Chapter 102
Rosa was clearly in a rush, too. Evelyn had asked her to call Charles away from Dahlia, making it easier to get Dahlia out of the picture. Initially, Rosa intended to stand up for Evelyn, but when she saw Evelyn ready to fight her own battles, she was even more eager to
help. Evelyn used to be blinded by love for Charles, and had let him get away with too much.
Once they managed to divert Charles away from Dahlia, Rosa realized something was amiss when she didn’t find him at the family mansion. She immediately got Tony to look into it, and sure enough, Charles had shown up here. Rosa stepped in front of Evelyn, taking a protective stance.
Charles stopped, turning to face Rosa. His anger hadn’t fully dissipated. His eyes were still cold, but his tone had softened a bit. “You can’t just let Evelyn get away with hurting Dahlia because you like her…”
“Do you think I’m like you?” Rosa snapped back sharply. “I do care about Eve, but I haven’t lost my sense of what’s right and wrong!
“I had Tony dig into last night’s incident. Sure, the account was Eve’s, but it was hacked. The login details and timing prove Eve has an alibi. It wasn’t her.”
Charles’ face tightened, his eyes shifting to Evelyn, who stood calmly behind Rosa. From her calm expression, it’s clear that Evelyn was aware that her grandmother had uncovered the truth.
Charles asked quietly, “Why didn’t you come to me?”
Evelyn caught his underlying accusation. He was upset she hadn’t gone straight to him with the truth, choosing instead to retaliate against Dahlia.
“Would it have mattered if I did? Didn’t Eve tell you it wasn’t her? Did you believe her?”
Rosa was fuming at Charles’ stance. He was clearly taken aback.
“If it wasn’t Eye, who else but Dahlia could have staged this?” Rosa’s gaze was sharp as she confronted Charles. His face darkened, thoughts hidden behind a murky expression. Yet, he didn’t immediately deny Rosa’s accusation.
Dahlia was still behind the door. She knew Charles was outside. She’d
been crying softly to gain his
sympathy but paused as she listened. When she realized Charles didn’t jump to her defense, she broke down, her voice shaky with emotion.
“Charles, you know Sandy is everything to me. How could I orchestrate anything to harm her? I can’t bear it even when she gets a tiny scratch-I wish I could take her place.” Charles remembered Dahlia’s usual tenderness toward Sandy and Sandy’s reliance on her. If Dahlia didn’t truly care about Sandy, why would she be so attached?
“Grandma, it couldn’t have been Dahlia,” Charles insisted.
Evelyn found his response painfully ironic. When the finger was pointed at Evelyn, he would say, “Who else besides you?” But when it was pointed at Dahlia, he said, “It couldn’t be Dahlia.” This response pushed Rosa over the edge. She slammed her cane on the ground, exclaiming, “You’re beyond help!”
When it came to Dahlia, Rosa
realized she shouldn’t have expected
u
anything different from Charles. She squeezed Evelyn’s hand and regretted asking in front of her realizing she’d unintentionally hurt her again.