I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind

Chapter 298 - 296: I Don’t Mind Taking Him Down With Me

"Can’t you do it here? Aren’t you already doing physical therapy at the Hughes Corp’s hospital?"

"Why do you have to go abroad?"

Mia Grant stepped forward and steadied the hand he had on his cane. "Is there something you’re not telling me?"

"No." Kian Keller looked down. "My recovery is just too slow. There’s no other reason."

Mia Grant didn’t believe him and kept pestering him to tell her the truth.

"It’s not healing as well as expected—it’s a bit worse, but nothing serious."

His fingers brushed against her cheek. The pads of his fingers were warm as he gently wiped away a glistening tear.

"I wasn’t going to tell you."

"But what if I can’t find you?"

His fingertips traced her cheek as he asked in an unreadable tone, "Will you still think of me?"

"..." Mia Grant looked up and glared at him. "Then don’t bother coming back."

"Alright."

When he agreed so easily, Mia Grant’s eyes widened. She wanted to stomp hard on his foot, but then she remembered his leg and balled her fist, pummeling his chest instead.

The man didn’t flinch. He simply caught her hand and squeezed it tight. "I’ll come back."

"Even if you don’t want to see me, I’ll still come back for you."

"While I’m away from Jynsia, I’ll leave Aaron and his men with you. You can go to them for anything you need, big or small."

"Also, try not to leave Jynsia."

"If you run into anything they can’t handle, call me."

"So... how long will it take for you to come back?"

"I’m not sure. Maybe a few months, maybe half a year, maybe a year."

Mia Grant pressed her lips together.

After a moment’s thought, she wiped her tears away. "Okay."

’His leaving is a form of protection, in a way.’

’It would also put some distance between Julian and him.’

"Julian Vaughn..."

Hearing him suddenly say the name, Mia Grant’s heart skipped a beat. She almost thought he had a Mind Reading Technique.

But he just said, "It’s wise to be wary of others."

"I know."

Julian Vaughn returned later than she’d expected. He must have given them space to talk in private.

On the way back, Mia Grant was sullen, and the corners of her eyes were still red from crying.

Julian Vaughn didn’t know what they had talked about, but seeing her like this, he couldn’t help but ask, "Did he give you a hard time?"

Mia Grant was lost in thought. She paused for a moment at his words before slowly shaking her head. "No."

"Then why were you crying?" he asked, handing her a warm milk tea.

Mia Grant chewed on her straw. They walked for a long time before she finally said, "The injury on his leg still hasn’t healed. It’s dragged on for too long. He’s planning to go abroad for treatment."

"I see." Julian Vaughn nodded gently.

He was about to offer some words of comfort when he heard Mia Grant add, "It’s all those kids’ fault."

"What?"

Mia Grant heaved a sigh. "A few days ago, we were at a resort in the suburbs of Jynsia and ran into some kids. They pointed at his leg and called him a cripple."

"And then?"

"I yelled at the kids until they cried, and then their parents wanted to hit me. Kian Keller just pulled me away and left others to deal with it."

"From his expression at the time, I thought he didn’t care..."

Julian Vaughn understood.

He thought for a moment before saying, "I haven’t spent much time with him, but I know Silas Grant. He’s probably a lot like Silas—too proud to tolerate being slighted."

"Especially when a physical flaw is pointed out in front of someone he likes. Deep down, he’s bound to care."

Mia Grant frowned. "It’s my fault."

She felt a gentle weight on her head as Julian Vaughn patted it lightly. "You can’t blame yourself. Even if this hadn’t happened, someone else would have eventually said something about his leg."

"This might be for the best. Getting proper treatment sooner is a good thing for him."

"Besides, what happened to his leg was an accident. It has nothing to do with you."

"You’re right." ’Then who is to blame?’

An image of a certain person’s face flashed through Mia Grant’s mind, and her brow furrowed.

Back home, the first thing she did was pull out her phone, open a chat window, and fire off a message: "You bastard! This is all your fault!"

The moment she sent it, a line of text popped up in the middle of her screen.

Message sent, but rejected by recipient.

???

Yates Donovan shot up from the sofa.

He rose so suddenly that the old man paused mid-sentence. "I’m talking to you. What are you looking at now?"

Yates Donovan put his phone away. "It’s nothing. What were you saying?"

"..." The old man closed his eyes, then snapped them open, grabbing a tea caddy from the table and hurling it at him.

Yates Donovan caught it with a grin and flopped back onto the sofa. "Can’t hit me."

The old man wanted to curse him out, but then he remembered it was the New Year holiday and decided to let it go.

"Your second uncle is awake. He’s being transferred back to Jynsia Hospital tomorrow. You’d better watch yourself. He’s your uncle, after all."

"Oh, wow. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d have forgotten I even had an uncle."

The old man’s mustache bristled with anger. "Even if your second uncle isn’t here, you still have your youngest uncle."

"So what if he is? Go on, call him back. See if he’ll listen to you."

"..."

The old man was furious, and the butler quickly stepped in to mediate.

Yates Donovan propped his head on one hand, his expression growing serious. "I can leave him alone, on one condition: he keeps his hands clean and doesn’t touch my people."

"In your eyes, this is all my fault, so it’s only natural you’d want to stand up for him. But my person was threatened. If I don’t stand by her, who will?"

"Your second uncle..." The old man sighed. "He just wasn’t thinking straight."

"You’re just playing favorites."

The old man was speechless. He rapped Yates’s leg with his cane. "You little brat! After all these years, you don’t know who I’ve favored?"

"You used to, but not anymore." Yates Donovan shrugged. "And I’m not just saying this, but Silas Grant at least left him alive. If he had come after me or Mia Grant, we’d be the ones with no way out."

"By then, you wouldn’t even have the chance to play favorites with me."

"..."

"Alright, alright, I won’t make you angry during the New Year. If he has a problem, tell him to come at me. I’ll take whatever he’s got."

"But if he doesn’t change his ways and keeps going after other people, I don’t mind taking him down with me."

---

「Later that night.」

After dinner, Mia Grant was in the living room watching TV with Carla Sinclair and Julian Vaughn.

Her phone, sitting on the coffee table, buzzed incessantly. She picked it up and saw it was a call from Yates Donovan.

She immediately declined the call, but he persisted.

Left with no choice, she sent him a text. "I can’t talk right now. What is it?"

"Come down."

Mia Grant instinctively glanced out the window.

She frowned and typed back, "Are you nuts?"

"If you don’t come down, I’m coming up."

...

Taking a deep breath, Mia Grant turned off her phone. She glanced hesitantly at the two people beside her. "Um, I..."

"Go ahead," Carla Sinclair said.

Mia Grant was stunned.

Julian Vaughn smiled and pointed out the window. "Someone’s been flashing their headlights downstairs for a while now. Looks like they’re really here for you."

"..."

’That damn Yates Donovan!’

She gave an embarrassed smile. "It’s a friend. I’ll just go down and say hi."

「Five minutes later.」

Downstairs, beside the car, Mia Grant leaped up and hammered on his chest.

Yates Donovan didn’t dodge, simply taking the opportunity to pull her into his embrace.

"Let go! Let go! They can see us!"

"I’m not letting go. You shouldn’t have blocked me."

He huffed. "This is your punishment."

"..."