Chapter 279 Encirclement and Suppression

Chapter 279 Encirclement and Suppression

The news spread faster than Hannah had expected.

She leaned against the hospital bed, her phone screen flooded with reports about Daniel's fall from the building.

The comment section was a mess, with almost everyone cursing at Ethan.

[What kind of grudge makes someone want to kill their own uncle?]

[So cold-blooded, right? Even with competition, it shouldn't come to murder.]

[Ethan was never a good person anyway. Have you all forgotten how many girlfriends he's had?]

[A different woman every week—he has always been trash.]

[If the Lawson family allows him to inherit, they're really done for.]

Hannah placed her phone face-down on the bed, closed her eyes, and pieced together the clues in her mind.

Everything Daniel did was meant to ensure that Ethan could never recover.

The Lawson family might ignore other things, but not public opinion. The other Lawsons couldn't ignore Ethan's attitude toward his relatives either.

Without public support or backing from the Lawson family, how could Ethan inherit?

Everything pointed to Ryan. So who was the real beneficiary?

Ryan—that name circled in her mind several times.

The hospital room door opened.

Ethan walked in, still wearing yesterday's clothes, wrinkled and stained with dried blood.

His eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed in good spirits.

"Why did you not sleep more?" Ethan smiled as he approached.

"How are things on your end?" Hannah asked.

Ethan sat down by the bed and picked up an apple from the nightstand, taking a bite.

"It's fine. I can handle it."

"The news is saying you drove Daniel to his death."

Ethan chewed his apple and said through a mouthful. "Let them talk. Words won't kill me."

"If I killed someone, the police would come arrest me. What does it have to do with them?"

"This wave of public opinion is fierce. You should go back and deal with it quickly," Hannah sighed.

Ethan tossed the apple core into the trash and wiped his hands.

"The Lawson family's business is all overseas. The little commotion here won't have much impact."

Hannah looked at him. "Do you really think it won't have much impact, or are you just trying to comfort me?"

Ethan looked at her but didn't answer.

The room fell quiet for a few seconds.

The door opened again, and Cordelia rushed in, looking worried.

She glanced at Hannah, then at Ethan, hesitating before speaking.

"Ethan, your grandfather called. He wants you to come back."

"What for?" Ethan took out his phone and looked at it—it was already dead.

" A shareholders' meeting," Cordelia said, lowering her voice.

"Several of the Lawson family's overseas executives have flown back. Things have gotten serious."

Ethan leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanged.

"Got it."

He stood up and looked at Hannah.

"It's nothing serious. I didn't kill anyone."

"Don't worry. I'll go and come right back. Cordelia will stay here with you."

Hannah looked at him, wanting to say something, but in the end, she just nodded.

"If anything comes up, call me. Charge your phone right away."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ethan raised an eyebrow at her before turning to leave.

After the door closed, Cordelia paced anxiously around the room.

"What do we do? All the shareholders are back—this is huge."

"Ms. Nguyen, I feel like something bad is going to happen. Something's definitely going to happen."

Hannah grabbed her hand. "Go help him."

"If I go, what about you?" Cordelia quickly shook her head.

Hannah smiled. "I'm being discharged this afternoon anyway, and I need to go back to the Harvey family to handle some things. Don't worry about me."

Cordelia hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Hannah nodded.

Cordelia bit her lip and grabbed her bag. "Alright. I'm going then. Call me if you need anything."

She walked to the door but stopped.

"Ms. Nguyen, can you get someone to help? Have the police issue a statement proving Daniel's death has nothing to do with Ethan."

"Don't worry."

Seeing Hannah nod, Cordelia finally pushed the door open and left.

The conference hall at the Lawson family estate was packed.

Important Lawson family members sat on both sides of the long table, and several executives from overseas companies had flown back specifically for this meeting.

The atmosphere was oppressive, like the calm before a storm.

Gordon sat at the head of the table with Richard beside him. Both looked grim.

When Ethan pushed the door open, everyone turned to look at him.

He wore a wrinkled shirt, his hair was messy, and that careless smile still hung on his lips—like he was attending a friends' gathering rather than a shareholders' meeting.

"Wow, quite a crowd."

He walked to his seat and sat down, crossing his legs.

"What's going on? What's with the big show?"

A man in his fifties slammed the table and stood up.

Rocco, Daniel's cousin, held considerable standing in the Lawson family and owned a significant number of shares.

He pointed at Ethan, his voice trembling.

"You still have the nerve to ask? You hunted down your own uncle and drove him to his death! Are we relatives supposed to die too if we dare say a word?"

"When did I hunt him down?" Ethan looked at him, his smile unchanged.

Rocco sneered. "The bounty you put out—everyone in our circles knows about it. You think we don't know?"

Others chimed in.

"Yeah, the bounty's out there. Still denying it?"

"Ethan, you've gone too far. No matter what Daniel did wrong, he was still your uncle."

"The Lawson family can't have this kind of heir. Today you drove your uncle to his death—will you drive us to death ours tomorrow?"

Richard stood up and slammed the table hard. "Enough!"

The conference hall fell silent for a moment.

Richard looked at everyone present.

"Whether Ethan killed anyone, the police will investigate. If he really killed someone, the law won't let him go. But if he didn't, no one has the right to throw dirt on his name."

Rocco said viciously. "How do you explain the bounty? He put it out himself—can that be fake?"

"The bounty was to find someone, not to kill someone. Can't you tell the difference?" Richard didn't back down.

Rocco was stumped and didn't know how to respond.

Just then, a young man stood up.

Ryan, dressed in black, had red, swollen eyes, his voice choked with emotion.

He looked at everyone present, finally settling his gaze on Ethan.

"Ethan, I just want to ask one thing—what did my dad do wrong that you had to treat him like this?"

His voice trembled. "He did make mistakes, but I already gave the evidence to your grandfather because he wanted to make amends."

He wiped his tears. "He made mistakes, but he didn't deserve to die."

The conference hall fell silent. Several overseas executives were already sighing.

Rocco spoke up again.

"Listen to that! Even Ryan knows it was wrong and has turned over all the evidence."

"And what about Ethan? What did he do? He put a bounty on his own uncle to hunt him down! Does someone like this deserve to be the Lawson family heir?"

Ethan leaned back in his chair, the smile slowly fading from his face.

He looked at Ryan, then at Rocco, finally settling his gaze on Gordon.

"The crimes he committed—dying several times wouldn't be enough to atone for them."

"He knew his sins ran deep, so he killed himself out of guilt and jumped from the building. What does that have to do with me?"