Chapter 858
Outside the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed, Terry pulled out his phone from his pocket and said, "How was that, Mrs. Frane? Pretty impressive, right?"
His phone screen was still lit, showing the ongoing call with Lillian, which hadn't been disconnected.
In the hospital room, Lillian held her phone, having heard the entire argument.
Thinking about Kenneth and Ruby leaving with their faces looking grim and defeated, she felt a refreshing sense of satisfaction.
She didn't hold back her praise, "Well done, you deserve a reward!"
After hanging up, Terry wondered how much of a bonus Lillian would have Jackson give him. Then he heard a notification sound.
He looked down and opened it, his eyes widening in surprise.
Lillian had transferred him $500,000!
Just for saying a few words, he earned so much pocket money. He couldn't believe his words had ever been this valuable.
It felt pretty good to insult people, and he enjoyed it himself.
Next time, he would go all out. If he didn't make Lillian's heartless father and fake stepmother end up in the emergency room, it would be disrespectful to the $500,000!
In the hospital room.
When Jackson pushed the door open, Lillian was already watching a live stream on her phone.
It was a live stream from Mirror Lake, where Anouk's car had plunged into the lake, causing quite a commotion.
There were real-time videos and live streams everywhere, even trending locally.
The streamer's camera was focused on the lake, showing the car completely submerged, while several men with good swimming skills were searching for Anouk.
"Folks, if you're good swimmers and want to make big money, now's your chance. The person who fell into the lake is known to be a wealthy young lady. The driver has already said that his boss promised a cash reward starting at a million dollars for anyone who can save his daughter."
"Seriously, why can't I swim? Otherwise, I'd have jumped in already. Especially for our single young men, saving the wealthy young lady and gaining her favor could be your ticket to becoming a wealthy son-in-law. Don't say I didn't warn you."
The camera shook as someone shouted that they might have found her, but the focus didn't show anything.
Several men who had dived into the lake surfaced with no results.
"The car's at the bottom, but the person is nowhere to be found. It's been over ten minutes, so it's not looking good."
The streamer sighed.
Lillian looked up at Jackson, who was standing in front of the sofa, taking off his suit jacket. She was a bit worried.
"Where's Anouk?"
She was genuinely afraid and concerned.
She worried that Jackson might have drowned Anouk in the lake. She didn't want or need him to stain his hands with blood for her.
Jackson tossed his suit jacket onto the sofa and walked towards her. He glanced at her still slightly pale face, and his fingertip touched her soft lips.
"Feeling soft-hearted? You don't want her dead?"
Lillian shook her head, and Jackson's smile deepened, raising an eyebrow.
"So, my little princess is worried about me?"
Lillian was slightly stunned.
She vaguely remembered a time when she was very protective of Jackson as a child.
Back then, Jackson spoiled her, and she was full of dependence and gratitude towards him, always following him around, telling him not to drink cold water all the time, to wear his helmet properly when riding his motorcycle, and so on...
Jackson wouldn't listen, and she would nag him even when he was asleep, lying beside his pillow.
Jackson would say she was truly his little princess, always giving orders.
Later, whenever she tried to control him, he would respond with, "As you command, my little princess."
After he went abroad for studies and returned, they had grown up and become somewhat estranged.
Such terms and teasing hadn't happened since.
Now, the long-lost term, filled with affection and their youthful memories, swept over her.
Lillian's heart softened, and she hugged Jackson's waist, saying, "Yes, no one is worth you staining your hands with blood."
Jackson's eyes warmed as he stroked Lillian's face, saying, "Don't worry, I just wanted to show her who she can never mess with!"
He wanted Anouk to taste the despair of being submerged underwater, unable to escape.
Hearing Jackson say he didn't intend to kill Anouk, Lillian didn't ask further.
Whatever happened, Anouk had brought it upon herself.
Mirror Lake.
Rescue personnel arrived, and someone had called the police, who quickly arrived at the scene.
The crowd was driven away, and the area was cordoned off again.
"What's going on these days? There's always something happening here. Just a few days ago, the road was closed because of a car accident. We should avoid this area; it's strange."
"Yeah, the car fell into the lake, and the person just disappeared. This lake isn't that big, right? How come they can't find her? Let's get out of here; it's creepy. This isn't the kind of excitement we should be watching."
The crowd outside the barricade discussed and gradually dispersed.
By the lake, Ruby was already in tears.
"Kenneth, do you think Anouk might already be..."
It had been over an hour since the incident, and the car had already been pulled out of the water.
The lake was filled with rescue team members and people Kenneth had mobilized, but they couldn't find any trace of Anouk in the entire area.
She was neither found alive nor dead.
The driver, trembling, wrapped in a coat, stood behind Kenneth.
Ruby turned to him and asked, "Are you sure Anouk was in the car when it fell into the lake? Didn't you say you hit something and stopped the car before it fell? Could she have gotten out then?"
"She was there. When the car fell, she was screaming in the back. Later, in the water, I saw her. She had escaped from the car, but then she disappeared when I turned my head. Could there be something strange underwater?"
The driver, head down, shivering, said with a pale face, looking paranoid.
When the car completely sank, he managed to break open the door and saw Anouk following him out of the car.
He was already struggling to hold his breath, and then just focused on swimming to the surface.
When he climbed ashore and coughed up some water, he looked back at the calm lake, and Anouk was nowhere to be seen.
The driver found it very eerie, his face turning even paler.
Ruby looked at Kenneth beside her, "If I had known, we shouldn't have brought Anouk back from abroad. It's my fault, I caused this."
Ruby said, tears streaming down her face.
Kenneth's eyes reddened slightly as he supported Ruby, saying, "What are you talking about? Anouk was raised with us; she's practically our only daughter. She couldn't survive abroad, and as her parents, how could we not care? We must get to the bottom of this for Anouk!"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
