Julian Grant: "......" Why not let The Vault say it herself? The irony would be even stronger that way, anyway.

He snatched The Vault's tablet, stood on tiptoe to place it on top of the cabinet, and huffed, "Confiscated."

The Vault was speechless for a moment, then reached for her phone by the bedside. This time, at least, she didn't bother Julian Grant; she simply opened an app and searched for cases related to Harold Thornton.

All the news was from over a decade ago. The Vault only entered a few simple keywords, but the top search results were all ads for various shady hospitals.

She scrolled through several pages before finally finding what she was looking for.

Back then, Harold Thornton's case had caused quite a stir nationwide, since it involved the always-tense relationship between medical staff and patients.

It started with a woman—the news used a pseudonym, but it was clearly Meredith Stone. She accused Harold Thornton of using hospital resources to manipulate her, having sex with her multiple times, and causing her to become pregnant. Someone then called the police, and an investigation was launched. Another doctor at the same hospital compared the amniotic fluid with Harold Thornton's DNA and confirmed that the fetus was indeed Harold Thornton's child.

The case went through several twists as it developed, and after the DNA results came out, the internet was in an uproar.

Netizens fiercely debated whether Harold Thornton was a monster or if the woman was setting him up, with both sides arguing endlessly. Even now, the dense comments under the old news articles show how heated things were back then.

While the case was still unresolved, another man came forward to accuse Harold Thornton of medical malpractice and demanded a large compensation.

The hospital responded, stating that the patient had been discharged successfully and that there was no possibility of a medical accident. They explained that some physical damage during surgery was unavoidable and that the family had been informed beforehand, asking for their understanding. The hospital refused to pay compensation.

After reading the statement and the related evidence, netizens unanimously agreed that this was just an opportunistic scammer and paid him no mind. Unexpectedly, less than a week later, the man and Harold Thornton were involved in a major car accident, and Harold Thornton died at the scene.

Afterwards, Meredith Stone disappeared with the child, and the driver responsible for the accident was sentenced to one year in prison. The police issued an investigation report.

The report stated that both parties were at fault in the accident: one was speeding, the other changed lanes illegally. Neither had alcohol in their system. Harold Thornton died, while the other driver only suffered a leg injury and was not in life-threatening condition.

The accusation of medical malpractice against Harold Thornton was reviewed by an expert committee, which confirmed that it did not meet the criteria for a medical accident.

As for the sexual assault allegation, since one party was deceased and the other refused to cooperate, the police could not continue the investigation, so the matter was dropped.

The report seemed incomplete, but that was all that could be done.

Follow-up reports showed that, due to the at-fault driver's poor family situation, he was unable to pay the full compensation ordered by the court. Fortunately, Harold Thornton had a large insurance policy, and the hospital also paid Rachel Thornton a substantial sum. Altogether, it totaled over three million yuan, so Rachel Thornton and her mother were able to live fairly well, at least without major financial worries.

However, there were indeed some logical inconsistencies in the case, suggesting it wasn't as simple as everyone claimed. Why did Meredith Stone suddenly disappear? Why did the driver suddenly cause trouble? Was Meredith Stone really connected to Harry Forrest's case? All of this seemed very strange.

On his end, Julian Grant had already compiled all the case-related clues and sent them to her email.

Julian Grant said, "I'll have Susan Scott speed up the paperwork. We'll go to the hospital tomorrow to ask around."

The Vault pointed at herself.

Julian Grant replied, "If you can talk, I'll take you. If not, forget it." What, just stand around as a mascot?

It was the first time The Vault had been so bluntly disliked, and she actually found it rather novel.

Still, the hospital's medicine was quite effective. The next morning, The Vault woke up to find she could speak again.

Although her voice was hoarse and low, and her vocal cords still hurt a bit when she spoke, at least some function had returned. However, the wound on her neck hadn't faded; it had turned from red to a dark maroon, looking as if she'd been struck by the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. In dim light, she could go straight to work at a haunted house.

Seeing that she could move around just fine, Julian Grant couldn't resist her request and agreed to take her out.

Since she was going to meet people, The Vault asked a nurse to wrap a bandage around her neck, planning to buy a scarf once they got to the street.

