Briena sped up the car, her eyes fixed on Natalie and Julia talking at a distance. But just then, Natalie separated from Julia and started to walk in the opposite direction—away from where Briena intended to steer the car.
Natalie’s attention was quickly drawn to the speeding vehicle, and she imdiately recognized the pink sports car accelerating toward the side where Julia was standing. Fear gripped her heart as she sprinted back towards her grandmother.
"Grandma!" she exclaid.
Julia turned to see the car racing toward her at high speed.
"Briena, watch out!" Lily shouted.
Briena, panicked and confused, hesitated before slamming on the brakes.
The car stopped just a foot away from Natalie’s body who had tightly hugged Julia in a hurry to protect her, her back facing the car. It all happened so fast, that even Natalie could not comprehend what to do.
She felt Julia trembling in her embrace. The old woman must have been utterly terrified seeing the car hurtling toward her.
Although the car had stopped before it could hit them, Natalie continued to hold Julia tightly, trying to provide so comfort.
John had stepped out of his car the mont he saw the vehicle speeding toward Julia and Natalie. But the car’s speed and the short distance between them made it impossible for him to reach in ti to pull the won out of harm’s way.
If not for the car stopping all of a sudden, he was sure he would have lost these two won and then his own life. He could sacrifice his own life, but if sothing had happened to these two, he could never forgive himself. These were the two won important to his boss.
By then, a few people in the parking lot had gathered around the scene. Among them was Ivan, who had been in his car but witnessed the entire incident unfold. He imdiately rushed out.
"G-Grandma, are you all right?" Natalie asked, her own voice trembling at the thought of what could have happened. Just imagining Julia being hurt pained her deeply.
Julia nodded slightly and looked up at Natalie. "I’m fine. But what about you?"
Natalie nodded back, her eyes still scanning Julia’s pale face. She could see that Julia was clearly shaken, her old heart probably be beating wildly.
anwhile, John stord over to the car, his expression thunderous. He knocked hard on the closed window, his voice cold and intimidating as he commanded loudly, "Co out of the car or I will smash it right away."
Briena and Lily sat trembling inside the car, having already locked the doors. This wasn’t what they had planned. They simply wanted to scare them, not cause harm.
Ivan arrived at the scene. He glanced at Julia and Briena, who both seed physically unhurt, so he moved towards the car. Ignoring John, he leaned closer to the window.
"Briena, are you all right?"
Seeing Ivan, Briena finally unlocked the door and stepped out. She imdiately threw her arms around him, her entire body shaking.
"I... I didn’t an to do it... I don’t know why that old woman ca in front of my car..."
"It’s okay. Nothing happened," Ivan coaxed her softly.
Natalie heard their conversation and felt a surge of rage. She looked at John. "Take care of Grandma."
John nodded and stood protectively by Julia’s side as Natalie marched toward Briena and Ivan.
"What did you just say?" Natalie demanded, her gaze icy.
Briena wiped her tears and faced Natalie. "Did you and that old woman plan this so you could extort more money from us after you already swindled us for that dress?"
Slap!
A sharp slap landed on Briena’s cheek, causing her to stumble back. Ivan and Lily hurriedly reached out to steady her.
"Natalie!" Ivan shouted angrily.
Natalie shot him a murderous glare. "Stay out of this, or I won’t hold back from showing no rcy to you either."
Ivan was stunned. He had never seen Natalie this furious before. In fact, the Natalie he knew had never shown such intense emotion. She had always been quiet, allowing her family to treat her however they pleased. But now... she had changed.
Natalie turned her attention back to Briena, completely disregarding Ivan. The fury in her eyes was nacing and dangerous.
"You tried to kill my grandmother, and now you have the nerve to say she jumped in front of your car intentionally to get your money?" Natalie snarled.
"I didn’t—"
Slap!
"Tell one more lie, and I’ll make sure this ’pretty face’ of yours won’t be pretty anymore," Natalie growled. "Who drives through a parking lot as if they’re on a highway? It was your fault, and you dare to bla my grandma?"
Briena was left in tears, while Lily took a step back, already fearing Natalie’s wrath. Neither of them could utter a single word.
"Ivan..." Briena sobbed helplessly.
"Natalie, let’s settle this with money—whatever the damage is," Ivan offered, trying to diffuse the situation.
It was indeed Briena’s mistake for speeding, so offering money seed to be his only solution.
"Money?" Natalie spat, glaring at him. "You want to solve this with monetary compensation?"
"We can’t change what happened, so let’s resolve it by compensating for whatever psychological damage it caused the victim," Ivan stated calmly.
Natalie scoffed. "I forgot you once studied law, so now you’re playing lawyer for your fiancée. Very well, monetary compensation then. How much do you think it should be?" she challenged.
"A hundred million should be enough," Ivan replied without hesitation.
Natalie glanced at Julia, who remained silent but visibly shaken, her fragile heart still pounding rapidly from the close call.
Natalie turned to John. "He’s saying any harm to our precious Julia is worth just a hundred million."
"He must have lost his mind," John muttered, barely able to restrain his anger. The only reason he hadn’t intervened was because the perpetrator was a woman, and he preferred to let Natalie handle it. "If only they knew her true worth."
Natalie raised an eyebrow at John. "Want to blow off so steam?"
John sneered. "Feels like the right mont for it."
"Get Julia back to your car first, and bring sothing interesting with you," Natalie instructed.
John understood her aning perfectly. He guided Julia back to his car, which was parked nearby, all while casting a scathing glance at Briena and Lily.
The others had no idea what Natalie and John were discussing, but it gave our an ominous feeling.
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