Chapter 57: Find the Dirty Thing, Kill Tatum

Chapter 57 Find the Dirty Thing, Kill Tatum

Patrick frowned and reached out to take the package, but Clio suddenly stopped him: "Wait!"

Her eyes examined the package repeatedly, full of suspicion—the fabric and rope of this package were completely different from the voodoo doll package she had asked Zola to hide in Cressida's courtyard!

"What's wrong?" Patrick looked at Clio in confusion, then as if realizing something, his tone darkened, "Isn't the house across from the east wing where Tatum lives?"

Tatum's face changed dramatically at these words, and she quickly knelt on the ground: "This old servant has been completely loyal, how could I hide anything unclean? Please investigate clearly, Mr. Hamilton!"

Clio suppressed the panic in her heart and turned to look at Noah, the butler leading the search: "Are you sure you searched Cressida's courtyard thoroughly?"

"In response to Mrs. Hamilton, I led people to search inside and out three times, not even missing under the beds and gaps in the wardrobes," Noah answered with a bow.

Cressida looked up, her eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny: "Mother seems very disappointed? What did you expect to find in my courtyard? And why did you stop us from opening this package? Could it be that you want to help hide Tatum's secret?"

"Nonsense!" Clio shouted back. "Tatum has always been proper. It's just an ordinary package, nothing shameful about it."

Patrick waved his hand impatiently: "Open it!"

Noah immediately stepped forward to untie the knot, revealing a pile of neatly folded old clothes inside. Seeing this, Tatum secretly breathed a sigh of relief—these were her seasonal clothes she had put away. She must have casually left them in the room when tidying up and later forgot about it.

But just as Noah shook out a coat, a book without a cover slipped out from between the clothes and hit the ground.

"What's this?" Noah bent down to pick up the book. After just one glance at the pattern inside the cover, he quickly closed it and knelt down with an ugly expression: "Mr., Mr. Hamilton."

"What kind of behavior is this, panicking like that! Bring it here for me to see!" Patrick scolded with a frown.

Noah handed over the book with trembling hands. As soon as Patrick opened the first page, his expression changed dramatically, then turned to rage. Patrick flipped through several pages, then suddenly stood up and kicked Tatum in the waist and abdomen.

"You bastard! How dare you keep such filthy material! Are you tired of living?"

Tatum clutched her stomach and lay on the ground, coughing up blood from the pain, but still tried to defend herself: "Mr. Hamilton, spare me! I can't even read, how could this book be in my things!"

"You can't read, which makes it convenient for you to hide this kind of wordless but filthy thing!" Patrick pointed at Clio and shouted angrily, "Is this how you manage the servants? A servant hides this kind of banned book, and you knew nothing about it!"

Clio quickly picked up the book. After just one glance, she snapped it shut, her fingertips trembling—the book was full of obscene images, exactly the kind of banned book that Novaria strictly prohibited. Legend had it that it was drawn by a disgraced poet from the previous dynasty, and the woman in the paintings was based on a favorite concubine of the current King Doyle's deceased father. If Doyle found out about this, the entire Hamilton family would be in trouble!

"Mother, what book is it?" Michael asked curiously, craning his neck.

"Shut up!" Clio's voice became shrill. She turned to Patrick, crying and pleading, "Mr. Hamilton, this must be someone deliberately framing her! At Tatum's age, why would she hide such a thing?"

"Framing? You're the one who made a fuss in the middle of the night demanding to search the mansion, dragging the whole family to accompany you in this farce!" Patrick was furious and slapped Clio across the face, knocking her to the ground. "Now that a banned book has been found, you say someone is framing her? Could it be that you're framing Tatum?"

Tatum crawled to Patrick's feet, her forehead repeatedly hitting the ground, blood flowing down from her brow: "Mr. Hamilton, I really don't know! This book is definitely not mine!"

Cressida spoke up at the right moment, her tone calm but every word damning: "Could it have been left by Rose? After she was sent away, wasn't Tatum responsible for cleaning up her room? Rose always loved collecting strange things, perhaps she left it behind."

"Stop slandering Rose!" Michael roared and stepped forward. "Rose would never hide such dirty things!"

"I'm just guessing." Cressida looked at Patrick. "Father, think about it—Tatum can't read, so hiding this kind of picture book would be useless to her. If it's not Rose's, could it have appeared here out of thin air?"

