Chapter 245: Withdrawal of the Lawsuit

"Grandma!"

Hazel hurried to Elizabeth's side. Seeing this, Joanna also rushed over to check on her condition.

"I'm fine."

Elizabeth kept taking deep breaths, waving her hand to signal she didn't need their concern.

She looked at Justin. "Explain yourself. What exactly is going on?"

All eyes turned to Justin. He spoke in a low voice: "I deliberately pulled strings to make Mary believe her ancestral home was being demolished and that she needed to return to handle the paperwork. I had people capture her when she came back."

At first, Mary refused to say anything.

Justin kidnapped her son, forcing her to reveal everything.

"Although Laura didn't give direct orders—she used a middleman—I've obtained sufficient evidence. I've already turned it over to the police."

If it were anyone else, Justin wouldn't have handled it this way.

He would have used his own methods, just as he had with Leon.

But there was Mr. Scott's debt to consider.

By turning Laura and Lillian over to the police for judgment, he considered Mr. Scott's favor fully repaid.

Hazel said indignantly, "Joanna is perfectly healthy now. The police will give them light sentences. They're getting off too easy."

"I'm not finished. There's more than just this."

Justin helped Joanna sit on the sofa. He knelt on one knee before her, his eyes filled with heartache as he looked at her.

"It's all my fault. I failed to protect you. I let you suffer so much harm."

Joanna's nerves were taut, her teeth clenched as she waited for him to continue.

"Do you remember when you were rear-ended in that car accident, and when someone knocked you down in the hospital, causing your miscarriage?"

Justin paused, his voice dropping. "That was also Lillian and Laura's doing."

With those words, everyone's eyes widened as they gasped.

Justin lowered his head and continued: "After I learned they deliberately tried to harm you, I investigated everything thoroughly. The car that rear-ended you and the person who knocked you down—they paid them both."

"They didn't just drug her—they tried to kill her?" Hazel shrieked.

"They staged the car accident to confirm your pregnancy. After that, they attempted to cause your miscarriage..."

Justin grasped Joanna's clenched fists, raising his head to look at her. His eyes were bloodshot.

"I'm so sorry." His voice was hoarse.

Joanna listened to it all, her body growing increasingly tense, though her expression became numb.

No resentment, no hatred—only numbness remained.

Seeing her like this, Justin panicked and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'll handle everything. I won't let anyone hurt you again..."

Joanna abruptly stood up, cutting off Justin's words.

Pushing him away, she walked straight toward the stairs.

"Joanna..."

"Joanna..."

Both Karen and Hazel tried to comfort her, but the words died on their lips—they didn't know what to say.

Joanna's steps didn't falter as she climbed the stairs.

Suddenly, cries of alarm came from behind her. Joanna's figure froze, the dullness in her eyes clearing as the sounds behind her became distinct.

Hazel and Karen were calling for Elizabeth. Justin was urgently calling for a doctor.

Joanna turned around to see Elizabeth collapsed on the sofa.

A servant rushed past her, then quickly returned with blood pressure medication.

...

Lillian was driving to the hospital.

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, continuously pressing the accelerator. Fear flooded her bloodstream, stimulating every nerve.

Justin knew everything they had done.

Her relationship with Justin was finished.

She didn't know how to face what came next.

Only one thought circled in her mind: she had lost!

Her phone rang again.

Lillian pressed the accelerator once more while answering the call, saying urgently, "I'm almost there. How is my mother?"

"I'm very sorry, Ms. Scott."

The voice on the other end replied: "Your mother just passed away despite resuscitation efforts. She's been pronounced dead. Please..."

Lillian couldn't hear the rest.

Tinnitus made her head feel like it was about to explode.

"That's impossible. How could it be so sudden!"

The doctor had said that with proper care, her mother still had several years left.

How could this be?

"Ms. Scott, please accept our condolences and come to claim your mother's body as soon as possible."

Tears blurred her vision. Lillian felt her body becoming weightless, as if she were floating.

A sharp horn blared ahead. She couldn't see anything, her mind filled with only one thought: Mother is dead, and Justin hates her. What should she do?

If she had known it would end like this, she never should have obsessed over Justin.

She had an excellent education. Even if her father had abandoned her, she could have lived beautifully on her own merits.

One wrong step led to another. Her entire life was ruined.

A violent crash echoed through the city streets.

The white sedan collided with a red truck. The truck crashed into a tree and stopped abruptly. The sedan was sent spinning through the air before slamming back onto the ground.

Traffic descended into chaos.

The truck driver climbed out trembling. Onlookers rushed toward the white sedan. Through the shattered windows, they could vaguely see the driver—a woman, her face covered in blood.

At Lawson Mansion, in an upstairs bedroom.

Elizabeth lay in bed, receiving an IV drip.

The doctor finished organizing his medical kit and left, led out by a servant.

Karen and Hazel hovered by the bedside.

Joanna stood at a distance, not having said a single word the entire time.

Justin stood beside her. Several times he tried to embrace her, to comfort her, but Joanna sidestepped each attempt, silently refusing.

A phone ringtone broke the heavy atmosphere.

Justin listened to the caller, his brow furrowing deeply.

After a long moment, he murmured his acknowledgment.

In the silent room, his low voice was crystal clear: "I'm dropping the charges."

Everyone simultaneously looked up at him. Even Elizabeth opened her eyes from the bed.

Justin turned his head and saw the disappointment in Joanna's eyes.

"Laura is dead. Lillian was in a car accident and is being resuscitated. The doctor says even if they save her, she'll be in a vegetative state."

What?

Joanna felt momentarily disoriented, unable to believe her ears.

Karen and Hazel shot to their feet.

Justin's expression was grave and complex. "That's why I'm dropping the charges. There's no point anymore."

There was no point.

But Joanna didn't feel the slightest satisfaction.

Everything had happened too quickly. She hadn't had time to process it all before it was over.

Her chest felt tight, so tight she couldn't breathe.

Over the next three days, Joanna spent most of her time shut away in her room.

Justin personally drove to the construction site to bring Cathy—still wearing her hard hat—back to the house.

On the way, when she heard that Lillian had been confirmed to be in a vegetative state, Cathy's fury came to an abrupt halt.

She remained silent for a long time, left only with a sense of the capriciousness of fate.

Justin pushed open the bedroom door and led Cathy inside.

Seeing a pile of clothes on the bed, then watching as Joanna emerged from the walk-in closet carrying more clothes, Justin strode forward and snatched them from her hands, throwing them to the floor.

"You're leaving?"

Justin grabbed Joanna's wrist, his shoulders sagging as he looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Don't go. Please?"