Chapter 94: Chapter 94: His Physiognomy Changed
"Just what?" The relief Lillian Donovan and the others had just started to feel vanished, and their hearts leaped into their throats.
Lucy Ingram didn’t quite know how to explain it to Arabella Donovan and the others, so she simply led them to Liam Lowe’s hospital room.
The moment they stepped into the room, they all froze.
Liam Lowe’s room was much larger than Lillian’s. It was a semi-private room, and lying in the other bed was a man they didn’t recognize.
"And this is...?" Though Lillian Donovan was close with Lucy Ingram, she didn’t necessarily know everyone in Liam’s circle.
"This is Henry Zeller, a department manager at Veridian Corporation and a close friend of his. He and Liam are like brothers—just like you and me."
The comparison made everything clear to Lillian Donovan.
Recalling the name, she realized—’Isn’t he the one who blamed Liam Lowe for his sister’s death... that despicable man?’
Lillian Donovan’s expression froze. She glanced from Liam Lowe to Henry Zeller, and after a long moment, she asked, "So, what’s... going on here?"
At the mention of it, Lucy couldn’t suppress a shudder. "Early this morning, Liam went to the south side of the city for a site inspection. When he arrived, he found a road under construction was blocking the way. Taking a detour would have caused a long delay, so he decided to just walk the rest of the way. He never imagined he’d be surrounded the moment he stepped out of the car."
Lillian Donovan’s heart began to pound. "And then?"
"The men who ambushed them clearly meant trouble. Liam thought it was just a routine inspection, so he hadn’t brought many people—only five in total, including the driver. They were no match for those desperate thugs, let alone the fact that they had... a gun."
"A gun?!" Lillian Donovan’s voice shot up in alarm.
You couldn’t blame her for losing her composure. Guns were strictly illegal in their country. What kind of people were these, to come after Liam with something like that?
But a flicker of understanding crossed Arabella Donovan’s eyes. ’No wonder Liam was caught so off-guard. His enemies are genuinely out for his blood.’
"Then... how did they get away?"
Lucy Ingram looked toward Henry Zeller, her expression complex.
Liam, however, was quite cheerful. Lying in bed, he smiled and said, "It was all thanks to Henry. He used to compete in boxing, so he knows how to handle himself. Even though we were outnumbered, he managed to buy us some time. People nearby heard the commotion, realized something was wrong, and called the police. The officers arrived quickly, which scared the attackers off."
Liam touched his sprained ankle and continued, "I barely made it out alive, and that’s thanks to Henry, too. When the attackers heard people coming, they panicked and fired a shot at me. Henry was standing right next to me and shoved me aside, but he couldn’t get clear himself. In the end, I was fine, but his shoulder was injured."
Only then did Lillian Donovan and the others realize that aside from his ankle, which was bandaged up like a fat dumpling, Liam Lowe was completely unscathed.
Henry Zeller, in contrast, had bruises on his forehead and at the corner of his mouth. His arm was in a sling, and they could faintly see blood seeping through the edges of the bandage. He looked to be in much worse shape than Liam.
The man had kept his head slightly lowered, not uttering a sound since Arabella and the others had walked in. But just as Liam took Lucy’s hand reassuringly and said they should all thank Henry, he suddenly spoke.
Henry Zeller’s voice was hoarse and low, heavy with suppressed emotion. "You don’t have to thank me. I was the one who caused this mess in the first place. I just never expected their intelligence network to be so effective. The moment they found out I was backing out, they immediately found someone else and moved the plan forward, catching us completely by surprise."
Apparently, after Arabella had spoken with Liam and his wife that day, Lucy had gone home and immediately summoned Henry Zeller. There, she and Liam explained to him exactly what had happened with his sister, Shannon Zeller, five years ago.
Henry was stunned. With a trembling hand, he picked up the small ultrasound report. He stared at his sister’s name on it and the picture of the fetus, a little over two months along, feeling as if he’d been struck by lightning.
Liam had found these documents by chance in Shannon’s room after her death while searching for the bid proposal she had stolen. He had also found surveillance footage of her sneaking into Henry’s room to take it.
To keep the truth from Henry, Liam had the backups of all this evidence deleted. But for some reason he couldn’t explain himself, some strange impulse made him keep the originals—including a recording of Shannon’s last words.
As for why he even had a recording—when he saw that Shannon wasn’t going to make it, he had tried to call Henry, but the call wouldn’t go through. So, he simply started recording on his phone.
He figured that if Shannon had any last words, Henry would regret missing them for the rest of his life, so it was better to record them.
He never imagined that recording would end up being the key piece of evidence that proved his innocence.
After learning the truth, Henry skipped work and remained grimly silent for several days. Finally accepting reality, he went to Liam and confessed everything—the lies Liam’s rival had fed him and what he’d been asked to do.
He then apologized to Liam and submitted his resignation, but Liam refused to accept it, putting the matter off until today’s incident.
When Lucy first heard Liam’s explanation, she had remained impassive and noncommittal.
But hearing Henry’s words, her expression instantly darkened. "You don’t have to pull all the blame onto yourself. This wasn’t your fault."
Henry’s eyes widened in surprise. "Sister-in-law?"
Meeting her husband’s amused gaze, Lucy became flustered and gave him a pinch. "Don’t. I’m still angry about what happened before, so I don’t deserve you calling me ’sister-in-law’. But business is business. Your brother was right—we have you to thank for this. Otherwise, he’d definitely have an extra hole in him right now. We really do owe you our thanks."
She sounded awkward even to herself by the end. Liam, who knew her best, ignored the pain in his arm and broke into an even goofier grin.
"You just admitted I’m his brother, so who else would he call sister-in-law?" Liam said to Henry, "Don’t just stand there looking stunned. You know your sister-in-law—she has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She’s just blowing off steam. Be good and give her some time to cool down."
Henry froze. Of course he understood that Liam was trying to get him to stay. It was just that he was too ashamed to continue working for him.
"Brother, Sister-in-law, I really..."
Before he could finish, Lucy shot him a sharp glare. "I’ll never understand why you men have to be so wishy-washy about every little thing. This ends here. The slate is wiped clean. If anyone dares bring this up again, don’t blame me for getting nasty."
"Right, right, she’s absolutely right," Liam chimed in, speaking to Henry. "Did you hear that? No more mentioning any of this. The last thing you want to do is make your sister-in-law angry."
Henry looked at the husband and wife, working in perfect tandem. How could he not understand their kind intentions?
’Fine,’ he thought. ’It’s not like I have any other family left anyway. After everything that’s happened, I’ll just live out the rest of my life quietly and properly. I’ll consider it my atonement.’
Arabella Donovan had been watching the changes in Henry Zeller’s demeanor closely. Suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise.
’Huh. His face... its reading has changed.’
