Chapter 264 It's Helen Again!

Chapter 264 It's Helen Again!

London, Collins Group European Division.

Ethan stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring at the interrupted livestream on his tablet, his eyes cold enough to kill. He immediately dialed several special numbers.

"Find out. I don't care what it takes—I want the complete truth about the stage accident at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles." Ethan's voice held not a trace of warmth.

The Collins family had been rooted in North America for decades, their connections in both the underworld and legitimate circles running unfathomably deep.

Ethan mobilized every resource at his disposal. In less than twelve hours, an encrypted file arrived in his inbox.

The hitman was indeed dead, but the bitcoin transaction records on the dark web, along with an encrypted satellite call made from the Collins Mansion just hours before the incident, formed irrefutable evidence.

Following the trail, investigators dug up every last detail about Linda and Helen's backgrounds.

Ethan forwarded the file directly to Julian and Lucienne back in Washington.

The Collins Mansion, study.

Lucienne stared at the evidence on her computer screen, her entire body going cold, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. Julian's face turned deathly pale as he slammed his fist down hard on the desk.

"Bastard!" Julian roared.

Lucienne covered her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She regretted it. She truly regretted it.

She had thought twenty years of raising Helen would earn her at least a shred of conscience from the girl.

She had thought her warning last time would make Helen behave.

It was her indulgence, her soft heart, that had allowed this vicious adopted daughter to strike at her biological daughter again and again.

This time, Audrey had been lucky enough to escape. But what about next time?

Lucienne pulled out her phone and called Audrey.

When the call connected and she heard her daughter's calm voice, Lucienne broke down completely.

"Audrey... Mom's so sorry. I was too lenient, and I nearly got you killed." Lucienne took a deep breath, her voice turning ice-cold and resolute. "We've uncovered the truth. It was Helen and Linda. I won't protect her anymore. Whatever you want to do with her, the Collins family won't object."

On the other end, Audrey fell silent for two seconds.

"I understand. I'm coming back to Washington immediately."

Ten hours later, a private jet touched down at Dulles Airport.

Still wearing the black evening gown she hadn't had time to change out of, Audrey carried an aura of deadly chill as she drove straight back to the Collins Mansion in McLean.

In a second-floor bedroom, Helen lay on her bed with a face mask on, scheming about how to appear concerned and worried in front of her parents when Audrey returned.

"BANG!"

The solid wood door was kicked open, the lock shattering.

Helen shrieked and sat bolt upright. Before she could make out who it was, Audrey had already stormed to the bedside.

Without a word, Audrey grabbed a fistful of Helen's hair and physically dragged her off the bed onto the carpet.

"Ah! What are you doing! Let go of me!" Helen screamed, her scalp burning with pain.

Audrey's eyes were merciless. Her left hand gripped Helen's hair in a death grip while her right hand swung in a wide arc, landing a vicious slap across Helen's face.

The sharp crack of the slap echoed through the room. Helen's head whipped to the side, her lip splitting and bleeding instantly.

"This slap is for being too stupid to live," Audrey said icily, then backhanded her with another brutal strike.

"SMACK!"

"This one's for being vicious and despicable."

Audrey showed no mercy.

After more than a dozen consecutive slaps, Helen's once-delicate face swelled rapidly.

She didn't even have the strength to dodge, managing only garbled cries of pain and vicious curses.

"Audrey! You bitch! How dare you hit me... I'll call the cops on you!" Helen spat, her mouth full of blood, her eyes venomous to the extreme.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded in the hallway.

Julian and Lucienne rushed over, drawn by the commotion.

Seeing her parents appear, Helen seized what seemed like her last hope.

She tore free from Audrey's grip and scrambled toward Lucienne, throwing her arms around her legs and sobbing hysterically.

"Mom! Help me! Audrey's gone crazy! She came back and tried to kill me!" Helen wailed with heartbreaking intensity, pointing at her pig-like swollen face. "I didn't do anything! Why is she treating me like this! Mom, throw her out!"

Lucienne looked down at the adopted daughter clinging to her feet—this girl who spoke nothing but lies—and her eyes held not a trace of warmth.

She raised her hand and, with all her strength, delivered a vicious slap to Helen's face.

"SMACK!"

The unexpected blow sent Helen sprawling to the floor, completely stunned.

She clutched her face, staring at Lucienne in shock. "Mom... you hit me?"

"Don't call me Mom! I don't have a daughter with a heart as venomous as a snake's!" Lucienne roared, hurling a thick stack of printed documents at Helen's face.

Papers scattered across the floor.

Helen instinctively looked down. When she saw the dark web transaction records and communication logs clearly printed on the pages, her face went deathly pale, her blood seeming to freeze in her veins.

"You thought no one would find out about your dirty deeds? You thought killing the hitman would cover your tracks?" Lucienne pointed at her, trembling with rage. "You hired Chinatown gang members to tamper with the rigging at the Peacock Theater to crush Audrey to death! You're not just vicious—you're unbelievably stupid!"

Papers lay scattered on the floor.

Helen stared at the clear dark web bitcoin transaction addresses and communication records precise to the second, her pupils contracting sharply.

The facade she'd been so proud of was completely torn apart.

"Audrey." Julian turned to Audrey, his voice carrying exhaustion and cold detachment, not sparing another glance at the adopted daughter on the floor. "The Collins family raised an ungrateful wretch. Her life and death are entirely in your hands. Your mother and I won't interfere."

Helen shuddered violently. Entirely in Audrey's hands? Then she had no chance of survival!

Without hesitation, she dropped to her knees and crawled to Audrey's feet, crying with snot and tears streaming down her face. "Audrey, I was wrong! But I really didn't do it—it was Linda! She kept egging me on, she contacted the Chinatown hitman on her own! I didn't know anything!"

Outside the door, Linda had been eavesdropping in the hallway. She rushed in.

Seeing Helen's face swollen like a pig's head, Linda trembled with distress and immediately dropped to her knees before Julian and Lucienne.

"Master Julian, Lady Lucienne! I did it!" Linda loudly claimed all responsibility. "I couldn't stand watching the young lady bully Lady Helen the moment she came back, so I paid someone to sabotage the rigging. Lady Helen is innocent—she knew nothing! If you want to kill someone, kill me!"

Helen seized the lifeline, immediately chiming in, "Yes! She did it! Mom, you watched me grow up—I wouldn't even step on an ant, how could I kill someone!"