Patrick's face was very gloomy. He stared at Tatum: "I'll ask you one last time, whose is this thing?"

"I really don't know!"

"Drag her out! Beat her to death, beat her until she's willing to talk!" Patrick shouted angrily.

Noah immediately came forward with two servants, grabbed Tatum, and dragged her outside. Clio quickly got up and knelt at Patrick's feet: "Mr. Hamilton, Tatum has served me for over ten years, please spare her life! If you keep beating her, she'll really die!"

"A lowly slave who dares to hide banned books deserves to die!" Patrick kicked Clio away. "You're the one who disturbed everyone in the middle of the night, making the whole family lose face with you, and you still dare to plead for her?"

Cressida stood up and calmly reminded him: "Father, if word of this banned book gets out, our family will be finished. Better to burn it first to eliminate any future trouble."

Only then did Patrick remember the seriousness of the matter. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat and quickly had someone bring a charcoal basin, personally lighting the book on fire and throwing it in. As the flames consumed the pages, Tatum's shrill screams came from outside the door.

Cressida stood in the corridor, watching Tatum being pressed down on a long bench and beaten viciously, her eyes showing no emotion whatsoever. At this moment, Tatum would rather die than implicate Rose, probably thinking that as long as she took the blame, Clio would definitely plead for her and at least save her life. But Tatum didn't know that she had long become an abandoned chess piece.

"Father, these wails in the middle of the night—if the neighbors hear them, there will inevitably be gossip." Cressida turned to Patrick. They lived in an area where all of Novaria's important officials resided nearby, and rumors were the most harmful.

Patrick waved his hand irritably: "Someone, gag her! Her noise is giving me a headache!"

"I'll go myself, in case the servants don't know how to be gentle." Cressida said, then walked toward the courtyard.

Cressida squatted down, grabbed Tatum's jaw, looked at the fear in her eyes, and said with a low laugh: "When you insisted on getting involved in Rose's affairs and breaking my rules, you should have thought of today's outcome. Taking money to solve problems for others—you also need to see if your life is tough enough."

Tatum's eyes suddenly widened in shock—it was Cressida! But Tatum had never let anyone into her room, when was this book placed there?

When Clio came out, she saw Cressida stuffing Tatum's mouth with a cloth. Clio looked at Tatum's lower body beaten to a bloody pulp and immediately collapsed on the ground, crying and pleading: "Mr. Hamilton, please spare her life! If you keep beating her, she really won't survive!"

Patrick leaned back in his chair, having the maid Echo massage his temples, his tone cold: "A lowly slave who dares to hide banned books deserves to die! If it weren't for her, how would our family have fallen into such danger?"

"Father is tired, why not go back to your room and rest? I can watch over things here," Cressida said at the right moment.

Patrick nodded and was helped back to his inner chamber by Echo. Before leaving, Patrick glared at Michael: "You shouldn't be meddling here either! I think Rose has completely bewitched you—you've even forgotten the rules!"

Michael glared hard at Cressida but didn't dare disobey Patrick. He could only help the constantly crying Clio back to her room. Reid and Brynn had long been scared silent and quickly excused themselves to leave.

As dawn broke, Tatum's breathing stopped completely. Noah had people drag Tatum's corpse out to be buried. Emma, worried that Tatum wasn't completely dead, specifically followed and stabbed her twice more. When Cressida had first returned to this house some time ago, it was this Tatum who had blocked the door and made things difficult for her in every way. Now she had finally gotten her revenge.

After this incident, Clio took completely to her sickbed. Cressida took the opportunity to bring Emma to find Mabel.

"Cressida, I'm relieved that you're willing to come." Mabel held her hand, her eyes reddening. "Back then, Donny took the blame for your father and had his leg broken. I blocked the corridor because I wanted to fight for some dignity. All these years, I've been waiting for your mother to apologize, but she never relented."

"I know all about your grievances." Cressida handed over the housekeeper's keys. "Now that mother is bedridden, the household can't be without someone to manage it. You're the fairest at running things, and father has already agreed."

Donny smiled honestly beside them: "Mabel is tough on the outside but soft inside. From now on, she'll definitely help you well."

