Chapter 169: Resentment

However, now was not the time to be sad. They had to stay strong.

“Evan, I know you’re sad, but you need to stay strong. Dad and Bro are still in there.”

Bradley and Dad cannot be bailed easily. They are involved in removing evidence. This is a serious case.

Hearing Sean’s words, Evan suddenly woke up. He looked at his crying mother and worried brother, and sighed. “I’m fine. You have more connections, so keep an eye on their situation. Have someone help to make their lives less difficult there. I’ll stabilize the company shareholders first.”

“Got it,” Sean breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Evan pulling himself together.

While they were discussing, the butler came and reported Denise’s matter to them.

“Sirs, the hospital called last night and said that Ms. Denise’s condition is worsening. She needs surgery as soon as possible. You were not in, so I made the decision for them to carry out the surgery. They called and said that it’s done, but Ms. Denise is not awake yet. Her condition is bad, and she needs a heart as soon as possible.”

The butler, who had always served the Xander family, knew how much they valued Denise. He didn’t dare waste a second and immediately reported her condition. But this time, the family, who once doted on Denise, didn’t react with the same urgency.

Upon hearing the news, Eleanor only cried harder, Sean remained silent, and Evan pressed his lips together before finally saying, “Call the hospital. Tell them to do their best.”

That was all he could do. They hadn’t been able to find a suitable heart donor quickly before, and now, it was even less likely. The butler hesitated for a moment at Evan’s response, instinctively glancing at the three of them as if realizing something. Then, he simply nodded and left.

The room fell into a heavy silence before Evan finally spoke again. “Let’s focus on getting Bradley and Dad out first.”

“Yes. As for the others, let it be for now.”

He told himself that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to save her; it was because they had no other way now, not like they had resentment. Yes, resentment. If Denise was out of the picture, everything wouldn’t have happened. She was the one who sowed discord between Sierra and their family. When they were at the police station, they kept wondering if they hadn’t been so indulgent toward Denise, would everything have been avoided?

He glanced at Evan and his mother. Are they thinking the same?

After this incident, Evan knew things would be hard in their lives, but he didn’t expect it to be so hard. With Franklin and Bradley in trouble, the entire Xander Group had fallen into chaos. Shareholders were raising challenges, employees were resigning, and the Richardson family seized the opportunity to strike, aggressively acquiring Xander family shares.

Evan had never been deeply involved in the company’s affairs, but after just two days of dealing with the mess, he felt utterly drained physically and mentally.

And yet, this wasn’t even the worst part. The real nightmare was that they couldn’t bail Franklin and Bradley out. They had reached out to people they were familiar with, but the response was the same; this was the worst possible time. The internet was flooded with public outrage against the Xander family, and no one dared to risk stepping in.

One of their contacts had even warned them that they should start preparing for the worst.

“Preparing for what?” he couldn’t help but ask.

The person glanced at him and said with frustration, “What do you think? You guys messed with the law.”

Cold sweat broke out from Sean. “Really no other way around this?”

The person shook his head and left. If Sean hadn’t paid him enough, he wouldn’t have kept in touch with them.

Sean called Evan and told him about it depressingly. “Evan, what should we do?” If Dad and Bradley are really sentenced to jail, then we’re doomed.

Evan was silent for a while before saying, “Let’s go see Sierra.”

Only Sierra could help them now.

For the past two days, Sierra hadn’t stepped outside. The fallout from that live broadcast was too overwhelming. Anytime she went out, she would be surrounded by onlookers, and too many people were trying to contact her. So, she simply stayed home.

Every time she picked up her phone, all she saw were endless discussions about her feud with the Xander family. Some people even came forward with so-called “inside information,” speaking as if they had witnessed everything firsthand.

It was getting on Sierra’s nerves. If this continued, how was she supposed to go outside again?

Noticing the expression on her face, Jonathan spoke at just the right moment, “Do you want to leave Maviston?”

Leave? Sierra looked up at Jonathan. She had never considered that possibility before. Her only plan had been to cure her grandmother’s illness and find a job to support both of them.