she had already been scared out of her wits by the police and Calvin Yance.

I didn’t respond and turned to the police officer to ask, "In her situation, if she’s detained, how long will it be for?"

The officer said, "If there’s no reconciliation, based on the injury assessment, it counts as minor injury, and she would be detained for ten days. However, I noticed that this Lady Turner was recently detained for assaulting someone, seems like she’s a repeat offender..."

The officer deliberately dragged out his words, and Shirley Turner was so frightened her legs turned to jelly: "I didn’t do it on purpose this time; it was an accident... Officer, my son is in trouble and still in detention, waiting for me to find a way to get him out, please don’t detain me..."

"Talking to me won’t help; you need the other party to agree to reconcile," the officer said helplessly.

Shirley Turner immediately turned around and went to beg Calvin Yance again.

Calvin Yance glanced at me, replying with a hostile look, "I have no grudge against you, yet you broke my head. This scar will remain. I’m not even married yet. How can I find a girlfriend with a scar on my face in the future?"

I must admit, Calvin Yance had a knack for acting.

Hearing this, I felt extremely guilty.

If it really left a scar, and I marred his face so he couldn’t find a wife, that would be a huge wrong on my part.

Shirley Turner kept apologizing profusely, but Calvin Yance just wouldn’t reconcile.

With no other option, she came to me for help, "Lily, isn’t he your subordinate? Please talk to him. I’m willing to compensate. As long as I don’t get detained, he can name his price."

I chuckled coldly inside, looking at the woman before me, only able to describe her with one word: foolish.

Over the years, she had relied on Jason Miller’s influence, acting arrogantly and bullying the weak, never having suffered any grievances.

Now, with Jason Miller in jail, she’s living in poverty, acting impulsively and recklessly, not considering the consequences. I bet she’ll get herself killed sooner or later.

"All these years, you’ve insulted and bullied me, even tried to kill me, and now you come asking me for help. Why should I help you?" I’m not that easy to talk to; otherwise, she’d dare to cause me trouble again next time.

"She tried to kill you?" The officer was surprised by my words and asked.

Shirley Turner quickly waved her hands: "No, no, it was just words in a moment of anger... Lily, I promise not to bother you anymore, just help me this once."

Seeing my goal was achieved, I put on a difficult expression and turned to Calvin Yance, "President Yance, for her sincere apology, would you consider... resolving this?"

Calvin Yance hesitated for a long while before nodding, "President Miller, I’ll give you face today, but I’m really not convinced!"

I glared at Shirley Turner, who caught on and immediately apologized again to Calvin Yance, looking very sincere.

Finally, under the witness of the officer, the two signed a reconciliation agreement, and the case was not filed.

Shirley Turner had to pay Calvin Yance medical fees, lost wages, and emotional damages totaling thirty thousand.

And, privately, besides giving Calvin Yance a week off, I also paid an additional fifty thousand as my apology and compensation.

Shirley Turner obviously couldn’t come up with the thirty thousand and promised to work for me until she paid off the eighty thousand.

In the evening, Wennie Lane arranged a gathering to bid farewell to Grace Chandler—Grace had a flight leaving Fallhaven the next day.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I was so hungry that I didn’t even exchange pleasantries with the two of them before diving into a bowl of rice.

Grace Chandler was surprised and said, "You’re your own boss, yet you can’t even afford a meal?"

I shook my head and sighed repeatedly, "Ah, don’t mention it. There was a ton of crap going on today, and I’ve been busy from morning to night, didn’t even have time for lunch."

Hearing some gossip, the two perked up their ears.

After I finished recounting Adrian Gordon’s situation and briefly talked about Shirley Turner’s case, they both clicked their tongues repeatedly.

"How do you always end up with these messy situations?"

"You didn’t soften up and reconcile with Adrian Gordon, did you?" Wennie Lane asked worriedly.

I firmly stated, "Impossible. If I had softened up, I would have gone to see him today. I really don’t want to see him; his life or death has nothing to do with me."

"And your stepmother... I think those eighty thousand are gone. She can’t possibly work for you for two years to pay off the debt. Once her son is out, she will definitely go back on her word," Grace Chandler, who knew my family situation well, confidently concluded, knowing well what kind of person Shirley Turner is.

I smiled knowingly and said, "That eighty thousand loan agreement is in my hand, and it’s legally binding. Whether she pays back the money or not is irrelevant. What I want is this evidence to hold her accountable."

Wennie Lane understood and gave me a thumbs-up with a smile.

Grace Chandler said sympathetically, "I thought you were newly married, enjoying a sweet and happy life, but it turns out your days are so thrilling."

"Yeah, I didn’t expect my life to be so exciting, filled with surprises and challenges every day."

Wennie Lane smiled suggestively, "But out of misfortune comes blessing. If you had really married Adrian Gordon, would you have met Daniel Carter? Look at how infatuated he is with you, unwavering. You’ll be in for a treat in your next life."

Mentioning Daniel Carter, the corners of my mouth subconsciously lifted into a slight smile, caught right in the act by the two of them.

"Look! Look! The mention of him brings a shy smile to your face~"

"Come on, tell us, what progress have you two made now?"

When women get together, gossip is inevitable, especially when the subject is Daniel Carter.

The meal lasted until nine, and as I left the restaurant, I reluctantly hugged Grace Chandler goodbye.

"I hope the next time I return to Fallhaven, it will be to attend your wedding, and I’m going to be your bridesmaid!" Grace teased while embracing me.

My wedding with Daniel Carter? I couldn’t even imagine that scene, but I couldn’t help but follow along with my friend’s words, picturing that scene.

Returning home, it was already past ten in the evening.

After a whole day of mental and physical battles, even though I won them all, I felt utterly exhausted from the inside out.

Collapsing alone on the sofa, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness as the hustle and bustle faded away.

An inexplicable irritation and melancholy surged through me, and I really wanted to find someone to talk to, someone to hug...

Picking up my phone, I couldn’t help but open Daniel Carter’s WeChat.

Earlier this morning, he sent me another three messages, which I hadn’t responded to because I was driving, so they were left unread.

"I slept well last night, no headaches or dizziness today, don’t worry."

"Why are you ignoring me?"

I stared at these three messages, reading them over and over, remembering what he said on the phone—he’s willing to take ninety-nine steps but hopes I have the courage to take one.

A strong impulse surged in my heart, causing my heart to race. I picked up my phone and replied, "Is it really just one step I need to take?"

As the message sent, I suddenly woke up as if an alarm bell had gone off, and hurriedly retracted it.

However, even after retracting it, there was still a retraction record on the page. What if he asks what I sent?

I couldn’t think of any safe topic to talk about, so I could only lie and say I sent it by mistake.

Yes, just say it was sent by mistake.

I quickly tapped on the keyboard. The source of thɪs content is novel※fire.net

The buzzing in my ears sounded like the end-of-exam bell with the last question unfinished, putting my entire senses into the most urgent state, my mind anxious and my hands trembling, cheeks tingling.

Yet, just as I typed out two words, a message suddenly popped up on the page—

"I will take 100 steps as long as you don’t back away."