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Chapter 101: Chapter 101: They Will Only Blame Me for Being Useless

Her cousin crawled forward a few steps on her knees, crying, ”I was wrong, Lynn. Please, let me go. I just lost my head and made a terrible mistake.”

Lynn took two steps back and said to Joel, ”Go check on him for me. I think he’s awake.”

Joel hesitated for a moment, then nodded and walked out.

Just as the door was about to close, he clearly heard piercing screams and cries from within.

Joel lowered his gaze, standing in place for a long time before he finally started walking toward Ian Sterling’s room.

A maid had helped Ian Sterling sit up. He was now leaning against the headboard. When he heard the door open, he thought Lynn had returned, not expecting to see Joel.

He chuckled softly, his lips pale from blood loss. ”Where’s your sister?” he asked weakly.

”She’s busy. She sent me to check on you.” Joel walked over to a stool by the bed and sat down, keeping his gaze lowered and avoiding Ian’s eyes.

The smile never left Ian Sterling’s face. He stared at Joel for a long time before saying in a low voice, ”You set this in motion, didn’t you?”

Joel’s pupils constricted. His gaze shot to Ian Sterling, meeting the scorn in his eyes. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

”You incited them to kill me, never expecting they’d decide to go after Lynn instead,” Ian Sterling said nonchalantly. ”What you expected even less was that I knew what you were doing from the very beginning.”

”If you knew, then why did you let them make a move on my sister?! Have you ever considered what would have happened if you failed to protect her?” Joel shot to his feet. The stool scraped loudly against the floor before toppling over with a crash. Hearing the commotion, the maid at the door hesitated, not daring to enter.

Ian Sterling’s lips curved into a smirk. He raised an eyebrow and said, ”Because I was the one they were supposed to hurt.”

Joel stared at him in disbelief, his jaw tight.

He was a smart man—Lynn wouldn’t have entrusted him to manage the Winslow family’s affairs otherwise. He immediately understood the convoluted implications of Ian Sterling’s words.

He had tried to use others to do his dirty work, never expecting they would get ideas of their own. And Ian, knowing this, had simply redirected their intentions, creating the illusion that they were targeting Lynn, all so he could play the hero and save the damsel in distress.

Joel let out a short, bitter laugh. He ran his tongue over his teeth and nodded slowly. ”Well played.”

”Don’t worry, I won’t tell your sister,” Ian Sterling said, closing his eyes. ”So long as you continue to play the part of a dutiful younger brother.”

Joel’s fists clenched. He turned and strode away, instructing the maid, ”Take good care of him until the Young Miss returns.”

The maid shot a cautious glance at his face. Seeing that his expression remained gentle, she breathed a sigh of relief, acknowledged his order, and returned to the room.

Ian Sterling was feigning sleep. The maid asked softly, ”Mr. Sterling, would you like to lie down and rest?”

Without opening his eyes, he asked, ”Where did your Young Miss go?”

The maid didn’t know, and she certainly didn’t dare to pry into her employers’ affairs.

”You can leave me be. I’ll call you if I need anything.” Ian turned his head to the side, his gaze drifting out the window.

—

Lynn lowered her gaze, wiping her fingers. Nearby, Elder Winslow sipped his tea with a placid expression, completely unfazed by his beloved granddaughter’s ruthless methods.

’After all, being born into this den of wolves, how could she not have the ability to protect herself?’

’If she were just some pampered, pliable young lady, she would have been schemed against until there was nothing left of her long ago.’

By the time Joel returned, the two had already been dragged away by bodyguards. Incense burned in the room, masking the faint smell of blood. Lynn was sitting beside Elder Winslow, chatting and smiling.

”Sister, he’s awake.”

Upon hearing this, Lynn turned to the old man. ”Grandpa, I’ll go check on him.”

Elder Winslow nodded. Only after she had left did he give Joel his instructions.

”Go turn up the heat on them. Your sister is still too soft-hearted.”

The door opened again. Ian Sterling subconsciously thought Lynn had returned and looked up toward the entryway. When he saw it was her, he smiled and shifted, about to get out of bed to go to her.

”Don’t move.” Lynn hurried over and stopped him, frowning as she scolded, ”Doesn’t it hurt? Stop moving around.”

”What took you so long? I didn’t see you when I woke up. I thought you’d abandoned me.” Ian leaned forward into Lynn’s arms, complaining pitifully, ”And you only sent your brother to see me. How could you be so cruel?”

”Me, cruel?” Lynn pinched his ear, so exasperated she had to laugh. ”You should be blaming yourself. It just so happens I was gone right when you woke up.”

Ian muttered, ”Fine.”

Lynn gently patted his back. ”The people behind this have been caught. It was my grand-uncle’s granddaughter and her husband.”

”Mm.” ’Of course, he knew that.’ But he couldn’t let Lynn see it. ”Where are they now?” he asked.

”They’re locked in the basement. Their arms and legs have been broken, and they’ve gone mad,” Lynn told him without hiding anything. ”Your sister called your family. They know what happened, and they’re on a plane to Morelia now.”

”What?” Ian’s brows knitted together. He pulled back slightly, but the movement was too sudden and tugged at his wound. He hissed in pain. Just as Lynn started to fuss over him, he spoke, his voice laced with displeasure. ”Why would she tell them? Now they’ll just worry for no reason. It’s not a big deal.”

”You were shot. It happened right after the concert, and the international media was everywhere. How could this possibly be kept quiet?”

”What if we could have? When they get here, they’ll chew me out first, and then my mom will start nagging endlessly.” Ian got a headache just thinking about it.

Lynn found this amusing. ”Even if they couldn’t have guessed, do you think your bodyguards would dare keep silent? And even if yours did, what about your sister’s? Those people don’t answer to you.”

Lynn gently flicked his forehead. A worried look crossed her face. ”I just hope they don’t blame me for getting you involved in this.”

”Don’t worry. They’ll just call me useless. They’ll say that protecting my wife is my duty, but getting hurt in the process just proves how useless I am.” Ian knew his parents. Once they had agreed to his relationship with Lynn, they would never blame her for him getting hurt while protecting her.

He looked even more worried than Lynn. Lying back down slowly, he said with mock heartbreak, ”Once I’m healed, my dad will definitely send me to my second uncle. He’ll have him drill me hard. I won’t be getting out of there for at least a couple of weeks.”

Lynn knew of Ian’s second uncle and was aware of his identity. She couldn’t help but laugh. Leaning forward carefully, she lowered her gaze and pressed a soft kiss to Ian’s cheek.

”It’s okay. I’ll come visit you.”

Ian took her hand, his gaze dropping to toy with her fingers. ”Don’t worry about them,” he said seriously. ”I know my parents. When I was little, my grandpa’s kitten got stuck up a tree. I went to rescue it and ended up falling down. My parents just said I was useless for not even being able to climb a tree properly.”

Although Nina Norton doted on her youngest son, her greatest wish was for him to have the ability to protect both himself and others.