Having been injured and blamed for the accident, the middle-aged woman couldn’t bear it any longer. She pointed angrily at Jessica and shouted, “Speak with a conscience! You’ve hit me and now you’re slandering me. Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”
Jessica knew she was in the wrong and realized that the woman on the ground wasn’t someone she could easily intimidate. She understood that she needed to avoid prolonging this situation as it could get even more complicated with the arrival of the traffic police. So, she instructed Leo, “Leo, handle this matter. If you don’t handle it properly, don’t bother coming home today.”
Leo wasn’t one to take the blame for others. He naturally wouldn’t agree to such a disrespectful request. Moreover, when you make a mistake, you must take responsibility for it. In this case, the injured party was innocent, and it was time for his unreasonable mother-in-law to learn her lesson.
“Mom, when there’s a traffic accident, you mustn’t leave the scene on your own. Otherwise, you might be charged with hit-and-run. Let’s wait for the traffic police to handle it,” Leo said as he reached out to stop Jessica.
Jessica heard the words “hit-and-run” and felt a sinking feeling in her heart. She angrily pointed at Leo and shouted, “Leo, don’t talk nonsense. I called you here to handle this. How could it be hit-and-run? You’re the son-in-law of the Henley family, and you have to take responsibility for this. Move out of the way!”
Leo glanced at Martin, giving him a hint, “Dad, you can’t leave now. If the person who got hit decides to press charges, you could end up being detained.”
Martin had been scared since the moment of the accident and hadn’t said a word until now. He knew he was at fault, and with the arrival of the traffic police, he’d have to take full responsibility. This situation had thrown him into disarray, so he followed Jessica’s advice to have Leo intervene. After all, someone had to take responsibility for the accident.
Seeing Leo unyielding, Jessica shouted angrily, “Leo, get out of the way right now!”
Leo didn’t move. Jessica was furious and struck out with her hand, but Leo grabbed her wrist.
“Leo, you’ve really lost it!” Jessica’s gaze turned icy.
Leo’s gaze was even colder as he stared directly at Jessica. He calmly stated, “You’re Sophia’s mother, so I respect you. But that doesn’t mean you can do as you please in front of me.”
“Are you insane? This worthless son-in-law is insane! Leo, do you know who you’re talking to? Do you know your place in this family? You good-for-nothing, let go of me!” Jessica seethed with anger and tried to pull her hand away.
In front of so many people, Leo’s disrespect almost drove her to lose her temper. Leo snorted coldly and let go of her hand that he was holding. He said, “If you want to take Dad and leave, that’s fine. But there’s no way I’m going to take responsibility for this accident. When the traffic police arrive, I’ll tell them everything!”
Jessica was trembling with anger as she pointed at Leo, unable to speak for a moment. She had called Leo here to take the blame, but she hadn’t expected her formerly weak son-in-law to defy her and be so firm!
Leo no longer paid attention to Jessica and walked over to the woman sitting on the ground. He crouched down and asked, “Ma’am, apart from your leg injury, do you have any other injuries? I’ll call an ambulance for you now.”
Leo took out his phone and dialed 120.
“Young man, thank you. I was riding normally when the light was green. It was your father who didn’t pay attention when making a right turn and hit me. I’m not trying to stage an accident,” the middle-aged woman said, corroborating Leo’s earlier deductions.
If this woman were really trying to stage an accident, given Jessica’s temperament, she would have lashed out immediately, not called Leo to take the blame. Jessica also understood that, based on Leo’s words, if they left the scene, they could be charged with hit-and-run.
Jessica pulled Martin’s hand and signaled for him to leave quickly. Hearing Leo’s earlier words, Martin didn’t dare to leave now. He knew that escaping from the situation wouldn’t work in the long run.
“Why are you standing there? Hurry up and leave!” Jessica urged Martin.
Martin shook his head. “I’d rather stay and let the traffic police handle it. If we leave now, we won’t be able to explain ourselves. It’ll be troublesome if they investigate later.”
Jessica believed that as long as she and Martin left, with only Leo remaining at the scene, everything could be pinned on him. So she told Martin, “That worthless son-in-law is just trying to scare you. I’ll call Sophia right now. If Leo dares not to listen to me, I don’t believe he won’t listen to our dear Sophia.”
Jessica had just taken out her phone when the traffic police arrived.
The arrival of the traffic police immediately subdued Jessica’s arrogance, and Martin explained the entire accident under their questioning. Jessica, who had been a fierce tiger, suddenly turned into a gentle cat in front of the traffic police.
Jessica cast a sidelong glance at Leo, who was showing concern for the elderly woman, and she could barely contain her anger.
“He’s still the same useless person after a hundred years! Our parents get into an accident, and he doesn’t come to check on his own family; instead, he’s concerned about a stranger. Does he really think that we, along with Martin, are less important to him than an outsider? He’s just a freeloader!”
Jessica had reached her limit and shouted at Leo, “Leo, starting today, you don’t need to come back. Go sleep under a bridge!”
Leo turned his head, gazing at Jessica with cold eyes, and replied calmly, “In another month, I’ll be moving to the new house I bought with Sophia. If you don’t want to come, I won’t force you.”
Jessica chuckled, thinking that this useless son-in-law believed he could fulfill the promises he made at Jeffrey’s house that day. She felt he was utterly delusional.
“Leo, even if you can afford a mansion, I’ll never set foot inside it in my lifetime, and neither will Sophia. When your boasts fall flat, I hope you won’t come crawling to beg me!” Jessica looked down on Leo with disdain.
Leo smiled faintly, unwilling to engage in further verbal sparring. He knew that next month, when she found out about the Cloud Dream Mountain’s villa, she would be begging him to let her stay there.
The Leo of today was not the same as the Leo of four years ago. No one could trample on his dignity so easily.
The traffic officer’s judgment came swiftly. Martin was held entirely responsible for the accident and was ordered to compensate the victim for medical expenses, lost wages, and motorcycle repair costs.
Finally, the traffic officer stood before Jessica and delivered a lesson, “In the future, if you’re involved in a traffic accident, you must report it to the authorities immediately. Don’t think you can escape by trying to be clever. Roads are covered with surveillance cameras, and if you hit and run, you’ll end up regretting it in a jail cell.”
“Officer, you’re absolutely right. From now on, we’ll be extra careful when driving, and there won’t be a next time,” Jessica replied meekly, transforming from a fierce tiger to a submissive kitten in front of the traffic officer.
Just then, the sound of an ambulance approaching could be heard.