Chapter 173

Chapter 173

The moment Melina walked out the doors of the Lane Group, the obedience on her face vanished completely. Expressionless, she blocked and deleted all of Grace's contact information, severing every connection between them.

Immediately after, she made a call. "That offer you made about settling abroad—I'm in. Arrange the paperwork for me now. I want to leave City A within three days."

Meanwhile, Grace was still waiting for Melina's response when her phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed it was the chief physician from City Central Hospital.

She suppressed her irritation and answered, her tone impatient. "What is it?"

"Ms. Lane, I have some news I need to inform you of." The doctor's tone was serious.

Grace was clearly annoyed. "What is it? Just say it!"

"Your mother, Mrs. Louisa Lane, has regained consciousness. The patient's recovery is excellent. Her brain function is fully restored. As long as she continues with systematic rehabilitation, she should be discharged soon."

Boom—

The words hit Grace like a bolt from the blue. Compared to the threat posed by Lisa and Michael, a conscious Louisa was the ultimate danger—one capable of crushing everything Grace had built.

Once Louisa fully recovered and exposed her publicly, everything Grace had worked so hard to establish would crumble in an instant.

Murderous intent flared in Grace's eyes. She no longer cared about dealing with the two people in prison. She grabbed her coat, rushed out of her office, and sped toward the hospital.

More than ten minutes later, the car screeched to a halt outside the hospital.

Grace sprinted all the way to the special care ward. The moment she pushed the door open, she clearly saw Louisa lying in bed, eyes open, fully conscious.

In that moment, Grace's entire body tensed. The sense of crisis within her surged to its peak.

The pressure was suffocating. Grace quickly suppressed the murderous intent rising in her eyes. She entered the room and instantly switched to a humble, remorseful expression. She dropped to her knees beside the bed.

Grace's eyes reddened immediately. She forced out two lines of tears, her voice choked with emotion, her performance of repentance flawless. "Mom, I know I was wrong. I was possessed, blinded by greed. I acted impulsively and hurt you. You've suffered for so long because of me. I've been tormented by guilt day and night. Please, forgive me this once. Please?"

She lowered herself as much as possible, her tone pitiful, waiting for Louisa's response. As long as Louisa was willing to forgive her, Grace could use that to stabilize her position at the Lane Group and plan her next moves slowly.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

A long silence blanketed the room. Louisa's eyes were ice-cold. She heard Grace's hypocritical confession loud and clear. Disgust filled her heart. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make a single sound.

Grace's crying abruptly faltered. Her patience was wearing thin. The unease in her chest grew stronger. She frowned and pressed on. "Mom, why aren't you saying anything? Even if you just yell at me, that's fine."

Just then, the attending physician pushed the door open for a routine check-up.

Seeing the scene, Grace immediately reined in her emotions. She turned and demanded coldly, "She's clearly awake. Why can't she speak?"

The doctor was used to her domineering attitude. He explained matter-of-factly. "Ms. Lane, the patient suffered severe damage to the nerves in her brain. She's conscious now, but her motor and speech nerves are temporarily paralyzed. Not only can she not speak, she also can't move her limbs."

Grace's eyes lit up. "How long until she recovers?"

"I can't give you an exact answer." The doctor's tone was cautious. "Nerve recovery takes a long time. At the fastest, it could be several months. At the slowest, several years. In some cases, she may never regain the ability to speak or move."

Grace secretly breathed a sigh of relief. A trace of wild joy even flickered in her heart.

A Louisa who couldn't speak or move was no different from a living corpse with no autonomy.

In this state, there was no way Louisa could expose her secrets. She posed no threat whatsoever.

With that shift in mindset, the remorse and vulnerability on Grace's face disappeared entirely, replaced by cold indifference.

She didn't bother pretending to be filial anymore. She stood up, dusted off her knees, her expression detached.

After the doctor finished checking the data and giving a few reminders about rehabilitation, he turned and left the room.

The moment the doctor left, footsteps echoed from the doorway.

Jasmine arrived with Neville. The moment they stepped inside and saw Grace standing by the bed, the atmosphere turned hostile instantly.

Jasmine's gaze turned cold. "I thought Ms. Lane was too busy running a company to remember she had a critically injured, comatose mother lying in a hospital bed. I'm surprised you actually found the time to visit today."

The remark bluntly exposed Grace's hypocrisy. Since Louisa had been admitted to the hospital, Grace hadn't asked about her once. She'd never set foot in the ward. If not for the pressure now, she wouldn't have shown up at all.

Grace's expression stiffened. Then she let out a cold laugh. "What happens between me and my mother is none of your business. Jasmine, aren't you overstepping?"

"You care so much about my mother—are you really that kind-hearted?" Grace raised an eyebrow, her tone sinister, every word dripping with malicious speculation. "I think you have ulterior motives. You're sucking up to my mother so you can use her influence to latch onto the Lane family and replace me."

"You're absolutely unreasonable." Jasmine's anger flared at Grace's shameless accusations.

Before Jasmine could argue further, Neville stepped forward and shielded her behind him. A dangerous aura radiated from him. His gaze locked onto Grace like ice, his presence crushing. "Keep your petty suspicions to yourself. Not everyone is like you—scheming, selfish, and vile."

His voice was cold, each sentence cutting straight to the bone. "Grace, you've been so consumed with infighting that you've neglected the company's affairs. Your decisions have been disastrous. You've directly caused the Lane Group's stock price to plummet."

"You can't even handle the most basic operations of the company. All you do is create internal conflict. You have no right to sit in the position of the Lane family heir. Instead of slandering others, you should reflect on yourself and figure out how to clean up the mess you've made."

Neville's words were sharp and precise, every sentence landing squarely on Grace's sore spots.

Grace's face flushed red, then pale. She was rendered speechless, unable to find a single word to refute him.

Grace clenched her fists tightly. Her vicious gaze shifted back to Jasmine. She spat out a threat. "You just wait. I'm keeping score of today. Jasmine, I suggest you stay in your lane and stop meddling. Otherwise, one day you'll end up dead in the street, and no one will even collect your body."

Jasmine's expression remained calm. There wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes. She replied coolly, "If you have the energy to threaten people, you'd be better off controlling yourself. Grace, leave yourself some room to maneuver. I suggest you behave."

"We'll see." Grace snorted coldly. She glared at the two of them with resentment, then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The room fell quiet again. Jasmine walked over and sat by the bed. She gently smoothed the stray hair from Louisa's forehead, her tone warm and reassuring. "Mrs. Lane, don't take it to heart. Grace has a twisted personality, but no matter how extreme she is, she won't actually do anything drastic to you. Just focus on recovering."

Louisa couldn't move or speak. All she could do was shift her eyes and stare at Jasmine without blinking. Her heart ached with bitterness and guilt. She wanted to thank her, to comfort her, but she couldn't say a single word. All she could do was silently remember this kindness.

At the same time, still seething with anger, Grace headed straight for the attending physician's private office.

When the doctor saw who had entered, his pupils contracted sharply. Panic flashed instantly in his eyes.

He'd done plenty of shady, under-the-table work for Grace before. He knew full well how ruthless and heartless she could be.

The doctor forced himself to stay calm, feigning confusion. "Ms. Lane, what brings you here? Is there a problem with the patient's condition?"

Grace closed the door behind her, cutting off any view from outside. The last shred of pretense on her face shattered completely. Her tone was cold and blunt, with no preamble. "I'm asking you—is there any way to make Louisa lose her voice permanently? So she can never speak again?"