Thornton Family’s Old Mansion——
"Are you kidding , just because a store had an issue, I have to go check it myself? Don’t I have other things to do?"
"President Sutton, now the custor is adamantly claiming there’s a problem with our product and threatening to expose us if they don’t receive an apology. This custor is a journalist, which is quite tricky, so it would be best if you ca in person."
Holly Sutton received this call just as she had finished getting ready to leave the house.
She had originally planned a day at the hot springs with her young boyfriend, but work got in the way again.
Holly was in a bad mood and snapped at her assistant-cum-driver as soon as she got into the car, "I should have fired all the staff Old Man Thornton hired when he died. They’re all useless, needing to handle such a trivial matter personally. What’s the point of keeping you on the payroll?"
"President, this is what they call ’the capable do the most work.’ Compared to you, of course, we seem useless."
The driver was quick with his words, managing to soothe Holly with just a few remarks: "Of course! That old dead man Kenneth Thornton and his useless daughter are good for nothing. If it weren’t for holding up the company with my hard work over the years, all of you would have been living on the streets by now."
"Everyone in the company knows your contributions are the greatest!"
"Anyway, just stick with , be smart, and you won’t be shortchanged."
Holly was finally pacified, but then the car broke down again.
With a sudden brake, she was almost thrown from her seat.
Holly never had the habit of wearing a seatbelt, so she hit the dashboard hard.
"What’s going on?" she glared angrily at the driver beside her.
"Apologies, President. The car seems to have so issues. Please wait a mont while I check it out."
This morning, Holly had a bad feeling when her right eyelid was twitching—sure enough, nothing was going smoothly.
A huge bump had already ford on her forehead from the earlier hit, prompting her to retrieve her makeup mirror from her bag to check it.
After setting down the mirror, she noticed the car had stopped right in front of a police station, which seed even more inauspicious.
Four years ago, that dead girl Anna Thornton nearly took the evidence of Holly causing Old Man Thornton’s death to report her for murder.
Luckily, Holly caught her first, locked Anna up in a ntal institution, and did not give her the opportunity.
However, Holly had nightmares for days afterward, always dreaming of that girl going to the police station to inform against her.
The reality was more terrifying than the dream—
In the next mont... Holly actually saw Anna Thornton coming out of the police station.
She suspected her eyes were playing tricks on her, rubbed them, and then looked again at the figure walking out from the police station; it was indeed Anna Thornton.
How could that dead girl be here?
Wasn’t she supposed to be in Aethelgard?
Last ti Holly went to Aethelgard specifically to test things out, she thought Anna had really let go of past grievances and beco so little celebrity over there.
So why did she suddenly return?
Even more troubling was that Anna didn’t co back alone this ti.
Holly noticed the man walking with that dead girl out of the police station, if she wasn’t mistaken, it was Dylan White!
Why was he with Anna Thornton?
The two of them even ca out of the police station together?
...
"Anna, thank you so much for staying with today and coming along to give your statent."
Once out of the police station, Dylan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, Anna Thornton had insisted he co to the station, and though he was reluctant, only there did he learn that the woman had indeed reported him, accusing him of rape.
Reluctantly, Dylan cooperated with the investigation and explained the situation.
Being a lawyer himself, he knew there was no denying it if the evidence was solid.
So he insisted it was mutual after a drunken encounter last night.
As long as he found the woman from the previous night and settled things privately, he could avoid any legal trouble.
"It’s nothing, Dylan. Didn’t you also co back with to my hotown? If it wasn’t for , you wouldn’t have gotten into this ss."
That was indeed true; Dylan wouldn’t have found himself in this rigmarole if not for chasing after Anna.
However, seeing Anna sticking by him through it all eased so of his frustrations: "Anna, you’ve changed so much from four years ago; your temper seems much improved."
"Actually, my temper hasn’t changed; it’s my IQ that’s improved, enough to outsmart you effortlessly!" Anna replied imperturbably.
Although, she just smiled on the surface.
"Right, after the morning ordeal, how about a cup of coffee on ?"
"Sure!"
Anna deliberately chose a window seat on the second floor of the café, from which she could see Holly’s BMW parked directly below.
It appeared Holly, upon learning she and Dylan returned to Veridia together, couldn’t rest easy and had followed to keep watch.
Great, she took the bait!
...
"Your performance in this morning’s scene was excellent. Here’s the fee I promised you!"
Anna put five hundred dollars in an envelope and handed it to the person across from her.
If Dylan were present, he would recognize the woman receiving the money as the one he mistakenly slept with last night, who also accused him of rape this morning.
"No need to be so formal, just call Marilyn."
"Marilyn?"
"Yes, Marilyn is my stage na in the entertainnt circles. It’s the sa sound as that high-class actress, easy to rember, right?"
"Uh..."
Marilyn from the entertainnt industry counted the five hundred dollars in the envelope twice, then put it in her bag, not reassured until she asked Anna, "What if soone finds out I’m actually a prostitute after I reported being raped?"
"Don’t worry, just drop the charges in a couple of days, and I guarantee no one will pursue the issue."
"Are you sure?"
"Let put it this way: the man you slept with last night is a lawyer, and in their field, reputation is everything. They absolutely dread legal entanglents. Once you, the victim, stop pursuing it, no matter your profession, he won’t breathe a sigh of relief and act as if nothing happened?"
"But why hire a prostitute to sleep with him, have them report him, but not actually press charges—what’s your angle?" Marilyn questioned curiously.
"Well... that man, just because he has so filthy money thinks he’s so great, even resorting to despicable tactics like drugging my drink. I wanted to teach him a lesson!"
"True enough, people like that need to be taught a lesson! Do they think won are just theirs to sleep with as they please? Even those who hire prostitutes have the decency to pay the set rate, yet he tries to get away with drugging. It’s too vile! He deserves being tricked by you. Next ti you have another deal punishing scumbags, you know where to find , I’ll give you a discount!"
"Sure, we’ll talk next ti! But for now, you’d best lay low, make sure he doesn’t find you, at least for the next couple of days."
Anna knew well; Dylan as a lawyer wouldn’t stay ensnared by her simple ruse forever.
When Dylan drugged Anna’s drink last night, she turned the tables and swapped the drugged drink back to him.
Dylan, though intoxicated and drugged, coupled with last night’s excessive indulgence, only fell into the trap for a short ti.
But after a couple of days, should he reflect on it, he would notice the discrepancies.
Even if he did, it would be too late because all Anna needed was for Holly Sutton to witness her exiting the police station with Dylan White.
Believing Holly’s suspicious nature, she would undoubtedly react.
Next, Anna planned to return to Dylan’s side, to anticipate when Holly would arrange to et with Dylan.
Anticipating that her objective was close to fruition, Anna’s steps beca lighter.
She returned to the hotel, intending to first check Dylan’s room.
Dylan’s room was across from hers, the second one down the hallway from the elevator.
However, as Anna turned the corner, the door of the adjacent room suddenly swung open, and a powerful hand pulled her inside forcefully.
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