CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 249 CULPRITS

The footage flickered once before stabilizing, the corridor appearing across the massive screen. Everyone leaned closer.

Bella’s fingers hovered above the mouse for a moment, her lips pressed tightly together. Then she clicked play.

The first clip showed her stepping out of the washroom.

Then Sherly appeared behind her, shouting something. Her face twisted in anger as she kicked Bella from behind, sending her stumbling forward. A moment later, Sherly’s friends joined in.

Bella bit her lip, fighting back the sting of memory. Her knuckles tightened against the armrest.

Leo’s jaw locked. His hand curled into a fist so tight his knuckles whitened. His gray eyes narrowed into icy slits, a storm of rage boiling in his chest. For a moment, the entire control room felt his fury radiating like a physical force.

Even William’s lined face darkened, his earlier amusement vanishing. His expression turned grim and ugly.

The footage continued.

Stella appeared. The screen showed her pretending to steady Bella, then—when no one was watching—delivering a sharp kick to the back of Bella’s leg. Bella crumpled, her body dragged roughly toward the corner, away from everyone’s sight.

"Impossible..." Stella whispered under her breath, her face paling. But the footage didn’t lie.

Bella’s lips trembled, but she held her head high. She clicked again, moving to the next recovered file.

This one showed the outside of the locked room where the jade had been kept. Alexa appeared in the corner of the footage, her posture stiff, her eyes darting like a thief. The screen clearly caught her whispering hurried words to a maid before slipping inside the room. Moments later, Alexa exited, her clutch noticeably fuller, her expression smug.

Gasps rippled through the control room. One of William’s grandsons cursed under his breath.

Alexa’s face flushed crimson, her carefully crafted elegance shattering. "T-That’s fake! That’s not me!" she cried, her voice shrill with panic.

"Fake?" William’s sharp voice cut her off. "Do you think this footage can lie?"

Alexa flinched, unable to respond.

Leo, however, didn’t waste words. His gaze had already fixed on her...cold, merciless, the kind of look that promised retribution no matter where she ran.

Bella sat silently in the command chair, her heart pounding so loudly she could hear it echo in her ears.

And Stella’s knees buckled. She clutched her dress tightly, realizing all eyes were now burning into her.

"How dare you!!" Leo’s voice thundered, echoing off the walls like a growl from a beast. His jaw tightened, veins stood out along his neck, and his gray eyes blazed with unrestrained fury as he looked at both Alexa and Stella.

"You both... tried to frame my wife!!" he roared, and before anyone could even breathe, he pulled out his gun in one swift, practiced motion.

Gasps broke across the control room, several people stumbling back, but Leo didn’t care. His finger curled around the trigger, his aim deadly and precise.

"Leo!" Bella cried out, standing from the command chair just as the shot rang out.

Bang!

The bullet shattered one of the massive monitors, glass splintering into sharp fragments that rained to the floor. A piece ricocheted, slicing across Alexa’s arm.

"Ouch—ouch!!" Alexa screamed, clutching her arm as blood seeped through her expensive gown. Her perfect mask of elegance broke instantly, replaced with sheer panic and pain.

Leo’s chest rose and fell heavily, his whole body strung tight with rage. His aura was suffocating, making even William’s grandsons falter back.

But before he could fire again, Bella darted forward, her small hands wrapping tightly around his waist from behind. Her soft cheek pressed against his back, her heartbeat trembling against him.

"Leo... Leo..." her voice shook, but she forced the words out. "Violence isn’t always the answer..." Her hand moved up, patting his stomach nervously, desperately trying to ground him.

For a moment, the entire room held its breath.

Leo’s knuckles whitened around the gun. His chest heaved. His gray eyes burned with the desire to kill.

But then slowly, unwillingly his muscles eased under her touch. His jaw remained tight, but the finger on the trigger loosened. With a sharp exhale, he lowered the weapon.

Bella let out a shaky sigh of relief, loosening her grip, but she stayed close enough to shield him from tipping over the edge again.

"Sorry you had to experience this," William finally broke the silence, his voice low but steady, though his sharp gaze never left Alexa and Stella. "You can punish those two—and that other woman as well—as you see fit, Bella."

***

When Bella and the others stepped back into the main hall, the atmosphere was heavy with curiosity. Dozens of eyes turned toward them, whispers rippled like waves through the crowd, and everyone’s gaze seemed fixed on Bella.

Jessica, who had been waiting for this moment, quickly stepped forward. She dabbed at her perfectly dry eyes with a silk handkerchief, her lips trembling theatrically.

"Bella... I can’t believe you would do such things," she cried out, her voice high and sharp enough to reach every ear in the hall. "I am so ashamed... ashamed to even say I am your mother!!"

Her wail drew sympathetic gasps. One wealthy wife, moved by the display, leaned over to pat Jessica’s back softly, murmuring, "There, there... it must be so hard for you."

Jessica leaned into the comfort, sobbing louder, her shoulders shaking as if she were truly heartbroken. The perfect performance.

But Bella stood frozen, her doe eyes wide, her chest tight as all the eyes in the room pressed down on her. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

And then—Leo stepped forward.

His tall figure cast a long shadow over Jessica, and when she dared to look up, her fake tears almost dried on the spot. His gray eyes were like ice, sharp and unyielding, his jaw clenched as if he could barely tolerate the sight of her.

One step closer, and the whispers in the room died down into silence.

Jessica’s "motherly act" suddenly didn’t feel so safe under that suffocating gaze.

Leo’s low chuckle broke through the silence, deep and mocking.

"Yeah," he said coldly, his lips curving in a humorless smile. "You should be ashamed of being her mother."