Sonya’s expression changed. “What? Didn’t that person know Estella would be riding in that car too?” Lucian’s tone turned grave as he replied, “She knew, of course. After all, the mastermind behind it all is Aubree.”
“What did you say?” Sonya was so enraged that she lost her balance and staggered backward into Elias.
He immediately helped her to the couch, then asked, “What’s going on? How can you be sure that it was Aubree’s doing? Hasn’t she learned her lesson after her family’s fall from grace?”
Lucian nodded indifferently. “I’m also curious why she’s still so incorrigible after her family’s downfall and keeps pestering Roxanne and the children.”
His response confirmed to his parents that Aubree had orchestrated the whole thing. Nodding, Elias said, “If that’s the case, she deserves to be arrested. In fact, she should’ve been arrested after what happened previously.” However, Sonya was still a little doubtful. “Aubree’s-”
“I’m sure you’ve seen the photos of her in a robe at a hotel. Isn’t that enough to tell you. what sort of person she is? Now that the situation has already come to a head, do you still think she couldn’t have done such things? How long are you going to let her hoodwink you?” Lucian’s voice grew a few notches colder, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes as he looked at his mother.
Sonya looked away, recalling how she felt when she had seen those photos. He’s right. Aubree’s a liar. But…
Narrowing his eyes, Lucian suddenly said, “If you still don’t believe it, you can always call and ask her to come over so that you can confront her face-to-face.”
Roxanne caught on almost at once. Aubree is backed into a corner now. If Sonya calls her, she’ll surely see Sonya as a lifeline and come to meet Sonya!
As the realization dawned on her, Roxanne could not help feeling somewhat nervous. She desperately hoped that Sonya would agree and lure Aubree out naturally. Sonya looked uncertain as she gazed at Lucian, then at the woman behind him.
“If you’re worried, why don’t you just call and ask?” Elias urged her. Only then did Sonya take her phone from her handbag, pull up Aubree’s. number, and make the call.
Meanwhile, Aubree was fretting like a cat on a hot tin roof, unable to come up with a single solution. When she saw Sonya’s call, she instantly fell back to her habit of thinking of Sonya as her lifesaver and hurriedly answered it.
“Mrs. Farwell, you’ve got to help me!” she cried out in a tearful voice. Hearing that, Sonya felt her heart lurch as she realized everything Lucian had said was true. Nonetheless, she still harbored a trace of pity for Aubree in her heart. She asked, “Was it really you who put Ophelia Smith up to it?”
Aubree sobbed, “I know it was my fault, Mrs. Farwell. I lost all rationale for a while. Please help me. I won’t do it ever again!”
Although Aubree did not admit to it directly, her apology could be considered an indirect confirmation that she had instigated Ophelia’s actions.
Utterly disappointed, Sonya said flatly, “How could I have trusted someone as heartless as you all these years?”
Hearing the indifference in her voice, Aubree quickly explained, “I swear that’s the only thing I lied to you about, and it was because I was too madly in love with Lucian! You understand that, don’t you? I promise I’ll never do it again.”
Sonya was infuriated by her words. “That’s the only thing you lied about? You don’t think that’s enough, do you? You nearly killed my granddaughter!”
Although they were only speaking over the phone, a shiver ran down Aubree’s spine. She began sobbing even harder. “I was wrong! I’ll even prostrate myself and apologize to Essie if you want. Please forgive me this time! Have you forgotten? You said you’d only acknowledge me as your daughter-in-law. I won’t marry Lucian anymore, so please ask him to show me mercy.”
Sonya was already fuming over the fact that Aubree had deceived her. However, seeing that the latter had dared to bring up what she had said in the past, she was absolutely livid. “Get over here and apologize to Essie, then!”
All of a sudden, Aubree fell silent. Get on my hands and knees before that little kid and apologize? How can I do that? Besides, won’t Lucian know if I go back there? Where will I run then?
The silence caused Sonya’s voice to turn even icier as she said, “I’m giving you one last chance. Come back and explain everything clearly to my face. If you don’t even have the guts to meet me, there’s nothing left for us to say.” Aubree clenched her jaw and ended the call without uttering a single word..
“What happened, Aubree?” Frieda, who had been watching Aubree on the phone, felt uneasy. The outcome that’d be the most favorable for me is if Aubree were to leave the country and flee as far away as possible. If Sonya agrees to help Aubree, however, my plan will fail, and Aubree will end up remaining in the country and continuing to be a nuisance to me!
Aubree clutched her phone so tightly that her hand shook. “That old hag! She’s in cahoots with that b*tch! She wants me to go back. Does she take me for a fool?” After saying that, she gritted her teeth and turned to Frieda. “You mentioned going abroad. How do we go about that?”
Still looking a little troubled, Frieda replied, “I can get the money ready, but if you’re to leave with things as they are now, it’ll be quite difficult to send you off without the Farwells finding out.” Feeling defeated, Aubree slumped against the wall. “I’m done for…”
“The Pearsons used to have many friends among the other prestigious families. Is there really no one who could help you? Try and think again,” Frieda urged, visibly anxious.
“Let me think…” Aubree mumbled. Back in the Farwell residence living room, Sonya remained shaken for a long while. It’s only now that I’m finally seeing Aubree’s true colors.
“How could I have been so blind? How could I have trusted someone like that?” She shook her head in deep regret. I even entertained the thought that Aubree would probably turn over a new leaf after what happened to her family and would be a suitable candidate for my daughter- in-law. Now, I’ve no choice but to admit I fell for the same person’s trickery twice!
Lucian had expected her response, and he did not press for details. He merely asked, “How did it go? Is she willing to meet with you?”
Not wanting to say anything further, Sonya simply shook her head with a gloomy expression. The fact that she had been tricked by someone like Aubree was humiliating enough.
She was not about to admit it in front of Roxanne. Lucian and Roxanne exchanged solemn glances when they saw her response. “What do you plan on having the police do to her?” Elias asked.
“They will handle her accordingly based on what she did. However, we don’t know where Aubree is right now, so we’ll need to find her before we even worry about that,” Lucian replied coldly.
Sonya frowned the moment she heard that.. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner? I wouldn’t have taken that tone with her if you had told me about it!”
Had I known about this sooner, I would’ve pretended to care about Aubree and tricked her into coming back!
Of course, Lucian knew what Sonya had in mind. “She’s extremely cautious. I only told you to call her to test her out, so I wasn’t expecting much to begin with.”
Realizing that Sonya was about to get mad again, Elias quickly stood up and pulled her into his arms. “Your mother and I will leave you two alone now that we know what’s going on. Just give me a call if you ever need anything. As for Aubree, I’ll have our men continue searching for her.”
“T’ll go see Gina and Samuel again and tell them to talk some sense into Aubree. Hopefully, they’ll be able to convince her to surrender,” Sonya said coldly after forcefully suppressing her anger.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.