Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Three days later, Lynn received a wire transfer of three million dollars from Echo.

The amount wasn't enormous, but it was more than enough for Lynn and Nora to live comfortably abroad for the rest of their lives.

She stared at her bank card, suddenly feeling lost.

Was she really going to leave?

She'd worked so hard to come back from abroad, worked so hard to be with Justin. She'd made countless efforts during that time. Now it would all go to waste.

"Lynn, what kind of curse did you put on my brother? Why is he suddenly fighting with my mom?"

Vivian suddenly walked in and, without a word, slapped Lynn across the face.

Lynn felt her cheek burn with stinging pain. Whatever hesitation she'd felt a moment ago evaporated completely.

She was reluctant to leave Justin, but his family—she couldn't tolerate them.

Vivian looked down at Lynn imperiously, still ordering her around. "I've told you so many times—you're just an outsider. Don't meddle in our family affairs, and don't whisper poison in my brother's ear!"

"I didn't," Lynn said, touching her cheek. "I just wanted Justin to explain to your mother that I never had any intention of cheating. That's all I did."

Vivian sneered. "Who would believe that nonsense?"

"You tricked us all with lies from the start. If you hadn't lied, we never would've kicked Gwen out and let you in the door."

Lynn stood up. "Then why don't you ask Gwen to come back? Do you think she would?"

A family like this was a den of wolves and tigers. Once you escaped, you'd never want to return.

The mockery on her face was too obvious. Vivian felt like she'd been slapped.

"You bitch..." Vivian ground her teeth. "I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

She raised her hand to strike, but Justin caught her wrist before she could.

Justin pulled Lynn behind him protectively. "What the hell are you doing? I already explained—this has nothing to do with Lynn. I was the one who wanted to speak up for her."

"Justin, you're bewitched by this woman! Have you forgotten what she did before?"

Of course Justin remembered.

But when it came down to it, those things had hurt other people. Lynn hadn't done anything to hurt him yet. So why should he avoid her like the plague?

At the end of the day, he just wanted to build a good life with Lynn.

"Vivian, Lynn is my girlfriend. She's going to be my wife. I don't want you disrespecting her like this anymore."

Vivian stared at Justin in shock. "Are you insane?"

She finally understood. Her brother was a complete and utter romantic fool. Even knowing what kind of person Lynn was, he could still give her his whole heart.

If they'd known Lynn's character was this rotten, they should've just stuck with Gwen from the beginning!

Vivian stamped her foot in frustration and stormed off.

Lynn hugged Justin, moved. "Thank you, Justin. Thank you for standing up for me."

"It's what I should've done. I didn't take care of you before, and I let you down. But I've thought it through now."

But she was planning to leave.

A flash of loss crossed Lynn's eyes.

If Justin had said this just a little earlier, she wouldn't have done something so terrible.

If her theft of classified documents was exposed, Justin would never forgive her.

So she had to leave.

Lynn let go of Justin and smiled. "I've been missing Nora. She's been staying at school lately. She's so young—I'm worried about her."

"Justin, can I bring Nora home? The three of us can have a nice family dinner together. Would that be okay?"

Justin nodded. "Of course. Go ahead."

He ruffled Lynn's hair, already imagining the happy scene of their little family of three.

Lynn left the Sterling residence and immediately went to pick up her daughter.

On the way, Lynn had already bought plane tickets.

After picking up Nora, Lynn immediately headed straight for the airport without explanation.

Nora sat in the car, confused. "Mommy, where are we going?"

Lynn stroked Nora's head. "Mommy's taking you somewhere far, far away. Okay?"

Nora frowned, angry. "No! I don't want to leave Mr. Sterling and Grandma. Let me go back!"

Even after keeping Nora at school for so many days, Lynn hadn't expected her daughter to still be thinking about Evelyn. That old woman's influence on Nora was way too strong!

Lynn maintained her gentle facade, coaxing softly, "We're just going on a trip. We'll bring back presents for Grandma from abroad, okay?"

Nora was still young after all. Hearing this, she thought it sounded nice.

She nodded and immediately dropped her guard. "Okay... but we have to come back soon. I promised Grandma that after school this time, I'd stay with her."

Lynn's smile stiffened for a moment. "Okay, I know. This time Mommy won't stop you from being with Grandma. I know you like her too."

She said the words, but the smile on Lynn's face was barely holding.

She looked out the car window, a relaxed smile on her face.

Once they were abroad and enough time passed, Nora would naturally forget about Evelyn.

Justin was waiting at home for Lynn to return when he suddenly received a call from his father, David.

Today was his day off. Justin didn't know what urgent matter required him, and he'd originally planned to pretend he hadn't seen it. But after thinking it over, he answered.

"What is it?"

David's stern voice came through. "Justin, we have a problem. Classified company documents have been leaked. Get to the office immediately."

Justin's breath caught. "What?"

The Sterling Group's security system had never had issues. The firewall had never shown any signs of intrusion. How could classified documents be leaked?

Justin didn't have time to think it through.

He immediately got up and headed to the company. On the way, he sent Lynn a message telling her to wait for him at home.

But what he didn't know was that Lynn had already taken her daughter and fled far away. By now she was already on a plane, completely unable to receive his message.

Justin waited a long time without getting a reply, so he called Lynn. All he got was a notification that her phone was off.

A bad feeling rose in his chest. He didn't want to believe this could be connected to Lynn.

But... the call wouldn't go through, and her phone was off. Most likely she was deliberately avoiding him.

Justin didn't have time to think about it further. He was more concerned about what was happening at the company. If the situation was too serious, what would happen to the Sterling Group?