Everyone Can Hear My Thoughts, and Now They're Panicking

The woman was taken aback, surprised by how quickly she’d turned on her.

Jane Lancaster stood up, her face expressionless. "You just arrived in Stratton in the last few days, didn’t you? I’ll have someone take you to the high-speed rail station. You’re leaving immediately."

The woman was stunned. She said defiantly, "What gives you the right to do that?"

She understood now. The 300,000 transfer hadn’t been Jane Lancaster’s idea, nor her family’s.

’Then could it have been her fiancé who sent it? He seemed like a kind person; surely he would understand the hardships of the poor.’

"Sir, were you serious about giving us money? A kind-hearted person like you will surely be rewarded!"

Jane Lancaster said, "He promised you five million, five million in joss paper. What, you want it now? Fine. I’ll have a funeral shop send it over right away."

The woman felt she was being mocked. She looked at her angrily. "Have you no sense of reason? If you won’t give it, don’t stop others from giving."

She turned to look at Jasper Sterling. "Sir, 300,000 really isn’t enough for my in-laws’ medical bills and medicine. Just give me five million, and I promise I’ll never bother you again!"

Jane Lancaster almost laughed out of sheer anger. "Do you realize what you’re doing is illegal? I could report you for extortion at any moment."

She thought for a moment, then asked, "Who sent you to find me?"

The woman’s eyes flickered. "No one. I came on my own."

Her family had instructed her that rich people were very cunning. If things went sour, she had to insist it was all her own idea.

Jane Lancaster asked, "Do you think I believe you?"

’Her husband and father-in-law must have put her up to this. Just great. They get someone else to do their dirty work while they stay comfortably hidden.’

’In the novel, those two also stayed out of sight and had the woman cause trouble. If she died, they could even extort another sum of money. They didn’t take any risks themselves.’

"You’re not the one calling the shots here. If you want money, fine. Have your father-in-law and your husband come talk to me." After saying this, Jane Lancaster stood up and walked out.

Jasper Sterling asked a waiter by the door for a pen and paper and wrote down a string of numbers.

"Have your father-in-law and husband contact me."

The woman looked up at him, her face full of gratitude. "Thank you."

"Don’t thank me. Because that 300,000 wasn’t sent by the Lancaster family, and it certainly wasn’t sent by me," Jasper Sterling said. "So that 300,000 is what fueled your greed, wasn’t it? At first, you were afraid you’d have to pay compensation, so you deliberately hid. But then a sum of money was suddenly transferred, and your whole family was overjoyed. That’s when you started plotting how to exploit the situation, right?"

The woman’s heart fluttered with panic. ’How does he know all this?’

When they received that first sum of money, her husband had called a family meeting.

After that, they no longer shied away from talking about Howard Lucas in public. They’d say how smart and outstanding their brother-in-law was, how his future was ruined because he offended some rich people, and how he’d impulsively taken hostages just to demand an explanation.

They never expected the rich people to be so ruthless as to take their brother-in-law’s life.

Otherwise, why would the rich people suddenly send them money? It must be because they felt guilty, because they’d done something wrong.

They said it so often that the people around them started to believe it.

The reason they didn’t show up right away was because Jane Lancaster hadn’t woken up yet.

If she had died, they obviously couldn’t have made a scene. But hadn’t she woken up? Wasn’t she alive and kicking now?

Since that was the case, why shouldn’t she compensate their family? After all, they had suffered a terrible loss. Their brother-in-law was gone, and the whole family’s dream of striking it rich was shattered.

Jasper Sterling remarked, "You people are truly insatiable. And both stupid and malicious."

The woman waited until he had walked out, her face still burning with shame.

Something occurred to her, and she suddenly ran out after them. "Aren’t you two just as awful? You caused someone’s death and don’t feel a shred of guilt! Why was someone else willing to send us 300,000? That person is a thousand, a million times better than you!"

