Chapter 33
"Help... help me!"
The two of them struggled desperately in the water, gulping down mouthful after mouthful of dirty water.
Charlotte stood by the pond with her arms crossed, enjoying the sight of their misery.
Only when Mandy, who had fallen in first, was about to go under did she finally call the butler over without any sense of urgency.
Soon, several bodyguards dragged the two of them out.
Edward and the others, alerted by the commotion, rushed to the back garden.
Seeing Mandy and Chloe shivering and wrapped in blankets on the lawn, Edward's face darkened.
"How did you end up like this? What a disgrace!"
Alexander stood at the back with his hands in his pockets, looking casual. He didn't look at the two bedraggled women, but his gaze fell on Charlotte with a hint of meaning.
Mandy coughed repeatedly, her lips pale from the cold.
She raised her hand and pointed at Charlotte, her eyes filled with obvious resentment.
"It was her!"
"Daddy, she pushed me in! Chloe too—she pushed her! She was trying to kill us both!"
Edward was stunned and looked at Charlotte.
"Charlotte..."
"Really? Looks like Ms. Miller is confused."
Charlotte smiled and walked step by step toward Mandy, crouching down and offering her a handkerchief.
"Ms. Miller, you and Chloe were talking by the pond and lost your balance and fell in. How can you blame me?"
Mandy was furious. "You still won't admit it? Charlotte, you're so shameless! How could Chloe and I both be so careless and fall in!"
Charlotte narrowed her eyes and asked lightly, "Do you have proof? Proof that I pushed you into the water?"
She looked at Chloe, who was nearly numb from the cold.
"Do you have proof?"
Chloe suddenly clenched her teeth, her whole body shaking violently.
"I... isn't there surveillance here! The cameras must have caught it!"
Mandy suddenly remembered too. "There are surveillance cameras on the second floor! Charlotte, don't think you can get away with this..."
"The second-floor surveillance has been broken for a while." Alexander suddenly spoke up.
At these words, Edward and the butler both widened their eyes, looking at him with some surprise.
Especially the butler, who looked up at the second floor with uncertainty.
He checked the surveillance every morning and evening to make sure that if anything happened to Edward at home, it would be captured. How could Alexander say this?
At this moment, the butler couldn't understand what Alexander was trying to do.
But seeing Edward frowning thoughtfully and not speaking, he swallowed his doubts.
"How could this be?"
Mandy was devastated. "How could it be such a coincidence..."
Charlotte looked at her dazed expression and reached out to personally wipe the water droplets from her face.
"Ms. Miller, I know you're frightened, but even if you're scared, you can't talk nonsense. Otherwise, people will wonder if there was something dirty in the water that you swallowed and damaged your brain."
Mandy shuddered. Coming to her senses and seeing Charlotte's half-smiling expression, she suddenly seemed to understand everything.
She clenched her teeth and stared at Charlotte, unable to speak for a long time.
Charlotte's meaning was clear.
If she continued to accuse her, then the matter of poisoning the chicken soup couldn't be hidden.
If Edward and Alexander found out about this, if they discovered that she hadn't learned her lesson from last time and had actually gotten worse, then...
The consequences would be unthinkable.
Mandy clenched her fists, unable to say a single word at this moment.
She couldn't bear the consequences of this matter being exposed. Even though she had fallen into the water and felt utterly wronged, she could only force herself to endure it.
Watching her at a loss, Charlotte threw the handkerchief into her hands and stood up.
She glanced coldly at the two of them.
"You'd better go in and change your clothes quickly, and have the family doctor take a look. Don't catch a cold."
Edward sighed helplessly, leaning on his cane.
"A perfectly good family dinner ruined by you two. Did you come here to have dinner with me or to frighten me?"
With that, he turned and walked away with his cane.
The butler quickly supported him.
He looked at the two women being helped up by servants, then at Charlotte, and finally glanced at Alexander before hurrying away.
Benjamin had been standing by without saying a word, his brow furrowed.
Chloe's visit hadn't brought him any honor—she hadn't even maintained basic dignity.
His face darkened, and he turned and left without even a glance at Chloe.
"Benjamin!"
Chloe called after him several times, but couldn't stop him. She could only be led away by the people around her.
Soon, only a muddy mess remained on the ground, along with Charlotte and Alexander.
Their eyes met. Charlotte was silent for two seconds. "Why did you help me?"
Alexander said nonchalantly, "What did I help you with? Can you remind me? I don't seem to remember."
Charlotte was somewhat speechless. "Your second-floor surveillance cameras aren't broken at all."
When she decided to make her move against the two women, she had quickly assessed the surroundings.
The second-floor surveillance wasn't broken and was running normally.
But she wasn't afraid of the surveillance being checked, because she would use the fact that Mandy attacked her first to threaten her, making her not dare to say a word.
What Charlotte hadn't expected was that Alexander would suddenly speak up to help her cover this up.
At this moment, Charlotte narrowed her eyes, looking at Alexander with scrutiny.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"I told you, I just want to be friends with you."
Alexander smiled, his eyes like an unfathomably deep lake, dangerous yet temptingly captivating.
"Do you need to be so guarded?"
Charlotte didn't know what to say. After a long pause, she finally found her voice.
"I don't make friends casually. I also think that anyone who suddenly offers favors and wants to be my friend has ulterior motives. You should give up on this idea. You don't need to interfere in my business."
With that, she left without looking back.
Charlotte went to the living room and briefly said goodbye to Edward before preparing to leave.
Edward felt somewhat guilty and said apologetically, "After all this commotion today, I didn't let you enjoy a proper dinner."
"It's fine. I already tasted your chef's cooking." Charlotte smiled and politely expressed her thanks.
As she was leaving, she happened to see Benjamin striding away.
Chloe tried to grab his sleeve but was shaken off.
She stood there dejectedly, swaying, wearing a men's sweater she had temporarily changed into—the butler couldn't find replacement clothes and had temporarily given her his own new clothes.
Chloe looked ridiculous in it.
Charlotte found it amusing and couldn't help but snicker.
Hearing the sound, Chloe suddenly turned her head.