Chapter 165: Asher is Committed to a Psychiatric Hospital

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Asher is Committed to a Psychiatric Hospital

"You motherf..." The moron was about to lay a hand on Madeline Quinn, but Zeke Shaw stepped in front of him, grabbing his wrist and wrenching it behind his back as easily as lifting a chick.

"Watch your mouth," Zeke Shaw said in a low voice.

I looked at the moron. "You’re saying the picture on your phone is of me? What do you want?"

"Bitch, if you just divorce him and come with me, I’ll let you off the hook." The man was still blathering on.

"Oh." I nodded. "That’s not a photo of me. How can you prove it is? I have a mole on my left shoulder, and I don’t see one in that picture, do you?"

The moron froze, zooming in on the photo. "Who knows if you..."

"Officer Lowell, please call the police for me. With all this media watching, with all these independent journalists live-streaming, his slander has reached a criminal level, right? Please call the police, and I’ll have to trouble you and Madeline to take care of it."

The moron tried to say something else, but Madeline Quinn had already shoved something in his mouth to shut him up.

It took Zeke Shaw a moment to realize that Madeline Quinn had stuffed his own wallet into the moron’s mouth.

Zeke Shaw hauled the man away, with the media trailing them, cameras flashing at the moron the whole time.

"I’m so sorry to have made a scene." I wiped my tears and bowed to the media. "Lately, certain people have been intentionally slandering me, and I just don’t understand the reason for it..."

Someone in the crowd spoke up, providing the answer. "You’re too naive. Your unborn child and your husband are now the sole heirs to the Lancaster Group’s vast fortune and shares. If they don’t destroy your reputation, how else can they steal the inheritance?"

As if struck by a revelation, I stared at the speaker in shock. "So... is that what’s happening?"

I burst into tears. "My husband... he’s intellectually challenged. He’s so simple and gets bullied easily. He was once accused of animal abuse just for trying to rescue strays. I’m just so afraid... afraid that someone will use his mental condition to manipulate things. If that happens... then what belongs to the Lancaster family will really be snatched away by someone else."

My tears moved many people to stand up for me.

"I’ve seen the young master of the Lancaster family before. He may be a bit slow, but he’s a kind soul. He feeds stray dogs! He’s definitely not a bad person."

"That’s right! This is all a scheme to seize the inheritance by bullying a simple-minded man and a pregnant woman."

’Since when did the weak have this innate advantage, this ability to garner sympathy from others?’

’When did I first come to understand this? I suppose I learned it from Erin Whittaker.’

’I have to say, Erin Whittaker taught me well...’

Erin Whittaker glared at me, knowing I was using her own tactics.

I glanced back at Master Lancaster and Julian Fletcher, a smirk playing on my lips.

’If Master Lancaster still thinks he can use Sebastian Lancaster’s mental illness as a weapon... he’ll find that even if he gets Sebastian committed, public opinion will no longer be on his side.’

Master Lancaster’s face had turned utterly grim. Victor Quinn, however, maintained a knowing smile.

"We’re the police. We received a report of an intentional assault. We need to conduct a further investigation, so you’ll have to come with us."

Sure enough, the police arrived shortly after, and they were here for Asher.

That man, Jack York, had already reported it to the police at Master Lancaster’s behest.

"Jack York deliberately provoked him..." I began, instinctively trying to protect Asher.

But Asher hugged me from behind and whispered, "Cece... I have to go."

Asher’s voice was low, but his eyes were locked on Victor Quinn.

I could feel the coldness radiating from him.

’It seemed Asher knew all along that Master Lancaster would pull this kind of stunt.’

’He knew everything, yet he still hit that man, still walked right into their trap. Was his goal... to see Victor Quinn?’

’Asher knew that once he was sent to the psychiatric hospital, Victor Quinn would be the one to... ’train’ and ’treat’ him.’

"You don’t have to go..." I whispered. "Victor Quinn is a dangerous man."

"I have to." Asher held me and spoke again. "You can trust Owen Foster."

