Chapter 288: He Wouldn’t Suspect I Did This, Would He?

Julian Lanscaster refused flatly, "No. I can’t leave you on your own."

Caleb Lowell hadn’t expected him to be so forceful. ’She’s his sister, after all. Does he really have no regard for family ties?’

He took a deep breath, turned, and pulled Jane Lancaster away. "Jay, come with me. I’ll protect you."

The Lancaster estate wasn’t safe right now, but neither was the outside world. With Sean Grant still unconscious, it would be a miracle if his men didn’t try to kill Jane Lancaster.

Jane Lancaster allowed him to lead her a few steps. Caleb Lowell relaxed, feeling that she had suddenly become much more compliant.

He murmured reassuringly, "Jay, don’t be afraid. I..."

From somewhere, a short, sharp scream suddenly rang out.

The voice was all too familiar. He snapped his head up to look.

Jane Lancaster sighed.

’I’m not the one who’s afraid. Luna Morgan, on the other hand, probably is. She’s been hiding in the corner watching for a while now. Didn’t you notice?’

’Oh, the moment she saw you holding my hand, she turned and left. I wonder what’s happening now.’

’Don’t tell me she’s run into some kind of trouble?’

Caleb Lowell’s heart tightened. No wonder she had been so strangely compliant just now. ’Was it all an act because she knew Luna Morgan was secretly watching?’

A wave of panic washed over him. He worried Luna Morgan would get the wrong idea again. Just as he was about to chase after the sound, Jane Lancaster stopped in her tracks.

"Zion, I’m not feeling well. I want to sit here and rest for a bit." Jane Lancaster pointed to a stone bench by the tree-lined path.

Caleb Lowell barely managed to suppress his anxiety and turned back to her. "...Alright."

Jane Lancaster turned and walked toward the stone bench. Suddenly, Caleb Lowell’s phone rang. Seeing it was a call from the bodyguards assigned to protect Luna Morgan, he answered it in a split second.

"Young Master Lowell, this is bad! Miss Morgan is in trouble, some people are harassing her! It’s right by the stadium!"

As he spoke, Luna Morgan’s screams could be heard again in the background, her voice trembling with fear.

The stadium was right next door. Without a second thought, Caleb Lowell broke into a run. "I’m on my way!"

He didn’t even think to look back, terrified that if he was a moment too late, Luna Morgan would be hurt again.

Jane Lancaster continued walking with her back to him. She approached the stone bench but didn’t stop, as if she had expected this all along.

’Don’t be sad.’ The System’s mechanical voice sounded a bit strained. ’He’s a hypocrite. He’s not worthy of you.’

Jane Lancaster didn’t answer. Her path forward was blocked, and she stopped.

Julian Lanscaster was watching her quietly. The siblings locked eyes, but he remained silent.

Jane Lancaster said, "It looks like Luna Morgan is in trouble, over by the stadium not far behind us. Caleb Lowell just ran after her."

A faint ripple of emotion crossed Julian Lanscaster’s eyes. After a long moment, he suppressed his feelings and said in a low voice, "You’re coming home with me. Now."

The driver, standing nearby, sighed.

The Young Master wasn’t like this before. He cared a lot about Miss Morgan. If he heard she was in trouble, he’d normally be the first one to help.

But today, he was actually holding back, all because he was so fixated on getting the Young Miss.

It seemed this whole affair was truly serious—so serious that the Young Master would disregard his own sister.

—

Jane Lancaster, for her part, was also curious about what exactly had happened to Luna Morgan.

Her voice had sounded panicked and on the verge of collapse. Luna Morgan had always been tenacious and stubborn, rarely showing such emotion.

It seemed she had run into some serious trouble.

Halfway through the car ride, she received a call from Willow Summers.

"Jane, have you seen the news online? What in the world is going on?"

’Could someone have leaked that video online? After all, Julian Lanscaster has a copy...’ Jane Lancaster turned and shot a suspicious glance at Julian.

