Chapter 174

Chapter 174

The doctor's entire body trembled. He looked up at Grace in disbelief, cold sweat instantly breaking out across his back. He'd seen selfish people before, but he'd never encountered a daughter this cold-blooded and vicious.

Every fiber of his being resisted, but Grace already had countless pieces of leverage over him. He had no right to refuse. He could only suppress his apprehension and try to dissuade her in a low voice. "Ms. Lane, if we recklessly damage the patient's nerves and it's discovered, both of us will face criminal charges."

Grace's gaze grew even colder. "I don't want to hear excuses. I only want a solution."

The doctor sighed helplessly. He had no choice but to explain the current situation honestly. "Based on her condition right now, we don't need to do anything. Her speech nerves are severely damaged. There's absolutely no way she'll be able to speak in the short term. Even if she's lucky enough to recover later on, she'll most likely have slurred speech and fragmented sentences. She won't be able to say a complete, coherent sentence. She poses no threat to you whatsoever."

Grace's eyes darkened slightly, filled with doubt. "Are you telling me the truth?"

"I wouldn't dare deceive you."

Grace fell silent for a long time, temporarily suppressing the murderous intent in her heart.

She shot the doctor a cold glance and issued a warning. "It better be true. Keep a close eye on her recovery progress. If there's even the slightest possibility she might regain her ability to speak, report it to me immediately. You should know what happens to people who betray me."

The doctor's entire body tensed. He nodded hurriedly in agreement.

Grace said nothing more. She turned and left the office.

In the special care ward.

Jasmine sat patiently with Louisa, talking to her.

She told Louisa about her relationship with Neville. "Mrs. Lane, I'm sorry. Nev and I are together now. He won't be able to be your son-in-law."

Just as Jasmine was trying to figure out how to comfort Louisa, Jean arrived.

"Mrs. Cooper, what brings you here?"

"Jasmine, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. I want to stay and take care of Lou." Jean's tone was earnest. "You've been working too hard. I want to help share the burden."

Jasmine replied, "Mrs. Cooper, you don't need to trouble yourself."

But Jean didn't give up. "I know you still have reservations about me. If I were in your position, I wouldn't easily trust someone who'd made mistakes either. But I truly regret what I did."

She turned to look at Louisa lying motionless in the bed, her eyes filled with guilt. "This guilt weighs on my heart. I can't rest day or night. I want to do something to make amends."

Jasmine thought for a moment, then finally relented. "Alright. I'll trouble you for now, then. If anything unusual happens, contact me and Nev immediately."

"I understand." Jean couldn't hide her excitement.

After settling everything, Jasmine left the ward with Neville. Inside the sealed room, only Jean and the speechless Louisa remained.

Jean slowly sat on the edge of the bed, her voice hoarse and choked. "Lou, I'm sorry. I was foolish."

Louisa's eyes shifted slightly. Her emotions were clearly fluctuating. She could understand Jean's confession. Her heart was a tangled mess, but she still couldn't respond.

Jean lifted her hand and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath. Leaning close to Louisa's ear, she lowered her voice. "There's something I have to tell you. You were manipulated by Lisa. Your biological daughter isn't Grace!"

Louisa's pupils contracted sharply. Every nerve in her body tensed instantly. Her emotions surged violently.

Jean ignored her agitated expression and continued bluntly. "Your real biological daughter is Jasmine. Grace has been a fake all along. She's a tool Lisa used to steal everything from the Lane family. All these years, you've loved the wrong person. Your true flesh and blood has been right beside you!"

The words hit Louisa's mind like a thunderclap.

All the fragmented doubts and inconsistencies from the past suddenly connected. Every question became clear in an instant.

No wonder she'd felt an inexplicable closeness to Jasmine the first time they met. No wonder Jasmine had been willing to risk her life to protect her. The bond of blood had been destined all along.

Louisa's chest heaved violently. Her throat moved several times. With great difficulty, she forced a sound from between her teeth. "Jasmine."

The word was faint and hoarse, but unmistakably clear.

Jean froze completely. Then overwhelming joy flooded through her. She never imagined that this long-buried truth would directly stimulate Louisa to break through her neurological constraints and speak again!

"You can talk?!" Jean was shocked and overjoyed. Before she could even process her emotions, she immediately pressed the call button at the head of the bed and shouted, "Doctor! The patient can speak!"

A few minutes later, the attending physician hurried into the room.

The moment the doctor stepped into the ward and heard Louisa's faint breathing, he conducted a simple examination. Then he said, "This is truly a miracle! Under normal circumstances, it should have taken at least three months for the patient to be able to speak."

Jean was thrilled. "Does that mean she'll recover soon?"

The doctor nodded. After giving a few instructions, he left.

Jean was so excited that she accidentally knocked over a glass of water nearby.

"Lou, I'll go get someone to mop the floor. Just wait!"

After speaking, Jean went to the nurses' station to find someone, but there wasn't a single nurse there. So she headed to the doctor's office.

The office door and window were slightly ajar. Inside, she could hear the doctor's submissive voice.

"Ms. Lane, rest assured, I've been strictly suppressing her recovery progress. Based on the initial assessment, her speech nerves will take at least three years to slowly repair. She absolutely won't pose any threat to you in the short term. Yes, I understand. I'll keep a close watch and update you immediately."

A cold fury flashed in Jean's eyes. She kicked the office door open.

The doctor inside nearly jumped out of his skin. He hurriedly hung up the phone and stared at Jean in panic. "Ma'am, what are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that. What are 'you' doing?" Jean advanced on him step by step. "You're a doctor. Where are your principles?"

The doctor's face turned ashen. Knowing his secret had been completely exposed, he slumped into his chair, his expression bitter and helpless. "I had no choice. I didn't have a choice."

"No choice?" Jean let out a cold laugh.

"Grace has leverage over my entire family. She's even threatened my family's lives." The doctor's emotions collapsed. He hissed in a low voice, "I'm just an ordinary person. I can't fight against the Lane family's power. If I resist, my family will suffer."

Jean stared at his pathetic state. After a brief silence, she said, "I can help you. Help you break free from Grace's control completely."

The doctor's head snapped up. He looked at Jean in disbelief. "Are you serious? You can really help me?"

"The Cooper family's connections and influence are more than enough to deal with one Grace." Jean's tone was confident. Then she laid down a firm condition. "But I have one requirement. Treat Louisa with everything you have. No more hiding anything or doing anything shady. Can you do that?"

The doctor felt as though he'd been granted a reprieve. His attitude was one of deep gratitude. "I can do it! I absolutely can!"

Eliminating this major threat and protecting his family—this was his only way out.

Jean got straight to the point, asking the question that mattered most to her. "Just now, I heard you reporting to Grace outside the door. You said it would take at least three years for Louisa to regain her speech function. Was that true or false?"

At the mention of the patient's condition, the doctor collected himself and answered seriously. "That was a lie I told Grace on purpose. At this rate of recovery, within one week, Mrs. Louisa will fully regain her ability to speak and articulate complete sentences."

One week.

Jean's heart skipped a beat. That timeline was much faster than she'd anticipated. Crisis and opportunity coexisted.

A cold gleam flashed in her eyes. She issued a stern warning. "Keep this to yourself. The news that Louisa can recover in the short term absolutely cannot reach Grace's ears. If you leak a single word, you'll face the consequences."

"I understand! I'll keep my mouth shut!" The doctor immediately agreed, not daring to object in the slightest.