Chapter 252: Don’t Tell Me They’re Here to Hold Us Accountable?

Their party left the mountain that very night.

Before leaving, Jane Lancaster glanced at the courtyard. Pauline Shaw was still in the fountain.

On a late autumn night on the mountain, the water in the fountain was bone-chilling. Her warm, soft cashmere coat, now soaked through, clung heavily to her body. Every gust of cold wind made her shiver uncontrollably.

She relentlessly tried to scramble ashore, only to be blocked by Wayne and Will every time. Eventually, her foot slipped, and with a SPLASH, she tumbled back into the fountain, unable to get up for a long time.

Jane Lancaster rolled down her window, her expression thoughtful as she stared at the surface of the water.

Jasper Sterling glanced casually out the window. "Relax. The water’s too shallow to drown anyone."

Pauline Shaw had noticed the car long ago. She sneered inwardly. ’Is Jane Lancaster planning to plead my case for me?’

’I’ve already suffered for what I did. Who is she putting on this phony act for?’

She lifted her head, glared defiantly at the car, and shouted, "I don’t need you to plead for me! If you’ve got the guts, have Jasper Sterling drown me right here, right now!"

Jane Lancaster replied, "Well, you’ve got backbone. Keep it up!"

After a pause, she turned to Jasper Sterling and explained, "I wasn’t worried about anyone drowning. I just feel so hot and awful, I was thinking about taking a dip in some cold water myself."

Jasper Sterling raised a hand to her forehead, then ordered the driver, "Step on it!"

Pauline Shaw’s expression froze. She stared in disbelief as the car drove away.

’She really just left? How dare she?’

"Jane Lancaster!!!"

—

That night, Jane Lancaster could have sworn she heard Pauline Shaw’s screams even in her dreams.

Having slept poorly, she was still lethargic during breakfast.

Shawn Sutton was just as lethargic.

The night before, Jasper Sterling had a doctor examine them both. There was no specific antidote for the drug; it simply had to be flushed out by the body’s natural metabolism.

Shawn Sutton was fuming. "That bastard Zhou really did a number on us."

Beverly Lynch looked up at him. "What are you still doing here?"

Shawn Sutton grunted. "Right, I’ll be going then... Thanks for letting me stay last night."

Jasper Sterling made Jane Lancaster a cup of coffee with beautiful latte art on top and placed it in front of her.

Jane Lancaster glanced at Shawn Sutton’s retreating figure. "Did he catch a cold?"

Beverly Lynch nodded. "Yes, he developed a fever last night. He thought it was still the drug’s effects and almost took another cold shower first thing this morning. Thankfully, someone stopped him."

They had brought Shawn Sutton to the hotel with them last night, seeing as he had nowhere else to go.

Worried he might run into trouble, they’d even had a hotel employee keep an eye on him. And just as they’d suspected, he’d almost done something foolish.

Beverly Lynch added, "He’s taken some medicine, so the fever’s down for now. But I’m worried it might be contagious, so it’s probably for the best that he leaves quickly."

Jane Lancaster glanced at the time. She had woken up rather late—it was already two in the afternoon.

Jasper Sterling suddenly spoke up. "Pauline Shaw is sick. She has a high fever that won’t break."

He’d had Wayne and Will pull back not long after they left. After all, he just wanted Ms. Shaw to cool her head, not cause a major incident.

But Pauline Shaw had suddenly become obstinate, shouting things like, ’How can you leave? You haven’t even drowned me yet!’

Wayne and Will, of course, paid her no mind and left.

The estate owner, afraid something might happen, tried to persuade Pauline Shaw to get out. But she threw a tantrum and refused. He had no choice but to resignedly keep her company late into the night, right until she fainted.

Before they could even get her to a hospital, she was already running a high fever, her body burning hot and wracked with convulsions.

The estate owner didn’t dare conceal this and hastily notified Yara Yates and Caleb Lowell.

He was regretting this to no end. When Pauline Shaw first approached him, he’d had a good impression, assuming she was just there to expand her network.