Julian Lanscaster’s voice was cold. "Why are you looking at me?"

He certainly hadn’t posted that video online.

Willow Summers’s voice continued on the phone, "It’s the parents of that kidnapper, a Mr. Lucas! They’re livestreaming, accusing Luna Morgan of seducing their son!"

Jane Lancaster could hardly believe her ears. "...What?"

So the trouble Luna Morgan ran into just now was getting tangled up with the Lucas family? No wonder she sounded so distraught.

Jane Lancaster quickly hung up and rushed to check the news online.

She didn’t even have to search for it. Local news apps were already sending push notifications, and it was a top trending topic.

An account had started posting a week ago, accusing Luna Morgan of seducing their son.

They claimed that because Luna Morgan had found a wealthier suitor and wanted to dump their son, it caused him to do something foolish in a moment of impulse.

Jane Lancaster frowned after reading only the beginning.

She forced herself to read on.

The couple’s so-called evidence was a text message. The sister-in-law, worried her husband’s younger brother wouldn’t have enough to eat while staying at school over winter break, had offered to make and send him some dumplings, but he had refused.

Howard Lucas had sent a picture of dumplings, saying, "A pretty little lady made these by hand. See? I have dumplings to eat."

In his message, he expressed disdain for his "old and haggard" sister-in-law, saying her dumplings couldn’t compare to the ones a young girl made. He told her not to bother sending dumplings and to just send more money instead.

As for why they were so sure this "pretty little lady" was Luna Morgan, it was because after their son’s death, Luna Morgan had sent them 300,000 yuan under someone else’s name!

If they weren’t a couple, why would she do that? After all, her own family was bankrupt, and she was living off someone else’s charity. It made no sense for her to be giving money to the parents of her attacker.

The Lucas couple also pointed out that Luna Morgan was a gold digger who had squeezed over a million yuan out of their son.

Their evidence was that their son, a PhD student, had a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan, and the family also gave him two to three thousand a month for living expenses. Yet, this wasn’t enough, and he had taken out over a million yuan in online loans.

Where would a single man need to spend so much money? It must have all been taken by that woman.

Therefore, they reasoned, Luna Morgan sent the 300,000 yuan out of guilt. She was afraid their son’s ghost would haunt her, so she coughed up a tiny portion of what she took.

...

Jane Lancaster watched a few clips from the livestream.

Faced with the couple’s outrageous, black-is-white accusations, Luna Morgan, perhaps out of sheer rage, completely broke down, screaming for them to get away.

Her leg was clearly still injured. The bodyguard with her had to both protect her and deal with the harassing Lucas family, and he was at his wit’s end.

But the more she acted this way, the more the couple pressed their advantage.

They had already crafted a persona of being pitiful and honest, kneeling and kowtowing with great theatrical effort.

Netizens who didn’t know the truth were increasingly convinced that Luna Morgan was deceitful and the old couple was pitiful.

The bullet comments were a stream of curses, and even many people at the scene were filled with righteous indignation.

It wasn’t until Caleb Lowell appeared in the livestream that things changed. Luna Morgan, crying a river of tears, was swept into his arms and sheltered in his embrace.

...

Suddenly, a voice spoke from beside her. "You don’t seem surprised."

Jane Lancaster turned off her phone and looked up calmly at Julian Lanscaster. "What exactly should I be surprised about, big brother?"

’What’s there to be surprised about? If you feel sorry for her, just say so.’

’Wait a minute, he doesn’t suspect I’m behind this, does he? I was thinking this was all aimed at me!’

’Howard Lucas’s circumstances were so poor he couldn’t even compare to Chloe Dave. How could Luna Morgan possibly have dated him?’

’The Lucas family is whipping up a storm online right now because they’ve latched onto something that piques netizens’ interest.’

’But these lies are so clumsy and full of holes, it’ll be incredibly easy to expose them. Caleb Lowell could handle this by himself, no problem.’