But Julian Grant found the bandage an eyesore for some reason. After walking with The Vault for a while, he just couldn't ignore it and said, "Wait a second!"

The Vault was puzzled.

Julian Grant pulled a pen from his pocket, lifted The Vault's chin, and told her to lean back. Then he quickly wrote something on her bandage.

Judging by the sensation on her neck, The Vault guessed he wrote four characters. After finishing, he even fussed over the brushstrokes to make them look nice.

A meticulous man.

The Vault felt her skin itch but held back a cough. The nurses passing by started giving them increasingly odd looks.

The Vault understood—after all, she couldn't believe there were people this childish in the world, either.

A moment later, Julian Grant finally put the pen away. He stared at his work for a while, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Let's go. Very socialist."

The Vault thought the look in his eyes was especially meaningful, and the adjective he used was just as unique. She couldn't help but take out her phone to check.

Oh my god—

Julian Grant had actually written—

"Violators will be prosecuted."

The Vault: "......"

You really are a model law-abiding youth.

Chapter 89 Indignation

Wearing those four characters, The Vault felt as if she was bathed in the light of righteousness. She decided to wander around outside for a while, letting everyone admire this stroke of genius from such a silly person.

Julian Grant didn't feel the least bit guilty. He first went to Trident to pick up the relevant documents and equipment, then headed straight for their destination.

The affiliated hospital of D University was a well-established and renowned institution, and weekends were extremely busy. The lobby was crowded, the air stuffy, and the nurse at the front desk was surrounded by people and couldn't get away.

The building, constructed many years ago, already showed signs of age. Yellow stains spread across the concrete walls, the gaps in the floor weren't very clean, and the strong smell of medicine in the air made people uncomfortable.

Julian Grant told The Vault to wait nearby while he went to ask around. The Vault found a blue row of seats in the waiting area and sat down by the wall.

She sat upright, back straight, gaze slightly raised, fixed on the TV screen playing cartoons on the wall. Her unblinking eyes made it seem as if she was engrossed in the show. But that didn't mean she didn't notice the girl next to her sneaking glances.

At first, the girl's gaze was reserved, sneaking peeks at her neck.

Maybe because The Vault's expression was so righteous, the girl also felt enveloped by a socialist aura, and her courage grew. Eventually, her stares became blatant.

The Vault couldn't ignore it and turned to look at her.

Getting a response, the girl seemed encouraged and immediately scooted over a seat, striking up a conversation: "Miss, that... ring on your neck? It's got a real sense of design. The writing on it is beautiful."

The Vault smiled.

The girl pressed, "Where did you buy it? How much was it?"

The Vault replied, "It's from an institution specializing in human anatomy, with a deep understanding of life and science. Most of the staff are highly experienced and provide customized services for clients' professional needs."

"Wow—" The girl was impressed, though she didn't really get it. "Which company is it?"

The Vault replied coolly, "hospital."

The girl: "...?"

Sorry to bother you.

When Julian Grant returned, he saw a scene that looked like a breakup: the dejected girl sat with her back to The Vault, lost in her own sadness, while The Vault sat motionless, quietly watching the children's program.

What a moving pair.

Julian Grant said, "What are you doing? Did you bully her?"

The Vault replied, "What nonsense? I'm always a gentleman to others."

Julian Grant tried not to laugh. "Alright, gentleman. Let's go, we're heading to the second floor."

Trident had already contacted the hospital in advance and obtained a list of the medical staff who participated in the surgery related to Harold Thornton's alleged malpractice. They were going to the second floor to find a nurse who had been in the operating room with Harold Thornton.

When Julian Grant found their target, the nurse had just finished helping a new colleague prepare medication and was waiting by the stairwell.

She looked a bit surprised to see them, especially lingering on The Vault's face for a couple of seconds, probably not expecting the two of them to be the staff sent by Trident for the interview. But with decades of experience at the hospital, she quickly composed herself and her expression returned to calm.

Julian Grant pointed to the device on his chest, indicating he was recording. The nurse nodded in understanding. The three of them found a relatively quiet storage room to talk.