Chapter 68 The Truth Behind Laura’s Death

Chapter 68 The Truth Behind Laura’s Death
James’s brows tightened until a deep crease formed between them. I could tell he was barely holding himself back. Lynn’s rude behavior had finally pushed him too far.

I knew James hadn’t been in the best mood lately, so a clash with Lynn was the last thing I wanted to see.

“Lynn, stop it. James doesn’t like this. You’re making him uncomfortable,” I said, stepping between them.

Lynn looked annoyed, took half a step back, and shrugged. “It’s just a small thing.”

I glanced at James. His jaw was tense, his expression dark. Lynn’s arrogance would probably stay with him all day.

When the elevator doors opened, Lynn headed off to find Darcy. The trial against Julio was coming up soon, and lately Lynn had been pestering Darcy about every detail of the case.

“Don’t mind him,” I told James softly. “That’s just how Lynn is.”

He gave a quiet “yeah,” barely audible, and I didn’t push him to talk. I figured once he left the building, he’d forget about it.

James dropped me off at my office and left soon after. I still worried about leaving Julio alone at the hospital with Matthew, even though he’d brought an entire professional care team today. Having James there made me feel more at ease.

Susan came in to hand me my coffee, and before I could thank her, Lynn dashed past the door like a gust of wind.

“What happened now?” I asked.

“No idea,” Susan said, rolling her eyes. “He’s weird. Always has been.”

We all knew Lynn was greedy and unreliable. None of us liked dealing with him. But as lawyers, we couldn’t pick clients based on personal feelings.

Darcy came in a few minutes later, probably because Lynn had just left and he had some free time.

“When’s Matthew getting out?” he asked.

That question had become routine lately. Everyone wanted to know how Matthew was doing.

“Maybe two more weeks,” I said. “He’s a kid. He doesn’t recover as fast as an adult.”

“Poor boy. God bless him,” Darcy murmured, moving toward the window. He always liked to stand there when he talked.

“By the way,” he added, glancing down at the street, “what’s going on with Lynn and James? Looked like a fight earlier.”

“What?” I hurried to the window and looked down. Sure enough, Lynn and James were on the sidewalk, arguing. Lynn’s hands were flying, James’s shoulders rigid.

“I’d better go,” I said quickly. “Lynn’s been saying he knows James. Keeps bothering him. James is getting fed up.”

I took the elevator down, but by the time I reached the street, Lynn was gone. James stood there alone, staring into the distance, his face unreadable.

“James, what happened? You didn’t fight, did you?” I asked, following his gaze. Lynn was already disappearing around the corner.

“Nothing serious,” James said with a faint smile. “Same stuff he said in the elevator.”

“Lynn’s a scammer,” I said. “If you ever fight back, he’ll twist it into blackmail. Darcy’s dealt with that more than once.”

There was no real way to handle someone like Lynn except to avoid him.

“Maybe stop picking me up for a while,” I suggested. “If he doesn’t see you, he’ll move on.”

James nodded. “Alright. Don’t worry, Ashley. Lynn won’t bother me again.”

I wanted to believe him.

By the time I finished my backlog of work that night, it was past midnight. When I got back to the hospital, James was gone. Julio sat beside Matthew’s bed, clearly bored.

He was poking Matthew’s cheek with his finger, and the little one was giggling, grabbing Julio’s hand every time he tried again.

When I walked in, Matthew froze. Then he ducked under the blanket like a startled kitten.

“Ashley, you scared him,” Julio teased.

“Julio, he needs rest. It’s already past midnight,” I said evenly.

Julio grinned and leaned closer to the lump under the blanket.

“Matthew, your mom’s kinda scary, huh?”

“Mommy’s not scary!” Matthew said, popping his head out to glare at him.

I raised an eyebrow at Julio, satisfied. Matthew grew up with me; I’d always win that argument.

Julio threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Fine, fine, I give up.”

“Where’s James?” I asked, tucking Matthew back in and smoothing the blanket.

“He had something at work,” Julio said. “So I stayed. Besides, Matthew likes me better.”

He said it with that smug tone that always irritated me. He was Matthew’s father，of course the boy liked him. That wasn’t something to brag about.

“I’ll need you to stay with him more these days,” I said. “James and I both have a lot to catch up on.”

I brushed a hand over Matthew’s hair and kissed his forehead.

Julio leaned on his hand, watching me. “If I do a good job taking care of him, what do I get in return?”

“You’re his father. Taking care of him is your job.”

He gave a short laugh. “You’re really cold, Ashley.”

I ignored him and told him to leave so Matthew could sleep. He refused, saying he wanted to stay.

So I took the spare bed, and he stretched out on the couch.

When I woke up, the room was noisy. Morrison was there, and not alone. He’d brought his partner. His presence meant official business.

“What’s going on?” I asked, getting out of bed.

Both Julio and Morrison turned toward me. They looked tense, confused, like something unexpected had happened.

My first instinct was to look at Matthew. He was sitting up in bed, eating breakfast. Safe.

I let out a quiet breath.

“When we caught those two kidnappers,” Morrison began, “we found a large amount of cash with them. We’ve been checking the evidence, and yesterday we discovered something. The serial numbers match the ransom money from the Laura Adams kidnapping case.”

For a second, my mind went blank. That name—Laura—felt like it came from another lifetime. It took me a moment to piece it together.

Years ago, Alva and Emma were accused of kidnapping Julio’s sister, Laura, which ended in her death. During the case, the Adams family had paid fifty million dollars in ransom, but when the police arrested Alva and Emma, the money was gone.

That ransom money had vanished，until now.

“Are you saying those two were the ones who kidnapped Laura?” I asked.

“It looks that way,” Morrison said. “We’re still investigating, but it’s very likely. I’m here to take Julio in for questioning.”

My chest tightened, emotion swelling in my throat. For years, I’d believed Alva and Emma were innocent. They never confessed, not once.

And now, finally, the truth had surfaced. The real kidnappers had been found.

They were innocent.