Chapter 83: Of Course, to Avoid Beverly Lynch
Yara Yates quickly pulled Pauline Shaw and Luna Morgan away.
She tried to pull Jane Lancaster away as well, but Caleb Lowell turned to shield Jane, following along with her.
Reporter Irwin tried to give chase, but Clayton Lowell blocked his path. "Young, that’s enough. Cut me some slack."
Clayton Lowell’s assistant led the group to a reception room on the second floor.
Clayton Lowell arrived shortly after.
"Is everyone all right?" he asked, knocking on the door and walking in with a smile.
"Pauline, even if you were going to break a huge story, you should have given me a heads-up. I almost lost control of the situation."
Yara Yates looked sternly at her daughter, who was sitting on the sofa. "Pauline, what is going on? Why did you say Miss Morgan saved your life?"
Pauline Shaw lowered her head, silent.
Caleb Lowell’s expression was grim. "Pauline, you need to think this through before you say anything else. Reporter Irwin won’t give up on this story. Are you sure you can handle his questions? If he asks why you kept this a secret for so many years, how will you answer?"
Clayton Lowell chuckled. "Sean, don’t be so serious. You’re scaring Pauline."
Yara Yates massaged the bridge of her nose. "It’s not Caleb Lowell who’s scaring her. It’s the fact that once Pauline is dragged into this, it will be impossible for her to get out unscathed."
Clayton Lowell asked, "So, Pauline, why didn’t you speak up back then?"
Pauline Shaw lifted her head and glanced at Jane Lancaster.
Jane Lancaster: "..."
’What are you looking at me for? I was unconscious. Surely you can’t blame this on me?’
Caleb Lowell frowned. "Don’t look at Jay. She was unconscious and doesn’t know anything."
Pauline Shaw’s heart stuttered. She looked at Jane Lancaster because, of course, Jane was the reason.
When it happened all those years ago, she had been terrified. The sight of Jane Lancaster lying in a pool of blood had a profound impact on her, and she was plagued by nightmares for a long time.
At first, she had truly wanted to believe that Jane Lancaster had selflessly dragged the attacker off the building to save lives, and she actively wept and rallied on Jane’s behalf.
Perhaps with no other outlet for her grief, she had confronted Luna Morgan in the hospital and demanded, "Why wasn’t it you who fell?"
But she later discovered that she didn’t need to champion Jane Lancaster’s cause. The three Lancaster brothers and Caleb Lowell—every one of them was grief-stricken over Jane.
Even in a vegetative state, Jane Lancaster wasn’t to be pitied; she was still surrounded by so much love.
The pittance of concern she offered was likely something Jane never even wanted.
Luna Morgan, on the other hand, was the pitiful one, gritting her teeth and enduring whatever abuse came her way.
Those forgotten memories gradually resurfaced, and she recalled how Luna Morgan had offered to switch places with her that day.
It was her own bad luck that she hadn’t managed to escape, but Luna Morgan had undeniably saved her life at a critical moment.
Pauline Shaw said, "I didn’t say anything at first because the trauma made me forget a lot of the details. Later, I kept quiet because I didn’t want Jay to suffer any more criticism."
’So many excuses. The truth is, Pauline Shaw kept quiet because she didn’t dare to stand up to everyone else.’
’Back then, netizens were viciously attacking Luna Morgan online. Caleb Lowell and Julian Lancaster hated her to the bone. Did Pauline dare to speak up for Luna at a time like that?’
’Every single one of them knew in their hearts that what Luna Morgan went through back then was far more than she deserved.’
’The only reason she’s speaking up now is, one, her conscience is bothering her, and two, there’s a new villain to take the fall for this mess—me.’
Caleb Lowell’s brow twitched. He demanded sharply of Pauline Shaw, "Don’t you dare try to shift the blame to Jay! What criticism would she have to suffer?"
She was taken aback by his tone. "Cousin, why are you being so mean to me?"
All she said was the word "criticism." She hadn’t even elaborated. Why was he yelling at her?
Yara Yates looked tired. "Don’t you understand what your cousin is saying? You’re the one who is going to face criticism. The public won’t care about your reasons for staying silent. They’ll just assume the absolute worst. Do you get it?"
Pauline Shaw was stunned. That was a possibility she had never considered.
Luna Morgan’s voice trembled. "Pauline, please, stop. Nothing’s changed about what happened."
Clayton Lowell interjected, "How can you say that? At the very least, you saved someone’s life. You shouldn’t have had to endure so much slander."
Yara Yates added, "The Shaw Family is not one to forget a debt of gratitude. Miss Morgan, since you saved Pauline, you are a benefactor to our family."
Luna Morgan shook her head frantically. "The Shaw Family’s savior is Miss Lancaster, not me. If it weren’t for her, I would have been the first to die that day."
"I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come today." She turned and walked out.
Jane Lancaster watched her leave, a thoughtful expression on her face.
Clayton Lowell chuckled. "Luna has always been like this, doing good deeds without ever seeking reward."
Caleb Lowell used to hate it when people praised Luna Morgan’s kindness in front of him, but today, he actually found himself listening.
He had never known that Luna Morgan had voluntarily taken Pauline Shaw’s place at that critical moment.
’She must have been brave and strong back then, mustering all her courage to try and save someone, right?’
But fate played a cruel joke on her.
For some reason, as Caleb Lowell watched Luna Morgan’s slender figure retreat, his heart began to ache.
—
Jane Lancaster quietly slipped away. The male and female leads were having a moment, and it would be tactless of her to keep standing there.
’The truth is finally starting to come out. Luna Morgan’s long ordeal is finally over.’
’And as for me, the villain who dared to enjoy the hero’s halo, my ugly face is about to be exposed to the world. How exciting.’
When Caleb Lowell realized Jane Lancaster was gone, he rushed out after her.
He wasn’t an idiot; he could clearly tell from Clayton Lowell’s words that he was singing Luna Morgan’s praises.
The man was his uncle, so he couldn’t say much. He was just worried that Jane Lancaster would be upset.
But then he heard Jane’s inner thoughts and stopped in his tracks.
His comfort would be pointless. She didn’t care in the slightest about the comparison.
’An ugly face? So what exactly was on that video Pauline wanted me to watch?’
—
Jane Lancaster had only wanted to find a quiet place to sit for a moment, but she had barely settled in before someone crept up beside her.
"There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you," Willow Summers whispered in complaint.
Jane Lancaster asked, "Have you been okay the last couple of days? Has Jim Jenson been bothering you?"
Willow Summers replied, "No, I’ve been staying over at Mandy’s place. Since I’m with her all the time, Jim Jenson doesn’t dare mess with me."
Seeing how furtive she was being, Jane Lancaster couldn’t help but ask, "What are you up to?"
"What else could she be doing? Hiding from Beverly Lynch, of course," Pauline Shaw said, walking over with a cold expression.
Yara Yates had work to attend to, so she had already left, but not before telling her daughter to find Jane Lancaster and give her a proper apology.
After all, she was going on and on about Luna Morgan being her savior, yet she had never properly thanked Jane Lancaster, who had also saved her life.
Pauline Shaw didn’t want to argue with Yara Yates, so she had come to find her, albeit with a frosty demeanor.
Willow Summers couldn’t help but retort, "Pauline Shaw, what’s with the snide remarks?"
"Aren’t you just afraid Beverly Lynch will see you with Jay and get angry?"
Pauline Shaw silenced Willow Summers with a single sentence.