Chapter 253

Chapter 253

From the other end of the phone came hurried footsteps and Liam's steady but equally angry voice: "I'm coming with you!"

In less than half an hour, two figures appeared hurriedly at the police station entrance. It was Thalia and Liam.

As soon as Thalia entered, her eyes searched anxiously. Seeing Victoria safe and sound, she immediately rushed over, grabbed her arm, looked her up and down, and asked repeatedly: "Victoria! Are you okay? Are you hurt? You scared me to death!"

Her face was filled with genuine worry and fear.

"I'm fine, nothing happened at all."

Victoria patted her hand reassuringly, but her sharp eyes noticed that Thalia was wearing a high-necked velvet dress today. However, when she tilted her head slightly to check on Victoria anxiously, an intimate, fresh hickey on the side of her neck still peeked out from the collar's edge.

A knowing smile flashed in Victoria's eyes. She leaned close to Thalia and teased in a voice only the two could hear: "Looks like you had a good rest last night?"

Thalia froze for a moment, then realized what she meant, her cheeks instantly turning bright red.

She glared at Victoria in embarrassed annoyance, instinctively tugging at her high collar, complaining: "At a time like this, you're still making these jokes!"

But her flickering eyes clearly confirmed it.

Liam also walked over, his face showing concern and a hint of barely noticeable awkwardness.

He cleared his throat lightly, looked at Victoria, his tone serious: "Victoria, are you really okay? Did Veda really do this?"

Although he had already heard it on the phone, hearing it confirmed in person still made him feel absurd and angry.

"Yes, the evidence is solid. Those two men have already confessed."

Victoria nodded.

Just then, a commotion came from the police station entrance. Several officers escorted in a disheveled, pale-faced woman with vacant eyes—it was Veda!

Behind them, Hayden, Ava, and Scarlett also rushed in, all three faces showing uncertainty and panic.

Clearly, the police suddenly showing up to take Veda away had caught them completely off guard and left them stunned.

Hayden immediately spotted Victoria, Alexander, Liam, and Thalia standing in the lobby.

His heart tightened, especially seeing Alexander's cold, terrifying expression, which made him think this was bad.

Hayden quickly forced a stiff smile and walked quickly to Victoria, trying to ease the atmosphere:

"Victoria, what's going on here? Is there some misunderstanding? Veda may be thoughtless sometimes, but she wouldn't go so far as to..."

He was still trying to make excuses for Veda, attempting to characterize the matter as a "misunderstanding."

However, before Hayden could finish, he was interrupted by an angry shout!

"Misunderstanding?"

Liam suddenly stepped forward, blocking Victoria, his eyes blazing as he stared at his father, his face showing undisguised anger and disappointment: "Dad! At this point, are you still taking her side? The evidence is solid! Those two attackers personally identified that it was Veda who paid them five hundred thousand dollars to attack Victoria on a remote road and kill her!"

"If Victoria hadn't been able to defend herself, she'd be the one in the hospital or the morgue right now! How can this be a misunderstanding?"

Liam's chest heaved with anger as he pointed at Veda, who was trembling in police custody: "She hired people to kill someone! It's a crime! She could go to prison! Are you really going to cover for someone who attempted murder?"

Liam's series of questions hammered at Hayden's heart like heavy blows, shattering his last bit of hope.

He opened his mouth, looking at Liam's angry face, then at the serious expressions of the surrounding police officers, and Alexander's soul-freezing cold gaze. Finally, his eyes fell on Victoria's calm, mocking face that seemed to see through everything.

He knew it was over.

This time, Veda was truly finished.

Not only was she finished, but she might also drag the entire Gonzalez family down with her and earn Alexander's hatred!

A huge wave of rage and a panic of being fooled and implicated instantly surged in Hayden's heart! He suddenly turned around and rushed to Veda in a few steps. Before anyone could react, he raised his hand.

A loud slap landed hard on Veda's face! The force was so great that it made Veda stagger back several steps, half her face instantly swelling red, with a trace of blood even seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Hayden pointed at her, his finger trembling violently with extreme anger, his face ashen, his voice hoarse and shrill with agitation: "Veda! You ungrateful daughter! Ungrateful wretch! I was so wrong about you!!"

"I should never have been soft-hearted and adopted you! Gave you food, clothes, education, and raised you like a young lady! Is this how you repay me?"

"You're vicious enough to want to kill my biological daughter? Do you have any conscience at all?"

"What did the Gonzalez family do wrong to raise such a snake-hearted thing like you!"

Hayden's roar echoed through the police station lobby, filled with regret, anger, and an eagerness to distance himself.

He pushed all the blame onto Veda, as if he were just a deceived, innocent adoptive father.

Veda's ears rang from the blow, her cheek burning with pain, but compared to the physical pain, Hayden's heartless words were like poisoned daggers stabbing into her heart.

She raised her head and stared at Hayden with eyes full of despair, resentment, and a trace of madness, then slowly swept her gaze over the expressionless Victoria, the coldly watching Alexander, the angry and disappointed Liam, and Thalia, whose eyes showed satisfaction.

She knew she was finished.

Completely finished.

Not only disgraced, but also facing imprisonment. And all of this was thanks to Victoria!

Hayden's loud slap and his heartless roar completely shattered the last bit of hope and pretense in Veda's heart.

The burning pain on her face was nothing compared to one ten-thousandth of the pain in her heart. The feeling of being publicly humiliated and completely abandoned, the despair and resentment, erupted like a volcano in her chest!

Veda suddenly raised her head, her previously vacant eyes instantly replaced by a crazy crimson, staring fixedly at the calm and indifferent Victoria nearby, as if she wanted to tear her apart.

The jealousy, unwillingness, and anger that had accumulated for too long burst like a flood breaking through a dam at this moment, washing away all her rationality.

"Blame me? Why do you all blame me?"

Veda's voice was sharp and piercing, with a hysterical madness. She pointed at Victoria and shouted at Hayden, at everyone: "If it weren't for her! If Victoria hadn't returned to Emerald City, I would still be the high and mighty young lady of the Gonzalez family! Everything was fine! It's because she came back! Everything changed!!"