Chapter 429 He Demands Justice!
"Darwin?" Fiona finally let out her first smile in days.
Darwin's eyes and brows drooped, his silence filled with unspoken grievances. His injury had not received the same attention as Mike's.
"Mike's our grandmother's guy. I want everyone to be alive and well when she gets back." Fiona lowered her gaze. "After all, Stuart..."
The mention of Stuart was like a lump in her throat.
If it weren't for the fact that Janna was still in their grasp, Fiona might have taken out Alice and Ken right then and there.
"I get it." Darwin's little fit was beginning, but seeing Fiona like this, he immediately let it go. "As long as we haven't found a body, Stuart is just missing. As long as there's no corpse, there's still hope he's alive."
Fiona glanced at Darwin.
Deep down, everyone knew that the chances of surviving a fall from such a high cliff were next to none.
But...
"Yeah," Fiona nodded. "If you're tired, get some rest. I'll go see Jannie myself."
"I'm not tired. I'll come with you."
Compared to Mike and the others, Jannie and her children were without a scratch, yet it was clear that Jannie was deeply shaken, staying perpetually on edge in the hospital room.
When a knock sounded on the door, she instinctively shielded her children, retreating to a corner. "Who is it?"
"It's Chelsea," a pleasant voice came from the other side.
"Chelsea..."
Jannie's panic melted into a mix of tears and laughter as she recognized her voice. She reassured her children, "It's your aunt! Aunt Chelsea is here!"
She hurried over and opened the door to the room.
"Jannie," Fiona called out gently.
“Chelsea, you're finally here!" She glanced over Chelsea's shoulder at Darwin. "Darwin..."
"Let's talk inside," Fiona suggested.
Jannie looked over a decade older than when Fiona had last seen her. Her hair had thinned considerably, now streaked with gray.
Once everyone was inside, Jannie pacified Charles and headed to the hospital lounge.
"Are you hurt?" Fiona inquired.
Jannie shook her head. "We got out in time, thanks to them. Otherwise, my child and I would've been gone in that blast."
After a short pause, Jannie gripped Fiona's hands, her bloodshot eyes filled with hope. "Granny told me how capable you are, and with Darwin as your husband, you guys can take that wicked couple down, right?
"Jannie, what exactly happened after Grandma arrived? Why did Stuart disappear on the West Coast? Did Grandma fall ill, or was she imprisoned?" Fiona's voice was grave and concerned.
Jannie, visibly shaken and trembling from both emotion and fear, lowered her gaze. "I'm not too clear on Stuart's situation, but the day Granny arrived, she became suspicious that Chris's accident wasn't really an accident, so she sent Stuart to investigate. I remember Stuart phoned Granny that day; it seemed like he had discovered something. Then we lost all contact with him."
Fiona's brow furrowed deeply.
Jannie continued, "As for what exactly happened to Granny, I'm not sure. I know that after Stuart went missing, Granny had a terrible argument with that malicious couple. My child was still at home, so I left the hospital and went back home that evening. The next morning, I found out something had happened to her. But Alice wouldn't let me see her, claiming she was taken to a better hospital, under the care of more reliable doctors."
Fiona clenched her fists tightly.
"After Stuart vanished, Granny told me if anything happened to her, I should hide immediately and wait for you to find me."
As she spoke, tears began to roll down Jannie's cheeks uncontrollably.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't shared my suspicions about Chris's accident being foul play, she wouldn't have sent Stuart to investigate. With Stuart by her side, nothing would have happened to her!"
"Their target was the corporation; even if you'd said nothing, they would've gone after Stuart and Grandma regardless," Fiona stated coldly.
"What should we do now?" Jannie asked, frantic. "You have Mom's will, don't you?"
"No," Fiona replied. "The will has always been with the lawyer, and now the lawyer has disappeared too, along with the will."
In an instant, Jannie's demeanor collapsed.
She slumped onto the couch as if deflated.
Ken and Alice had been planning this for a while. They must have thought they had a winning hand if they brought up the shareholders' meeting. “Without a will, he can deny you're part of the Rhoads family. It's all over... all over..."
"Did Grandma sense something bad was going to happen?" Fiona asked, ignoring Jannie's breakdown.
Jannie was always timid; Grandma had said it countless times.
"Yes!" Jannie nodded emphatically.
"Did she leave you anything in the meantime?" Fiona couldn't believe that Janna, as clever as she was, would have made no preparations if she sensed trouble coming.
Jannie paused to think and then shook her head blankly.
"Think hard," Darwin said.
He and Fiona were on the same page.
"There wasn't anything," Jannie insisted, shaking her head again. "I would have given it to you immediately if there was!"
Fiona and Darwin exchanged a look.
Then Fiona reassured Jannie, "Whether or not the Rhoads family can be saved, at least you and the kids will be safe from now on. You don't have to worry or be scared anymore."
Tears rolled down Jannie's cheeks. "I know, but I can't accept letting them win like this!"
Fiona remained silent momentarily, then patted the back of her hand. "Jannie, you need to rest."
That's when Jannie suddenly turned to Darwin. "Mr. Solomon, aren't you known for being ruthless? Why not just eliminate that despicable couple? You could do it!"
"Jannie!" Fiona's tone became stern.
"No reason," Darwin began deliberately, "other than my wife is sure to win. Killing them would be easy, but what I want is for them to carry the shackles of their guilt, to repay the debts of their past to those they wronged thirty years ago, and to face justice."
Jannie looked at Darwin in shock.
Fiona was also surprised.
The victim from thirty years ago was her mother.
"Let's go; we shouldn't disturb Jannie's rest," Darwin said, taking Fiona's hand and leaving the hospital room.
As the door closed behind them, Fiona could still hear Jannie's muffled sobs.
"Uncle loved Jannie a lot," Fiona sighed, talking to Darwin. "Grandma said Jannie wouldn't even know how to pay the electricity bill alone. With all this happening, it's surprising how quickly she realized the enemy and hid the children, just as Grandma told her."
She had thought Jannie was already under Alice and Ken's thumb.
After a pause, Fiona thought of her grandmother and couldn't help but choke up. "I don't even know how Grandma is right now. Why, if she sensed danger, didn't she tell me? Why didn't she come back to me immediately?"
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