Chapter 269: She Is Too Ruthless
Although the person in the video had bruises all over their face and was so swollen they looked like a pig's head, Harriet recognized them immediately - it was Quinlan.
From the looks of it, she had indeed been beaten badly.
She showed her medical records, which listed a ruptured spleen, multiple fractures throughout her body, internal bleeding, and injuries covering her entire body, with not a single spot unharmed.
At the end of the video, she silently cried, unable to even speak, looking absolutely pitiful.
But she didn't defend herself. She only said that having her cousin's child had indeed hurt her cousin's wife, and she was willing to bear all consequences. She just begged her cousin's wife to spare her innocent son.
She only asked that her son would have a home and not drift through life unloved as she had.
Once the video was posted, within just two hours, it had hundreds of thousands of likes, comments, and shares, causing a huge stir online.
Harriet opened the comments section - it was full of angry criticism.
[The day she left the orphanage, she must have thought she was heading toward happiness, right? She never imagined what awaited her was an abyss!]
[Such a hardworking, positive girl with good values - if she hadn't been adopted, at least she would have had the right to choose her own love and life, right?]
[Even now, she only wants to protect her child. She hasn't complained about herself once. What a strong and great mother!]
[If lives could be exchanged, heaven would be filled with mothers!]
[She was beaten this badly and no one's being held accountable? Won't Emberfall police do anything?]
[How dare you! Do you know who her cousin is? His connections are stronger than your life!]
[Let me share what I know - her cousin is the CEO of some big company. How big? Use your imagination, think as big as you can. Her cousin and his wife didn't marry for love, and they've been childless for years. Her cousin's mother was anxious and used the debt of raising her to force her to have her cousin's child. Of course, her cousin's wife couldn't accept her after finding out. I heard her cousin's wife is even a doctor at some well-known clinic. Here's the kicker - her cousin's wife once went to prison for attempted murder. Even more shocking, after she got out, the victim mysteriously died. Rumor is she did it herself, and her cousin paid to cover it up.]
[OMG, is the bar for marrying into wealthy families this low now? Even people with criminal records can get in? I'm starting to think I have a chance!]
[Marrying into a wealthy family doesn't require background checks on these things, so of course you can.]
[Someone who's been in prison can still be a doctor? And can beat people up like this without consequences? Money really can buy anything.]
[Am I the only one who feels bad for the wife? If your husband suddenly had a child outside, you'd have a hard time accepting it too, right?]
[If you're upset, get a divorce or beat up the husband. The wife just can't bear to divorce, so she takes it out on the weaker person!]
[Girls help girls!]
[I just saw a livestream that caught one shot of the wife - she's gorgeous!]
[Her cousin is so handsome, too! He looked so good protecting his wife! They look perfect together!]
[Just got a photo of the wife at work at Timeless Medicine Clinic. She really is beautiful. Photo attached!]
[So beautiful. Even her work photo is stunning? My work photo makes me look like an ape.]
[With money, I could get plastic surgery to look that pretty, too.]
[You're all missing the point, aren't you? Does being good-looking give you the right to hurt people? If all this is true, she even killed someone!]
[She must be severely punished!]
[Punish her!]
Harriet didn't continue reading and exited the page.
"Mrs. Lancaster, we didn't beat Quinlan up like that!" Ryder explained. "Mr. Lancaster told me to punish her. I had someone whip her with a special whip. It's very painful, but it doesn't leave marks on the body."
"She suffered a lot last night. She definitely has internal injuries, but there's no way she could be hurt this badly!"
Harriet frowned. "You mean she was injured again after you hurt her?"
"Definitely!" Ryder pursed his lips. "I checked - the medical report isn't fake. She really is injured this badly."
"But the fact that this was made public so quickly shows it was planned. Could she have deliberately injured herself like this? That would be pretty ruthless, wouldn't it?"
Harriet looked thoughtful.
With things blowing up like this, it definitely wouldn't die down anytime soon.
Her biggest worry right now was Timeless Medicine Clinic.
Sure enough, that afternoon, Harriet received news that people were protesting outside Timeless Medicine Clinic with banners, demanding that the clinic fire Harriet.
Some extreme netizens even went to smash the doors.
Finally, when a man threw a rock and shattered the glass, Timeless Medicine Clinic called the police.
The police came to disperse the crowd, and the protesting netizens scattered.
But as soon as the police left, the netizens came back, causing serious disruption to the clinic's normal operations. No one dared to come in for treatment.
"I understand. I'll handle it as soon as possible." Harriet hung up and called Ian. "Mr. Jones, I'm sorry. I've dragged you into this."
"What are you talking about? The clinic is actually getting a rare moment of peace. I've already given everyone time off. I'm staying here - let's see what they dare to do to me."
"Mr. Jones, it's too dangerous. I'll arrange for some people to protect you right away."
"No need. They only dare to throw things from outside. They won't dare come in. Don't worry."
Harriet naturally wasn't reassured and immediately asked Ryder to send bodyguards over.
But before the bodyguards arrived, something happened at Timeless Medicine Clinic!
Ian had originally wanted to clean up the broken glass on the ground. But those people outside had nowhere to vent their anger, and seeing someone finally, they started throwing rocks at him.
Ian's head was bleeding on the spot. Only then did those people panic and scatter, disappearing in an instant.
When Harriet rushed to the emergency room, the doctor was cleaning the wound on Ian's forehead.
"Mr. Jones, how are you?"
"I'm fine, just a little cut. Harriet, don't worry about me."
"These people have gone too far!" Harriet's face was cold. "I absolutely won't let this go!"
"Harriet, I'm really fine. I know you have your own plans for handling things. Don't let me mess up your rhythm."
Harriet nodded. "Mr. Jones, I know what I'm doing. Please stay in the hospital and don't worry about anything else."
"I don't need to be hospitalized."
"After all, you injured your head. Better to get it checked out properly. And with you staying here, I can rest easy."
"Alright, I'll listen to you. I won't hold you back."
Harriet went straight to the police.
If she didn't take any action after Ian was injured, it would seem too calm, and Quinlan's side would naturally become suspicious.
There were surveillance cameras outside Timeless Medicine Clinic, and the police quickly arrested the person who caused the injury.
"FindingMyHaven" quickly spoke out again, calling on everyone to handle the matter rationally and not take extreme actions. She claimed that since the incident was caused by her, she was willing to pay for the victim's medical expenses.
Netizens praised her to the skies.
At the same time, the criticism of Tristan and Harriet grew even louder.
Netizens also quickly discovered that the "cousin" in the story was the CEO of Apex Global Group. For a while, even Apex Global Group was significantly affected.
That evening, Tristan walked into the hospital room.
When Della saw him, she immediately turned her head away proudly. "Why is the bad guy's dad here again? So annoying!"