CHAPTER 835: CHAPTER 834

Jack promptly sent over several vintage videos. They were grainy and aged, but you could still make out the genders of the people on screen. Then Jack shot through some documents, including screenshots of bank transfers and more.

"Boss, this is as clear as day - we’ve got a case of a mistress ordering a hit. Carol’s mom was taken out by this homewrecker. Are we gonna do something about it?"

Rosemary sifted through all the documents before grasping the full picture.

It had been Crystal Temple’s birthday, and both families had planned a fun-filled day at the amusement park. But Carol’s family of four got there first. Later, tragedy struck when Crystal’s family got into a car accident, and Carol’s mom rushed to help.

Lurking in the distance was a truck, eyeing the scene, but the busy street and the crowd deterred any direct action. If things escalated, there would surely be an investigation.

The woman who had accidentally hit Crystal’s family was fraught with guilt and fear, insisting on taking them to the hospital.

Then, the moment presented itself. The truck suddenly switched lanes, accelerated, and plowed straight toward them. The woman driver didn’t stand a chance - she was killed instantly.

Only after going through the files did Rosemary learn that the truck driver, diagnosed with a terminal illness, had been offered a million to ram into someone. Desperate due to poverty and medical debts plaguing his family, he chose to trade his life for money to provide them with a better future. The one

who funded the hit was Carol’s current stepmother - Maureen.

She thought she had covered her tracks perfectly, not realizing that even the most meticulous plans have flaws.

Initially, Maureen paid the truck driver 100 grand as a down payment, promising the remaining 900 grand upon completion. But since the driver died at the scene, leaving no witnesses, his family waited over a decade without seeing the rest of the money.

That was the money the driver had traded his life for, but Maureen refused to pay up. She knew that for something like this, they couldn’t just go to the police. They had to swallow the bitter pill in silence.

Fearing Maureen might renege on the deal, the truck driver had secretly saved all the records of his communications with Maureen, leaving them to his family.

Now, with a family member critically ill and in dire need of cash, the matter slowly surfaced. The documents revealed that to rid herself of this family, Maureen was already seeking a hitman.

Rosemary couldn’t believe that to become the lady of the Brooks family, that woman could harbor such malicious intentions.

Although Carol’s birth mother didn’t die on the spot, she was left permanently disabled. With Carol sent to an orphanage and her brother Dennis sold to a rural village, their mother died of illness, unable to find her children.

And all the hardships Carol later endured could be traced back to this woman!! If it weren’t for her hiring a hitman, none of this would have happened!!

At that moment, the Brooks family was in the midst of a heated argument.

"You clearly know that girl from LY, why won’t you help out your sister? It’s just a matter of speaking up! Is it really that hard?" Maureen was fuming.

The stepsister Katherine sat on the couch, her eyes brimming with tears, looking every bit the picture of pitiable distress.

Carol remained unmoved, her voice chilly as she spoke, "It’s her own fault for plagiarizing LY’s designs. She made her bed; now she has to lie in it."

"It was just a coincidence!" Maureen insisted, trying to downplay the situation, "There’s no need to call it plagiarism. That sounds so ugly."

"If you don’t like it, then don’t copy in the first place."

Katherine, standing off to the side, seemed to shrink under the weight of the accusation, as if the similarity to LY’s designs was a mere accident, not a deliberate act.

"Seventeen designs with a similarity of up to 90 percent, and you call that a coincidence? If it was merely a coincidence, would they sue you?"

Carol didn’t want to waste her time arguing. She had plans to deliver the hand-knitted scarves she was going to make to her aunt before the holidays. But as she tried to make her way upstairs, her

stepmother Maureen blocked her path.

"Honey, aren’t you going to say anything? Even if Katherine lost her inspiration for a moment and went a little too far in ’referencing’ LY’s designs, resulting in them calling it plagiarism, their demand for a 3 million-dollar settlement is outrageous, and they won’t budge on the amount. They also want us to publicly apologize on social media. Isn’t that just stomping on the Brooks family’s pride?"

With that, Maureen turned her angry gaze to Carol, her voice tinged with frustration, "If only she would say the word, her influential friends would let this slide. No money spent, no public embarrassment, but she just won’t help! What kind of daughter wants to see her parents humiliated?"

Carol looked back at her coldly, "Your true colors are showing, and it’s not a pretty sight. You may have no shame, but I do."

"Listen to her, honey! Listen to how she talks to me! I’m the elder, and she has no respect! I bet she’s in cahoots with them, trying to swindle your money and then funnel it into her own pocket. Why else

would she refuse to help us with this simple favor?"

As Maureen glared at Carol, her loathing was palpable. She desired to lash out, shred and toss the insolent girl to the trash.

Rudolf was caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to appease his wife, "You went too far with Katherine at the mall last time, talking about how Carol’s mom has been dead for ages and criticizing her for ’wasting money on flowers for the dead,’ and then you destroyed her bouquet. Of course, she’s

upset. I saw the surveillance video; you and Katherine were out of line!"

"But she insulted me too! She said she only has two moms, her birth mom and her foster one. She asked what did I think I was, and she said I had no right to lecture her in this house," Maureen’s voice

trailed off, her grievance apparent.

"Given your position, it’s indeed inappropriate."

"What are you saying? I married you; you’re her dad, so naturally I am her mom!"

What could be inappropriate about that?

"Do you want to join my mom in her grave? Is that it?"

Carol’s retort left Maureen fuming, "Listen to what she said, honey!" If her husband wasn’t there, she would have torn this ungrateful brat’s mouth right off!

"Dad, I’ve worked hard to build my business and never made 3 million. Now, not only do I have to compensate them, effectively nullifying years of hard work, but I’m expected to apologize publicly. It’s

not just my reputation on the line; people know I’m your daughter. There are many eyes on us. Who will dare to partner with our family after this. Dad, I’m thinking of you, of our family."

"Look at your daughters, one thinking of you and the other pushing you into the fire."

"The one pushing Dad into the fire is you. If you hadn’t plagiarized, there’d be no need for compensation or apologies, no need for this melodramatic display. I’m done here. You all can carry on with your performance."

With that, Carol turned and headed upstairs, unwilling to engage with them any further.

"Honey, look at her! She has no regard for this family. She’s grown wild and heartless out there in the world!" Maureen was livid, vowing to herself that the next time her husband wasn’t home, she would

deal with that wretched girl behind closed doors.