Chapter 388

“You claimed online that Edith came to you for money?”
“Edith?” Jack looked up again, trying to get a better look at Penelope. “What… what’s your relationship with Edith?”
“Stop wasting time. Answer me!”
“Yes, she came to me. She said… she said she wanted a dress, and then… ah!”
Before he could finish, the tall young man standing beside her stomped down hard on his hand. Jack screamed in agony.
“Jack, if we just wanted to listen to your lies, we wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble to ‘invite’ you here,” Penelope said calmly.
Jack had already guessed she came from a powerful background, but he still refused to tell the truth.
He had someone backing him. Follow current novels on.net
But who?
One name came to Penelope’s mind.
“Did Judy put you up to this?”
Jack flinched. “You… you know Mrs. Bishop?”
“Answer me!”
“No! I barely know her. Why would she ask me to lie? That’s ridiculous!”
He was clearly flustered. So, Penelope thought, Judy really was the one pulling the strings.
“Did Edith ever come to you back then or not?”
“She did.”
“What for?”
“Money.”
“Why you?”
“She knew I was interested in her.”
“Liar!”
“She’s the one who climbed into my bed! Ah!”
Jack let out another bloodcurdling scream as Timothy stomped on his other hand.
“I’m telling the truth! You can beat me to death, throw me to the dogs, but that’s the only story you’ll get! Edith couldn’t handle being poor, so she betrayed Donald and seduced me for my money!”
Even terrified, he stuck to his story. Judy was more resourceful than she’d imagined.
Timothy was about to hit him again, but Penelope shook her head. After a moment, she went to Louis, got Jack’s phone, and unlocked it with his fingerprint. Stepping outside, she scrolled through his recent calls. She found a number labeled ‘Z that had called him half an hour before he’d posted the slanderous comments online. Looking further back, there were very few calls between them, suggesting they weren’t close.
After a moment of consideration, Penelope dialed the number.
It rang several times before someone picked up.
“Jack, are you trying to get yourself killed? I told you not to call me unless it was an emergency!”
It was unmistakably Mrs. Bishop’s voice.
Penelope remained silent, her lips pressed together.
“I’ll give you what I promised! As for what happened back then, I don’t know why Donald is suddenly bringing it up again, but you must stick to the story that Edith seduced you and got into your bed formoney! Do not, under any circumstances, let slip Donald that she was
14,tip to
pregnant at the time, or that she
came to you trying to borrow money
for his medical bills!”
“Are you even listening to me?”
“And that five million… that idiot actually took the money from Mr. Bishop and
handed it right over to me. What a self-righteous fool!”
Penelope ended the call and clenched her fists.
The real story was finally coming together. Donald had been injured during his stunt work. At the hospital, doctors must have
discovered his heart condition net
which required surgery. Edith thinking Jack was Donald’s friend, went to him to borrow money, only to have him twist the story and claim she was cheating. Donald, without getting the facts straight, bear up Jack and was arrested. Desperate, Edith had no choice but to go to Hans Bishop for help. Hans must have given her an ultimatum: break up with Donald, and he would pay for the surgery. For the man she loved, she had to comply.
Edith had been forced into an impossible situation, while Donald had remained
completely in the dark.
…