Chapter211 The Video, Sell It to Me
After a simple lunch, Miranda pulled out a tent from her backpack and began setting it up.
Sunlight fell on her focused profile, making her look both independent and resilient.
Clifton's gaze kept falling on her back, whether intentionally or not.
Watching her quietly doing everything alone, his eyes darkened.
He maneuvered his wheelchair, silently turning toward a blind spot in everyone's view, leaving the grassy area.
A few minutes later, by the small grove of trees, the woman who'd been walking the golden retriever was preparing to leave when she saw a man in a wheelchair blocking her path.
The man exuded an air of cold nobility, radiating a powerful presence that couldn't be ignored, making her instinctively stop.
"Are you looking for me?" the woman asked somewhat puzzled.
Clifton nodded, making a single sound. "Mm."
His gaze fell on the dog leash in the woman's hand, his voice low and without preamble. "The video from your dog's camera. Sell it to me."
The woman froze, then understood.
She'd only taken Miranda's money to help clarify the truth. She hadn't expected this gentleman to want to buy the video.
From this man's clothing and bearing, he was clearly no ordinary person.
She was about to say it wasn't necessary when she heard the man continue.
"Ten thousand."
"What?" The woman was completely stunned, thinking she'd misheard.
This video was worth ten thousand?
Before she could process the number, she saw Clifton had already taken out his phone, displaying a payment QR code on the screen.
"Scan." He was brief and direct.
The woman hesitated, then pulled out her phone and scanned.
With a beep, her phone screen clearly showed a successful transfer notification of ten thousand dollars.
Looking at those zeros, the woman's heart skipped a beat.
Without another word, she immediately removed the action camera from the golden retriever's neck, along with the memory card inside, and handed them over with both hands.
"Sir, here you go! The camera and card are both yours!"
She'd already backed up her dog's videos on her phone anyway. The amount he was offering was simply too much—so much that she felt bad only giving him one video.
Clifton took the camera, his movements clean and efficient. No one saw this exchange.
He returned to a secluded spot, removed the memory card, and inserted it into the tablet he carried with him.
Soon, clear footage began to play.
In the video, Isabella's face was clearly visible as she quietly approached Miranda, extending both hands to push her.
Next came Miranda nimbly dodging, while Isabella herself screamed and tumbled down the grassy slope in a mess due to her excessive force.
Watching Isabella's self-inflicted fate in the video, Clifton's expression was inscrutable, a cold smile curving his lips.
He saved the video, his slender fingers tapping lightly on the screen as he sent it directly to Arthur.
He wanted to see what Arthur could say after witnessing with his own eyes how his sister lied and falsely accused others.
On the other side, in the car.
Arthur had just finished treating the scrapes on Isabella's waist when his phone vibrated.
He irritably picked up his phone. When he saw it was a video from Clifton, his heart jumped.
He opened the video and watched it carefully from start to finish twice.
Everything that happened in the video was completely different from what he'd just witnessed and what his sister had tearfully claimed.
"Thud."
The phone slipped from his fingers and fell onto the soft carpet.
Arthur closed his eyes tightly, his temples throbbing.
He took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, they held terrifying fury.
He looked at Isabella in the back seat, eyes closed, still pretending to be unconscious, his voice ice-cold.
"Stop pretending."
Isabella's body stiffened sharply. Knowing she couldn't keep up the act, she reluctantly opened her eyes, guilt flickering in them.
"Arthur..."
"Clifton sent me the video." Arthur cut her off, suppressing his rage. "He didn't play this video in front of all our friends out of respect for me! Otherwise, think about what kind of person you'd become in everyone's eyes!"
Thinking about how he'd just acted like a fool, pointing at Miranda's nose and cursing her out, Arthur felt his face burning with shame.
Isabella shrank back from his scolding, her eyes immediately reddening, yet she still refused to admit fault and made excuses.
"Then blame Miranda! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have fallen! I wouldn't have..."
"Shut up!" Hearing his sister still trying to shift blame, Arthur's rage made the veins on his forehead bulge. "You still want to marry Clifton? Stop dreaming! Didn't you see how he protected Miranda today? A man like him would never like a woman as vicious-hearted as you!"
Isabella's painful spot had been hit. Tears immediately streamed down as she cried in grievance.
"Arthur! How can you say that about me!"
"Am I wrong?" Arthur looked at her, his eyes full of disappointment. "I told you not to come back to the country alone to find him, but you wouldn't listen and sneaked back behind my back! And now? Clifton is already married! Do you think Mr. Prescott would easily let Clifton divorce? Give up on this idea!"
Arthur had always known his sister liked Clifton, but he also knew his good friend would never reciprocate those feelings.
That's why he'd never let Isabella seek out Clifton, especially now that Clifton was married.
Isabella was left speechless by his scolding, but she retorted unwillingly, "Don't you also dislike that woman? Why are you speaking up for her!"
"I do dislike her!" Arthur's voice lowered, carrying a trace of helplessness. "But these past two days I've seen clearly that Clifton genuinely cares about that woman. He protects her, trusts her. You have no chance!"
Arthur stared at his sister's face, warning her word by word. "Isabella, this is my final warning. Behave yourself. Don't cause any more trouble for me."
The afternoon passed peacefully.
Celeste and the friends Arthur brought seemed somewhat embarrassed by the morning's events and just gathered in the distance to chat, not bothering Miranda again.
Instead, the bespectacled, scholarly-looking young woman who'd spoken up for Miranda earlier came over with a friendly smile.
"Um... would you like to play some mobile games with us?"
Miranda saw the genuine smile on her face and readily agreed.
The suburban atmosphere finally became relaxed.
However, in stark contrast to this relaxation, at Whitmore Group's CEO office in the city center.
The pressure around Harrison was frighteningly low.
"Bang!"
He slammed his palm on the desk, making the documents jump.
Not only had the men he'd sent to make trouble for that man all failed and were now unreachable, but from the moment he'd stepped into the company today, he'd been receiving nothing but bad news.
First, a project partner suddenly demanded to renegotiate the contract. Then several deals the company was negotiating were inexplicably undercut by competitors at extremely low prices.
Each of these issues alone was just a headache-inducing minor problem, but for them all to explode one after another on the same day, remaining unresolved, drove him to the brink of frustration.
"Buzz buzz..."
Just then, his phone on the desk rang.
Seeing the caller ID showed "Dominic," Harrison's irritation deepened.
He took a deep breath and still answered the call.
"Harrison," Dominic's voice came through the receiver. "How's Ariana's situation? Did you talk to Miranda?"
Harrison pinched the bridge of his nose, his patience exhausted.
"Miranda won't budge."
He coldly dropped this sentence and, without waiting for Dominic to say anything else, hung up directly.
"Just wait a bit longer."