Chapter 236

The hospital hallway echoed with hurried footsteps. A middle-aged guy, face lined with wrinkles and clutching a stack of test reports, rushed towards the ICU.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down the creases of his face. Even as it stung his eyes, he didn't bother to wipe it away, too anxious to care.

Outside the ICU, Paxton stood solemnly in front of Pearl's room, peering through the glass at her peaceful, sleeping form. A wave of sorrow washed over him.

Just then, the man burst onto the scene, and Paxton's cold gaze swept over him, making the man freeze for a moment.

"Mr. Brown, there's been a new development," Jonah Clarke, the Brown Family's butler, said as he handed the stack of reports to Paxton.

Paxton frowned at the DNA test report, looking puzzled as he glanced at Jonah.

Swallowing hard, Jonah spoke with grave seriousness, "Mr. Brown, we found Ms. Brown's blood on a boning knife. Even though it was wiped clean, we still detected her DNA in the handle crevices."

Paxton's eyes widened, his hands trembling as he realized the significance of the report. This knife was likely the weapon used to harm his beloved daughter.

"Whose knife is it?" Paxton's voice was hoarse with sadness and anger, as if there was a lump in his throat.

Jonah replied immediately, "Our people had a firefight with a group of thugs while tailing Jasper and Mia today. A man in a floral shirt used this knife to kill one of our men."

"And have you identified the man in the floral shirt?" Paxton asked, his tone sinister.

Jonah shook his head. "I've already sent people to investigate as soon as we got the test results. But so far, no leads."

"Dig deeper, spare no expense, and find out who he is!" Paxton's eyes flashed dangerously.

Jonah's body trembled slightly, knowing that if the man in the floral shirt appeared in front of Paxton, his fate would be no better than Pearl's.

"Understood, Mr. Brown. I'll make arrangements now." Jonah nodded and left the hospital.

After Jonah left, Paxton gently placed his hand on the glass of the ward.

"Pearl, can you hear me? We've got a lead. We'll find whoever hurt you. And when we do, I'll make them pay. They'll feel exactly what you felt," Paxton vowed, his voice breaking.

Just then, another doctor approached. "Mr. Brown, the experiment we mentioned before has made promising progress."

Paxton instantly turned to look at the doctor, his eyes filled with excitement, feeling that today might be his lucky day with two pieces of good news in a row.

"Alright, as soon as the experiment is successful, apply it to my daughter immediately!" Paxton exclaimed with excitement.

The experiment the doctor referred to was an external artificial hearing aid. Due to damage to Pearl's auditory system, she had become deaf. This new experiment could restore her ability to hear.

For someone who only had the sense of touch left, the idea of hearing again was a huge source of joy and hope.

Meanwhile, Isabella and Mia walked into an empty room at the police station. Isabella had it all set up, guarded tight so nobody else could get in.

Mia sat down, giving Isabella a curious look. "Alright, what do you want? If it's about company shares, you're barking up the wrong tree. You know your father. I might have a role at the company, but I haven't got a single share to my name.

Mia smirked at Isabella, holding back from mocking her since her daughter had saved her earlier that day.

Isabella, sitting across from Mia, wore a subtle smile as she met her mother's gaze. "Mother, I know father never planned to give me the shares. He's already arranged with John to sell them."

"So what? They're useless anyway. Might as well trade them for cash. You can't outbid John. If your father wants to sell to John, what's so strange about that?" Mia rolled her eyes.

Isabella's smile grew even brighter.

"I just feel sorry for you, Mother." Isabella's words made Mia furrow her brows.

"Are you talking about him leaving me behind to save himself today?" Mia asked, confused.

Isabella shook her head. "It's not just that. Mother, you should know father has been embezzling public funds for years. With the amount he's taken, he'll spend the rest of his life in prison."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Mia's gaze flickered, and she turned her head slightly, avoiding Isabella's eyes.

"It seems you do know about father's embezzlement. Are you planning to leave the country with him and live a wealthy life abroad?" Isabella's smile now had a hint of sarcasm as she watched Mia.

"What are you trying to say? We have no such plans. If you're here to make baseless accusations, then there's no point in continuing this conversation," Mia said, standing up and heading for the door.

Isabella stayed seated, not trying to stop her. She just smiled faintly. "Mother, if I could prove Dad never meant to take you with him, what would you do?"

Mia stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked at Isabella coldly. "What are you trying to say? Are you trying to ruin our relationship with these baseless claims?"

Isabella looked at Mia.

Although Mia's face was expressionless, Isabella saw a flicker of panic in her eyes.

"Is your relationship really that good? Then why did he leave you behind to save himself?" Isabella mocked with a smile, then pulled out a folder.

"These are flight details I got from a private investigator. My dear father bought two tickets to go abroad, one to Vesperia and one to Lumaria. He planned to go to Vesperia himself, leaving you with the ticket to Lumaria." Isabella laid the folder on the table, and Mia practically lunged forward to get a look.