Looking at the terrified woman in front of him, Lance reached out and grabbed her neck with precision, as if she were already dead.
Leticia never expected that Lance would attack her without saying a word upon seeing her.
"Let... let go of me..."
She struggled to speak, using both her hands and feet to fight back.
But the hand around her neck was like an iron clamp, making it impossible for her to break free.
Mr. and Mrs. Walsh witnessed the scene and were shocked.
"Mr. Mercer, what are you doing?" Mrs. Walsh demanded sharply as she rushed in to save her daughter.
Seeing this, a trace of regret flashed in Lance's dark eyes. Without even looking at Mrs. Walsh, he threw the nearly suffocating Leticia to the ground.
Leticia fell to the floor, instinctively clutching her neck and gasping for air, her eyes filled with unprecedented fear.
Just moments ago, if her parents hadn't appeared, she truly believed that this man would have strangled her to death.
"Leticia, are you alright?"
Mrs. Walsh helped her up from the ground, her face full of undisguised worry.
Ernest then walked up to Lance, his expression grim as he questioned, "Mr. Mercer, don't you think you owe me an explanation for what just happened?"
"You should ask your good daughter that question," Lance replied coldly, casting a disdainful glance at Leticia.
Ernest's heart sank as he looked at Lance and then at his daughter, who was cowering in his wife's arms, clearly guilty.
"Leticia, what did you do this time?"
Ernest knew very well that Lance wouldn't target Leticia for no reason; she must have provoked him first.
However, faced with her father's questioning, Leticia remained silent, hiding in Mrs. Walsh's arms.
Lance could see she was avoiding the issue and said darkly, "Your daughter didn't do much-just wore revealing clothes and shamelessly ran into my and Deanna's room, trying to throw herself at me. When I rejected her, she got angry and tried to strangle Deanna out of spite. When a servant saw it, she pushed Deanna off the balcony."
"No! I only tried to strangle Deanna; I didn't push her. She fell on her own," Leticia suddenly shouted in rebuttal.
Though scared, she understood the difference between the two accusations. The former might lead to a scolding from her parents, but the latter was attempted murder and could get her arrested.
Unfortunately for her, Lance wasn't listening. He sneered, "Do you think I believe you?"
Leticia was left speechless.
Ignoring her, Lance turned to Ernest and threatened, "I expect the Walsh family to give me a satisfactory explanation for tonight's events. Otherwise, don't blame me for taking action against your family!"
With that, he left without caring about the Walsh family's reactions.
As soon as he left, Ernest couldn't contain his anger any longer. He stepped forward and yanked Leticia out of his wife's arms.
"What did you promise me?" Ernest roared, slapping Leticia hard across the face.
The force of the slap knocked Leticia to the ground, her once fair cheek swelling visibly.
Even so, Ernest wasn't satisfied. Pointing at her, he continued to curse, "You told me you had given up on Mr. Mercer and wouldn't bother Dr. Deanna anymore. Is this what you call not bothering them?"
Leticia held her face down and said nothing, hiding her expression from view.
Ernest kept berating her relentlessly.
"Yes, you didn't bother Dr. Deanna; you tried to harm her directly. How did our family end up with someone as deranged as you? Mr. Mercer has made it clear-I can't protect you this time. Get ready for jail!"
"Jail?"
Mrs. Walsh was shocked and looked at him in disbelief. "Isn't that too much?"
Ernest scoffed at her reaction. "Why not? If Mr. Mercer and Dr. Deanna press charges for attempted murder, jail is inevitable!"
Meanwhile, Lance was unaware of the ongoing drama and didn't care to know.
He hurried back to his room with Xavier and saw Old Hughes organizing medical equipment. He quickly approached with concern.
"Old Hughes, is Deanna alright?"
"She's fine-just overly frightened and briefly deprived of oxygen, which caused her to faint. I've administered acupuncture; she should rest well tonight and wake up tomorrow morning. However, she might not be able to speak for a few days. The marks on her neck are deep and have injured her throat."