Chapter 113: Justifiable Homicide

Joel Lawson felt a chill on his neck, followed by a piercing pain.

He immediately screamed. "AH—! AH—! Help me! Somebody, help me! I’m going to die! I don’t want to die! I’m just a kid! Somebody, please, come save me!"

Seeing the blood trickling down Joel Lawson’s neck, Colin Summers froze. He never thought Adam Lawson would actually dare to do it!

He stared at Adam Lawson in disbelief, his voice a mixture of shock and confusion. "Adam Lawson, you... have you lost your mind?! That’s your own son! How could you do this to your own son? Isn’t he the precious heir you value so much?"

Officer Tanner quickly intervened. "Put the boy down, now! I’m warning you, killing your own child is still murder. Do you really think you can escape if he dies?"

Ignoring Joel Lawson’s struggles, Adam Lawson lifted him and spun around, roaring at the police and security guards who were trying to close in. "Stay away! Back off! All of you, get back! Or I’ll kill him for real!"

Adam Lawson’s expression was frenzied, his eyes shot with red. He screamed toward Officer Tanner, "I didn’t want this! Don’t force my hand! If you come any closer, you’ll be forcing me to kill him! You’ll all be murderers of a child!"

Held in Adam Lawson’s arms, Joel Lawson felt the cleaver press deeper into his neck. Terrified, he screamed, "Dad! Dad, don’t kill me!"

At his son’s plea, Adam Lawson roared, "Shut up, you little bastard! Say one more word and I’ll chop your head off!"

Melody Summers raised an eyebrow in surprise.

She shook her head with a private sigh. ’Aunt Grace’s judgment is viciously accurate. To think she actually called it!’

Joel Lawson really wasn’t Adam Lawson’s son.

Pinned tightly in Adam Lawson’s arms, Joel Lawson couldn’t move. He could only shrink away, trying to dodge the cleaver at his throat. He clamped his mouth shut, not daring to make another sound as tears of grievance streamed endlessly from his eyes.

Joel Lawson couldn’t understand why his father was treating him this way. He had always been his father’s favorite. He had been a little emperor at home since he was a child; Adam Lawson gave him anything he wanted. Even his full-blooded sister, Joelle Lawson, was treated like his slave and servant.

But in the past two days, Adam Lawson’s attitude toward him had changed drastically. He would hit him for no reason and call him a "little mutt."

Joel Lawson remembered his parents and grandparents using the term "little mutt" before, but they always used it to curse his father’s ex-wife’s daughter, Melody Summers. Now Adam Lawson was using it on him, and he couldn’t understand what he had done wrong.

Panting heavily, Adam Lawson glared at Joel Lawson. His grip on the cleaver didn’t loosen in the slightest; he just held it flush against the boy’s neck.

He had been filled with doubt ever since listening to Grace Sutton a few days ago. He didn’t have money for a paternity test, so he used what little he had left to buy blood-typing test cards and ran a secret test.

The results showed that he was type A and Noelle Quillan was type O, but shockingly, both Joelle Lawson and Joel Lawson were type B!

He had looked it up online: it was absolutely impossible for a type-A person and a type-O person to have a type-B child!

Joelle Lawson and Joel Lawson... neither of them were his children!

Adam Lawson thought back to when he had secretly used Winnie Summers’s money to support Noelle Quillan. He remembered his joy upon learning Noelle had given birth to a son, and how he had triumphantly brought that son with him to ask Winnie Summers for a divorce... Adam Lawson felt his entire life was a joke.

He was filled with regret. He couldn’t believe that after half a lifetime of twists and turns, the only person who had ever truly been good to him was Winnie Summers.

If he hadn’t divorced Winnie Summers, he could be living the good life in her villa right now, enjoying the air conditioning, the fine food and drink, and the cozy life with a wife and daughter.

Adam Lawson decided then and there: no matter what, he had to get back together with Winnie Summers!

Adam Lawson continued shouting at Winnie Summers, who stood by the supermarket entrance. "Winnie! I know I was wrong! I must have been out of my mind to go after Noelle Quillan! That bitch seduced me! Winnie, just give me one more chance! I swear, you’ll be the only woman for me for the rest of my life!"

Hearing this, Winnie Summers just stared at him coldly, saying nothing.

When Winnie Summers remained silent, Adam Lawson yelled again, "Winnie, you haven’t remarried all these years. Weren’t you just waiting for me? You’re over forty. What other decent man are you going to find besides me? Wake up! No other man will have you!"

Colin Summers’s anger flared. He wanted nothing more than to rush forward and kick Adam Lawson, but Officer Tanner quickly stopped him, signaling him not to be impulsive. After all, Adam Lawson still had a hostage.

Seeing that Winnie Summers was still silent, Adam Lawson softened his tone, pleading, "Winnie, don’t be like this. Do you want people to say Melody is a fatherless child for the rest of her life? Don’t you want to give her a complete family?"