Mabel accepted the keys and solemnly promised: "Don't worry, I'll manage the household well and will never take credit for anything that belongs to you and your brother."

As they were leaving the main house, a young man quickly chased after them: "Cressida, wait for me!"

Cressida turned around to see it was her fourth brother Ethan, with Jessica following hesitantly behind him.

"Cressida, I know Cameron sacrificed himself, and you suffered a lot of grievances at the estate." Ethan said breathlessly, his eyes determined. "I won't show off using Cameron's reputation. I'll earn merit through my own abilities! When I grow up a bit more, I'll definitely come back to protect you!"

Cressida's heart stirred. Ethan was genuinely grateful—she had previously recommended him to Patrick to join Doyle's guard, which had given Ethan a way forward.

"Good, I'll be waiting." She smiled slightly. "Don't you have duty today?"

"We get two days off each month. I thought you'd come today, so I specifically requested leave." Ethan scratched his head shyly.

Then Jessica stepped forward, handing over a safety charm embroidered with a cross: "Cressida, about Noe last time, thank you for warning my mother. This is a safety charm I got from the church—it's for you."

Jessica paused, then added: "In a few days it'll be the Flower Festival. A few girls have invited me to see the lantern show. Do you want to come along? I heard this year's lanterns are especially beautiful."

Cressida frowned. In her previous life, during the Flower Festival, there had been bandit chaos and many nobles were injured. "The lantern show will be crowded and chaotic—accidents can happen easily. I won't go, and you shouldn't go either."

"I can't not go. Ms. Woods from the Woods family invited me, and their guards are very capable. Nothing will happen for sure," Jessica insisted.

Cressida thought for a moment: "Then I'll go with you, but if anything seems wrong, we leave immediately."

And so it was decided.

Another sunny day arrived, and the corridor was broken open. Patrick called everyone to the main courtyard—only Clio and Michael didn't attend.

"Clio is sick and needs rest. Starting today, Mabel will help us manage the household," Patrick announced from his chair.

Cressida took the lead in responding: "We'll have to trouble Mabel from now on."

Mabel replied: "I don't seek credit, but I hope my hard work will satisfy you all."

Patrick looked toward the third house: "Reid, you say something too."

Reid glanced at Brynn beside him. Brynn kept her head down—ever since being released from prison that time, her personality had changed drastically and she had become very quiet.

"Patrick, I, I won't say anything. I've always listened to you," Reid said with a forced smile.

Originally, Reid's household authority had also been in Clio's hands.

Patrick raised his hand slightly: "Then it's settled. Mabel, thank you for your hard work during this time."

Mabel gave him a cool smile.

Since Mabel took over managing the household, Cressida's days became much easier.

She got first choice of fashionable fabrics, and for pearl jewelry designs, six sets were made for her for spring so she could rotate through them.

Even the servants in Cressida's courtyard got a twenty percent raise in wages.

As for the servants who had remained from when Clio managed the household, Mabel didn't mistreat them either, letting them continue with their routines. There was no punishment for poor work, but good work was definitely rewarded.

The servants all secretly praised Cressida, saying that good days only came after she returned.

Cressida returned to her courtyard, and Emma brought news: "Ms. Cressida Hamilton, Zola requests an audience. She says she wants to go serve Mr. Michael Hamilton."

"What?" Cressida raised an eyebrow. "Has Michael already agreed?"

Zola soon came in, kneeling on the ground with a flushed face: "Please grant my wish, Ms. Cressida Hamilton. Mr. Michael Hamilton has already agreed to let me serve at his side."

"Go then." Cressida had Emma settle this month's wages for her. "Serve Michael well."

After Emma saw Zola off and returned, she reported: "I heard Mr. Michael Hamilton has already had relations with Zola and taken her as his personal concubine. This is too outrageous—Zola is still from our courtyard, and he dares to do this."

But Cressida was unconcerned: "Zola also participated in Tatum's death. Going to Michael's side is just stepping into another abyss."

Sure enough, within two days news came that Zola had been beaten to death on Michael's orders for "offending her master," without even a cheap coffin.

At dusk, Verity returned from outside and handed over a letter sealed with wax: "Ms. Hamilton, sent by Prince Miguel's people."

Cressida opened it and a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. In the letter, Miguel was actually inviting her to the Prince Palace tonight for a meeting.