I Read Their Tragic Fates, and My Family Reads My Mind?

Chapter 344: Chapter 344: Definitely on Purpose

The three Gallaghers failed to notice the odd stares from the crowd behind them, their minds completely focused on Howard Gallagher in the hospital bed.

Seeing her son lying in the hospital bed, Mrs. Gallagher was so heartbroken that she immediately burst into tears.

"What in the world happened? How could he have gotten hit like this for no reason? This leg... How long will a leg this badly injured take to heal? There won’t be any permanent damage, will there? Oh, my poor baby! You’ve really suffered this time."

Howard wore an awkward expression. The person in question was standing right there. He couldn’t very well tell his mother that his attempt at a staged romantic run-in had failed, nearly turning a meet-cute into a crime scene, could he?

Instinct told him that he couldn’t even admit to his mother that someone had hit him. He knew his own mother’s personality; with her temperament, she would undoubtedly fly off the handle without getting the facts straight and immediately start a huge fight. At that point, forget about making a good impression—he’d be lucky if they didn’t become enemies.

Howard was in a bind and didn’t dare say a word, but Mrs. Gallagher was out of patience.

"Why aren’t you talking? Are you scared? Don’t be afraid, Mom will get justice for you." As she spoke, Mrs. Gallagher abruptly turned to look at Arabella Donovan and Melody Lynch.

"You’re the ones who brought my son to the hospital? What exactly happened? My son was perfectly fine, so why is he so badly hurt?"

Mrs. Gallagher’s tone was far from polite. Before Arabella Donovan could say a word, Zane Lynch and her older siblings surged forward, forming a human wall in front of her. They shielded her so completely that Mrs. Gallagher couldn’t see a single strand of her hair.

Arabella: "..."

Mrs. Gallagher: "???"

’There’s really no need to make such a big fuss, is there?’

Everyone then realized they had overreacted, but since they were already there, no one wanted to be the first to back down. They held their positions, completely blocking the doorway to the hospital room.

Melody Lynch carefully looked Arabella over. Once she was sure Arabella hadn’t been harassed, she breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face Mrs. Gallagher directly.

"We were just about to pull out of the parking garage when this gentleman suddenly ran in front of our car. I didn’t brake in time—"

Before Melody Lynch could finish, Mrs. Gallagher shrieked in a shrill, exaggerated tone, "What do you mean my son ’suddenly ran in front of your car’? You clearly weren’t paying attention and hit my son, and now you’re trying to shirk responsibility!"

"Do you have any idea who my son is? How dare you hit him and leave him in this state? Let me tell you, if you don’t get on your knees and apologize at my son’s bedside in front of everyone here today, this will not end well. Believe it or not, I can make you disappear from Jarden for good."

"Mom, that’s enough."

Howard wanted to stop her, but Mrs. Gallagher misinterpreted his plea, assuming he was intimidated by the sheer numbers of the two families present.

"Don’t be afraid, son. Mom will get justice for you today, no matter what."

Howard: "..." ’I don’t need you to get me justice, I just need you to shut up!’

Melody Lynch nearly laughed in exasperation. In her entire life, this was the first time anyone had dared to threaten to make her disappear from Jarden. Mrs. Gallagher was the first, and she would likely be the last.

"Make me disappear from Jarden, is that it? Oh, I’m so terrified! Why don’t you give it a try right now? If you can’t pull it off, I’ll be the one looking down on you."

Mrs. Gallagher hadn’t expected Melody Lynch to have such a spine. After a moment of shock, she grew even more incensed. "How dare you be so arrogant after hitting someone! Do you know who I am? Do you know who my son is? Do you know who my husband is?"

"And why would I need to know any of that? Don’t tell me your family is royalty or something, descendants of an emperor who could execute entire clans and exile people on a whim. Ma’am, wake up. The Qing Dynasty fell a long time ago. Stop living in your imperial fantasy."

"’Ma’am’? You actually called me ’ma’am’?" Mrs. Gallagher reacted as if Melody had hit a fatal nerve. Her voice climbed to an even shriller pitch, so piercing that even Arabella, hiding behind the others, couldn’t help but cover her ears.

The shriek made Melody Lynch’s ears ring. She winced and said, "Well, what should I call you if not ’ma’am’? Your son’s all grown up, so you must be at least fifty or sixty, right? You don’t expect a beautiful young woman in her early twenties like me to call you ’sis,’ do you? You might have the gall to accept it, but the thought alone gives me the creeps."

Arabella couldn’t help it; she let out a snort of laughter.

’Oof, right for the jugular. This Mrs. Gallagher is obsessed with her looks; most of her savings go right into her face. She prides herself on looking so well-maintained that people mistake her and her son for siblings when they go out shopping. In reality, though, that’s just flattery from her fake friends and the sales associates at the designer stores she frequents, but she actually believes it. Now that my cousin has so mercilessly popped that fragile bubble, she’s probably going to have a complete meltdown.’

As if to prove Arabella’s prediction right, Mrs. Gallagher—who had never been treated with such disdain—snapped. After a moment of stunned silence, she could no longer bear the "humiliation" and lost all composure, lunging at Melody Lynch.

"You bitch! How dare you talk to me like that! I’ll kill you!"

"That’s enough." Mr. Gallagher, who hadn’t said a word since arriving, had been silently standing behind his wife, coolly observing her lead the charge. He finally spoke up, stopping his wife as his gaze fell upon Melody Lynch and her companions.

"Regardless of the circumstances, you are the ones who put my son in this condition. And now you cop this kind of attitude? Don’t you think you’re going too far?"

His words might have sounded reasonable, but Melody Lynch wasn’t the type to swallow her anger or let herself be guilt-tripped.

"My attitude reflects yours. It was wrong of me to hit someone, yes, but your son isn’t entirely blameless in this."

Melody Lynch pulled out her phone and shoved it in the Gallaghers’ faces, playing a surveillance video from the parking garage. On the screen, Howard Gallagher could be seen furtively hiding in a blind spot around a corner, repeatedly peeking his head out. It was obvious he had ulterior motives.

A moment later, Melody Lynch’s car appeared in the frame. It was moving slowly at first, but then it seemed to lurch forward, accelerating straight toward Howard Gallagher. BANG! The car sent him flying.

The Donovans and Lynches: "..." ’That was definitely on purpose!’

Mrs. Gallagher shrieked again. "And you still say it wasn’t your fault? You sent my boy flying! I see it now—you did it on purpose! You little bitch, how can someone so young be so vicious?"

After finishing her sharp-tongued tirade against Melody Lynch, Mrs. Gallagher immediately turned to her husband, her voice now frail and tearful. "You have to stand up for Howard! He’s our only son! If something happens to him, how will I go on living?"

The speed at which she changed her tune was truly a sight to behold.

Peeking through the gaps between her older siblings, Arabella watched the scene unfold, pursed her lips, and silently fired off a complaint.

’It’s true, your family only has one son—you just also happen to have a daughter. With a wailing, hysterical mother, a father who hides in his shell like a turtle, and a younger brother who runs around staging accidents, your daughter is a really lucky girl. What a blessing.’

Everyone in the room: *Pfft...* ’We have to admit, you’re the one with the sharpest tongue here!’