Chapter 194 Pretending To Persuade
Listening to the heated argument between Irene and Edric in the living room, Lorraine smiled wryly. Judging from the situation, Edric had fallen for the lie. He believed that Irene was responsible for Margaret's condition. She anticipated how things would unfold.
The door slammed open and Irene dashed out of the living room, fuming mad as she left the house.
"How can she be so ruthless and act so indignant despite what she has done? Does she really think that I won't call the police? John, call the police immediately! I want to how she'll act this innocent!" Edric was steaming with anger. He seized a cup and smashed it on the ground as he yelled.
Fear clutched at Loraine's throat when she heard what he said. Would Edric really call the police? If he really called the police, things would become complicated. The police had become more experienced in cracking crimes. Things would turn ugly if they discovered that Deborah had come over.
Loraine panicked as the thought crossed her mind. She immediately entered the living room and squatted down to clean up the mess Edric had made as she eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Mr. Myers, please calm down! This is not the time to act recklessly!" John advised, "Although the witness says that Irene is the culprit, we have no other evidence to prove her point. Besides, I don't think Irene is such a heartless person."
John took Irene's side as usual. Although it made Loraine smolder with resentment, she hoped that John could talk even more to help her understand what Edric was thinking.
"Calm down? How can I calm down? She is not showing even the slightest bit of remorse. Look at my mother. As a son, should I just sit back and do nothing?" Edric bellowed, "I want her to go to jail! She has gone too far!"
"Miss Nelson is currently pregnant. You can't treat her like that."
"Yes, Miss Nelson is pregnant. Sending her to jail would be bad for her health," Lorraine chimed in.
"I don't care. So what if she threatens me with the child? So many women out there are willing to marry me and bear my child. Why should I tolerate her actions? You guys have seen how ruthless she is, right? There's no reason for me to go easy on her. Marrying her was a mistake!" he snapped as molten anger rolled through him.
"I understand your concern but you must think of the child. Eden is still ill. He is innocent. Miss Nelson is no longer the only person concerned here, as she is related to three other people as well." John was panicking. He was afraid that Edric would really do harm to Irene. Therefore, he mentioned Eden, hoping that Edric would gain some rationality. Although he did not know the truth, he instinctively believed Irene when he saw the anguish in her eyes. He believed without a doubt that Irene was not the culprit.
"I agree. I think Miss Nelson did not do it on purpose. She probably regrets her actions now." Loraine added, "Or maybe she still doesn't," Although she wanted to persuade Edric to give up on the notion of calling the police, she wanted him to continue blaming Irene for his mother's condition.
"So, I should just let the matter slide?" Edric slammed his fist against the table in frustration. "Impossible! I can't let this slide so easily!"
"What about we wait for a while and see how things unfold? Mrs. Myers is still undergoing treatment and perhaps, she will recover soon. We'll wait and see how her condition is. For the time being, just be patient." Seeing that rage nearly consumed Edric, John tried to persuade him.
"Recover? How? The doctor already said that this was the best case scenario we can hope for. My mother....will never regain consciousness ever again," Edric choked back a sob.
Loraine was startled at first when John mentioned that Mrs. Myers might recover. She heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Edric's words. "Even if the situation is bleak, you should not give up. Endure it for the time being for the sake of Eden and the baby. Let's wait till she has given birth and Eden has recovered."
Edric clenched his fists, "You're right. Let's wait till the child is born, then I'll make her pay for her sins. Such a ruthless woman! Look how she has treated my mother. There's no way I'll allow her to take care of the children. I will give her a taste of her own medicine."
Edric and John went to the hospital again. Loraine heaved a sigh of relief and went back to her room to give Deborah a call. Upon hearing what had happened, Deborah was delighted and reminded her to be careful so that the plan would proceed smoothly.
Thomas was playing with Eden when Irene reached home. Noticing that something was amiss, he asked anxiously, "How's Margaret?"
"Not good. The doctor said that she might not wake up forever," Irene sighed.
Although he did not have a good impression of Margaret, he still sympathized as no one deserved to be in such a state. He asked, "What happened? Why did she become like this?"
"I have no idea. She had already fainted when I reached her house," Irene explained. Recalling how Loraine framed her, rage coursed through her veins and she snapped, "How dare Loraine tell Edric that I was responsible for Margaret's injury? She framed me and said that I was the one who pushed Margaret. What's more, Edric believed her. That was so frustrating until I got into a fight with him." "You guys got into a fight?" Thomas was surprised.
"Yes, I was so furious and I lost my temper. Uncle Thomas, why did Loraine frame me? I've never offended her in any manner."
"Maybe it was unintentional?"
"No, I think she did it on purpose. She wanted Edric to suspect me."
