Chapter 505

Darren said his piece and hung up. When Rebecca tried calling back, he didn’t pick
up.
Rebecca swore at her phone for a good while, furious. Then, as a thought struck her, she glared up at Penelope.
“Was this your doing?”
Penelope shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. I just gave him money. Twenty thousand dollars, wired instantly. I guess he realized that earning money from me is a lot easier than from you, so he took my advice, pocketed the cash, and went home to start a new life.”
“Penelope, you… you’re despicable!”
“Ha, you should probably look up the word ‘despicable.’ You clearly don’t understand what it means.”
“You… you think just because Darren’s not here, I can’t handle you on my own?”
Before she could finish, her phone rang again.
This time it was Buck. Hearing what he said, Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock once more.
“You’re saying the police came to see you? What for?”
“They said you attacked Hannah?”
“Was it really you? Why didn’t you tell me?”
He had called Rebecca in a panic and hung up after just a few frantic words.
Rebecca immediately wanted to call back and get a clear story, but she hesitated, phone in hand, not daring to make the call. Buck had said the police were there, and she was afraid that calling him back now would only implicate her.
“So you really didn’t know that Buck was the one who hurt Hannah.” Penelope clicked her tongue. “I was wondering how you could be so stupid as to leave such a gaping hole in your plan.”
To determine if Hannah was
responsible for Buck’s injury, all they needed to do was prove he attacked her that night That would confirm he was uninjured at the time,
neve
meaning his injuries came later and had nothing to do with Hannah.
The police had been investigating this angle, but Buck had been clever, covering himself up so well that night that even the surveillance footage couldn’t definitively identify him.
After she paid off Darren, he cooperated with the police investigation and provided evidence of Buck’s attack on Hannah.
“I… I don’t know, I don’t know anything!” Rebecca said frantically.
“Telling me is useless. You can only pray that Buck takes all the blame under police questioning.”
“I told you, I didn’t do anything!”
“But why would he take the fall for you? Did you offer him something good?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“You’re great at making empty promises, but they aren’t fools. After all this time without seeing a single penny, do you really think they still trust you?”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
“Rebecca, you can be stubborn or deny it all you want, but inciting others to frame someone, illegally seizing another’s property, and even intentional assault-these are all
crimes, punishable by law! After
you’d
what happened with Zebulon y
think you would have leamed to
respect the law. It’s time you learned
your lesson!”
“Penelope, I said I didn’t do anything!
You can’t slander me!” Rebecca
panicked, completely losing her
composure. She pointed at
Penelope and shouted, though her voice lacked any real conviction, “You go tell the police it was all a misunderstanding! I don’t want your house anymore! I’ll apologize to you, just let me go!”
Zebulon and Mrs. Sullivan hadn’t expected Rebecca’s plan to implode so quickly. The two of them didn’t dare say a word, trying to make themselves smaller, afraid Penelope would see them and hold them accountable.
Penelope couldn’t be bothered with them and simply called the property management for the community.