Chapter 97 Furious Enough to Want to Kill Her
"What?" Mia's eyes widened in shock. Who had she offended? Where had she offended anyone?
The office door swung open, and the nurse who had led the way nearly burst into tears from fright, quickly fleeing the scene.
An icy, bone-chilling coldness swept through the entire space.
Seeing who had arrived, Mia's face froze. "Joshua? You... why are you here?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Joshua, his face expressionless, stride toward her. His eyes pierced her like sharp swords, and Mia instantly felt a chill run through her entire body.
A sense of dread welled up inside her. She forced an awkward smile, her heart filled with guilt, still clinging to a shred of hope.
Suddenly, Joshua coldly threw her phone onto the desk.
Joshua said expressionlessly, "You have one minute to explain."
Mia's whole body trembled as she looked at the video on her phone. "Joshua... this... this isn't real. Someone's trying to frame me. They made up this video on purpose.
Really, Joshua, you have to believe me. We grew up together. You know me. I couldn't do something like this. This video is fake.
And all the maids at home said they saw Ava fall down by herself. Joshua, really, you have to believe me.
It's Ava. It must be Ava trying to frame me. She's trying to frame me..."
Mia desperately explained herself, just like always, acting as if she was the most innocent and wronged person in the world, as if everyone else was falsely accusing her.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her throat. Her eyes immediately filled with terror, her voice trembling as she continued to frantically defend herself. "Joshua, really, you have to believe me."
Joshua's face was dark and menacing, his eyes harboring waves of murderous intent, like the grim reaper himself.
"You still dare to lie."
Mia's heart jumped. The pressure on her neck kept increasing, nearly suffocating her. She quickly grabbed Joshua's wrist. "Joshua, I really didn't. I don't know anything. I'm really being framed. Please put me down. Can we talk about this properly?"
Joshua said, "Mia, how long are you going to keep up this act?"
Mia's face turned pale, but she still stubbornly defended herself. "Joshua... I really didn't. I really didn't."
Joshua closed his eyes heavily, his gaze ice-cold.
Mia had never seen Joshua like this. She was so scared her soul was trembling.
No matter how much she cried, Joshua's dark expression remained unmoved, as if he was determined to strangle her.
The large hand around her neck didn't lighten its grip at all.
Mia struggled with all her strength just to barely breathe.
She knew she couldn't admit it now. If she admitted it, she would truly be finished. As long as she insisted the video was fake, that it was fabricated, there would still be a chance. Yes, she absolutely couldn't admit it.
The only thing she was grateful for now was that the video had no sound. They couldn't hear what she and Ava had talked about, so there was still hope.
But right now she was truly terrified. Joshua really seemed like he was going to strangle her to death.
Samuel watched in horror as Mia's face gradually turned purple under Joshua's grip, her chest rising and falling with increasing difficulty. Afraid that Joshua would actually strangle Mia to death and dirty his hands, he quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Mr. Thomas, please calm down. Strangling her would dirty your hands."
Joshua showed no sign of letting go.
Thinking about how Mia had pushed Ava down the stairs and still dared to accuse Ava of framing her in front of him, and how he had wrongly accused Ava because of Mia, the burning rage in his chest made him want to tear Mia apart.
How dare she say Ava framed her.
Damn it.
Mia's eyes rolled back. She had never felt death so close before. At this moment, she had no doubt that Joshua really wanted to strangle her.
"Mr. Joshua Thomas, she hurt Mrs. Ava Thomas. She should be made to confess in front of Mrs. Ava Thomas. Strangling her like this would be too easy on her." Samuel was also terrified of Joshua in this state, but he still forced himself to step forward and advise.
Joshua clenched his jaw, loosened his grip slightly, and finally released the barely conscious Mia.
As soon as she was released, Mia collapsed weakly to the floor, clutching her throat and gasping frantically for air. Tears and sweat covered her face, making her look utterly disheveled.
Joshua slowly regained his composure, glanced coldly at the person collapsed on the floor, and coldly threw out a sentence: "Take her away." Then he left.
Samuel quickly dragged Mia up and followed.
Joshua pulled out his phone with a stern face, about to call Ava, when Ursa's call came through first.
Joshua swiped to answer.
"Joshua, Grandpa's awake."
Joshua's dark eyes froze for a moment. "I'll be right there."
At the same time, Ava had just come out of the operating room when she received a call from Hayden, telling her that Victor had woken up. Ava immediately requested leave and rushed to the Thomas Villa.
When Ava arrived at the Thomas Villa, everyone from the Thomas family was there except Joshua, who hadn't arrived yet. Everyone was gathered around Victor with smiles on their faces.
"Victor's recovery is very good. His heart rate is stable now." As soon as Barry spoke, everyone finally let out the breath they'd been holding for months.
"That's wonderful."
"Alright, everyone stop crowding around me. I'm feeling much better." The low, authoritative voice carried a hint of laughter and was much stronger.
Ava trembled, tears instantly welling up in her eyes. It was Victor's voice.
Ava felt inexplicably nervous. Even though she had been the one treating Victor, even though she had anticipated that Victor would wake up these past few days, hearing this long-missed voice, she still felt it was unreal.