He was entrusting Owen Foster to me.

"If you go in, how will I get you out?" I asked in a small voice.

Asher was silent.

’I knew it. Once you went in there, getting out would be incredibly difficult.’

’A man like Victor Quinn wouldn’t let anyone go until he’d practically skinned them alive, until he had them controlled to his satisfaction.’

"Trust me. Once I’m in... don’t believe a word from anyone, especially not Victor Quinn." He had guessed that Victor Quinn would use him to threaten me.

I clenched my hands into tight fists.

’I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t be affected by the threats.’

’But the one thing I couldn’t understand was why Asher was so determined to enter a psychiatric hospital just to see Victor Quinn.’

"Don’t trust Victor Quinn. Don’t go near him. Stay away from him." As the police led him away, Asher’s final words to me were a warning not to trust Victor Quinn.

"Cece, before your parents passed away, they asked me to take good care of you." Victor Quinn approached as soon as Asher was gone, letting out a sigh. "I never imagined..."

"Never imagined a world-renowned psychiatrist would play along with such myths like the transmigration of souls?" I sneered.

Victor Quinn watched Sebastian Lancaster get into the police car, then smiled. "Perhaps... there really is some kind of higher-dimensional being in this world, one that sees all of us as mere ants?"

"For instance?" I watched Victor Quinn, on my guard.

"For instance, what if those the world deems mentally ill, the ’madmen’... are actually the geniuses closest to the truth?" Victor Quinn gave me a profound look.

My heart clenched, and I took a step back.

"My condolences." Victor Quinn patted my shoulder and walked away.

Seeing that the media wasn’t taking his side, Master Lancaster looked displeased.

He let out a cold snort as he walked past me.

’I knew that with Asher gone, he would now use all his energy to come after me.’

"Hurry up and get the old man cremated," Master Lancaster said, sounding impatient.

"Leaving so soon, Master Lancaster?" Owen Foster stepped forward to block his path.

Another group of police officers arrived and inspected the refrigerated casket. "We’ve received a report that Master Lancaster’s death was not from natural causes. We need to open an investigation and conduct an autopsy."

Master Lancaster’s expression grew even darker.

’Clearly, this was a parting shot from Asher.’

’He had Asher sent to a psychiatric hospital, so Asher reported the old master’s death as a murder.’

’As long as the old master’s body remained uncremated, not yet laid to rest, these people couldn’t squabble over the inheritance. And as long as they couldn’t fight over the inheritance, they couldn’t bother me before Asher returned.’

’Asher... he was protecting me.’

"The old man died of natural causes. We must respect the dead. An autopsy is unnecessary. I believe..." Master Lancaster began, his jaw tight.

"You believe what? I believe something is suspicious here. As the wife of his eldest grandson, I have the right to request an autopsy. Otherwise, the old master won’t be able to rest in peace," I cut in, interrupting Master Lancaster.

Master Lancaster shot me a threatening glare, his fists clenched. "Fine. Just fine."

With that, Master Lancaster left.

I let the police take the old man’s body away.

’No wonder Asher said the funeral wouldn’t happen.’

’The old man certainly didn’t die a natural death, but the investigation will be difficult, so the case will be stalled. At least it’ll buy enough time for Asher to come back.’

"Cece... I’ll make you believe me. He’s mentally ill. He’s the one who has been harassing you, you don’t love him. You only chose to run from him back then because you learned the truth. He’s a psychopath, he wants to hurt you... He even imprisoned you once." Julian Fletcher came to my side, whispering and glancing around nervously. "Cece, Master Lancaster will definitely make a move against you. I’m the only one who can protect you right now. Please, just trust me this one time, okay?"

When he saw my cold expression, Julian Fletcher grew frantic, his eyes turning red. "Cece... what will it take for you to believe me? I know I was wrong..."

His voice trembled as he gripped my shoulders. "Your parents... they had a social media account where they kept a journal. My mom has the account and password. Just go and read it... Once you do, you’ll understand everything."