Mrs. Walsh noticed Ernest's gaze and coldly said, "Either you kneel here with me and beg Uncle Hughes to save Leticia, or you can leave!"
"You're being ridiculous!" Ernest stared at her, at a loss for words.
However, he couldn't bear to leave her there alone, so he eventually knelt beside her.
Ava, witnessing the scene, was stunned. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry about us, go do your job," Ernest waved Ava away.
Ava dared not actually leave for work and instead went to Old Hughes' office. "Old Hughes, Old Hughes, there's trouble."
"I'm perfectly fine," Old Hughes replied irritably.
Out of breath, Ava didn't argue but quickly changed the subject, pointing outside the door. "Those two just now, they're kneeling down asking for your help."
"They're kneeling in the reception room?" Old Hughes was shocked.
Ava nodded affirmatively. "Old Hughes, what should we do? Should we really let them kneel outside?"
"If they want to kneel, let them be. Don't bother with them; go back to work," Old Hughes said with a dismissive wave, signaling Ava to leave.
After Ava left, Old Hughes' expression darkened.
He stared in the direction of the reception room and scoffed, "Old Walsh has been so self-righteous all his life, never thought he'd raise such a disgraceful son. There goes his good reputation that he tries so hard to maintain." After speaking, he picked up his rarely used cellphone to call Old Walsh.
Within half an hour, Old Walsh arrived at Hughes Pharmacy with Hassan in haste. Ava had already received the news and greeted them immediately. "Old Walsh and Mr. Hassan, you're here to pick up the two from the reception room? Our Old Hughes said you can take them back without seeing him."
"I understand," Old Walsh didn't insist.
He knew well that his eldest son and daughter-in-law had thoroughly angered Old Hughes.
Thus, as soon as he entered the reception room and saw Mr. and Mrs. Walsh kneeling on the ground, he was furious. "Get up. You've completely disgraced me!"
Old Walsh kicked Ernest in the back.
He wanted to kick his daughter-in-law too, knowing well that such a rotten idea must have been hers. However, he restrained himself due to decorum.
Ernest, kicked to the ground, looked up at his furious father and awkwardly said, "Dad, you're here."
"If I hadn't come, would you have continued to disgrace our Walsh family? Get up and come home with me," Old Walsh commanded, pausing briefly before turning his gaze to his daughter-in-law. "And take your wife with you!"
Just as he finished speaking, Mrs. Walsh burst into tears.
"I won't leave unless you save my daughter; I'll save her myself!"
"What can you save? Using our Walsh family's connections? Do you think Old Hughes cares about you?" Old Walsh was infuriated by Mrs. Walsh's words.
Ignoring whether Hughes would care or not, he retorted, "Do you think after what your daughter did, Mr. Mercer and Dr. Deanna would just let it slide just because of Old Hughes?"
"They let Leticia off last time because of Old Hughes; they can do it again!" Mrs. Walsh firmly believed her view.
Old Walsh saw the delusion in his daughter-in-law's eyes and was nearly overwhelmed with disappointment.
He stopped talking to Mrs. Walsh, fearing he might relapse from stress.
"Deal with your wife yourself," Old Walsh ordered Ernest before turning away.
Ernest watched his father leave and coldly said to his wife, "Get up and leave with me now; don't anger father further or you really won't be able to save Leticia!"
Mrs. Walsh remained indifferent.
Ernest continued, "Even if you kneel here until you're broken, now that father is here, Old Hughes won't intervene. And understand this: Leticia's situation won't change. Have you considered that if Leticia ends up in prison, she'll need father's help to avoid suffering there?"
At that moment, Mrs. Walsh struggled internally but eventually realized her husband was right. Her father-in-law had arrived; Uncle Hughes wouldn't intervene anymore. If she further alienated her father-in-law from Leticia, who would be powerless in prison without his support?
With that realization, she finally gave up her stubborn idea and stood up with the support of her knees.
Relieved to see her stand, Ernest quickly led the Walsh family away from Hughes Pharmacy.
That very night, Old Walsh took others and left Cloudmere overnight. He worried that if they stayed longer, his daughter-in-law might again act foolishly. But that was a story for another time.
Upon learning that the Walsh family had left, Old Hughes sat in his office and breathed a sigh of relief. Although he wouldn't have intervened, he was concerned that Old Walsh might plead on their behalf. Fortunately, it seemed he had worried unnecessarily.