Chapter 1167 Tell Him the Cruel Truth
Carter's face was grim.
Hannah, however, couldn't afford to worry about that now. She urged, "Come on, we gotta move! Austin likes me, he won't hurt me! Without Tina, I won't forget you all! I'll play along, and I'll find a way to escape!
Right now, the most important thing is to keep Oliver safe!
He can't go back to that high school; who knows what might happen next time!
Dad, send someone over there. As soon as she lets Oliver go, bring him to Sunset Bay right away. If he needs to take exams, set it up for him to take them at a school here.
If he doesn't want to take exams, then get his paperwork ready for him to go abroad as soon as possible!
I'll only feel better if he's somewhere safe."
Patricia chimed in, "Hannah's right. This time is different! Before, we didn't know Austin was the enemy, so we weren't prepared!
But now we know. As long as Hannah cooperates and doesn't resist, he won't harm her!
As long as Hannah is safe, there will be plenty of chances to escape!"
Lassie was still hesitant. "But..."
Hannah couldn't wait any longer. "Mom, there's no time! We can't hesitate! I'm twenty-one now, I can handle myself! Just get Austin out!
Don't worry, I'll find a way to stay in touch whenever I can!
We always thought Austin was the mastermind, and Tina was just following his orders. Now it seems Austin has accomplices.
This is the perfect chance to take them all down!"
Patricia and Martin stayed silent.
They were scared that if they made the wrong call, the Moore family would blame them, and Charles would blame them.
So they decided to let Hannah make the call herself.
Under Hannah's repeated urging, Lassie finally gave in and nodded. "Alright, wait here. I'll go get Austin out."
"Okay!"
Lassie gave Hannah a pained look before turning and heading into the prison, where she found Austin.
Austin had been locked up for a long time. In the small, square room, he lived alone, spending all his time there, never stepping out.
The long confinement had worn him down, leaving him lifeless and devoid of energy.
He wore prison clothes, and his hair had been cut short, but it couldn't hide his good looks.
"Austin, someone is here to see you."
When he heard the guard say this, he slowly turned his head towards the cell door. When he saw Lassie, his eyes lit up, and he excitedly walked over, grabbing her arms. "Mom, you came to see me. Does this mean you've forgiven me?"
He knew it. Their twenty years of mother-son bond wasn't fake.
His mother couldn't really disown him.
His mother still loved him.
But in response, Lassie slapped him hard.
Austin was stunned at first, then he laughed. "Good! If you're willing to hit me, it means you're still angry with me and haven't completely given up on me! If hitting me will make you forgive me, then hit me as much as you want."
He tried to grab Lassie's hand to continue hitting his face.
But Lassie forcefully pulled her hand back and grabbed Austin by the collar, furious. "Austin, do you know how much Violet has suffered because of your selfishness? If it weren't for her optimistic nature, she might have been tortured to death by Lisa."
Austin was confused for a moment. "What do you mean? Over the years, I've given Lisa a lot of money to make sure Violet didn't suffer. That money, while not as much as she had with the Moore family, should have been enough for a comfortable life."
Lassie almost laughed out loud. "Do you even know what kind of people Quentin and Lisa are? They only care about money! After you handed Violet over to them, did you ever visit her?"
Austin shook his head, looking lost. "I didn't dare to. Charles is too smart. I was afraid that if I saw Violet, I'd give myself away! I just secretly transferred money to her account every year! I kept telling them to take good care of Violet.
Later, to see Violet sooner, I chose to study abroad in Country D. But even then, I didn't dare to openly pursue Violet."
With so many people in Country Z, Charles couldn't possibly investigate everyone.
At that time, he only dared to have chance encounters with Violet, not deep interactions.
So he never really understood Violet's situation.
He always thought Violet should be living a happy life.
Even though she wasn't Quentin and Lisa's biological daughter, he thought they would treat her well for the money.
He still believed that.
Lassie sneered. "Because you left Violet in their hands and didn't care, they dared to abuse her without restraint."
When he heard the word 'abuse,' Austin's legs almost gave out, and he nearly fell to the ground.
Seeing his expression, Lassie didn't feel pain; she felt even more heartache for Hannah. "Last time, after the car accident at Sunshine Manor, Violet didn't wake up! The doctor said it was because of a psychological issue.
Those nights, Violet had nightmares every night, calling out for her mom.
Charles suspected her psychological issue was related to Lisa, so he had Tina find a way to pull me into her dreams.
It was only in her dreams that I learned what kind of life she had been living all these years.
Her body never had a single uninjured spot, always covered in wounds.
Kneeling as punishment, being beaten with a feather duster, and being pinched were all common occurrences!
Lisa would hit her whether she was in a good mood or a bad mood. If money went missing, she was accused of stealing it. If she got sick, she was ignored.
When a neighbor harassed Violet, Lisa didn't help her but instead called her promiscuous, accusing her of seducing men, and got the neighbors to join in the insults.
She tried to make Violet drop out of school several times. If Violet hadn't persisted, she might not have even finished high school.
The family was poor, so Violet worked part-time while studying, and all the money she earned went into Lisa's pocket.
Violet was just a teenager! She was my precious daughter, whom I raised with all my love.
But Lisa treated her like that.
Do you know how I felt when I saw Violet being surrounded and insulted by neighbors? I wanted to kill Lisa, and you!
Violet always saw you as her brother, but all her suffering started because of you.
I can't even imagine what would have happened if Violet hadn't made it. I might have lost my daughter forever.
Austin."
Lassie gritted her teeth as she called his name. "How can I forgive you? I raised you with all my heart, but you caused my biological daughter so much pain?
You even tried to take her away from me.
You saw how much I suffered after losing my daughter. I've lived with guilt and self-blame all these years.
But you never thought of returning her to me. Instead, you brought an impostor to deceive me.
Violet was bullied and humiliated by that impostor.
We tried everything to protect her, but you? You tried everything to torment and bully her, hurting her in the name of love."
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