Your Regrets Won't Bring Me Back - Chapter 61: Chapter 61
You are reading Your Regrets Won't Bring Me Back, Chapter 61: Chapter 61. Read more chapters of Your Regrets Won't Bring Me Back.
Annabelle clenched her damp palms. "I—I went in to find something."
"Were you searching, or sabotaging?"
Annabelle bit her lip. "Of course I was searching."
"It seems you still need etiquette lessons," Simon drawled. "Barging into someone else's room uninvited is awfully ill-mannered."
"I entered my sister's room, and she hasn't complained. Uncle, aren't you making too much of this?"
Simon chuckled softly. "You're not only good at stirring trouble, you're excellent at turning facts on their head."
"You entered her room, and I have every reason to suspect you splashed water on her Hundred Longevity Characters Scroll."
Annabelle Bennett's heart lurched violently, yet the instant she remembered there were no security cameras inside the bedroom she mustered fresh bravado.
Annabelle said, "That's only a suspicion. I could just as reasonably suspect the men who installed the door damaged it."
The guard sneered, "Miss Bennett, at least make your scapegoating believable. Those workers never even left the threshold—how could they possibly be responsible?"
Panic piling up, Annabelle clutched Adaline's sleeve. "Mom..."
Adaline stepped forward, her expression grim. "Simon, you're mistaken—my daughter would never do such a thing."
Lawrence Bennett chimed in, "Exactly. You don't know my daughter, Simon, so it's natural you're biased. She's a kind girl and would never harm her sister."
Annabelle pleaded, "Uncle, it really wasn't me... Besides, after the door was replaced yesterday the housekeeper came in to clean. Maybe she spilled water on the gift by accident?"
Simon Whitmore let out a quiet chuckle and called up the relevant surveillance footage, which indeed showed the housekeeper entering the room.
The housekeeper really had gone into the room.
Raising an eyebrow, Simon turned to Elena Bennett. "Where did you leave the present?"
Elena hesitated for a beat. "Inside my suitcase."
Simon said, "If it was in your suitcase, the housekeeper had only two minutes in the room—barely enough to change a trash bag, let alone rummage through luggage and ruin a painting. How could she have done it?"
Cold sweat now beaded across Annabelle's palms.
Annabelle protested, "Uncle, you can't pin this on me just because of one detail! I swear I didn't damage Elena's gift. Mom, please, tell them—I'm innocent!"
Seeing her daughter's distress, Adaline hurried to defend her.
Adaline said, "My daughter would never behave like that, Simon. You can't wrong her based on a fragment of video taken out of context!"
Sir Whitmore, watching in silence, summoned the housekeeper who had cleaned the room.
Head bowed, the housekeeper stammered, "I've worked here three years and know what I should and shouldn't touch. I have never laid a hand on a guest's belongings, much less rifled through a suitcase."
Annabelle latched onto the excuse. "Even if you didn't do it deliberately, you could've splashed water while mopping. That alone could soak the painting, so stop denying it!"
Eyes wide with fright, the housekeeper cried, "I didn't! Sir Whitmore, I swear I didn't. All I did yesterday was mop the floor—I never got the suitcase wet!"
Annabelle snapped, "Still arguing? Do you think we'll accept your story just like that? Surely it can't be me—the younger sister—who ruined Elena's painting on purpose, right?"
Simon retorted, "Accidental or not, you're still responsible for doing a poor job."
At that point Victor Whitmore intervened, instructing the housekeeper to resign and collect her wages at the manager's office, thus ending the spectacle.
"Were you searching, or sabotaging?"
Annabelle bit her lip. "Of course I was searching."
"It seems you still need etiquette lessons," Simon drawled. "Barging into someone else's room uninvited is awfully ill-mannered."
"I entered my sister's room, and she hasn't complained. Uncle, aren't you making too much of this?"
Simon chuckled softly. "You're not only good at stirring trouble, you're excellent at turning facts on their head."
"You entered her room, and I have every reason to suspect you splashed water on her Hundred Longevity Characters Scroll."
Annabelle Bennett's heart lurched violently, yet the instant she remembered there were no security cameras inside the bedroom she mustered fresh bravado.
Annabelle said, "That's only a suspicion. I could just as reasonably suspect the men who installed the door damaged it."
The guard sneered, "Miss Bennett, at least make your scapegoating believable. Those workers never even left the threshold—how could they possibly be responsible?"
Panic piling up, Annabelle clutched Adaline's sleeve. "Mom..."
Adaline stepped forward, her expression grim. "Simon, you're mistaken—my daughter would never do such a thing."
Lawrence Bennett chimed in, "Exactly. You don't know my daughter, Simon, so it's natural you're biased. She's a kind girl and would never harm her sister."
Annabelle pleaded, "Uncle, it really wasn't me... Besides, after the door was replaced yesterday the housekeeper came in to clean. Maybe she spilled water on the gift by accident?"
Simon Whitmore let out a quiet chuckle and called up the relevant surveillance footage, which indeed showed the housekeeper entering the room.
The housekeeper really had gone into the room.
Raising an eyebrow, Simon turned to Elena Bennett. "Where did you leave the present?"
Elena hesitated for a beat. "Inside my suitcase."
Simon said, "If it was in your suitcase, the housekeeper had only two minutes in the room—barely enough to change a trash bag, let alone rummage through luggage and ruin a painting. How could she have done it?"
Cold sweat now beaded across Annabelle's palms.
Annabelle protested, "Uncle, you can't pin this on me just because of one detail! I swear I didn't damage Elena's gift. Mom, please, tell them—I'm innocent!"
Seeing her daughter's distress, Adaline hurried to defend her.
Adaline said, "My daughter would never behave like that, Simon. You can't wrong her based on a fragment of video taken out of context!"
Sir Whitmore, watching in silence, summoned the housekeeper who had cleaned the room.
Head bowed, the housekeeper stammered, "I've worked here three years and know what I should and shouldn't touch. I have never laid a hand on a guest's belongings, much less rifled through a suitcase."
Annabelle latched onto the excuse. "Even if you didn't do it deliberately, you could've splashed water while mopping. That alone could soak the painting, so stop denying it!"
Eyes wide with fright, the housekeeper cried, "I didn't! Sir Whitmore, I swear I didn't. All I did yesterday was mop the floor—I never got the suitcase wet!"
Annabelle snapped, "Still arguing? Do you think we'll accept your story just like that? Surely it can't be me—the younger sister—who ruined Elena's painting on purpose, right?"
Simon retorted, "Accidental or not, you're still responsible for doing a poor job."
At that point Victor Whitmore intervened, instructing the housekeeper to resign and collect her wages at the manager's office, thus ending the spectacle.
End of Your Regrets Won't Bring Me Back Chapter 61. Continue reading Chapter 62 or return to Your Regrets Won't Bring Me Back book page.