Chapter 61
Annabello clenched her damp palms. “1-1 went in to find something.”
“Were you searching, or sabotaging?
Annabelle bit her lip. “Of course I w
I was searching”
“It seems you still need etiquette lessons,” Simon drawled, “Harging into someone else’s room uninvited is awfully ill–mannered.”
“I entered my sister’s room, and she hasn’t complained. Uncle, aren’t you making too much of this?”
Simon chuckled softly. “You’re not only good at stirring trouble, you’re excellent at turning facts on their head”
“You entered her room, and I have every reason to suspect you splashed water on her Hundred Longevity Characters Scroll”
Annabelle Bennett’s heart lurched violently, yet the instant she remembered there were no security cameras inside the bedroom she mustered fresh bravado.
Annabelle said, “That’s only a suspicion. I could just as reasonably suspect the men who installed the door damaged it.”
The guard sneered, “Miss Bennett, at least make your scapegoating believable. Those workers never even let the threshold–how could they possibly be responsible?”
Panic piling up, Annabelle clutched Adaline’s sleeve. “Mom…”
Adaline stepped forward, her expression grim. “Simon, you’re mistaken–my daughter would never do such a thing”
Lawrence Bonnett chimed in, “Exactly. You don’t know my daughter, Simon, so it’s natural sister”
blased. She’s a kind girl and would never harm her
Annabelle pleaded, “Uncle, it really wasn’t me… Besides, after the door was replaced yesterday the housekeeper came in to clean. Maybe she spilled water on the gilt by accident?”
Simon Whitmore let out a quiet chuckle and called up the relevant surveillance footage, which indeed showed the housekeeper entering the room
The housekeeper really had gone into the room.
Raising an eyebrow, Simon turned to Elena Bennett. “Where did you leave the present?”
Elona hesitated for a beat. “Inside my suitcase.”
Simon said, “if it was in your suitcase, the housekeeper had only two minutes in the room–barely enough to change a trash bag, let alone rummage through luggage and ruin a painting. How could she have done it?”
Cold sweat now beaded across Annabelle’s palms.
Annabelle protested, “Uncle, you can’t pin this on me just because of one detaill I swear I didn’t damage Elena’s g. Man, please, tell then, I’m innocent!”
Seeing her daughter’s distress, Adaline hurried to defend her.
Adaline said, “My daughter would never behave like that, Simon. You can’t wrong her based on tragent of video taken out of combiri.”
Sir Whitmore, watching in silence, summoned the housekeeper who had cleaned the room.
Head bowed, the housekeeper stammered, “I’ve worked here three years and know what I should and shouldn’t touch. I have never guest’s belongings, much less ridled through a suitcase,”
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Chapter 61
Annabelle latched onto the excuse. “Even if you didn’t do it deliberately, you could’ve splashed water le mopping. That alone could soak the painting so stop denying it!”
Eyes wide with fright, the housekeeper cried, “I didn’t! Sir Whitmore, I swear I didn’t
Annabelle snapped, “Still arguing? Do you think we’ll accept your story just like that? Surely it can’t be me–the younger sister–who ruined Elena’s painting on purpose, right?”
Simon retorted, “Accidental or not, you’re still responsible for doing a poor job.”
At that point Victor Whitmore intervened, instructing the housekeeper to resign and collect her wages at the manager’s office, thus ending
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.