Chapter 162

Chapter 162

"Ms. Hale, I regret to inform you that if Mrs. Lane doesn't wake up today, she may never wake up," the doctor said.

Jasmine didn't speak. She nodded gently and took Louisa's medical records back to her room to study carefully.

Neville accompanied Jasmine as they reviewed Louisa's complete medical records and imaging reports, carefully checking every detail.

"Wait, something's wrong!" Jasmine looked at the scans, her brows suddenly furrowed tightly.

"What is it?" Neville looked over.

Jasmine pointed to a spot on the scan. "Look here—"

Jasmine's fingertips gripped the imaging report tightly, her voice suddenly tense. "This isn't an injury caused by a car accident impact."

Neville's gaze darkened as he stared at the regular bone fracture marks on the scan, understanding immediately. "It's from a blunt object. The wound is regular, the force concentrated. It's cranial damage caused by deliberate, forceful strikes—completely inconsistent with the extensive collision injuries from a car accident."

That statement completely confirmed all suspicions.

Louisa wasn't simply severely injured in a car accident. Before the accident, she'd been deliberately harmed. This so-called accident was a premeditated murder from start to finish.

Fury and cold resolve instantly surged in Jasmine's eyes. She immediately stated, "Call the police. Preserve all evidence. This must be thoroughly investigated."

Neville had no objections and immediately cooperated with Jasmine to report to the police.

The police quickly arrived at the hospital to coordinate the investigation. The attending physician, as the first person to handle the case, was summoned by police to cooperate with questioning and explain in detail the cause of Louisa's injuries and admission details. But when Jasmine and Neville wanted to follow along and observe the investigation, they were stopped on the spot by medical staff.

The staff's attitude was formulaic, their tone firm and non-negotiable. "I'm sorry, but you're not direct family members of the patient, nor are you personnel related to the case report. You have no right to participate or understand the case details. Please wait outside."

With that, both were directly excluded from the investigation. All leads and investigation progress were instantly blocked. They could only passively wait for results.

Just as Jasmine's heart was full of frustration, Neville's phone suddenly rang urgently.

The caller was the housekeeper, her tone panicked and urgent, tearful. "Mr. Neville Cooper! Mrs. Jean Cooper suddenly fainted at home. Her face is deathly pale, she's unconscious—the situation is very serious. Please come home quickly!"

Neville's expression didn't change. There wasn't a trace of concern in his eyes. His tone was cold, hard, and indifferent, without any hesitation. "Call an ambulance and take her directly to the hospital. I'm not a doctor. I can't cure her."

He knew Jean's tactics all too well.

Recently, Jean had been pressing him step by step about the marriage alliance. This sudden fainting was most likely another deliberate ploy to force his compliance.

But Jasmine, standing nearby, immediately spoke softly to persuade him. "Go back and check on her."

Neville glanced at her, his eyes full of helplessness. "No need. She's always good at pretending."

"Regardless of whether it's real or fake, she's your mother." Jasmine looked directly at him, her tone earnest and not allowing refusal. "For both emotional and practical reasons, you should go back."

Neville was silent for a moment. He wasn't afraid of Jean's schemes, but he didn't want Jasmine to think him heartless. Unable to resist Jasmine's insistence, he finally had to compromise.

"Fine. I'll go check on her. I'll be quick."

After giving instructions to his staff, Neville drove alone back to the Cooper Estate.

The moment he stepped through the master bedroom door, a faint yet strange fragrance hit him.

Neville's brows furrowed slightly. He instantly sensed something was wrong, alarm bells ringing in his mind.

This wasn't the scent of any incense in the house!

The moment he realized he'd been tricked, his limbs were already rapidly weakening. His head felt dizzy and heavy. The drug's effects spread extremely fast. He didn't even have time to retreat from the room. His body completely lost strength. His vision went black, and he collapsed straight to the floor.

He didn't know how long had passed when Neville slowly opened his eyes and regained consciousness.

Outside, the sky was completely dark.

Neville's entire body was sore and weak. His mind was still foggy and swollen. His limbs were stiff and immobile. He instinctively tried to reach for his phone, only to find his pocket empty. His phone had been taken away, completely cutting off any possibility of outside contact.

The door was gently pushed open. Jean slowly walked into the room, her expression calm, showing no signs of illness. There was no trace of having fainted or been seriously injured.

Cold fury surged in Neville's eyes. His voice was hoarse and icy, full of sarcasm. "Faking illness and using incense—you're getting more and more resourceful."

Facing his angry rebuke, Jean showed no guilt whatsoever. Instead, her face was full of helplessness. "Nev, I had no choice. I never wanted to harm you. I'm only doing this for your own good."

"For my own good?" Neville laughed coldly, his eyes full of disappointment and disgust.

"I know you resist the marriage alliance, that you resist Grace. But Christian has been eyeing PrimeUniverse resources in secret, watching your position covetously." Jean's tone was urgent, desperately defending her actions. "If I don't do something, sooner or later he'll find an opening and take everything from you! I'm trying to arrange your engagement with Grace to unite the Cooper family and Lane family, to use the Lane Group's influence to solidify your position, so you can firmly secure your position as PrimeUniverse's CEO and never be challenged again!"

She stepped forward, her tone persuasive. "As long as you're willing to get engaged to Grace and stabilize the current situation, firmly grasping all the Cooper family resources, your marriage, your life—they'll all be yours to control. If you want a divorce later, if you want freedom, I won't interfere anymore. I absolutely won't meddle."

This defense completely enraged Neville. He forced himself through his foggy mind to harshly rebuke her. "You're insane!"

"What is Christian anyway? He dares compete with me! How can you even be afraid of him!" Neville was like an enraged lion in that moment.

Neville's harsh rebuke was clear and cutting, each sentence exposing her absurdity. Jean's body stiffened. Her heart instantly wavered, churning with endless panic and regret.

For the first time, she truly doubted whether she'd really made a mistake, whether she'd been blinded by baseless anxiety and personally destroyed the bond between mother and son, doing something irreversible and foolish.

But things had come to this point. The incense was used, the trap was set, the rift between mother and son had taken root. She'd personally cut off every escape route.

No amount of regret would help now.

Jean suppressed the wavering in her heart and hardened her resolve again, her tone once more becoming stubborn and firm. "Even if I was wrong, things have reached this point. There's no turning back."

She looked directly at Neville, her attitude resolute, throwing out the condition again and forcibly pressuring him to compromise. "I'll tell you one last time—as long as you're willing to get engaged to Grace and secure your power in the Cooper family, I'll immediately give you your freedom. From then on, I won't interfere with anything in your life."

"If you insist on refusing, then I can only continue using my methods to help you protect all of this."