She sorted out her thoughts. The 300,000 definitely wasn’t sent by some random stranger; after all, the memo mentioned Jane Lancaster’s name.

No matter who it was, it proved they were worthy of sympathy!

The woman was only focused on refuting Jasper Sterling, on proving that she hadn’t done anything wrong.

But Jasper Sterling stopped in his tracks. "Do you want to know who sent that 300,000?"

The woman looked suspicious. ’Would he really be so kind?’

Jane Lancaster also stopped, having figured out Jasper Sterling’s intention.

’Jasper figured out it was Luna Morgan who sent the money? Is he trying to divert the trouble? To get this group to go extort Luna?’

’But Luna is even poorer than them right now. Where would she get the money? There’s no way she can afford five million.’

"The person who sent the money is named Luna Morgan."

Of course, Jasper Sterling knew Luna Morgan couldn’t afford it. But why should she be allowed to fuel someone else’s greed without facing any consequences?

The harassment Jane Lancaster faced today was all because of her. She wasn’t going to get away with washing her hands of it.

The woman was, of course, familiar with the name Luna Morgan. She was the other victim.

She had received a cold shoulder that night, been mocked and humiliated, and then, fuming and flustered, was escorted back to her temporary rental by two bodyguards.

The two men even stood guard at the door, refusing to let her leave. They told her she was destined for a bloody disaster tonight and that leaving the house would bring her misfortune.

’They’re insane!’ She was furious but didn’t dare say a word, so she could only bottle up her frustration, shut the door, and go to sleep.

The next morning, as soon as the two men left, she immediately opened the door and hurried to a nearby hotel.

Of course, she hadn’t come alone this time. Her husband and father-in-law were staying in the hotel.

Because they were short on money, her husband had said they could only afford one room. Since his father was old and needed to be comfortable, the husband and father-in-law stayed in the hotel, while she found a cheap, semi-basement apartment to rent.

This way, if the rich people came looking for her and saw how pitiful her situation was, they would take pity on her and give her money.

"How did it go? Did you get the money?" her father-in-law asked impatiently the moment she walked in the door.

The woman hadn’t dared to call last night. She had only sent a few voice messages in a hushed tone, but it seemed she hadn’t explained things clearly.

"No money. Last night, they said they wouldn’t talk to me and that you two had to do it," she explained hurriedly.

Her husband walked over and searched her pockets. "Didn’t they take you out to dinner? You’re telling me they didn’t slip you some cash?"

"What are you talking about? Those two are so cheap!" The woman felt wronged just talking about it and recounted the previous night’s conversation.

"They’re too difficult to deal with. Why don’t we go find Luna Morgan instead? She’s so kind-hearted, she’ll definitely be willing to give us money."

Her husband took out a cigarette and started smoking, his expression ugly. "What money could that Luna Morgan possibly have? The rich ones are Jane Lancaster and that Sterling guy! Besides, she’s not the one who killed him, so what’s the use in going to her?"

He cursed in anger, "You idiot! You’ve been tricked!"

He thought about it but still couldn’t figure it out. Why would Luna Morgan send them 300,000? It was just too strange. He couldn’t understand her motive at all.

It could only mean that Jane Lancaster was lying to them.

Having been scolded, the woman didn’t dare say another word.

The father-in-law’s eyes darted, however. "I, for one, think that Luna Morgan girl is quite kind. Back when we went to handle Howard’s funeral arrangements, everyone was so hostile, like they wanted to eat us alive. She was the only one who treated me with respect."

"Our Howard died a wrongful death. She must have felt a lot of sympathy and regret. That 300,000 might have really been sent by her!"

Her husband still looked skeptical, unable to believe anyone would be that kind.

"Have Flora go test the waters. If she really is the one who sent the money, maybe she’d be willing to give us another 500,000? It wouldn’t hurt to try."

Her husband blew a smoke ring and thought for a moment. "Fine."