Chapter 212: We Must Hurry and Call the Police to Save the Young Lady

After hanging up, Julian Lancaster rose and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the scene below.

An autumn rain had arrived without warning, and the sky was dim, the weather dark and turbulent.

The Lancaster Group headquarters was located in the prime real estate of the CBD, surrounded by a forest of brightly lit skyscrapers.

In the plaza below, a group of migrant workers was replacing the flowers in the greenbelts.

Covered in mud, they toiled in the rain to ensure the flowerbeds remained a riot of color, perpetually in bloom.

Julian even knew that this kind of work, which others saw as filthy and exhausting, was fought over by countless people. The pay was daily; you got your money as soon as the day was done.

With that money, there was food for the day. His two younger brothers wouldn’t have to go hungry.

But more often than not, he couldn’t find work like that at all. He could only starve alongside his brothers.

It was probably because of those days of feast or famine, coupled with working long hours without even a sip of hot water, that his health had suffered, planting the seeds of a chronic illness.

No one knew how much effort he had put in just to be able to stand here today.

Julian Lancaster sat back down at his desk, his eyes filled with cold indifference.

’He wouldn’t feel guilty.’

It was something their father had tacitly approved of anyway. A small marital sacrifice for the sake of the family and Alvin—what was that compared to all the pampering and support his sister had enjoyed?

’Besides, the soul under that skin might not even be his sister anymore.’

"Sir, something’s wrong!" Lucy Finch knocked once before barging in without waiting for a response.

Behind her was a new intern, who looked at him with an uneasy expression.

Julian’s heart tightened. "What is it? Is it Alvin or Luna...?"

The two people he cared about most were both lying in the hospital.

"No, it’s Miss Lancaster! Something’s happened to her!"

Hearing this, Julian unconsciously relaxed.

But Lucy Finch was frantic. She strode over. "We need to call the police and rescue Miss Lancaster right away! Any later and it’ll be too late!"

She handed her phone to Julian and quickly explained the situation.

The intern, Penny, was someone she had hired to monitor online public opinion.

Penny couldn’t resist slacking off for a moment. As it happened, she was a fan of the celebrity dog Reggie. When she saw a breaking story about the dog’s owner’s true face being revealed, she couldn’t help but click on it.

But one look and she realized something was seriously wrong. Why did the other person in the video look so much like the boss’s sister from the photo on his desk?

Penny watched the livestream for a while, and her sharp intuition told her something was off. She immediately reported it to Lucy Finch.

Lucy Finch knew Jean Hughes, and based on the information online, she quickly realized the gravity of the situation.

Jean Hughes wasn’t just holding Miss Lancaster against her will—it was highly likely she would fly into a rage from the humiliation and kill her to silence her!

’Kill her to silence her?’ Julian’s breath hitched for a moment. He shot to his feet.

"Get the car. We’re going to the hospital!"

「 」

That day, Willow Summers had arranged to have lunch with Beverly Lynch.

She had a feeling that the way Beverly had been looking at her lately was strange. Even Yvonne Jennings had noticed.

Beverly seemed to have heard some rumor, because one day she’d made a backhanded comment: "Willow, you wouldn’t betray our Mandy, would you?"

Willow had broken out in a cold sweat. Luckily, Beverly was in a bad mood that day and snapped at Yvonne, so the matter was dropped.

’Beverly’s hostility toward Jane Lancaster doesn’t seem that severe. If that’s the case, is it possible for them to coexist peacefully?’

Beverly Lynch had a meeting in the morning and had to go out in the afternoon, so she hadn’t arrived yet.

Willow Summers was scrolling through her phone out of boredom when she suddenly saw several messages from Yvonne Jennings in their group chat.

Yvonne Jennings: [Is this Jane Lancaster? Looks like she’s in some trouble.]

Yvonne Jennings: [But it looks so staged. Do you think she’s trying to get someone’s attention so they’ll come ’rescue’ her?]

Willow Summers shot to her feet, nearly cursing Yvonne for being an idiot.

The livestream had already been cut off for half an hour. Some people speculated the streamer was in danger, but most were just there for the drama, accusing her of staging it for clout.

Willow’s hands were shaking with anxiety. She wanted to call the police, but she didn’t know the exact location.

She wasn’t part of that circle; she had no way of even getting in touch with the Hughes family.

"Pauline, Jane Lancaster is in mortal danger! That man is going to kill her! You have to tell Caleb Lowell to go save her, quick!" In her haste, the only person she could turn to was Pauline Shaw.

Pauline tensed up. "What? Explain clearly."

Willow: "I sent you the screenshots! Hurry up and see where she is!"

Pauline hung up. She had been nervous at first, but after glancing through the screenshots from Willow, her expression turned cold.

Seeing words like "forced marriage" and "coercive love," she understood what was going on.

"What’s wrong?" Caleb Lowell walked over.

"It’s nothing," Pauline said flatly.

’If Jane Lancaster planned on using this method to get Caleb’s attention, she was bound to be disappointed.’

’Neither she nor her cousin had the time for such a childish charade.’

Caleb glanced suspiciously at her phone, then paused before saying, "Don’t blame yourself too much."

Pauline kept her head down, her eyes so dry they had long run out of tears.

After her confrontation with Beverly Lynch that day, she had asked Caleb Lowell to help investigate Mr. Shaw, wanting to throw the evidence in Jane Lancaster’s face.

But things didn’t go as planned. Caleb had actually found something.

Her father really was having an affair and even had an illegitimate son.

Ignoring Caleb’s advice, she had run off to confront Mr. Shaw.

Mr. Shaw had wept profusely, but the very next day, he brought a group of men to pry open the safe in Yara Yates’ office, stealing the company seal and some confidential documents.

Now, the Shaw Group was in complete chaos. Yara Yates had fainted from anger, and Pauline Shaw had no choice but to brace herself and take over.

But managing a company wasn’t so easy. She had to ask Caleb Lowell to come help oversee things, and only then did she barely manage to stabilize the situation.

She didn’t dare let outsiders know about this, fearing it would affect the company’s stock price.

Mr. Shaw, however, used his status as president of the Shaw Group to frantically steal its clients. In just a few days, the Shaw Group suffered heavy losses...

Pauline never imagined that the father who supposedly loved her most could be so ruthless, but she had to pull herself together and fight him.

Everything Jane Lancaster had predicted came true, each one like a slap across her face.

Pauline hated her own foolishness and her father’s cruelty, but she also resented Jane Lancaster.

Jane clearly knew everything, yet she let Pauline walk further and further down the wrong path without lifting a finger to help.

Even if she herself had been wrong, Yara Yates had certainly never offended Jane. In fact, she had always defended her.

Now Yara was in the hospital after fainting, but Jane hadn’t offered a single word of concern or inquiry.

Pauline Shaw deleted Willow Summers’s text message and blocked her number before turning and walking into the office.

She had too much to do, completely swamped, with no time for sentimentality.

「 」

When Willow Summers found she could no longer get through to Pauline Shaw’s phone, her heart sank.

Hearing a voice, she looked up at the person who had arrived.

"Hey, what are you doing? I called your name and you didn’t even hear me. You look like you’re in a daze." Beverly Lynch complained, crossing her arms in dissatisfaction.

Her gaze fell on Willow’s phone, and her eyes narrowed when she saw Pauline Shaw’s name.

"What are you calling Pauline Shaw for?" Beverly demanded bluntly.

Standing behind her, Yvonne Jennings had a gloating look on her face. "You’re not worried about Jane Lancaster, are you?"

’You traitor. You’ve finally shown your true colors.’