Chapter 159 Upholding Justice Above Family Loyalty

Chapter 159 Upholding Justice Above Family Loyalty

Ryan also saw the news online. He frowned and turned off his phone.

"At such a critical juncture, for Oliver to pull such an ostentatious stunt is clearly painting a target on his own back."

Tessa shifted into a more comfortable position, curling up on the sofa. After finishing the news, she received a message from Chloe.

[What do you think?]

She thought for a moment before replying: [I'm watching from home.]

"Cecilia will realize soon enough just how stupid she's been. All we need to do is sit back and watch."

Let them experience for themselves just how unbearable those days and nights had been when Tessa and Ryan were surrounded by reporters.

The tables were turning. That moment was now.

The next morning, Tessa was leisurely eating breakfast when she suddenly received a call from Chloe.

"Get a doctor to the Saunders family. Now."

Chloe didn't even have time to explain. She hung up immediately after dropping that line.

Tessa realized something was wrong. She quickly had Ryan drive while she called their private physician. The group headed to the Saunders Manor simultaneously.

When they arrived at the Saunders Manor, the front and back of the house were swarmed by a sea of reporters. They couldn't see what was happening inside at all.

Ryan's people struggled for quite a while before they could clear a path for them.

The people inside only dared to crack the door open just enough to let them slip in before quickly shutting the manor door again.

Chloe was anxiously pacing back and forth in the living room. When she saw Tessa and Ryan, it was like she'd found her lifeline.

"Those people tried to push their way into the house just now. Aunt Eleanor was already under so much stress—she just passed out."

Tessa quickly had the private doctor check on Eleanor's condition.

"What's going on? I thought they were just protesting outside. How did they start pushing into the house?"

Chloe pulled back the curtains by the floor-to-ceiling windows to show Tessa.

"Those rotten vegetables and stinking eggs? They threw them. At first it was just a protest, but now it's gone way beyond normal bounds. They just want to vent their anger, and they'll lash out at whoever's available."

"No one in the family dares to go outside. Even when the housekeeper goes out, they interrogate her before letting her back in. I should've had you bring some fresh groceries."

"Earlier you were making fun of me for being so carefree, and now you're pretty good at finding humor in suffering yourself, cracking jokes like that?" Tessa gave her a sidelong glance.

The private doctor put away his stethoscope and shook his head at them.

"The patient fainted from emotional distress. Her blood pressure is too high. She'll wake up once the medication brings it down."

Chloe spoke through gritted teeth. "That useless Oliver—if he hadn't stirred up trouble, how could this—"

"Chloe."

Eleanor's excessively weak voice suddenly rang out. The moment she opened her eyes and looked at Chloe, tears began streaming down her face.

Chloe bit down hard, her tone somewhat vicious as she scolded, "Why are you crying? There are so many problems outside that still need solving. Will crying solve them?"

The more she spoke, the faster Eleanor's tears fell—large drops cascading like rain.

"Your father and I have wronged you. We've wronged you so badly! Chloe, can you ever forgive us?"

Eleanor had never done rough work or hard labor in her life. Her hands were well-maintained, slender and delicate, looking as young as a girl's.

She reached out, trying to touch Chloe, but Chloe shook her off roughly.

A single tear slid down Chloe's young face, but her heart remained hard as iron.

"Don't think shedding a few tears will earn my forgiveness."

"When you gave me away, did you ever think that your daughter could be useful to you too?"

She ripped open the wound without warning. Everyone in the living room froze.

Tessa looked up at Chloe, her emotions a tangled mess.

Chloe's posture seemed both like acceptance and like self-torture as she confessed: "Outsiders all think Oliver and I are cousins. In reality, I'm her biological sister... Years ago, my father saved Charles's life. Because they couldn't have children, they wanted a child to raise."

"They had originally chosen Oliver, but they ended up giving me away instead—because he was the only son in the family."

All these years, she had only ever addressed her birth parents as uncle and aunt, and her hatred had grown sharper with time.

"My parents never wanted to raise me. After they took me, they just left me at home, completely neglectful. The only one who took care of me was the nanny. If they didn't want me so badly, why did they bring me into this world? Was it just so I could suffer, so I could watch how much more loved Oliver was?"

Tessa looked away, unable to watch Chloe's reaction any longer.

The secret about the Saunders family that she had traded for with Delbert—using her collaboration with Ethan as leverage—was this very thing.

A piece of information that wasn't exactly a family scandal, but if it got out, it would be enough to make everyone in the Saunders family distrust each other.

Tessa had always thought they had kindly deceived Chloe. Only today did they learn she had known all along.

Eleanor's crying grew louder, like a rainstorm reaching its crescendo.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. It was your father's decision back then. I couldn't interfere. All these years I've wanted to make it up to you, but you never let me get close. I didn't know what I should do..."

Tessa thought of the people blocked outside, and an idea suddenly sparked in her mind.

"There's still one way to protect your only daughter, to pull her out of Oliver's dangerous orbit. Would you take it?"

Eleanor froze slightly, a tear hanging in the corner of her eye, about to fall but not quite falling.

Chloe let out a scornful laugh. "How could she possibly choose me? Back then, for her precious son, they abandoned me without a second thought. Tessa, you've learned such a huge secret about me—do you really have to mock me and make me feel even worse?"

Chloe cried and laughed at the same time, looking half-mad.

After a long while, Eleanor finally nodded with difficulty.

"...I've done too many things against my conscience in this life. First it was your aunt, then it was you. Chloe, whether you believe it or not, Mom truly wants to help you this time. It has nothing to do with your brother."

With that answer from Eleanor, Tessa immediately pulled out her phone and dialed a number she'd saved long ago.

"Hello, I have evidence that Oliver illegally possesses and produces controlled substances. Please dispatch additional personnel as soon as possible to secretly investigate the Arkbridge Group's industrial park at their Harmony City branch."

After hanging up, Tessa looked at Eleanor. Everything was settled. Everyone felt a sense of relief.

"Are there any leftover drugs that Oliver used still in the house? Those could also be submitted as evidence."

With the servant's support, Eleanor barely managed to sit up and nodded. "There should be some upstairs. That woman delivered a lot last time."

"How did Oliver even get involved with this kind of thing?" Chloe frowned.

"Cecilia," Ryan said. "Using controlled substances to control subordinates is just standard practice."

Especially with a key player like Oliver, naturally she would deploy special leverage to tie him inextricably to this dangerous venture.