Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1209

After securing the device, Ethan held the screen up to Martin's face to unlock it via facial recognition.

Feeling deeply insulted, Martin turned his head away to maintain a shred of dignity, making it clear he was not cooperating willingly, even as the phone unlocked.

Naturally, Sabrina's phone required the same procedure. However, given that her face was still a swollen mess, the facial recognition failed miserably. A bodyguard firmly grasped her hand and forced her thumb onto the scanner to unlock it.

After a thorough sweep, none of their phones contained anything incriminating. The devices were then handed over to Martin for temporary safekeeping.

But Ethan was meticulous about executing Leonard's orders.

He had a bodyguard bring in an electronic scanner to sweep all four of them for hidden recording equipment. Only after confirming they were clean did he finally relax.

Watching Ethan's unapologetic thoroughness, Brandon was left utterly dumbfounded.

"Mr. Hayes, Lillian is family. We came here with absolute sincerity to apologize. Why would we ever pull a stunt like that? These kinds of actions are incredibly insulting."

Ethan scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm not part of your family, so why would I care about insulting you? Ms. Mercer put up with your family's toxic behavior for years, and you all thought that was perfectly justified. I'm just an outsider. Whatever outrageous thing an outsider does to you, you should just accept it as par for the course."

Brandon snapped his mouth shut. He knew firsthand that the people surrounding Lillian were ruthlessly articulate. Arguing with them was completely pointless.

Once Brandon backed down, Colin spoke up. "Why do we have to wait until this afternoon to leave? It's a weekday. If we don't show up at the office and no one can reach us, it's going to cause a panic."

"Relax," Ethan replied dismissively. "As long as you two behave and don't shoot your mouths off, you'll be allowed to answer any important business calls. As for why you're stuck here until this afternoon... well, the Phoenix-7 Recovery Serum needs a few hours to take full effect. Once it does, Sabrina will leave looking exactly the way she did when she arrived.

Her wounds will be completely healed, and she won't be a swollen mess anymore.

Naturally, that makes it rather difficult for her to go around claiming she was assaulted here, doesn't it?

Whether or not the two of them decide to show up tomorrow for The Penance Performance... well, that's not my problem.

Do you gentlemen have any other questions?

Leonard stepped forward, gently taking the ointment from the doctor. Crouching down in front of Lillian, he murmured, "Your touch is too heavy. Let me do it."

Lillian offered a soft smile. "Don't look so somber," she said, watching Leonard's intense focus. "I'm fine. See? Barely a scratch.

I had self-defense training when I was younger.

Grandma always said a girl needed to know how to protect herself so she wouldn't be taken advantage of in the real world.

I used proper technique when I hit her. I didn't hurt myself at all."

Despite her reassurances, Leonard's chest still tightened with an ache for her.

He had seen the way Lillian attacked Sabrina—she had moved with a frenzied, desperate rage, relying entirely on raw instinct. There was no calculated 'technique' in that kind of emotional storm.