Chapter 465

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Teresa was caught off guard , and she stopped in her tracks .
Sensing her presence , Jonathan slowly opened his eyes . Their eyes met , and from where he was , he looked up at her .
Teresa asked , “ Didn’t you go home last night ? ”
Jonathan lowered his gaze and rubbed the spot between his brows . He said , “ No. ”
Teresa was a little confused ; she’d thought he would have gone home after she left yesterday .
“ I got here so late it was almost morning . A few more hours didn’t make a difference . It wasn’t worth going back , ” Jonathan said .
“ I’m going to check on my mom , ” Teresa said , turning to leave .
Evelyn was falling apart . She grabbed Charlie and screamed , “ I must’ve been blind to ever fall for you ! I only married you because I thought you really
cared about me !
“ I’m not asking for anything else now . Just give me back my money , and we’re done . ”
But no matter how much Evelyn hit him or yelled , Charlie just kept swearing he didn’t have any money .
Evelyn said , “ Don’t give me that ! Over the years , you had at least 10 million dollars , maybe even 15 million ! How much do you have left ? Hand it all over ! ”
“ I don’t have a single cent , ” Charlie snapped , clearly annoyed . He didn’t even want to look at Evelyn .
Evelyn shot back , “ No money ? Then where’d that car outside come from ? How do you afford to party and keep a mistress ? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through , dragging Isabel along all this time ?
“ We had to run off overseas , just the two of us , with no one to rely on . I had to start over from scratch at fifty . You wiped out my whole life’s savings . How am I supposed to survive now ? ”
Evelyn broke down . She crouched on the floor , covering her mouth as tears slipped through her fingers .
At that moment , Teresa noticed a few stark white hairs on Evelyn’s head . She hurried over to help Evelyn up .
Evelyn looked at Teresa through her tears . Her voice was full of accusation as she said , “ That bastard took every penny from me . He never loved me , never loved Isabel . ”
Teresa’s heart ached . She glared at Charlie and said , “ If you call yourself a man , cough up whatever money you have left . Isabel is still iust a kid , and you’re out there messing around , scamming people , running from the law .
“ Isabel still has her whole life ahead of her . If she were still back home , maybe she could’ve taken the civil service exam and had a normal life . But thanks to you , that’s never going to happen . ”
Charlie’s eyes flickered , but he still insisted he didn’t have any money left , not a single cent .
Evelyn jabbed a finger at Charlie and said , “ He’s nothing but a heartless bastard . Someone like him would never care about how his wife and daughter feel . ”
Charlie kept his head down , silent , letting Evelyn curse him out . He didn’t look up until a tall figure suddenly loomed over him .
Jonathan looked down at Charlie . His voice was cold and detached as he said , “I’ve hired the best legal team in Nareigh . The old lady you hit is still in a coma , fighting for her life .
“ You’re looking at serious jail time , maybe even life without parole . Think about that . ” With that , he turned and walked past Teresa .
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Teresa stared blankly at Jonathan’s back . Then she turned to Evelyn and asked , “ Why did you call Jonathan for help with a lawyer ? I could char for you . ”
Evelyn sighed helplessly . She said , “ Jonathan’s got money and connections . I don’t care about anything else right now . I just want Charlie to rex in prison . ” She wished she could have Charlie executed on the spot .
After weighing his options , Charlie finally said , “ There’s still 1 million dollars . I’ll give you the bank card and the password .”
Evelyn said , “ 1 million dollars ? I worked blood , sweat , and tears ! ”
whole life to save millions , and you blew it all ! Don’t lie to me . There has to be more . Hand it over ! That’s my
Charlie snapped , “ That’s all there is . If you want ,
à car outside . Sell it and use the money for Isabel’s schooling . ”
was this concern before ? She keeps asking me where her dad went , if you don’t want
Evelyn broke down . She said , “ Now you care about Isabel
her anymore .
“ If she ever finds out what kind of father hard she could barely breathe .
you are ,
she’ll be ashamed of you . You’re worse than an animal . Why is my life so miserable ? ” Evelyn sobbed so
Teresa gently patted her back and said , “ That’s enough , Mom . Don’t cry . No matter how much you cry , the money’s not coming back . ”
Charlie buried his head in his hands . After a long silence , he said in a tow voice , “ I’ve let Isabel down . Just let her pretend she never had a father like me .
Evelyn snapped , “ Now you say sorry ? What good does that do ? You hurt me even more ! If you never really cared , why did you lie to me from the start ?
“ You knew how terrified I was of marriage after my first husband , but to spend the rest of your life behind bars ! ”
you still did this to me . I hope you rot in jail . Give me back my money , and get rea
Evelyn completely lost control , and Teresa quickly helped her out to a bench in the hallway to calm down .
Leaning against the wall , Evelyn sobbed . She muttered , “ All my money’s gone . Why do men always have to lie to me ? If Isabel weren’t still so little , I wouldn’t want to go on . Maybe it’d be better if I just disappeared . ”
Teresa said , “ Come on , Mom . At least they caught him , and we got a million dollars back . That’s better than nothing , right ? ”
Just as Teresa finished speaking , footsteps echoed closer . Sanford had shown up with a lawyer in tow .
Jonathan , who’d been leaning quietly against the wall , watching Teresa’s side of things , walked over when he saw Sanford arrive .
Evelyn , a bit calmer now , fixed her gaze on Sanford . She asked , “ Who are you ? ”
Teresa replied coldly , “ He’s Hannah’s friend . ”
Sanford said , “ Hi , Evelyn . I’m Teresa’s friend , too . I’m Sanford . I was at Jennifer’s engagement party . You probably didn’t notice me , but I was there . ”
Evelyn wiped the tears from her face . Right now , all she cared about was whether Charlie would be sentenced , and for how lon
“ Hit – and – run , solicitation , fraud – he’s going to prison , Jonathan said .
Sanford shot Jonathan a glare . Then he turned to Evelyn , eager to impress . He said , “ Evelyn , trust me , use the lawyer I brought . He’s solid . I guarant that scumbag will get at least twenty years , ”
Evelyn said , “ Whichever lawyer can get Charlie the longest sentence , that’s the one I’ll
use . ”
“ Enough , ” Teresa finally spoke up .
Evelyn , Jonathan , and Sanford looked at Teresa .
took a deep breath , then said , “ I’ll find a lawyer for my mom myself . You all can go now . ”
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She turned to look at Jonathan and added , “ Sorry for making you come all this way , Jonathan . I’ll handle my family business might