In the manor, Deanna slept until one in the afternoon, awakened by a phone call.
The call was from Julia.
Hearing Deanna's groggy voice, Julia sounded surprised. "Were you resting? Did I wake you?"
"It's fine. Why did you call?"
Deanna glanced at her phone to check the time.
Julia's concerned voice came through. "Nothing much, just wanted to ask about Mr. Mercer. What happened between you and Mr. Mercer yesterday? I wanted to come see you, but Lionel wouldn't let me out of bed!"
"You almost lost the baby yesterday. The doctor said you need to stay in bed for a week."
Lionel's displeased voice interrupted.
Deanna frowned. "How did you almost lose the baby?"
"Uh... don't listen to Lionel. It's not that serious. Anyway, let's talk about you and Mr. Mercer. What happened? I heard you tried to kill Lance?"
Julia's tone grew serious.
Deanna sat up in bed and asked, "Do you know about the mental suggestion I was under before I lost my memory?"
She figured Julia, being a close friend, would know more about it.
Indeed, Julia exclaimed, "Did someone put you under mental suggestion again?"
Before Deanna could respond, Julia continued, "Wait, didn't Mr. Mercer already catch the culprit who did that to you?"
Deanna's voice turned somber. "Maybe there was more than one culprit."
"If that's the case, I don't know much about it. You didn't tell me much back then."
Julia realized Deanna was probing for information but didn't mind. She even offered advice. "If you want to know more, ask Mr. Mercer's assistant. I think he's investigating it."
"Alright, I'll ask him later. Take care of yourself and the baby. Don't worry about me."
Deanna ended the call after a few more words of concern.
Before she could put down her phone, it rang again.
This time it was Jessica.
"Miss Deanna, is this a good time to talk?"
Jessica's polite voice came through.
Deanna nodded. "It's fine, Miss Hill. What's the matter?"
"Not much... Are you okay? And Mr. Mercer?"
Jessica chose her words carefully to avoid upsetting Deanna.
Sensing Jessica's caution, Deanna replied softly, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Lance is fine too, but we can't host you right now."
"That's alright. I'm planning to take Dayton back. We caused trouble for you and Mr. Mercer. If it weren't for Dayton, this wouldn't have happened..."
Jessica took the blame on Dayton, testing Deanna and the Mercers' attitude.
Deanna didn't think too deeply about it and reassured her. "This has nothing to do with Dayton. Even without him, whoever's behind this would have acted against us anyway. I'm sorry you got caught up in this. Next time, we'll have a proper visit."
"Alright," Jessica replied with a smile.
After a few more polite exchanges, they ended the call.
But as if fate didn't want Deanna to rest, her phone rang again.
This time it was Old Ashley.
"Deanna, everyone's saying you tried to kill Lance. What's going on?"
Logan had suppressed the news online early in the morning, so Old Ashley shouldn't have seen it.
But people talked.
Especially the nurses and doctors who knew she was Deanna's grandmother and connected to Mr. Mercer.
No one dared discuss it in front of her, but behind her back, they gossiped.
Old Ashley overheard them.
Deanna couldn't hide the truth from her grandmother and explained everything.
Like Julia, Old Ashley was shocked by Deanna's story.
"Didn't they catch the hypnotist?"
"Maybe there was more than one culprit."
Deanna repeated her suspicion.
Old Ashley found it plausible and asked with concern, "How is Lance now? And what is the Mercers' attitude?"
Though it wasn't Deanna's fault, she worried the Mercers might hold a grudge against her granddaughter.
Deanna understood her grandmother's concern.