Chapter 781

Jonathan ignored Peggy’s desperate pleas. “Save your begging for the police,” he said coldly. As the ambulance drove away, her scream pierced the air, “Lucas!”

They arrived at a nearby hospital. Lucas was immediately rushed into the ER. Just as Jonathan suspected, Lucas had swallowed a massive overdose of sleeping pills.

A pang of sympathy struck Jonathan. ‘How desperate must he be?’ he thought. ‘Choosing a method that hurts only himself!’

The moment the operating room doors opened, Jonathan strode forward. “Doctor, how is he?”

The doctor removed his mask. “Stable and out of immediate danger. Are you family?”

“I’m his sister’s husband,” Jonathan replied.

“Alright. You’ll need to notify his sister and any other immediate family to come handle the admission paperwork,” the doctor said.

“They’re traveling. No need to disturb them. I’ll handle his admission paperwork,” Jonathan replied.

Though out of immediate danger, Lucas remained unconscious. Jonathan secured the best private room in the hospital for Lucas, ensuring he would receive the utmost care during his recovery.

Just then, Jonathan’s phone rang. It was Benny. He answered.

He arranged for private caregivers to stay with Lucas, instructing them to contact him immediately with any change. Then he left.

Benny called from the DNA testing center. He had kept Vincent under control. The moment Jonathan arrived, Vincent scurried over, face lit with an unctuous smile, hand outstretched.

“Mr. Lynn, a terrible misunderstanding!” Vincent gushed. “I had no idea those treacherous employees falsified your DNA results. I’ve fired them all and will pursue legal action to the fullest extent.”

Jonathan withdrew his hand, a cold smirk playing on his lips. “Vincent, concern yourself with your own problems.”

Vincent’s smile froze, then flickered back. “Mr. Lynn, please. I swear, I knew nothing. I’m innocent!” he pleaded.

“Without your order, your staff wouldn’t dare falsify results–not once, but twice under my nose,” Jonathan stated coolly.

“Uh…” Vincent licked his lips, his eyes darting. “They did it because Peggy bribed them.”

Watching Vincent’s desperate blame-shifting, Jonathan’s disgust deepened. “Your connection to Peggy is glaring. Vincent, you crossed me. Don’t blame me for what happens next,” he said, voice icy.

Vincent’s face finally fell, the color draining from it. Meeting Jonathan’s gaze, he saw only sharp intellect, hardened experience, and an unnerving ruthlessness. Panic seized him.

“Mr. Lynn, please forgive me. It was my fault. A lapse in judgment. Please, let me make amends–dinner, my treat. Let me make it up to you,” he begged desperately.

Jonathan’s expression remained impassive. “Dinner is unnecessary. Prison food doesn’t appeal to me.”

Vincent paled further. ‘What the hell is he implying?’ he thought frantically, dread coiling in his gut.

Chapter 781

Jonathan gave Benny a slight nod. Benny slid a file across the desk to Vincent.

“Take a look. You’ve been evading a significant amount of taxes over the last two years. If this evidence reaches the authorities,” Jonathan said, his voice like ice, “every hospital under your name will be shut down.”

Vincent whipped his head around, eyes wide with terror. “What do you want?” he demanded, voice shaking.

“Simple: You face justice with Peggy.” Jonathan’s expression remained stoic. “Thirty years ago, you swapped Peggy’s daughter with Evelyn’s son. Correct?”

Vincent clenched his jaw, refusing to say a word.

Benny sighed. “You might as well come clean now. Cooperate, and we drop this.” He tore the tax documents to shreds. “There’s a backup. Confess, and I’ll destroy it. Otherwise,” Benny said, pulling out his phone, “the police get a call. Right now.”

Vincent drew a shuddering breath. “It was all Peggy. She wanted a son. She swapped Evelyn’s newborn boy for her own girl. I had no choice.”

Benny captured the confession on his phone. He met Jonathan’s eyes and shot him a look.

Jonathan nodded, voice low and hard. “As I thought.” Peggy lacked the nerve and means alone. It was their conspiracy. Their selfishness condemned Lucas to decades of suffering.

Jonathan’s gaze turned glacial as Lucas’s unconscious image flashed in his mind. “Because of you,” he said, each word icy, “Lucas suffered thirty years. Teresa endured emotional blackmail from a fake sister. You won’t escape justice.”

The sharp rap at the door came the moment Jonathan stopped speaking. Officers from the Department of Justice stood in the doorway.

Vincent’s crimes were extensive. Aiding Peggy was just the start. As director, he’d systematically forged records, inflated costs, and defrauded patients and insurers of millions of dollars. He was arrested immediately.

As Vincent was led away, Benny approached Jonathan. “I’ll get this recording to the police. It nails Peggy for abandonment and clears the way for Lucas to reclaim his identity.”

Jonathan nodded. “What kind of time are they looking at?”

Benny considered. “Vincent? Fraud on that scale, he’s facing a minimum of seventeen years, potentially life. Peggy? Abandonment, years of documented abuse and intimidation against Lucas, plus those obscenity charges, twelve to fifteen minimum. Likely more.”

Having Benny on his team was a relief. Jonathan nodded appreciatively. “You’ve been putting in the miles for me these last few days. Thank you.”

Benny waved a dismissive hand. “No big deal. My firm’s got plenty of people, and everyone’s spirits lift when there’s a new task. Just remember my invoice.”

Jonathan chuckled. There was no chance he would forget his fee. Then they parted ways–Benny to the police station, Jonathan back to the hospital.

Back at the hospital, Jonathan took the elevator up. Spotting a familiar figure slumped in a chair far down the hallway–head bowed, radiating dejection–he quickened his pace.

Teresa looked up as he approached. Her eyes were red and puffy.

Jonathan frowned. “Who told you?” His instructions had been explicit: No one was to inform Teresa until Lucas regained consciousness.

Chapter 782