Steward approached them and squinted at Theodore skeptically. "You said your stepmom had been blackmailing you. Why would she do that?"
"For property, of course," Theodore replied in a low yet resolute voice. "She married my father for the Reid’s fortune. Now, she wants to eliminate me. She tried to kill me in the past but failed. So she played this trick. Once I am in jail, she will take over the Reid’s fortune."
Theodore took the file from Skyler and handed it to Steward. "This is the evidence against Claudia I have been collecting all these days. This is enough to put her behind the bars."
Steward took the file and checked it, his expression turning somber. He thought it was a simple case – that Theodore had killed O’Neil out of rage. He had never imagined this case would lead him to a deep family conspiracy.
"You knew all the time that Claudia was behind this." He looked up at him, closing the file. "Why didn’t you tell me sooner?"
Theodore sneered. "I don’t trust anyone of you. One of the officers joined hands with Franklin and killed Lionel in police custody. Do you think I am that fool to trust you and tell you everything?"
His words were humiliating and outrageous at the same time. "All are not the same," he retaliated.
"Sir!" One of the policemen shouted, interrupting Steward. "We found the corps."
All the three of them hurried over there.
The policeman saw something glittering beside the corps. He took it out of curiosity. "This gold cufflink!" He held it out. "It can be the murderer’s."
Theodore’s eyes gleamed as he caught the sight of the cufflink. "It’s a custom-made cufflink," he muttered. "I know who it belonged to."
All eyes turned to him, curious.
"It’s Franklin’s," Theodore said.
"Are you sure?" Skyler, who had been silent for so long, exclaimed with a hint of excitement.
Theodore nodded. "Yes. This is my mother’s gift to my father," he grunted out through his gritted teeth. "After his death, Franklin had taken it."
"Send them for autopsy." Steward’s sharp voice rang out loud. He turned to the cameraman. "And you, come with us to the police station and give the statement. And Mr. Reid." His gaze found Theodore’s. "You also need to come to the police station."
Theodore nodded. "I’ll cooperate. But you have to promise me you will punish Claudia and her partners in crime."
"I assure you – no criminals can escape from punishment." With that, Steward walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
At the hospital...
Keith’s anger continued to grow as waited outside the emergency room for the doctor. He blamed Theodore for this mess.
"Theodore, you ruined my family," he hissed. "I’ll ruin yours." He stormed to a quieter corner and phoned someone. His tone dropped into a grave murmur as he spoke on the phone. "Listen to me carefully. I want you to pick up that old man, Malcolm Reid." After a moment of pause, he added, "And also bring Theodore’s wife along."
The man on the other end of the phone sounded hesitant. "The security at the mansion is tight, and the old man doesn’t go out alone. It will be difficult to touch him. But picking up Bella Dawn will be easier."
"Then do it," Keith hissed. "She is Theodore’s weakness. For her, he can do anything."
"Consider it done, boss. I’ll call you later."
The call ended, and Keith’s expression darkened with malice.
Oblivious to all this, Bella was busy preparing for the upcoming fashion show. The designs were selected, and the venue was ready. The meeting with the ad agencies also went well. Everything was going smoothly.
Bella was contented to be able to work in such a prestigious company. Her dream to be a designer was finally fulfilled. She went to the CEO’s office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Kate’s voice came from inside.
She took a steadying breath as she pushed open the door and stepped in.
Kate grinned when she saw Bella. "Bella, please come. I was about to call you."
Bella returned her smile and approached the worktable. "Is there anything you want me to help with?"
"Yes, indeed." Kate handed her a big folder. "Every year, we receive a ton of applications for internships in our fashion house. These are this year’s applications. I want you to check them and select the outstanding ones."
Bella glanced down at the folder, overwhelmed by the responsibility. "This is a huge responsibility. Are you sure you want me to do this?"
She had just joined the company. She hadn’t expected Kate to hand her such a huge responsibility.
Kate smiled. ’Soon, you will be the boss of this fashion house,’ she mumbled inwardly.
"I believe in you, Bella," Kate said reassuringly. "You will select the most talented new designers for this company."
"Thank you for trusting me," Bella beamed, taking the folder. "I won’t disappoint you."
Kate nodded. "You wanted to say something."
Overwhelmed by the responsibility, Bella had momentarily forgotten why she had been there. Kate’s words reminded her of what she had wanted to say.
"Yes," she started. "Actually, I want to keep my identity a secret for the competition."
"Why?" Kate smiled dumbfoundedly, unable to understand why she wanted to keep her identity a secret.
"People may take it wrongly," Bella started. "They may feel insecure about competing with someone who already works for Limeart. They may doubt the fairness of the competition and may even complain about being biased. I don’t want anyone to criticize the company."
Kate’s eyes softened as she understood her worry. "Alright, if you say so. Do you have any nickname in your mind?"
Bella nodded. "Muse."
"That sounds good." Kate smiled appreciatively.
In the meantime, Bella’s phone rang. As she glanced down at the phone in her hand, she saw her mother’s name.
"I need to take this call," she said, looking up at Kate.
"Go ahead."
Thanking her, Bella came out of the room and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Bella! Can you come home? It’s urgent!"
Her mother’s disturbed tone made Bella restless. "What is it?" she asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"Don’t worry about me. I am fine." Even though Selena said that her tone betrayed her anxiety. "Just come quickly."
"Okay, I’ll be there."
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