Chapter 19
Lily’s resolve to divorce Xavier grew stronger with each passing moment.
But for now, her priority was saving Hayden. The divorce would have to wait.
As news about Hayden’s accident hit the trending charts, it was quickly followed by another story about a dog belonging to Sarah, Nova Group’s vice president, being attacked by an unreasonable neighbor.
Both stories fought for the top spot.
The public’s attention was heavily focused on Hayden’s accident, and most leaned toward sympathizing with the deceased.
Without knowing all the facts, many jumped to conclusions, labeling Hayden as just another spoiled rich kid.
The public speculated that it was either drunk driving or Hayden’s temper causing the crash.
Several damaging rumors about Hayden surfaced, painting him in an even worse light.
Meanwhile, the dog incident sparked its own heated debate, with pet owners passionately defending Sarah, condemning the neighbor for using excessive force to break the dog’s rib.
Many rallied behind Sarah, urging her to fight back.
Lily had no time to follow the news. She was busy managing the chaos around her, especially after receiving a call from Hazel.
“Lily, your father’s health has worsened, and he’s in the hospital. You need to handle
Hayden’s case from here on…”
“How is he?” Lily’s voice trembled with anxiety. “Which hospital is he in?”
Hazel didn’t answer her questions directly. “It’s not life–threatening. Don’t worry, just focus on Hayden’s situation.”
Once again, everything came back to Hayden.
Lily, already overwhelmed, tried to steady herself. She would follow Sylvester’s advice, splitting up to handle things from two aspects.
Sylvester would handle things at the police station, while Lily would go to the hospital to visit the deceased’s mother.
The deceased’s mother had been hospitalized due to overwhelming grief.
She bought a basket of fruits and some supplements and made her way to the hospital ward.
As she arrived at the hospital, she heard faint sobbing through the half–open door. She
hesitated, standing frozen for a moment.
“I can’t believe this, my dear Clarissa, why did it have to happen this way?” The woman’s voice was heavy with grief.
“My poor grandchild… She’s only three years old and has lost
her mother.“!
Lily paused as she reached for the hospital ward door, instinctively pressing her lips together.
From the news, Lily learned the identity of the victim. She was a young woman,
32 years old.
who was only
At that age, with both elderly parents and young children to care for, no one could accept something like this happening.
But she couldn’t understand how could such a woman be involved in a staged suicide?
Hearing the cries from the hospital room, she even briefly wondered if it wasn’t a staged suicide, but a genuine accident.
But after carefully reviewing the dash cam footage, she saw that although Hayden was driving pretty fast, it was within the speed limit, and he hadn’t been distracted by a phone call.
The woman had rushed in the direction of Hayden’s car.
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
As she stepped inside, her eyes caught sight of the woman grieving by the bedside. Beside her was a man in his 40s, with a balding head and red–rimmed eyes.
Both of them looked up at her, eyes filled with pain and disbelief.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I’m Hayden’s sister, Lily Joyner, and I…” she began, but the woman immediately erupted.
“What do you want?” the woman screamed, her emotions spiking. She grabbed a pillow from the bed and hurled it at Lily. “I want that murderer to pay for my daughter’s life!”
The pillow hit Lily squarely in the face, and she staggered back, trying to steady herself. The pillow fell at her feet, and she hurriedly spoke, “Please, don’t get upset. Your health is more important. If my brother is at fault, the police will bring justice.”
She set the basket of fruits beside the bed, but before she could place it properly, the man. grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her out of the room.
“We don’t need anything from you! Are you trying to bribe us with this? Are you hoping we’ll Jet your brother go? Dream on! My sister’s death was unjust!”
He shoved the basket, and the fruits scattered across the floor.
With a violent push, Lily was thrown out of the room, falling hard on the floor. His face. twisted in anger, the man pointed at her and shouted, “If you ever come back here, I’ll make
Charges to
sure you regret it! Your brother will pay for my sister’s death, and your family will pay, too!”
With that, he slammed the door behind him.
The commotion drew the attention of nearby people.
Nurses, patients, and even reporters began peeking out from their rooms, intrigued by the loud voices.
At the end of the hallway, a group of reporters, carrying their cameras and equipment, rushed toward the scene
The Joyner family, once a powerhouse in the business world, had been in decline in recent years, but the media hadn’t forgotten them.
When they recognized Lily, they swarmed around her, bombarding her with questions.
