Chapter 475
After years of marriage, Lionel could read Yvette’s every mood without missing a beat.
He turned to her and asked, “Are you hiding something from me?”
Under Lionel’s steady gaze, Yvette could only sigh in resignation. “I don’t know if I’m just overthinking things, but I keep feeling like Suzan is nothing like you. You’re sharp and quick-witted-no matter what trouble you land in, you always find a way out. But Suzan…”
She hesitated, searching Lionel’s face for reassurance. “Honestly, maybe I’m just imagining things. It could just be me.”
But Lionel surprised her by nodding. “I’ve thought the same. We don’t look alike, and our personalities don’t match at all. I’ve already asked someone to look into it.”
He paused, his gaze darkening as his jaw tightened. “If they’ve been lying to me, I’ll make sure they regret it.”
Yvette offered a faint smile and said nothing more.
…
Suzan had assumed she’d be out in a flash. After all, how hard could it be? But Effie provided the police with a stack of evidence-documents exposing how Suzan had bribed Marian Evans to steal Shirley’s design sketches, among other things.
She thought Lionel would pull some strings and get her released right away, but several days passed before she was finally let out.
Even then, she wasn’t off the hook. She had to make a formal apology to The Etheridge Group and to Shirley, in front of the press.
“Why should I apologize?” Suzan’s eyes blazed with anger as she glared at Fenton.
She’d heard Fenton was formidable, so she bit back her rage and turned tearfully toward Lionel, her eyes shining as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Lionel took a steadying breath and looked her in the eye. “Suzan, you were in the wrong this time. If you don’t want a criminal record, you’ll have to hold a press conference and apologize.”
“Uncle, you’re so powerful-can’t you just―” Suzan’s voice trembled as fat tears slid down her cheeks.
Lionel felt a pang of guilt.
He’d spent the last few days investigating Suzan’s connection to his mother, but nothing had come to light so far. He worried he’d made a mistake—maybe he was letting his own niece suffer for nothing That was the only reason he had come to help Suzan one last time
But if he ever found out Suzan wasn’t really his niece, he’d never lift a finger for her again.
Everyone deserved to live with the consequences of their own choices.
“Suzan, your uncle’s just a
businessman, not a magician. He can’t make every problem
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disappear,” Yvette said gently. “If you won’t apologize, you’ll end up behind bars again.”
Suzan felt a spike of panic. Those few days inside had nearly driven her mad.
She had no choice but to grit her teeth and agree.
Soon, Suzan’s apology video was posted on every major platform.
Thanks to the buzz Maurice had
stirred up before, the story was still trending, and the moment Suzan’s apology went live, the internet exploded with reactions.
Adeline was having afternoon tea with a group of society ladies when the
entrance to the café suddenly grew noisy.
She glanced up and locked eyes with Suzan.
Adeline’s expression darkened, but before she could react, Suzan had already
crossed the room and was standing at her side.
“Aunt Adeline,” Suzan greeted her.
Adeline scoffed and turned away.
Undeterred, Suzan circled around to face her again. “Aunt Adeline, these are some new face masks my father’s company developed. They’re great.”
Adeline gave another disdainful snort and didn’t even lift a hand to accept them.