Thomas comforted her. "Irene, it's irresponsible of Edric to suspect you without any evidence but he's in a bad mood now and Loraine keeps misleading him. It's only natural for him to make a wrong judgement Everything will be resolved once he calms down."
"I hope so, but I really didn't push Margaret. I'm not afraid since I've done nothing wrong. He can think whatever he wants."
Meanwhile, the car pulled out of Myers family's villa and headed towards the hospital. John said anxiously, "Mr. Myers, I still think that Miss Nelson wouldn't do something like that. I believe that she is innocent. "I also don't believe that Irene would do such a thing," Edric answered.
"Then, what was the fuss just now?" Startled, John shifted his gaze to Edric's face.
"It was just an act," Edric sneered, his gaze was cold.
"An act? For who?" John was confused. There had been no outsiders in the Myers family villa just now. Who did Edric suspect?
"Did you listen carefully to what Loraine and Irene had said?" Edric asked.
"Of course I did. Is there anything fishy about it?"
"You did not listen properly, but I did. There were many loopholes in their conversations. First, Loraine mentioned that Irene had been steaming with fury when she discovered the saffron in the bird's nest and wanted to question my mother. If you were a servant, what would you do?"
"I would definitely stop Irene," John replied.
"Yes, that is what a normal person would do. Lorraine should have stopped Irene from seeing my mother and instead she should have called me when Irene still insisted on meeting her so that I would be able to come back and stop her. However, she had brought Irene back to the house and when Irene asked her to bring my mother downstairs, she responded with an excuse that my mother was taking a nap. Other than that, she let Irene go upstairs alone, saying that the phone had rung at the moment. All of that sounded fishy."
"Perhaps it was just a coincidence?"
"There's something else I'm suspicious about. My mother never naps for more than an hour. That's a habit of hers. For Loraine to be able to deliver the bird's nest to Irene and return with her to the house again, that would take at least two hours. My mother would already be awake. Although she can't move around easily as she used to, she could still support herself with the furniture around. She would not have remained in her room when she heard Irene calling her. Besides, Irene mentioned that she had called her a few times before she entered, which means my mother had already fainted before Irene arrived."
A look of surprise crossed John's face when he heard what Edric said. Edric continued, "Lastly, my mother loves her grandchildren. No matter how much she resented Irene, she would never lay a finger on the baby. There's no way she would add saffron in the bird's nest and Irene would never frame my mother out of the blue. Hence, the only possibility is that Loraine did something to the bird's nest. Lorraine must be involved in this incident." Edric sneered.
"Your theory sounds logical but what's her motive?"
John looked skeptical. Loraine had been working for the Myers family for so many years. She had always been loyal and the Myers family had never mistreated her. There was no reason for her to do something like this.
"Don't you think that it's weird she's claiming that Irene is the culprit although she didn't witness the incident herself? If she didn't witness Irene pushing my mother with her own eyes, she should not have blamed Irene in that manner. After all, this is a matter of life or death. A careless remark would make me suspect Irene."
"Maybe she's just worried about Mrs. Myers. After all, she has been working for her for nine years. She must care about your mother."
"If my mother had treated her well, I'd believe that she would care about her. However, you know that my mother has a bad temper and likes to belittle others. Lorraine must not have an easy time with her. Her life would be better if my mother was gone."
Edric sighed, recalling the day he had caught a glimpse of the resentment in Loraine's eyes. Lorraine definitely loathed his mother.
"Even so, it's not necessary for her to do such a thing to Mrs. Myers, right? She could always resign."
"There are some things that cannot be explained with logic. Irene has never offended either you or Loraine. Hence, when I suspected Irene, you tried to advise me instead of motivating me to hate Irene. Loraine has been in the Myers family for nine years. She knows my feelings towards Irene but she did not describe the incident objectively. Instead, all her statements seem to suggest to me that Irene is the culprit. She's definitely guilty."
Edric was sure that he was right. He continued, "Therefore, I deliberately blew a fuse to observe her reaction. However, she acted very strangely. She was very insistent that Irene was the culprit but once I had mentioned the police, she suddenly changed her attitude and tried to persuade me not to call the police. She was acting very strange indeed!"
John recalled Loraine's reaction when Edric wanted to call the police. Indeed, something was amiss. "If that's the case, let's keep an eye on her. If she's guilty, she'll definitely expose herself."
"Not only should we keep an eye on her, but we should also watch out for Marie. A blackout occurred just after Marie came to the house. Don't you think that's weird? Go and investigate who caused the blackout. Although the surveillance cameras in the villa weren't working due to the short circuit, we can still investigate which route Marie took to reach the house. Don't miss out on any suspicious details." John nodded, "I'll do it right away."
"Go and investigate who had caused the blackout first. Marie's matter can wait. We do not want her to realize that we're suspecting her. Be careful," Edric warned.