Chapter 1179

“It’s lunchtime now. You can have a meal with me,” Lydia said, and before Amelia could answer, she went ahead and ordered for them both.

Her orders were soon served at the table. Every dish was exquisitely prepared, but Amelia had no appetite for it.

“Mrs. York, whether we share a meal or not is beside the point. If you have anything to say to me, please tell me directly. I don’t like to beat around the bush,” Amelia said.

Suddenly, Lydia laughed. She replied, “Well said, Ms. Haab. You don’t like to beat around the bush, and neither do I. But didn’t we do just that for quite a while? When I was in the hospital, I thought everything had settled down and even felt that you were easygoing. I even felt so sorry for what happened between you and Warren before, but… who knew you were just giving lip service!”

Amelia looked at her and said, “Mrs. York, you can rest assured. I didn’t come to Strico because I wanted to start over with Warren. I just had a request for him. As long as he agrees, I will leave Strico immediately without disturbing his life.”

Lydia looked at Amelia suspiciously. “What are you asking of him? Have you encountered financial difficulties? Do you want money? Or do you want something else? If you really don’t want to disturb his life, wouldn’t it be better for you to come straight to me?”

Amelia smiled bitterly and replied, “I need Warren to issue a memorandum of understanding regarding Alicia. I hope he can help Alicia plead for leniency and a probation sentence.”

Her words caused Lydia’s expression to change instantly.

“What was I thinking? So you’re pleading mercy for your friend! Well, let me tell you something. Don’t even think about it. Your friend almost killed Warren on the operating table. And how could he suffer such serious injuries if you didn’t blindly Alicia and walk into a trap?” Fear swelled in Lydia’s chest at the thought of losing her son.

She had already lost her husband; she couldn’t lose her son too.

“Mrs. York, listen to my explanation. I don’t think of Alicia as my friend anymore, and I’m not begging for mercy on her behalf. It’s just that Alicia knows the whereabouts of a friend of mine named Riley, and Riley’s current situation is probably quite bad. Therefore, in exchange for information on Riley’s whereabouts, Alicia wanted me to get her out of prison.” Amelia also thought to herself, “How could I let Alicia off the hook so easily otherwise?”

But her explanation didn’t reassure Lydia. Instead, the latter looked at Amelia coldly and asked, “Do you want my son to let go of a killer who hurt him to get information on your friend’s whereabouts?

Amelia, Warren risked his life for you once. Do you still have a conscience?”

“I’m sorry… Mrs. York, I’m sorry. I know it is unfair to Warren. But Riley was not only my friend; she also helped Aiden and me! She helped me through my difficult labor, and when someone made my life difficult in prison, she bore the brunt of the ill-treatment for me. If not for her, Aiden and I might have died!” Amelia choked out.

Lydia’s expression softened after she heard about Aiden and the prison.

She knew it was her son’s fault that sent Amelia to prison, resulting in Aiden’s birth in the prison. In that case, I will find a way to deal with Alicia. We’ll try to convert her jail sentence to probation first. After you get Riley’s whereabouts, we can deal with Alicia again.”

Hearing this, Amelia was overjoyed. Negotiations with Warren were not going anywhere. It would be great if Lydia could help her instead.

Lydia added, “But, I want you to promise me that you won’t show up in front of Warren unless it has something to do with Aiden. Don’t disturb his life anymore!”

Amelia was about to speak when the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open. Instead of a waiter at the club, Warren came in.

“Shouldn’t you ask me first before agreeing to her request? After all, I an also one of the parties involved, right?” Warren walked into the private room and pulled out a chair, sitting on it.

Lydia was visibly stunned by his appearance. She exclaimed, “Warren, why are you here?”

“If I hadn’t come, would you have gone over my head and discussed the terms?” Warren retorted.

As he spoke, Warren turned to look at Amelia and asked, “What are the terms you’ve discussed with my mother? Did she ask you to promise never to show up in front of me again in exchange for helping Alicia get a probation sentence?”

Even if he hadn’t heard the whole conversation, he could roughly surmise the content of their discussion from the last sentence he heard when he came in.

Amelia’s body stiffened, and she pursed her lips without saying a word.

Warren said coldly, “I can declare my thoughts too. My mother cannot help you, and Alicia will still be given a strong sentence. As for the whereabouts of your friend, you can think of other ways to get information on that.”

Amelia’s face paled. Her hand on the table unconsciously clenched, and her shoulder trembled slightly as if she had been under too much pressure, which almost made her collapse.

Her appearance made him frown slightly, but then he overlooked the discomfort in his heart and continued, “Rather than thinking about making a deal with my mother, you’d better think about how to make me change my mind and agree to your request!”

“Warren!” Lydia said, “Do you still want to be involved with this woman? Did you forget how she abandoned you before? You’ve done enough for her. Even if you made a mistake, you have already made up for it!”

Warren turned toward his mother and snapped, “Mom, this is about me and her. Don’t interfere.”

“But how could I not intervene?” Lydia sighed inwardly. She didn’t want to lose her son anymore. She begged, “Warren, please give Alicia a reprieve and properly cut ties with Amelia! Even if Alicia is given a probation sentence and gets out of prison, we can always find a way to put her back inside. I definitely won’t let that woman live well! So, stop talking to Amelia, okay?”

Despite Lydia’s desperate pleas, Warren just bent over and hugged his mother. “Mom, I said this is between me and her. Don’t get involved. If she wants to get Alicia on probation, she should be begging me for help!”

“But…” Lydia wanted to say something more, but Warren had already straightened up and pulled Amelia up with him.