Chapter 99

Liliana was worried about Hale. Every extra day he spent in prison was torture for her. She had no desire for a prolonged negotiation with the Archers. If Baber went to jail, his parents would undoubtedly cause endless trouble. It was better to make a clean trade.

But the Archers were more difficult than she had anticipated.

"We lost a family member! You barely got a scratch! We can't just let this go!" Mrs. Archer, her pitiful act forgotten, slammed her hand on the table.

Heads turned in their direction again. A waiter hurried over. "Excuse me, please keep your voices down. You're disturbing the other guests."

"I apologize," Liliana said with a polite smile. Once the waiter left, she turned back to Mrs. Archer. "If this had turned fatal for me, your family would have been in much deeper trouble." Her voice was low but firm. "She was a young woman, and her death is a tragedy. But my brother is not to blame, so I will not pity you. I suggest you drop this."

Liliana's resolve was stronger than they had expected. The Archers exchanged a look. Mrs. Archer's eyes darted around before she declared, "If you want your brother out, you'll pay us two million!"

"The most I can offer is one hundred thousand," Liliana countered. She had already considered this. No matter the circumstances of the woman's death or how greedy the Archers were, she felt she should offer some compensation for the sake of the child left behind. Hale, with his kind heart, would also feel better knowing they had received something.

Mrs. Archer's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "One hundred thousand? Are you trying to pay off a beggar? A human life is only worth that much? I should've just let my son scare you to death, then we'd be even!"

"That's enough!" Mr. Archer hissed at his wife. She immediately fell silent, though she continued to glare, tears streaming down her face.

Liliana saw no point in arguing with someone so unreasonable. She addressed the husband. "Mr. Archer, what do you think?"

"One hundred thousand it is. When will we get the money?" he said. His wife immediately started hitting him, but a sharp look from him silenced her again.

Liliana's heart began to beat faster. "The money will be transferred the moment Hale is released."

Hearing this, Mr. Archer stood up, pulled his wife to her feet, and said, "We're going to see our lawyer right now."

The Archer family had intentionally committed fraud and staged the accident. Someone had to be held legally responsible. But the elderly couple was willing to do anything, even go to prison themselves, to protect their son. Liliana didn't care how they handled it.

That afternoon, the news broke. The Archers had confessed to staging the accident. The deceased woman had been suffering from a terminal illness and the family couldn't afford treatment. Her father-in-law had convinced her to commit suicide by staging an accident to secure a payout for her family and child. They had also taken out a life insurance policy on her two months prior. The final piece of evidence Attorney Kerr had been waiting for was that policy.

With the evidence irrefutable, Hale was released at five o'clock that afternoon. Liliana didn't dwell on who in the Archer family had orchestrated the suicide plot. Her only concern was Hale. She went to pick him up.

In the nearly one month since his arrest, Hale had lost a significant amount of weight. The buzz cut and the stubble on his chin made the once-sunny young man look ten years older. Before she couldtear upy

he broke down.

He hugged her tightly. "Sis, I really didn't mean to... she's dead!"

"She was terminally ill. If it wasn't you, it would have been another car. It's not your

fault," Liliana whispered, gently patting his back. "It's over now. We're out."