bChapter /bb52 /b

All the menshers of the Hayes family stared at Ste in utter disbelief. They wondered when Ste had even called the police

Andrew fixed Ste with a threatening ss andmanded sharply, “Quickly tell the officers you made a mistake. Apologie properly and say none of this ever happened”

Andrew discreetly nudged Fions with his finger, and Fiona immediately caught his drift.

Fiona said, “Ste dear, you must have inunderstood Henry. We’ve all seen with our own eyes how good he’s been to you How could possiblymit murder?

“Everyone knows his two previous wives died of illness. Go on, set the record straight with the officers.”

Max had been reflecting on these past few days. He thought, Ste ending up like this is partly my fault. I hardly ever cared for her growing up

He’d finally made up his mind to end their rtionship, even ordering a bunch of novelty gifts from abroad, which were due to arrive any diay no

But seeing the current situation, he thought, ‘How could Ste utterly disregard our family’s livelihood and stubbornly make false usations against

Henry? That is unforgivable.

He used, “bSte/b, we admit bwe’ve /bwronged you. Ever since you came back, we’ve been trying to make amends, but you have to give bus /ba chance, too Do you want to see our family fall apart? Don’t you even care about Grandma?”

Anna looked at Ste anxiously and pleaded, “Ste, Henry truly isn’t that kind of person

Ste stared at the four familiar, indifferent faces before her. She thought she had grown numb to it, that she could just stop caring. But it turned out she couldn’t just stop caring

When they all blindly took Henry’s side without even hearing her out, it felt like a knife twisting in her heart.

Henry shot Ste a triumphant nce, then turned to the officers and said, “See, officers? With all these people willing to vouch for me, fi innocent.”

An officer said, “And what about this?” As he spoke, he produced a phone and yed a recording.

First came Henry’s voice, asking. “Is her blood usable?”

A man replied, “Of course. Don’t worry, we’ve already run the tests–her blood is perfectly fine.”

Henry said, “Good.”

The man said, “You’re truly ruthless. For your first love, you always manage to find fresh blood donors for her

Henry said, “Can’t me me. Those families are greedy. Their daughterse cheap for some cash. The first two both died, but once they got paid, their families never made a bfuss/b.”

The bman /bsaid, “But this one’s different from thest two. I doubt she can survive too many transfusions.”

Henry said, “Extract as much as we can. I didn’t pay them

much anyway. If she dies, I won’t give her family a single cent

The man bsaid/b, “You’re really devoted to your first love.”

Henry said, “Of course. If she hadn’t saved me back then, I wouldn’t be where bI /bam btoday/b. I’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back. I want her to wake up and see the world with me.”

Eleanor stared at Ste in shock and asked, “is this real?”

Ste nodded solemnly. She replied, “Yes, Grandma I heard these exact words when I was captured.”

Henry’s face went utterly cold. He shouted, “Impossible. Did you have someone fake this?”

The officer ying the recording said, “Our forensics team has already authenticated this recording It’s authentic, not fabricated. And as have more recordings just like this”

Fiona couldn’t believe her ears. She said, “Officer, this can’t be real. Who gave you this recording?”

The officer’s gaze shifted to Ste,

“I did,” Ste enunciated, each word filled with resolve(

Fiona stared at Ste in disbelief. She said, “Ste, you don’t even have a phone. How could you possibly have recorded anything?”

Ste countered calmly. “Do I not have a phone?” She turned her gaze to Henry, her eyes calm and unwavering

The rest of the Hayes family turned to Henry, clearly confused.

Henry’s face darkened as realization dawned, He lunged forward, only to be intercepted by the officers

Pointing an using finger at Ste, Henry snarled, “So you suspected me all along? That’s why you kept recording just to frame me and send me prison, isn’t it?”

The entire Hayes family stood froze in shock, utterly bewildered by the sudden turn of events. Eleanor fixed her gaze on Ste, her expression unreadable.

Ste said, “Exactly. From the very first time i met you, I sensed something was off. The way you looked at me, like I was your lifeine, and the hints picked up from others made it clear you were hiding something

I to my email every ten minutes.

“So when you took me to Crescent Vi, of course, I was on guard. I started recording right away and set it to auto–upload to my

“That way, even if my phone got damaged, I could still ess bthose /brecordings from my inbox once I got home. I reported you to the policest night They told me they’d only arrest you once they had more solid evidence.

“Well, it seems they’ve already found conclusive proof about your previous two wives‘ deaths. bHenry/b, you’ll be spending the rest of your life behind bar

y was seething with murderous rage toward Ste, but the officers switly moved in and apprehended him.

Henry

As Henry was being dragged toward the police car, he bsnarled/b, “Andrew, you’ve raised some daughter. She couldn’t care less if your family lives or bdies /bNow that I’m headed to prison, not only will I cut off all investment, but sue you.

“I’ll make you cough up every single cent you got from me. Without my help, let’s see how you’ll ever fend off the attacks from the Carver family and their

After a long, heavy silence, Andrew stopped up to Ste, raising his hand to p her. But before he could act. Eleanorshed out first.

Eleanor was trembling with fury. She snapped, “How could I have given birth to a son like you? Ste is your flesh and blood. I can’t believe you didn’t know what kind of person Henry is, yet you still pushed her into that Irving hell.

“Ste is so fragile that she could be gone any day. And yet you would turn her into a lood supply for another woman. bAre /byou trying to and the Hayers family line!”

Andrew tried to exin, “Mom, I didn’t

“Didn’t know?” Eleanor snapped, cutting him off before he could finish. She said, “A simple check would have told you. And do you expect me to bve your pathetic excuses? You let Ste go all the way to Crescent Vib, /bbsuch /ba remote ce.

i“/iEven if it wasn’t to use her as ba /bwalking blood donor, what did you think Henry would do to her there? They’re not even married yet.

“Today, you were practically forcing Ste to marry Henry, just so she could be a blood supply for others sooner. You are worse than beasts.”

10:30 Thu 31 Jul of

Driven by fury, Eleanorshed out with her foot, kicking Andrew hard.

Andrew was about bo dodge, but Anna darted in front of Eleanor and dropped to her knees 5es first. This is all my fault.

She pleaded, “Grandma, please. Don’t be angry. Your health

“Inly I’d managed to secure the Quinn family’s investment and sort everything out, none of this would’ve happened. Grandma, don’t me Bad. If anyone’s to me, it’s me.”

Eleanor snapped, “And me you I shall, Arma in this family, you y the meek victim, but you’re the one stirring up trouble. The rift between you and Ste is entirely your doing

ake sure you learn your lesson” With that she raised her hand,

“Since childhood, you’ve exploited their favoritism to scheme against Ste. Today, I’ll make sure poised to deliver a stinging p,

Fiona snatched Eleanor’s hand and shoved her aside forcefully. She said, “Don’t you darey a finger on my daughter.”

The force sent Eleanor crashing into the table behind her, where a porcin vase was ced.

Ste and Max both lunged forward to catch Eleanor, but it bwas /balready toote.