He had also heard about the recent troubles plaguing the Shaw family and figured that a woman as shrewd as Yara Yates would surely be grooming her daughter to be her successor.

That was why he’d agreed to some of her minor requests, seeing it as a way to support the younger generation.

’Now she just seems like a complete lunatic! She’s the one who messed up, so what’s with all this petulant nonsense?!’

After all, many guests were staying at the estate that night. It was late and they’d been drinking, so they were all asleep.

He was doing his best to keep a lid on things and not disturb anyone, yet Pauline Shaw herself was the one making a scene in the courtyard. Did she think that was respectable?

He mentally blacklisted Pauline Shaw. Not even for Yara Yates’s sake would he budge. ’From now on, she is banned from my wine-tasting events!’

—

Beverly Lynch had also heard about what happened after they left. The commotion Pauline Shaw had kicked up was so huge that plenty of people had witnessed it.

But Beverly Lynch didn’t see anything wrong with Jasper Sterling’s actions.

’Aren’t we all adults here? Shouldn’t you take responsibility when you do something wrong?’

’What exactly does she hope to accomplish by throwing a fit? Does she expect the onlookers to step in and serve her justice?’

If that was her plan, Pauline Shaw was sorely mistaken. The onlookers would only watch the drama with detached amusement before quietly removing her from their list of potential business partners.

Business isn’t a playground. The world isn’t your damn mother. No one is going to pay the price for your emotional instability.

In any case, after a scene like that, anyone who saw the Shaw Group struggling and considered offering a partnership to help them out had now completely abandoned the thought.

"If there’s any misunderstanding on Auntie Yates’s end, I can help smooth things over," Beverly Lynch offered after a moment of thought.

She knew Jane Lancaster was on good terms with Yara Yates and didn’t want Yara to get the wrong idea about Jane because of Pauline Shaw.

The words had barely left her mouth when Jane Lancaster’s phone rang.

Beverly Lynch saw the caller ID and her brow twitched. It was Yara Yates.

’She’s not calling to hold us accountable, is she?’ Beverly Lynch tensed up instantly.

Jane Lancaster, her expression unchanged, answered the call. "Hello, Auntie Yates."

—

After being put on an IV drip, Pauline Shaw’s fever finally broke in the afternoon.

When she woke up and saw Luna Morgan sitting by her bed, she shot upright, threw her arms around her, and said with a choked sob, "Luna, you’re the best."

She had never felt so wronged in her entire life. Looking back, it all felt like a nightmare.

"What on earth happened? How did you end up in the fountain?" Luna Morgan was still completely in the dark.

Pauline Shaw gritted her teeth. "It was Jasper Sterling. He had his bodyguards throw me in. He even made them stand guard to keep me from getting out. They tormented me for over an hour, right until I passed out."

Luna Morgan was stunned. "How is that possible?"

’Is President Sterling really that terrible?’ she thought. ’He’s never been particularly pleasant to me, but this seems impossible...’

Pauline Shaw sneered. "Why would it be impossible? He’s like a dog, constantly licking Jane Lancaster’s boots. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her."

Luna Morgan was even more shocked. "Are you saying Miss Lancaster told him to do it? Couldn’t there be some kind of misunderstanding?"

’And what a bizarre way to put it,’ she thought. ’Jasper Sterling licking Jane Lancaster’s boots like a dog? Does a man of his stature even need to do something like that?’

Pauline Shaw retorted, "Have you forgotten what Jane Lancaster did to you behind your back?"

Luna Morgan fell silent, though a seed of doubt remained. "But... you’re Miss Lancaster’s best friend."

"I’m not!" Pauline Shaw exclaimed, growing agitated. "She never saw me as a friend! She started scheming against me four years ago!"

Suddenly, the door was pushed open. Caleb Lowell and Yara Yates were standing in the doorway.

Caleb Lowell’s expression was cold and severe. "Is what you just said true?"

The estate staff had simply done their duty in bringing Pauline Shaw home. They couldn’t very well explain what had happened the night before—after all, these were her blood relatives.