After listening to Deanna, Lance felt deeply moved. He couldn't resist his impulse and sat up from the bed, pulling Deanna into his arms. Deanna was caught off guard by Lance's sudden action and was stunned for a few seconds before realizing what had happened.
"What are you doing? Let go of me! You still have needles in your back!" she exclaimed, slapping Lance's arm in frustration. Lance tightened his grip on Deanna slightly but didn't dare hold her for too long because he didn't want to upset her.
Once Deanna was free, she glared at him angrily. "Lie back down immediately! If the needles shift from their positions, the consequences could be very serious. Do you understand?"
"Alright, don't be mad. I'll lie back down now," Lance said, trying to soothe the angry Deanna as he obediently lay back on the bed. Deanna didn't know whether to be angry or amused and let out a light humph before quickly checking the needles she had placed earlier.
Fortunately, none of the needles had come loose or shifted, which made her breathe a sigh of relief. She exhaled deeply and glared at the back of Lance's head, deciding to teach him a lesson.
The quiet room was suddenly filled with the sound of Lance gasping. He felt a sharp pain spreading across his back and couldn't help but ask, "Why does it hurt so much all of a sudden? Did you place the needles incorrectly?"
"No, I didn't place them incorrectly. I decided to change your treatment plan because you repeatedly disregard your own health," Deanna said openly, not hiding her intentions.
Lance thought to himself, 'It's clear I've angered Deanna. What else can I do but endure it?' To distract himself, he continued the conversation they had started earlier. "As I mentioned, I went to Vlover because I've made some progress on those previous matters. Based on the information I've gathered, Emily is behind all of it."
"I knew it was her," Deanna said, not surprised but visibly affected and in a bad mood.
Lance noticed this and tried to comfort her. "Don't let someone insignificant affect your mood. Think about how you want to handle this."
"Report it to the police and let them handle it," Deanna concluded without hesitation. She didn't want any involvement with the Jones family and Emily's actions had already crossed legal boundaries, making it best to leave it to the authorities.
Lance nodded in agreement, as this aligned with his own thoughts. He also didn't want Deanna to be disturbed by the Jones family.
The next morning at the Howard family villa, Emily woke up early to prepare breakfast for the family in an effort to stabilize her marriage with Raphael. Despite her efforts, the Howard family didn't appreciate her.
Mrs. Howard looked at Emily with increasing disdain and couldn't help but sarcastically remark, "What? Is our Howard family going bankrupt that we can't afford servants? Do we need you, my daughter-in-law, to get up early and prepare breakfast for everyone? If word gets out, people might think we're mistreating you."
"Mom, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to do something," Emily explained, suppressing her anger and feeling wronged.
She couldn't understand why her in-laws' attitude towards her had worsened when they weren't like this before.
Aiden Howard frowned and said, "We don't need you to do anything. Just treat the Howard family as your own and stop thinking about using our resources to support your Jones family. Behave yourself as Mrs. Howard."
Emily felt deeply humiliated by these words, which were a clear warning not to support her own family with Howard family resources. She hadn't done such a thing; even when she asked for help for the Jones family, she offered benefits in return.
Feeling wronged, she looked at Raphael for support. Raphael noticed her gaze but chose to ignore it. He also felt Emily had been out of line lately. His goal was to acquire the Jones family, but instead of helping with that, she seemed more focused on using Howard family resources for her own family.
Seeing Raphael eating indifferently without reacting made Emily clench her fists tightly. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed painfully by an invisible hand.
At that moment, the butler walked in respectfully and said, "Sir, Madam, Master Raphael, there are two police officers at the door asking for Mrs. Howard."
He glanced at Emily as he spoke. Emily's tearful expression froze instantly, and a flash of panic crossed her eyes. Why were the police here? Had they discovered what she did?
The Howard family members had similar thoughts. Aiden glared at Emily sternly and demanded, "What have you done now?"
His voice snapped Emily back to reality. She looked up to see Mr. and Mrs. Howard glaring at her with displeasure.