Chapter 200 Unraveling Misunderstandings
A speedboat was moving across the dark sea.
Harriet slowly opened her eyes.
Looking closely, she saw a figure with their back to her, driving the speedboat, while her own hands and feet were tied up.
Harriet didn't make a sound. She took some effort to untie the rope around her wrists, then quietly worked on the ones around her feet.
She didn't throw the ropes away. Instead, she covered them up, pretending she was still tied up.
Before long, the speedboat stopped.
Harriet quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious.
Soon, a bucket of water was poured over her head.
Harriet cried out, pretending to be startled awake.
Only then did she see clearly who was in front of her—it was Opal!
"It's you?" Harriet frowned. "What do you want? Are you trying to kill me a second time!"
"Harriet, you really have nine lives. That crash didn't even kill you!" Opal looked at her with a sinister expression. "The first thing I wanted to do after getting out of prison was to get revenge on you, but I didn't expect you'd gone abroad! I kept waiting, and finally you came back!"
Harriet said anxiously, "What revenge are you getting on me? Lark's disappearance has nothing to do with me!"
"Who says it has nothing to do with you!"Opal had aged considerably, her face twisted with hatred."Harriet, if it weren't for you, Lark wouldn't have had so many accidents, wouldn't have disappeared, and wouldn't still be missing to this day!"
"She was supposed to be the golden girl. She was going to marry Tristan and become the most respected woman in Emberfall. But because of you, her life started spiraling out of control!"
"What do you mean because of me?" Harriet said. "Back then, it was because she got kidnapped that Grandma had me marry Tristan. If you're going to blame anyone, blame the kidnappers."
Opal froze.
Back then, when Tristan got into a car accident and became a vegetable with almost no chance of waking up, Lark didn't want to marry him and become a widow. She suggested pretending to be kidnapped to avoid the arranged marriage. That way, Haven wouldn't be able to force her.
Opal felt sorry for Lark, so she asked her family for help to stage a kidnapping.
But who knew Tristan would actually wake up!
And even more unexpected was that the Lancaster family would find Harriet to replace Lark and marry Tristan!
Opal had to believe it was fate playing tricks, and she regretted going along with Lark's plan.
If she had known Tristan would wake up, she would have forced Lark to marry into the Lancaster family even if Lark disagreed!
But now, her regrets were useless.
Lark was missing. The search and rescue had long stopped. She was likely to have died in the sea..
Opal had lost her husband. Her daughter was her only support in this life. How could she not hate Harriet!
She would risk her own life to take Harriet down with her, which was why she tried to run her over with the car!
But Harriet didn't die!
So Opal had to find a way to escape and kill Harriet to avenge Lark!
Hatred flashed in Opal's eyes. "Lark died here, all alone, and her body was probably eaten by sharks! Harriet, what right do you have to be alive and well? So today I'm going to make you die here just like Lark!"
Opal grabbed Harriet and pushed her toward the sea. "Go to hell!"
In that split second, as she was falling into the sea, Harriet grabbed Opal's clothes and pulled her down with her.
She broke free from Opal's grip and quickly climbed back onto the speedboat.
Opal's hands gripped the edge of the speedboat, looking at Harriet in disbelief. "I tied you up so tight, how did you get loose!"
"I wandered abroad for two years. Of course I had to learn these basic self-defense skills. I even guessed you'd use drugs, so I took medicine beforehand to prevent it. I wasn't knocked out at all."
Harriet looked at her. "And do you think I went to Maple Mountain alone for no reason? Of course it was to give you a chance to make your move."
"You... you bitch! How dare you scheme against me!" Opal gritted her teeth in hatred. "The Brown family and the Campbell family are ruined because of you!"
"Didn't the Brown family and the Campbell family ruin themselves?" Harriet said coldly. "Lark had bad intentions, which led to her final situation. You're just like her. You get what you deserve."
"Then kill me if you dare! I'm living a life worse than death anyway, just kill me!" Opal yelled, breaking down. "Tristan has already said he'll destroy the entire Campbell family. If I stay alive, I'll just watch my relatives die horrible deaths. I might as well be dead!"
"The consequences you face will be decided by the law, not by me."
As soon as she finished speaking, police sirens sounded in the distance. Several speedboats were heading toward them.
Despair flashed in Opal's eyes. She let go of the speedboat and her body slowly sank into the sea.
Since she couldn't get revenge, she'd rather be buried in this sea with Lark!
The police were already prepared. Someone immediately jumped into the water and rescued her.
Opal was taken into police custody, and Harriet got onto the police speedboat and left.
As soon as she reached shore, she saw Tristan walking toward her.
Harriet paused.
Tristan gripped her shoulders, checking her over. "Are you hurt?"
Harriet shook her head.
Tristan handed her his phone. "Your phone."
"Thanks." Harriet took the phone. "Did you go to Maple Mountain looking for me?"
"Yes." Tristan said. "Let's not talk about that now. Go take a hot shower in the RV so you don't catch a cold."
Harriet didn't waste time and immediately followed Tristan to shower.
Her body was sensitive to cold and couldn't handle cold water.
Fortunately, it was early summer now, so the seawater wasn't freezing.
Harriet got into the RV. Tristan didn't follow her up.
She had just walked into the bathroom when her phone rang.
Half an hour later, Harriet finished showering and came out wrapped in a bathrobe.
Tristan was sitting in the booth. "Opal has been taken away. I've made arrangements for a speedy trial."
"I know."
Tristan brought over a hair dryer and started drying Harriet's hair.
Harriet didn't refuse.
When the sound of the hair dryer stopped, the vehicle fell silent again.
After a long while, Tristan finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence."When I arrived, I learned from the police that you were working with them."
"Yes, Opal was in hiding. Only I could draw her out, so naturally I should work with the police."
Tristan frowned. "But you shouldn't have taken that risk. What if she had hurt you directly?"
"You might not know this, but before Opal escaped, she was pretending to be crazy, trying to fake mental illness to avoid punishment.That would definitely delay the trial, and she might actually escape the death penalty. She killed two innocent people in that crash. I couldn't let her get away with it."So Harriet risked her life to draw Opal out and make her face legal punishment.
"I asked the police. They said only by getting evidence of her faking insanity could they speed up the trial. So I not only had to draw her out, but also confront her face to face. That way the hidden camera on me could capture proof that she wasn't crazy or stupid."
"The police were hiding nearby. On Maple Mountain, if she had a weapon and tried to hurt me directly, they would have shot her."
"But she was fully covered, so they couldn't confirm it was her. To avoid tipping her off, I went along with it and pretended to be drugged."
Tristan felt mixed emotions.
He was relieved because Harriet had gained the ability to protect herself.
But at the same time, he felt bitter.
When Harriet was gradually becoming stronger, he wasn't by her side.
They had been apart for two years and had missed so much.
"Tristan." Harriet looked at him. "Don't you have something you want to tell me?"
Tristan hesitated, but in the end swallowed all his words. "...No."
Harriet laughed mockingly. "I never realized before how much of a coward you are."
"What?"
"I said, you're a coward!"
Tristan was about to speak when he saw Harriet suddenly step forward, reach up to hook her arms around his neck, stand on her tiptoes, and kiss his lips.