Chapter 249

Chapter 249
William's POV
I pulled them both onto the boat. The woman immediately began performing chest compressions and rescue breathing on Lily. When it came time for mouth-to-mouth, she suddenly stopped: "You're her boyfriend, you do it."
I hesitated briefly, but nodded and performed the rescue breathing on Lily.
Lily quickly coughed up water, out of immediate danger, but remained unconscious.
"Lily is an excellent swimmer. This kind of thing shouldn't happen to her," I said with a frown.
My gaze traveled downward to Lily's ankle, which clearly showed reddish marks that hadn't yet faded. I compared the size with my palm, and a cold, murderous rage instantly flared in my eyes.
"When I find out who did this, I'll make sure they die without a proper burial."
I stroked Lily's face, my voice soft but filled with a chilling malice that made one's skin crawl.
The woman had obviously noticed the marks on Lily's ankle as well, her expression turning somber.
As the boat returned to shore, I looked at the woman.
"Thank you, I still don't know your—"
The woman stood up. "Protect Lily well, or I'll refuse to attend your wedding!"
With that, she turned and left.
I watched her retreating figure, feeling there was something familiar about her. She seemed to resemble Lily quite a bit.
At that moment, Beatrice and the others noticed Lily and me, and came running over.
Zane quickly called for an ambulance.
Beatrice was so distraught she was nearly in tears: "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't suggested we leave you two alone to have your romantic moment, this wouldn't have happened."
She hung her head guiltily, as if she had done something terrible.
"Since you know you always cause trouble, maybe you should talk less next time."
My gaze was ice-cold.
Beatrice trembled, and tears began to flow.
Michael, seeing Beatrice's distress, pulled her into his arms: "William! Beatrice only wanted to give you and Lily some privacy without interruption. You don't need to be so harsh with her!"
I realized I had misdirected my anger at the innocent Beatrice.
"I apologize. I was being unreasonable."
"None of that matters now. What happened?" Henry asked.
"Someone grabbed Lily's ankle when she jumped into the water, trying to drown her."
As I stated these facts, my entire being was immersed in coldness. Thinking of Lily struggling helplessly underwater, my heart clenched painfully.
"That's incredibly vicious," Henry said, his hands tightening into fists. "We need to investigate this thoroughly. Whoever did this can't get away with it!"
At this point, Zane suddenly remembered something: "Wait, the old town has excellent architectural preservation, which includes security cameras in the area. Should we check the surveillance footage?"
That was a good idea.
I nodded and turned to Henry: "Henry, the ambulance will be here soon. You, Michael, and Beatrice take Lily to the hospital. Zane and I will check the surveillance footage. We must get to the bottom of this."
"Understood." Henry knew he couldn't be of much help here and nodded.
I followed Zane to the surveillance room, only to be told that the cameras had malfunctioned three days ago and there were no recordings.
I clenched my fists: "Whoever did this planned thoroughly."
Zane frowned: "Maybe we should wait until Lily wakes up. Perhaps she saw something."
After a moment of silence, I nodded: "I suppose that's our only option now."

Jane's POV
I arrived at a villa.
I would avenge my daughter!
My Lily!
I wanted to make up for everything I had failed to give her over the years.
I had already investigated and knew this villa was bought for Emily by her director.
And what Emily paid in return was her body.
As soon as I entered, I heard strange noises coming from upstairs. I thought Emily's director was still at the film site—how could he have returned so quickly?
I quietly went upstairs but didn't immediately open the bedroom door. Instead, I waited outside, listening to the conversation within.
After hearing their discussion, my expression changed. I quietly opened the door a crack and started recording.
When I felt I had gathered enough evidence, I sent the video to Emily's sponsor, the director.
Just as I was about to leave, footsteps approached from inside the room.
I panicked and turned to run.
Unfortunately, it was too late. A man rushed out, grabbed me, and threw me back into the room.
Emily saw me and screamed in terror.
"Ah! Who are you? How did you get in here?"
Now I could see clearly that the man who grabbed me was none other than Samuel!
Samuel glared at me fiercely.
"Who are you?"
I realized Samuel didn't recognize me. Thinking quickly, I said, "Emily, Yanni sent me. He's suspected something was wrong for a while."
Yanni was the name of the director who kept Emily as his mistress.
Emily was startled and immediately told Samuel: "You need to leave quickly. Yanni might be here any minute."
Samuel panicked momentarily, but soon realized something was off.
"Wait, you look very much like someone I know."
I looked at him nervously. "What?"
Samuel narrowed his eyes.
"I think you look exactly like Lily!"
I played dumb. "Who's Lily?"
"Give me your phone!" Samuel lunged toward me, trying to grab my phone.
The next second, the door was kicked open.
Yanni burst in.
"Emily!"
Emily, who had been panting moments before, screamed and quickly wrapped herself in the sheets: "Yanni..."
Samuel turned to see Yanni at the door, surprise flashing in his eyes as well.
"Emily, you're living in my house and sleeping with another man. You disgust me."
Yanni felt blood rushing to his head as he took in the disheveled state of the room, evidence of their recent intimacy. His heart ached painfully.
"Yanni, listen to me, it's not what you think. He forced me, it was all him..."
Emily was truly panicking now. She couldn't afford to lose Yanni's favor, whether for financial support or industry resources.
"Enough, you disgusting whore!"
His words were filled with pure contempt and revulsion.
Emily felt as if she had been slapped across the face, her complexion turning pale.
"Come now, Emily, what's the point of explaining so much to him? Can't you see there's only disgust in his eyes, not love?" Samuel said with a smirk, patting Emily's shoulder in mock consolation.
"Samuel, even if Yanni doesn't love me, I'll never like you!" Emily looked at Samuel with revulsion.
"Yanni, actually, we could work together. You don't really like Emily, do you?" Samuel suggested.
Yanni narrowed his eyes: "So, what do you have to say before I beat you to death?"
"I can give you half of Sterling Group's shares, and Lily will be yours as well. And I will become the CEO of Sterling Group. We'll both get what we want, don't you think?"
Emily interjected: "I want William! He can only be mine!"
Samuel's face darkened, but he still nodded, "As you wish."
Yanni nodded thoughtfully: "So, how do you propose we collaborate?"
Seeing that Samuel was about to convince Yanni, I quickly spoke up: "Samuel, you're disgusting. The Sterling family raised you for over twenty years. Even a dog knows gratitude, but you? You've been trying to destroy the Sterling family. Are you even human?"
Hearing this, Samuel displayed a terrifying smile.
"Indeed! You're not sent by Yanni. There's only one possibility—you're Lily's mother!"
Realizing I had exposed myself, I no longer tried to hide it.
"Let me ask you! Was Lily's drowning your and Emily's doing?"
Emily was about to answer me, but Samuel cut in: "This has nothing to do with Emily. I did it."
"Why?"