Chapter 360 Obvious Flaws Abound
The middle-aged man was startled and speechless. He couldn’t help shifting his gaze to Crispin, and Amanda and Elias caught their interaction.
Before they could speak up, Crispin scolded the man, saying, “Miss Bailey and Mr. Winters are asking you questions. Why are you looking at me? What are you trying to do, frame.
me?!”
Upon hearing the clear hint, the middle-aged man hurriedly lowered his head, appearing meek and honest as if even telling a lie required much thought.
“Speak! Now!” Elias looked at the man. He never paid much attention to the gardener the few times he visited the Allegra Villa, but never did he think the man had such audacity to do something like that.
Still, the middle-aged man continued to kneel with his hands on his knees, nervously stroking his pants as he was clearly flustered.
No… Someone like him couldn’t possibly have come up with such an elaborate plan and even accurately shift the blame onto me, Elias mused. What’s more, this man has no connections to spread false rumors to me. If it weren’t that someone had told me Amanda would also be at the event, I wouldn’t have gone to Cloudview Hotel at all!
Amanda, too, wanted to know the entire process of how the middle-aged man committed the crime.
Crispin, on the other hand, was actually freaking out despite his calm demeanor. He feared the man would slip up and implicate him.
“I-I planned it f-for a long time,” said the middle-aged man as he stammered. “As such, everything went smoothly that day. I used a virtual number online to text Miss Stephanie, luring her to the hotel. It was all in the dark, so she didn’t see who I was. I left before she woke up, and I deleted the text messages from her phone before I left. I also bribed the waiter, asking him to tell Miss Stephanie that the meal was sent by Mr. Winters. That’s it. I thought I could get away with it, but I never knew…”
There was no need to say the rest, for everyone already knew. However, Amanda still expressed her doubts, asking, “So, were you the one who spread the false information to Elias? Were you so sure that he would attend the event at Cloudview Hotel?”
“I wasn’t sure, but I was secretly relieved when Mr. Winters actually went there,” the middle- aged man replied.
At that, Elias questioned, “Whom did you bribe within the company?”
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“I’m sorry, but this is solely my responsibility. I don’t want to involve anyone else. Please, Mr. Winters, don’t ask any further. If punishment is needed, let it be directed at me alone. I won’t complain,” pleaded the man, showing no signs of resistance as though resigned to his fate.
Amanda instantly grew suspicious and said, “You seem pretty resigned to your fate. Do you have nothing left in this world? Since you claim to love Stephanie, why would you destroy her like this? It seems your motive for this crime doesn’t quite add up.”
Seeing that Elias and Amanda’s relentless pursuit was nearly rendering the middle-aged man speechless, Crispin quickly intervened. “Enough, both of you! You’re not the police. Why do you want to reopen Stephanie’s wounds? Please, stop talking now. I can’t bear to hear more!”
Crispin appeared genuinely pained as if every word they said was causing him great agony.
“You, of all people, have no right to mention Stephanie’s name!” Crispin grabbed the man by his collar. Then he turned to Jack. “Mr. Allegra, hurry and send him to the police station. I can’t stand to look at him for even a second. He reminds me of all that Stephanie went through.”
Jack was furious, and he didn’t want to see the gardener either. At that, he waved his hand. dismissively and said, “Deal with him as you see fit. I don’t want to see this ungrateful beast.”
With that, he went upstairs while Crispin dragged the middle-aged man out of the living room roughly, looking like he had a deep-seated grudge against the man.
Left alone, Amanda and Elias exchanged a glance.
“Do you think he’s the mysterious man?” Amanda asked.
“Judging by his appearance, it doesn’t seem likely,” he replied. “Also, he seems unfamiliar with the whole process, and it seemed like he was reciting a rehearsed text.”
“Yes, it seemed as though he was reciting. Not only that, but he looked pretty resigned and ready to meet his end. It’s strange. Ask Yacob to do some investigation,” she suggested. While she didn’t like Stephanie, she still wanted to uncover the truth, for there were obvious flaws in the story.
Elias frowned. “Let’s discuss this tomorrow morning. Yacob hasn’t had a good night’s sleep for several days.”
Meanwhile, outside the Allegra Villa, Crispin glanced around to ensure no one was nearby before pulling the man aside. “What was that just now?” he whispered. “Do you not want the money anymore? Why didn’t you say everything I taught you?!”
“I’m sorry, I forgot. You said too much, and I’m getting old. It’s hard for me to remember
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everything.” The man looked embarrassed, feeling ashamed of not performing well.
Crispin snorted coldly. “From now on, don’t say a word. Once we’re at the police station, keep quiet and get ready to go to jail. You probably won’t get out for the rest of your life.”
“What about my wife’s illness… Will you give us the money? She can’t wait any longer, and she needs a kidney transplant immediately,” the man pleaded with a shaky voice, his eyes filled with hope.
“I know, man. You’re annoying. I’ve already contacted the hospital. They’ll perform the surgery on your wife the day you go to prison. Don’t worry, I keep my promises,” Crispin said as he constantly glanced around, afraid that someone might overhear their conversation.
Relieved, the middle-aged man said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Coyote. I’ll do as you say.”
“That’s good. From now on, I will take full responsibility for your wife’s illness. You just stay in prison and be at ease. I don’t think you’ll have to wait for many years; when the time. comes, I’ll find a way to get you out.”
Crispin made these promises to put the middle-aged man’s mind at ease while he served his sentence. He wanted everything to go smoothly so that he could marry Stephanie and become a son-in-law of the Allegra Family.
“Thank you, Mr. Coyote. Thank you for saving my wife.”
At the same time, Stephanie lay on the bathroom vanity in her room and continuously vomited as she felt disgusted.
She couldn’t believe that it was the old gardener from her house who had slept with her that night. She had always thought it was Elias and even fantasized about him falling in love with her body.
She had imagined a happy life with Elias, but it turned out to be this old and repulsive man.
“Why did this happen… How could this happen….” Stephanie cried and wailed, occasionally dry heaving.
Moments later, Crispin entered the bathroom with a worried expression. “Stephanie, what are you doing?!” He rushed in and embraced Stephanie tightly, looking pained and full of tenderness. “Stephanie, why are you so foolish? Why…”
She sprinted down the stairs but suddenly remembered her pregnancy and slowed down. Clutching the test strip in her hand, she wondered what Elias Winters' reaction would be once he heard the news.
Yet, when Amanda was halfway down the stairs, she saw two figures in the living room—Elias and a sexy woman. Slowing down her steps, she held the handrail tightly and felt her heart sink. That was because she saw her husband and the woman behaving affectionately as though they were a smitten couple.