Old Ashley frowned as she looked at her granddaughter who had just put down her phone. "So all those pranks you received before were done by that woman, Emily?"
"You knew about what happened before?" Deanna looked over in surprise.
She hadn't told her grandmother about these things.
Then she thought of something and said sheepishly, "Lance must have told you."
Old Ashley gave her a reproachful look and said, "Yes, Lance told me. But you, such a big thing happened, and you didn't say a word to me."
"I didn't want to worry you."
Deanna saw her grandmother was angry and quickly softened her tone, acting coquettishly.
Unfortunately, Old Ashley wasn't buying it and continued to scold, "Not telling me makes me worry even more. Don't hide anything from me again!"
Faced with such a warning, Deanna could only nod in agreement.
Seeing this, Old Ashley was finally satisfied and changed the subject. "Besides Emily, did Lance mention anything else when he called?"
"Grandma, you're really sharp. Lance did say that Garrett and the Howard family want to bail Emily out and come to us for reconciliation."
Deanna didn't hide the content of the call.
Old Ashley ignored her attempt at flattery, frowned, and said angrily, "This matter cannot be reconciled. This time it was intimidation; next time, will Emily try to have you kidnapped?"
Seeing her grandmother so upset warmed Deanna's heart. She knew her grandmother was standing up for her.
"You're right. I don't plan to reconcile, so we can ignore them. But we must be careful when we go out. Garrett and the Howard family are not good people; I'm worried they might do something crazy."
Thinking of this, Deanna decided that when Lance came back in the evening, she would have him arrange a bodyguard for her grandmother to ensure her safety.
Old Ashley didn't know what Deanna was thinking but agreed with her reasoning. "We don't need to worry about Gregory and Chloe; you and Lance usually pick them up, and no one would dare make a move under Lance's watch. As for me, I just won't go out these days. The house is big enough for me to walk around and exercise."
Seeing her grandmother arrange things for herself made Deanna feel both amused and helpless.
"You don't need to inconvenience yourself because of Garrett. I'll have Lance arrange two bodyguards for you later. Staying home all the time isn't good for your health."
As they were talking, Sam walked in from outside and respectfully said, "Missus, Garrett and Raphael from the Howard Group are outside and wish to see you."
Hearing this, the smiles on Deanna and Old Ashley's faces immediately disappeared.
Deanna hadn't expected them to come so quickly; they must have come straight from the police station.
"Tell them I won't see them!"
She waved her hand to signal Sam to leave.
Sam nodded and went to relay the message to the gatekeeper.
At the foot of the hill, the gatekeeper received the instruction and coldly told Garrett and Raphael, "Our missus won't see you. Please leave."
Garrett and Raphael's faces immediately turned ugly.
Especially Garrett, who felt humiliated in front of Raphael.
Trying to save face, he said awkwardly, "I told you I shouldn't come. You know about the grudges between Deanna and me; she definitely won't see me."
Raphael listened to this and saw Garrett's expression as if he shouldn't have brought him along. He wanted to retort.
He had grudges with Deanna too; did that mean he shouldn't come either?
But thinking of his plans, Raphael held back and said patiently, "I think neither of us will be able to see her here. How about we wait for her at the company when she goes there?"
Hearing this, Garrett found it very feasible and agreed.
Soon, they left the estate.
Little did they know that as soon as they left, the gatekeeper reported their conversation back to Deanna.
Hearing it, Deanna laughed in exasperation.
Sam looked worried and asked, "Missus, should we inform Mr. Mercer about this?"
"It's just a small matter; no need to trouble Lance. Besides, with Shannon and Leighton protecting me, I'll be fine."
Deanna shook her head, not planning to tell Lance about it.
In her view, she could handle this herself.
Meanwhile, Mia saw Garrett return and quickly approached him with concern. "How did it go? Did you see Deanna? What did she say? Is she willing to reconcile?"
"Don't even mention it. We couldn't even get through the gate, let alone see Deanna."
Garrett said through gritted teeth.
Mia had expected this but still felt unwilling and angry inside, along with worry for her daughter.
She anxiously walked up to Garrett and asked urgently, "What about Emily? If Deanna doesn't want to reconcile, won't Emily have to go to jail?"