Chapter 29 Living in Fear: The Titan Family
The old lady froze, "It wasn't me!"
"I would never do something so stupid that could be discovered so easily."
Anne knew that with the old lady's years of experience, she would never let the assassin die at the Titan estate, even if she wanted him dead.
Although dead men tell no tales, killing him here would look suspicious.Anne chuckled lightly, "Yes, this indeed isn't your handiwork, old lady. But since it happened at the Titan estate and involves the assassin who tried to kill me, I still need to discuss the investigation with you."
The old lady looked at Anne, a cold smile curling at her lips, "Discuss? You're now officially the Duke of Virlet. Do you really need to humble yourself like this to investigate a viscount's estate?"
"After all, it's not under Virlet's jurisdiction. Naturally, I need to respect everyone's dignity when doing things. Moreover..."
Anne's blue eyes stared straight at the old lady. The flickering candlelight cast shadows in her eyes, making her look both beautiful and dangerous. "The first person who wanted me dead is still standing right in front of me, alive and well."
Her heart skipped a beat, and she clenched her fists discreetly. "You have no evidence to prove my guilt."
It was true that she and several uncles had hired the assassin, but the old lady knew that if exposed, both Mephist and Holden would be implicated. So she let one of the family elders handle it.
That old man never imagined he would become a sacrificial pawn. He simply didn't want to see his family decline in his old age. If Anne died, her dowry could save the entire family—that would be a worthy death.
They didn't care about a woman's life or death, especially when she wasn't even of Titan family blood.
But now Anne was still alive, and doing very well. With His Majesty's decree, her status had completely changed—from a duke's daughter to a duke herself, becoming someone that most people on this continent had to look up to.
Even the tiniest bit of power and wealth that slipped through her fingers could make the Titan family crawl over like dogs in mud to grovel.
If she now turned back to settle accounts for this murder attempt, the most important witness would be the assassin.
So when the old lady had returned to her room earlier in a daze, her husband knew what needed to be done to protect the entire family.
About this, Anne wasn't as furious as the old lady had imagined. She just laughed lightly, as if hearing some trivial joke. "Old lady, I don't need any evidence to prove your guilt. After all, you arranged your escape route from the very beginning. Once that family elder confesses and commits suicide, and when his movements are investigated, all the information will show that he contacted the assassin organization alone, and that he was the one who ordered my assassination."
"But you've distanced yourself too cleanly—so clean that you appear completely unaware of this matter, as if it was just his independent action. But in the Titan family, which you control, that's the most unlikely scenario."
Anne studied the old lady carefully and noticed sweat sliding down her temple—she seemed extremely nervous.
Of course she was panicking.
She finally understood why Anne had deliberately mentioned the assassin in front of Conor.
With that one statement, no matter how this matter was handled, the full story and conclusion would have to be reported to His Majesty.
An assassination attempt on a duke's daughter versus an attempt on a duke herself were two completely different things. To prevent His Majesty from ordering a thorough investigation, the Titan family would definitely push out the scapegoat they had prepared from the start. But at the same time, they would also fear Anne's next moves, worried she would continue investigating and uncover more clues.
This fear hung over everyone in the Titan family like a blade that could fall at any moment.
What a clever Anne, what a clever Duke of Virlet.
The old lady clenched her teeth, her eyes practically shooting fire at Anne.
"You did this on purpose, just to get revenge on us for plotting against your life?"
Anne shook her head. "If you dare to plot, why fear others' revenge?"
She stood up and turned to leave.
"Do you think I wanted to plot against your life!?"
The old lady looked at her retreating figure and shouted in despair, "When you first married into the family, didn't I get along with you peacefully?"
"I didn't make things difficult for you. I even gave you control of the household. Yes, I wanted you to use your dowry to help our family, but once you married in, we were one family. If you had truly cared for the Titan family, I would never have harmed you!"
"On the contrary, you were never willing to be a proper wife. You defied your husband, defied your mother-in-law, and even refused to contribute your dowry to help when the family was in crisis. I was only thinking of the family's future—where did I go wrong! I plotted against your life and your dowry precisely because you were unwilling to contribute to the family!"
Anne turned back to look at the old lady, whose emotions were becoming somewhat uncontrolled. "Yes, I did genuinely care for the Titan family back then, so I did use my own money to help you all. For three years, I believe I was dedicated enough."
"Then why couldn't you continue? Just because you decided Holden betrayed you? But I already told you that you could also..."
Anne interrupted, "Betrayal itself is a humiliation. I have my dignity and cannot accept such a marriage and life. His Majesty agrees with this. As for you saying I could also... why should I? Just because Holden and Candy have no self-respect or self-love, should I learn from them to debase myself?"
"My husband didn't love me. His family looked down on me, trampled me into nothing, as if only by giving you money to squander, letting you drain every bit of flesh and blood from me, would I be considered contributing. But why should I contribute to people like you?"
Anne sneered, "You're not worthy."