Chapter 145: For The Sake Of The Past, Have Compassion
Madam Liang fetched the clothes and urged Father Liang to change.
Father Liang raised his hand, signaling to wait, “It’s just a statement, a fingerprint is enough, it’s not difficult for you.”
The man glanced at Liancheng; she was groggy, half-awake, slumped in the seat, slender and petite. Even without force, he could compel her to press her fingerprint.
However, these men were not the international personnel Secretary Zhou had taken pains to find; they were reinforcements Father Liang had urgently brought in after sensing something amiss. They lacked professionalism but were overly slick.
In Western countries, abortion and racial discrimination are similar; they are political weapons that must not be touched.
It coincided with Iceland’s four-year political term change. Several Húsavík reservists were campaigning for mayor, and after a large Catholic demonstration, they almost universally adopted the abortion bill as their primary means of attracting votes.
At this juncture, both hospitals and doctors would strictly regulate abortion procedures to the extreme.
For instance, under surveillance, a woman voluntarily signing and fingerprinting would leave no room for suspicion of any unfortunate consequences.
The man didn’t want to get involved either. If the truth came out, Iceland might very well put them on their entry ban list. They understood the consequences of losing one business deal and many future ones.
“I suggest going to the hospital you had previously agreed upon. Changing it now might carry more risk.”
Father Liang did not reply immediately.
Having overheard the gist of the conversation, Madam Liang also frowned, setting the clothes aside and scrutinizing Father Liang’s expression.
Changing hospitals was indeed rash and did not align with Father Liang’s steady and calculating nature.
However, the man’s patience was clearly waning. Before she could discern anything, he urged impatiently, “Please give your reply quickly, otherwise we will proceed to the original hospital.”
Madam Liang took her mobile phone, “Let her speak on the phone.”
The man agreed.
A burst of static from the loudspeaker, a few simple instructions from the man, and then silence highlighted a faint, weak breathing sound, gasping feebly. She did not greet them or ask any questions.
Madam Liang waited for a long while, frowning, “Liancheng?”
The man with the red beard pushed forward, shoving the phone against Liancheng’s profile with such force that she slumped to the side. She was roughly pulled by the arm to sit up, the handset pressed to her mouth, threatening her to speak.
Liancheng’s voice was extremely hoarse, “Madam Liang.”
Madam Liang’s frown deepened, her voice laced with displeasure, “What did you call me?”
Liancheng remained silent.
Her breathing from the earpiece was faint, making Madam Liang’s own breathing more rapid and her annoyance evident.
She had not yet disowned Liancheng, nor had she questioned how she dared get involved with Chaosu, concealed it for four years, hidden her pregnancy, and fled abroad.
Yet Liancheng was disowning her first, no longer recognizing the Liang family.
Madam Liang was about to erupt in anger, but Father Liang gently patted her shoulder.
She suppressed her anger. “Liancheng, I can tell you are resentful towards your mother,” she inhaled, speaking more smoothly. “These past four years, it was my fault, I misunderstood you. But since you also don’t want to be with Chaosu, you shouldn’t have kept the child.”
Liancheng remained motionless, making no sound other than her breathing, her silence absolute.
Madam Liang continued, “Your mother and father have discussed it. Since you are unwilling to stay with the Liang family now, we are willing to support you. Your father will even help conceal your whereabouts, and your mother will give you a sum of money, enough for your future wealth, as long as you abort this immoral and unbearable child. Freedom, your parents give it to you.”
A smile touched the corner of Liancheng’s mouth. “Madam Liang, at this very moment, I only believe that you will not show me mercy based on our past.”
She and Madam Liang.
If, in the first year, Liancheng had chosen honesty, Madam Liang, after initial shock, anger, and resentment, might have had some emotional room to maneuver and possibly sent her abroad. As long as she didn’t return for the rest of her life, Madam Liang would have let her go.
But at that time, she dared not, she could not face Madam Liang’s disdain.
Later, when Madam Liang still disdained her, she dared even less, fearing repercussions.
And now, she was truly being dealt with, a mother and child death.
Liancheng held the answer, a desolate expanse.
On the other end of the phone, Madam Liang was shocked and furious.
She was shocked that Liancheng was not falling for her gentle words this time.
She was angry because she detected Liancheng’s subtle mockery. “Based on the past, show mercy,” her name was Nianci, yet she had been ruthless towards Liancheng.
Father Liang saw her face turn from pale to red, and finally to a mixed shade of blue and purple. Angrily gasping, he took the phone and called the man by his codename, “Scorpion.”
Liancheng’s cheek was moved away from the phone. The man with the red beard obsequiously returned the phone to the man in the front seat. “It’s me.”
“Go to the original hospital. But I underestimated their strength. You must rendezvous with the other team first.”
After Father Liang hung up, he still felt uneasy. He had not discovered Shen Lichuan’s intentions late, but he had underestimated him.
He had merely thought that Shen Lichuan had sent people to take Liancheng away while Chaosu intentionally let them, and then Chaosu would cover for them and deceive him.
The incident at the Húsavík museum today showed Chaosu’s plan, but Shen Lichuan was unexpectedly resourceful, with more personnel and tactics, and seemed to have connections with local gangs.
Madam Liang was initially furious, but upon hearing Father Liang’s special instructions, her anger paused. “Underestimated whom?”
Father Liang hesitated.
Madam Liang valued Liang Wenfei, her daughter whom she had finally found. If she knew about the trouble Shen Lichuan had caused for Liancheng, she would surely be enraged and want to tear Shen Lichuan apart. Therefore, he had selectively concealed it earlier.
Madam Liang’s eyes sharpened. Having shared a bed for decades, how could she not understand that Father Liang’s stammering and evasiveness meant he was hiding something out of guilt? “What else are you hiding from me? Fine, from this Chaosu affair, I’ve realized that the tighter men keep their mouths shut, the bigger the problem. If you don’t explain everything to me clearly today, don’t call me Madam.”
Father Liang stepped back, raising his hands in surrender, “Shen Lichuan—”
He roughly narrated the sequence of events.
As expected, Madam Liang immediately erupted like a sudden storm and rushed furiously towards the door.
Father Liang grabbed her, “Shen Lichuan cannot be touched right now. I have investigated the situation from those four years in detail. Chaosu poured his heart and soul into everything for Liancheng, using all his schemes. Now he is fully empowered. Just like this time in Iceland, if I hadn’t discovered the anomaly at the critical moment and been misled by him.”
“Nianci, Shen Lichuan now represents the Shen family in supporting me, and I am in a heated struggle with Chaosu, with no turning back. If you deal with Shen Lichuan, the Shen family will hold a grudge, and Chaosu will seize the opportunity to win. By then, if we want to stop him, everything will have to be brought out into the open. Not to mention the external reaction, he and I will truly be in a father-son conflict. Even if I win in the end, Chaosu, this excellent heir, will be ruined. Can you bear it?”
Madam Liang trembled all over, her teeth clenched, and she vaguely squeezed out, “What a sin—”
……………………
The hospital Father Liang had originally chosen was one he had carefully considered.
It was not large, a small villa with a pointed roof, specializing in psychological issues. Neither its promotion nor its business cards mentioned gynecology, but it was well-known locally.
In Western countries, with their openness, adolescents, both boys and girls, have less experience and more impulses. If they are not careful, various surprises can occur.
Ordinary people locally might resolve issues at a small clinic, but the middle class, concerned with face and safety, thus gave rise to this private hospital operating under the guise of psychological treatment to resolve life’s predicaments.
