Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Is That Really the Point?
Mrs. Donovan was quite satisfied with this outcome. If she recalled correctly, the house where Julian Croft and his family were currently living had been purchased after his marriage, making it part of their joint marital property.
If Lillian Donovan had the heart to be ruthless, she could throw his entire family out on the street, leaving them homeless.
Hector Donovan, however, felt this was letting that family off too easily. Leaving aside all the disgusting things Julian had done behind his aunt’s back over the years, the matter of their Third Grand-Uncle’s death alone meant they couldn’t let him get away with it so lightly.
Fortunately, Mr. Donovan and Justin Donovan saw things more clearly.
Dependable Eldest: There’s no need to be so angry. The world has no shortage of people willing to kick a man when he’s down.
Julian Croft might seem kind and friendly, but in reality, that’s how he makes people suffer in silence under him. Those people have been bottling up their frustrations for years. Once they get a chance to vent, do you think they’ll let it pass?
Besides, even among those who didn’t have a grudge against him, countless people secretly envied and resented his good fortune, seeing how he climbed to his current position from such a humble background.
Once they find out what he did to get dumped by Lillian Donovan, all that envy and jealousy will turn into contempt and ridicule.
This, more than any physical revenge, would be a fate worse than death for Julian Croft.
They wanted Julian Croft to understand that without the Donovan family—the great tree that had sheltered him from the storms for so long—all the abilities and honors he was so proud of were utterly worthless.
Patriarch One: Justin is right. We will continue to investigate the matter of your Third Grand-Uncle. If we find any clear connection to Julian Croft, we certainly won’t let him off the hook. For now, all we need to do is wait and see how things unfold. Besides, there’s still the situation with Mr. Lowe, isn’t there? Even if we do nothing, that father and son will bring about their own ruin sooner or later.
Hector Donovan thought for a moment. ’That’s right! There’s still the matter with Mr. Lowe!’
Mr. Donovan’s family was very close to Lillian Donovan, and by extension, they were also quite familiar with Lucy Ingram and her husband.
Hector Donovan was well aware of the Lowe family’s situation. By scheming against Joyce Lowe, that father and son had well and truly plucked the tiger’s whiskers.
Realizing this, Hector Donovan calmed down considerably.
He was just about to exit the group chat and get back to work when an account unfamiliar to most of them suddenly posted a message.
Scattered Like Sand: ?
The group chat fell silent for a moment before suddenly erupting.
Patriarch One: The caveman has emerged from his cave!
Matriarch Two: The caveman has emerged from his cave!
Dependable Eldest: The caveman has emerged from his cave!
Misty Dawn: The caveman has emerged from his cave!
Silly Second: The missing person returns?
Matriarch Two: Kick the user above for breaking the chain.
Silly Second: ==
Master Donovan, also known as the third Donovan brother, Aurora Donovan, who was practically lost in his laboratory, looked at the inexplicably cheerful atmosphere in the group and frowned slightly.
He glanced at the group chat’s name and was overcome by the absurd feeling of having been in seclusion for a month, only to return home and find that his entire family’s brains had been eaten by zombies.
Feeling completely out of sync with this bunch of goofballs, Master Donovan was about to turn off his phone and resume his seclusion when a private message popped up.
It had to be said that Justin Donovan, the eldest brother, knew his younger siblings all too well. He had successfully anticipated what his third brother would do.
Dependable Eldest: You haven’t read the emails I sent you, have you?
Dependable Eldest: Go read them. Now. Immediately. Otherwise, I’m halving your lab’s budget next year. Non-negotiable.
Aurora Donovan: "..."
The poor, brilliant researcher ultimately had to bow to the evil forces of capitalism. He obediently went to read the emails Justin Donovan had sent him.
A quick look was all it took to completely fry his brain.
His half-lidded eyes flew wide open, especially when he read that they could somehow hear the inner thoughts of their newly-found sister.
’Has the world... gone mad? How could something so unscientific be happening? Don’t tell me the end of science is actually metaphysics?!’
His thirst for knowledge thoroughly piqued, Donovan decisively packed his things while calling Justin Donovan.
"Is she still at home? I’m heading back right now."
Justin Donovan, once again predicting his brother’s intentions, sneered. "Come back in two days for their birthday. Prepare a gift in advance. And don’t be so obvious that Serena finds out. If you fail at any of those things, I’m cutting all of your funding next year."
Aurora Donovan: "..."
As the silence on the other end of the line dragged on, Justin Donovan assumed his brother was resentfully worrying about the funding cuts. But for once, his prediction was wrong.
After a long silence, Aurora Donovan reluctantly squeezed out, "Then does that mean I have to prepare two birthday gifts?"
It wasn’t that Aurora Donovan was unwilling to prepare a birthday gift for Arabella Donovan; he just found the task more headache-inducing than solving a complex lab problem.
Preparing a birthday gift for Eloise Donovan before had already cost him too many brain cells. Now there was another one...
Justin Donovan: "???" ’Is *that* the fucking point?’
Alright, even he had trouble following his brother’s train of thought sometimes.
The Donovan Family was waiting for Liam Lowe to deal with Caleb Croft first. Then, once Julian Croft was completely overwhelmed, they would deliver the final, crushing blow.
However, they didn’t receive a call for help from Julian Croft. Instead, they got news that Liam Lowe had been hospitalized.
Arabella Donovan and the others were still at the hospital when they heard the news. Lillian Donovan was so frightened she nearly fell out of her hospital bed.
Mrs. Donovan rushed to steady her, her own face a mask of identical terror.
Arabella Donovan’s mind went blank. An indescribable feeling welled up inside her, and her face paled.
’Could it be... that some futures truly can’t be changed?’
Seeing her reaction, Mrs. Donovan paradoxically grew calmer. She walked over to Arabella Donovan and took her hand. "Don’t worry. It might just be a minor injury, nothing too serious."
Arabella Donovan let out the breath she was holding, realizing she had inadvertently jumped to the wrong conclusion.
’That’s right. It might not be as bad as it was supposed to be. Melanie Yates’s brother only got some superficial injuries, he didn’t end up in a vegetative state like in the original plot.’
Lillian Donovan came to her senses as well. She took a deep breath and said, "He’s just on the floor above us. Let’s go take a look. We won’t be able to relax until we see for ourselves how he is."
No one objected. The group hurried upstairs in a procession, and just as they reached the next floor, they ran into Lucy Ingram, who had just finished speaking with a doctor.
Her face was a little haggard, but her spirits seemed fine, and there were no tear tracks on her cheeks. This made Lillian Donovan and the others more certain of their guess, and they felt a bit of relief.
Lucy Ingram was taken aback when she saw them. "Why are you all up here?"
"You have some nerve. You send a vague message saying your husband is in the hospital and scare us half to death. Where is he? How is he? Is it serious? What on earth happened?"
Lucy Ingram seemed to realize her blunder and gave an embarrassed smile. "Liam just has some minor injuries. It’s nothing serious, he just needs to rest. It’s just that..."
