Back home, Deanna was still affected by the earlier events and felt quite down.
But she forced herself to cheer up and thanked Lance, "Thank you for standing up for me earlier."
"It was nothing. Don't let it bother you," Lance replied, noticing the lack of brightness in her eyes and feeling a bit worried.
Old Ashley and the two little ones also sensed Deanna's low spirits and chimed in to comfort her.
They had only learned about the incident at the door later and were furious about the old lady's moral coercion of Deanna.
"Mummy, don't be upset over people who don't matter. Look at your little cutie, and you'll feel better," Chloe said as she jumped into Deanna's arms, acting cute and playful.
Deanna looked at her daughter, who was trying her best to make her happy, and couldn't help but smile. She gently pinched Chloe's chubby cheeks and kissed her, saying softly, "You're right. It's not worth getting angry over irrelevant people. I should just focus on my little cutie."
Chloe happily snuggled into her mother's arms.
Seeing this, Gregory also cuddled up to her.
Lance watched from the side, feeling a bit envious. He wished the two children would trust him as much.
Unfortunately, just when he was about to succeed, his parents had ruined his efforts.
After playing with the kids for a while, Deanna noticed Lance staring at them and felt a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, Mr. Mercer, it seems we've been ignoring you."
"It's okay. Seeing you all happy makes me happy too," Lance replied with a gentle smile.
But Deanna found his words somewhat strange. She didn't dwell on it, though, and looked around the living room. She noticed that the furniture and walls damaged by Ricky had been repaired.
The replacements matched the originals almost perfectly, showing great care had been taken.
Seeing this, Deanna smiled and said, "I haven't thanked you yet, Mr. Mercer, for helping me fix up the house. How much did the furniture cost? I'll transfer the money to you."
As she spoke, she reached for her phone.
However, Lance didn't want to be so distant with her and shook his head. "No need for money. If you really want to thank me, just invite me over for a few more meals."
"Alright, as long as Mr. Mercer doesn't mind," Deanna agreed without insisting further. She knew that amount of money meant little to Lance.
After chatting for a while longer, Lance left because he had work to attend to at the company.
Not long after he left, Landon and Julia arrived.
After some brief greetings, they sat on the sofa and discussed the recent events.
"We really have to thank Mr. Mercer this time. If it were up to Landon and me to investigate, we wouldn't have found out so quickly," Julia remarked.
Landon felt a bit reluctant but didn't say anything. He knew his own limitations.
Deanna nodded in agreement. "Indeed, we owe a lot to Mr. Mercer."
As she spoke, a sweet smile appeared on her face.
Landon noticed something. "Deanna, be honest with us. What's going on between you and Mr. Mercer?"
"What do you mean? We're just friends," Deanna replied, looking puzzled.
"I don't believe that," Landon scoffed.
"Neither do I," Julia teased.
Deanna rolled her eyes at them. "Believe what you want. I have a clear conscience."
The two looked at her clueless expression and were speechless.
Meanwhile, at Mercer Group's CEO office.
Xavier knocked and entered respectfully. "Mr. Mercer, the morning's issue has been resolved. The media outlets have destroyed the footage and promised not to report on it."
Earlier that morning, after helping Deanna settle the old lady, Lance had instructed Xavier to handle the matter discreetly to avoid affecting Deanna's life.
Lance nodded and then asked, "How is the interrogation of Ricky going?"
"I was just about to report that. The police called earlier; Ricky confessed that his actions were instigated by Guillermo from a loan shark gang," Xavier reported.
He couldn't help but add, "Why would Guillermo target Dr. Deanna? As far as I know, she has no connection with him."
Hearing this, Lance's eyes narrowed dangerously. It was indeed suspicious.
He asked, "Didn't I ask you to investigate this loan shark gang? What did you find?"
"We've uncovered many illegal activities linked to them and identified their hideout," Xavier answered truthfully.
Lance nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Hand over the evidence to the police and let them make the arrests."
"Yes!" Xavier nodded and left the room.