Chapter 244 Tempting Conditions
Phaedra was left speechless by Scarlett's retort. This woman from the Mellon family was really something!
"Ms. Mellon, I've told you, none of this was done by Octavia. Octavia is a very kind child. She'd be upset for ages even if a small animal got hurt. How could she possibly kill someone?"
"Whether you believe it or not, what I want to say is, don't drag the grudges of the previous generation into yours."
"Weren't you the one who just brought up my dad? Weren't you the one dragging things up? How did it suddenly become me dragging up the previous generation's grudges?"
Scarlett leaned back in her chair, staring coldly at Phaedra. Though Phaedra's face had few wrinkles, her eyes were sunken, her cheeks hollow, and the corners of her mouth turned downward.
Clearly, her life wasn't going well either.
Seeing this, Scarlett's lips curved upward. She picked up her phone from the table and opened it.
Was Octavia kind?
That claim was really easy to disprove.
"I don't think you know your daughter that well. Let me show you a video."
As she finished speaking, she had already opened a video. Mimicking how Phaedra had handed her phone earlier, she held it out.
Phaedra was stunned for half a second. It wasn't until cursing and screaming came from the phone that she snapped back to reality, her eyes falling on the screen.
"Take it and have a look." Scarlett reminded her.
Phaedra had no choice but to reach out and take it.
On the phone, Octavia was with several other girls, repeatedly slapping a thin, weak girl who was pinned in a corner. After the slapping, they poured dirty water into the weak girl's mouth.
Phaedra's expression gradually stiffened. Halfway through, she shook her head and asked in disbelief.
"Where did you get this video?"
A cold smile appeared on Scarlett's lips. "This is from when your kind daughter was bullying a classmate at school. Someone recorded it. Can you still say your daughter is kind now?"
If Phaedra showing Scarlett the video of Ulysses's mental breakdown at the start was a heavy blow, then what Scarlett was giving Phaedra now was definitely a bomb.
A bomb that could shatter someone's soul.
Watching Phaedra's reaction, Scarlett thought Phaedra must be feeling pretty embarrassed.
"Because of what your daughter did, this bullied classmate still hasn't come out of the psychological shadow and can't live a normal life. Mrs. Mitchell, if your daughter could do that kind of thing at school, hiring someone to kill wouldn't be beyond her either, would it?"
Scarlett pressed aggressively. Phaedra remained silent.
After watching the video, Phaedra looked up and said calmly.
"Ms. Mellon, I know about this. Octavia was still young then. We educated her about it. Because of this incident, her heart condition acted up. Later, she realized her mistake, went to apologize to that classmate, and got her forgiveness. After that, she never hurt anyone again, and she definitely wouldn't hire someone to kill."
Scarlett wasn't surprised that Phaedra would choose to defend Octavia.
But her defending Octavia and Scarlett standing firm in her own position weren't in conflict.
Scarlett said, "You're her mother, of course you'd say that. But I only believe that one's nature is hard to change."
After speaking, she sighed.
"I've said everything I needed to say. I will definitely pursue this matter to the end."
Seeing this, Phaedra stopped talking and pressed her lips together, looking at her coldly.
"I see Ms. Mellon has been having quite a few troubles lately. How about we make a deal?"
So this was what she was waiting for?
Scarlett sneered inwardly, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of deal does Mrs. Mitchell want to make with me?"
"You drop this case, and of course, I'll help you get out of your current predicament."
"My current predicament? I'm just suspected of bribery, there's no actual evidence. What do I have to fear?"
Scarlett acted fearlessly, cutting off Phaedra's line of thinking again.
But Phaedra didn't care. Her words were sharp. "But I heard this was reported by someone with their real name, and the person reported was the official in charge who attended that day. Ms. Mellon, don't be naive. With witness testimony, you won't escape the charges."
Scarlett frowned slightly, pretending to be surprised.
"Seems like Mrs. Mitchell knows the inside story pretty well?"
Phaedra smiled faintly.
"Before coming to you, I naturally had to get a clear picture of the situation. I know you were also wrongly accused. I can help you, but you have to drop the case. We'll settle this privately."
Scarlett's lips curved slightly as she smiled. "I was just framed for bribery. If the framing succeeds, at most it's just a favor-based bribe. Without money involved, I'd only lose this project. But Ms. Mitchell, hiring someone to kill is a whole different matter!"
Phaedra heard what she meant - the conditions weren't equal. She added another term.
"What if I include the person in charge of this incident?"
Though she didn't say the name, Scarlett knew she meant Orion. Her eyes brightened. "You mean Mr. Philip? So you can get him out of this too?"
Phaedra didn't respond immediately. Instead, she spoke vaguely. "I can have someone investigate thoroughly and make sure he doesn't suffer unjustly."
Scarlett smiled slightly. "Mrs. Mitchell has such great power! But then again, whether Mr. Philip has problems or not is something Mr. Mitchell can decide with just one word."
Phaedra sensed the edge in Scarlett's words and immediately added.
"Ms. Mellon, my husband handles things impartially and absolutely doesn't play favorites."
Scarlett looked at her with a half-smile, seeing through her concerns, and reassured her. "Mrs. Mitchell, don't be nervous. I'm not recording."
As she spoke, she spread both hands toward Phaedra in a very sincere gesture.
Phaedra didn't believe her, but didn't show it on her face. Instead, she asked.
"What do you think?"
Scarlett pondered for a few seconds, then responded seriously.
"Actually, what you're offering would be quite tempting if Mr. Philip and I had actually done something wrong. But we haven't, so what's there to fear? Framing someone requires evidence, right? You think empty accusations can succeed? Do you think Mr. Mitchell can cover up everything?"
Her words pointed directly at Indigo. Phaedra suddenly stood up and scolded angrily.
"Don't casually slander my husband. He doesn't know about this. I looked into it myself and learned about your current situation."
Seeing her get nervous, Scarlett immediately changed tack. "You don't need to be so tense. I was just saying. Everyone can see what kind of person Mr. Mitchell is."
"But the conditions you're offering really don't interest me, so I don't agree."
Scarlett was deliberately testing the waters. She wanted to see just how far the Mitchell family could go.
Phaedra breathed heavily, looking at Scarlett. Her expression seemed thoughtful. After a long while, she thought of Octavia's words and, after a few seconds of silence, said.
"Your son's whereabouts - do you want to know?"