"Winnie, hasn’t it been hard being on your own all these years? Give me another chance. I’ll take care of you from now on. You won’t have to struggle like this anymore!"

While Adam Lawson’s attention was fixed on Winnie Summers, Officer Tanner began to creep up from behind, hoping to catch him off guard and wrench the cleaver from his hand.

But as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Adam Lawson suddenly spun around and roared at Officer Tanner, "Stay back! Get back! Don’t push me! Or I’ll kill him, I swear!"

Officer Tanner had no choice but to take two steps back. He noticed Joel Lawson’s lips were turning pale and his brow furrowed.

Adam Lawson waved the cleaver at Officer Tanner. "Aren’t you cops? Help me talk some sense into my wife! This is a family matter! Come on, mediate for us!"

Just then, a feathered bolt sliced through the air and slammed squarely into Adam Lawson’s chest.

Adam Lawson’s roaring stopped short. He looked down in disbelief at the bolt that had pierced his chest.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Dazed, Adam Lawson turned and saw Winnie Summers standing in front of the supermarket, slowly lowering a crossbow.

The police and security guards seized the opportunity. They swarmed forward, wrested the cleaver from Adam Lawson’s hand, and slammed him to the ground. They pulled Joel Lawson from his grasp and frantically worked to stop the bleeding.

Just then, police sirens wailed as several police cars entered the complex, heading straight for the commercial area.

The doors opened, and a squad of heavily armed tactical officers stepped out. Their leader was Roman Rhodes. Frowning, he walked up to the crowd and asked, "What’s the situation here?"

Officer Sean Pierce pointed to Adam Lawson on the ground. "This man came to the supply point to cause trouble. He took his own son hostage and was just shot and killed with a crossbow by one of our supply distribution staff."

It was now past six, and a number of residents who had come down to purchase supplies were gathered in the distance. Seeing the situation, none of them dared to approach, choosing instead to watch from afar.

Roman Rhodes frowned at Officer Sean Pierce. "It’s after six. Have your people start the regular supply distribution. Take everyone involved to the emergency management office for processing."

Officer Sean Pierce nodded. He and two security guards dragged Adam Lawson’s body to the emergency management office. Melody Summers and Winnie Summers followed.

Officer Tanner directed the guards to restore the barricade, then shouted to the onlookers, "Everything’s fine now! Please form a line to purchase supplies! Don’t crowd, there’s enough for everyone!"

*

Inside the emergency management office, Adam Lawson lay on the floor, breathless.

Winnie Summers’s bolt had struck Adam Lawson squarely in the lung, killing him instantly.

The gash in Joel Lawson’s neck was too deep. He had lost too much blood and slipped into a coma before he was even rescued. The building staff’s attempts to bandage the wound were futile. Father and son were both gone, just like that.

Roman Rhodes looked at Melody Summers with some surprise. "You again? All right, talk. What happened this time?"

Before Melody Summers could speak, Officer Sean Pierce cut in. "We and the security team were posted at the supermarket and the main gate for the supply distribution. The patrol teams were covering the residential buildings in the back. This father and son must have climbed a wall to get in. Nobody saw them."

"They tried to force their way into the supply point. We stopped them, and that’s when the man suddenly pulled a cleaver and took his son hostage."

Melody Summers then briefly explained the history between the Summers family and Adam Lawson, including how he and his son had destroyed the security cameras around their villa and attempted to break in just a few days prior.

Melody Summers added, "Officer Rhodes, Adam Lawson and his family have come to our home and caused trouble multiple times. We have always acted in self-defense. Today, he took a hostage. His actions were no different from any other criminal!"

Roman Rhodes nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Winnie Summers. "You’re the one who shot him with the crossbow?"

Winnie Summers had just killed a man, the first in her entire life, yet she felt perfectly calm.

She looked at Officer Rhodes and said calmly, "I did it. I know Adam Lawson. He’s the kind of person who doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants. If he had gotten away today, he would have just come back in a few days. I can’t let him endlessly torment my family."

Meeting Roman Rhodes’s scrutinizing gaze, Winnie Summers held it firmly. "He took the son he doted on for years hostage today. I can’t imagine what he might have done tomorrow. I won’t let my family live under that kind of threat! Officer, I killed a man. You can arrest me now."

Officer Sean Pierce quickly jumped in. "Comrade Summers, don’t worry. He was armed, trying to storm the supply point, and harming a hostage. You acted to protect the security of our supply point."

Looking at the mix of determination and stubbornness in Winnie Summers’s eyes, a faint smile touched Roman Rhodes’s usually serious face. He nodded. "That’s right, Comrade Summers. Thank you for killing the armed assailant and ensuring the security of the supply point. As for your personal grievances... rest assured, the police aren’t concerned with such things these days."

Winnie Summers and Melody Summers finally relaxed upon hearing his words.

Roman Rhodes glanced at Winnie Summers a few more times before saying in a gentler tone, "We’ll take the bodies of the father and son to the incinerator. The matter is closed. Comrade Summers, you’re a supply distributor. You should get back to your post."