After hearing Julian’s explanation, the lawyer had a general grasp of the situation. The young nurse, recovering from her initial shock, scurried back to the office and returned with two cups, which she handed to Julian. "These are my and Miss Anna’s water cups. I suspect soone might have drugged our drinks. Even though we were on our break, we were still worried about the patients in their rooms, so we were sleeping very lightly. But last night, Miss Anna and I both slept straight through until morning. Especially Miss Anna—when I woke up, I saw she was still sleeping so deeply!"
"Thank you!"
Julian took the two cups and thanked the young nurse sincerely. While her words weren’t hard evidence to prove Miss Shaw’s innocence, they offered him a small asure of comfort.
After they left the hospital, the lawyer glanced at him. "Mr. Donovan, you don’t look like you’re in any state to drive right now. Why don’t you ride with ? Try to compose yourself, and then we’ll figure out a way to rescue Miss Shaw."
Julian nodded. He really wasn’t in any condition to drive. His mind was completely filled with her. His heart ached for the injustice she was suffering, and he worried she would be bullied in custody. But what agonized him most was her state of mind. ’Such a kind, gentle person, frad as a murderer... She must be devastated.’
He didn’t dare to let his thoughts spiral. The re idea made him want to use every connection and all his power to break her out of prison. But he knew that wasn’t the best solution. Never before had he felt such a searing hatred for his own powerlessness.
Once in the lawyer’s car, he first called Caleb Rhodes. He asked Caleb to pull so strings with the police departnt to make sure she wasn’t mistreated. After all, Julian’s influence didn’t extend to Wincastle, whereas Caleb was from one of the city’s most prominent families. Everyone had to show him a degree of deference.
Even soone as composed as Caleb Rhodes sounded murderous after hearing the story. "Just find soone to take out Sean Donovan and be done with it!"
Julian’s eyes were glacial. "You think I don’t want to? Sean Donovan has two bodyguards with him. From what I can tell, they’re both formally trained rcenaries—ruthless and skilled in all manner of assassination and counter-assassination."
"So we’re just going to let him keep pulling these stunts, one after another?"
Caleb Rhodes was furious, but Julian just gave a cold laugh. "He’ll slip up eventually. Didn’t he just lose his composure and expose that pharmaceutical company?"
In his bid for the takeover, Sean Donovan had exposed his own offshore pharmaceutical company. He thought it would be enough to defeat Julian, but he never expected that Julian had SEVEN—an entity far more mysterious, covert, and powerful than his company.
So, in the end, all of Sean Donovan’s elaborate sches only led to his own defeat.
He’d also had people look into it. The pharmaceutical company was registered under Wendy Lowe’s na. A few years ago, Julian had almost completely dismantled her power base, yet she had sohow made a miraculously swift coback. There were rumors she’d been spotted with a young man near the Rhovan border. Now, all signs pointed to one conclusion: Wendy Lowe’s ultimate backer was Sean Donovan.
’If that’s true, then Sean Donovan...’ Just as he ended his call with Caleb Rhodes, a call ca in from Jean Coleman. She must have seen the news on TV. However, the voice that ca through the line was Dylan’s. "Dad, you’re going to get Mom out, right?"
The little boy usually loved to give him a hard ti, but his voice now was filled with absolute trust and dependence. Julian steadied his own voice and answered with conviction, "I will."
’If I can’t get her out legally, I’ll break her out.’
"Okay, Dad. You just focus on how to save Mom. Joy and I will be good and listen to Grandma. Right, Joy?"
Dylan said, turning to ask Joy, who was apparently right beside him. Joy’s soft voice ca over the line, "You can do it, Dad!"
"Thank you!"
He managed a small smile. The children’s encouragent managed to lift his spirits, if only a little.
The lawyer dropped him off at rcy, and Julian imdiately began to investigate the whole affair from top to bottom. ’Since the woman impersonating her was able to get into the hospital, she must have also left.’ He ordered his n to pull the surveillance footage from the roads surrounding the hospital, only to be told it had already been destroyed by soone. He was so furious he could have strangled the subordinate who delivered the news.
He worked frantically all day without a single breakthrough, leaving him deeply frustrated. Late into the night, he remained in his office, replaying the video from Charles Donovan’s hospital room on his phone over and over. He was desperate to find the slightest clue, but ultimately, he ca up with nothing.
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