“In other words, you’re determined to sow discord in the Sawyer Family, huh?” Madeline questioned sharply. The way she worded her question was sly because it sounded as though Tessa was the reason the Sawyers were at odds with each other.
An amused Tessa looked at her. “Don’t you think that’s rather unreasonable of you to say that, Aunt Madeline? It was Granduncle Adam’s and Granduncle Joseph’s greed that led them astray, using the company assets for smuggling. They even tried to kill Nicholas to write off the whole matter.
Yet, when this was exposed, instead of thinking of a way to make up for their mistake properly, they ganged up with outsiders to kidnap me, their relative, in an attempt to threaten Nicholas, I’m the victim, and here you are, trying to shake off all responsibilities and blame the victim. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” At last, she added sternly, “Furthermore, everyone should be responsible for their mistakes.”
Maybe it was because she had been with Nicholas for a long time, the air of authority she carried with her was terrifying, and it stunned Madeline and the others into silence. In the end, they went home without accomplishing anything. Not long after they had left, Nicholas rushed. home, surprising Tessa. ‘Why are you back so early?”
“Andrew called earlier and told me that Madeline and the others came here unannounced. I was afraid that they’d threaten you, so I rushed home,” he explained briefly and looked around the living room. When he didn’t see Madeline and the others, the anxious look on his face relaxed. “They’re gone?”
“Yes, they are.” Tessa nodded and dragged him into a seat on the couch. “You didn’t have to come back, especially for something so trivial like this. I can deal with them myself.”
“I know, but I can’t help it,” he said solemnly, holding her hand. A chuckle escaped Tessa’s lips, and she felt her heart warm at his words. Nevertheless, he stayed behind and accompanied her for a while before returning to the company. Once he was in his office, he called Edward and instructed, “Get the police to close the case as quickly as possible.”
Edward nodded, and two days later, the offenses of Adam and Joseph were announced to the public. They were charged with smuggling, embezzlement, and murder and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Even though the sentence for Zachary and the others wasn’t as harsh as Adam and Joseph’s, they were accomplices and were sentenced to ten years of imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Kathleen, who was given the mandatory sentence, was denied return to Vienna after the court hearing, and on the day of her trial, the court was packed with swarms of journalists who heard about the news.
‘The past great musician, Kathleen, faked death to avoid punishment and is now on death row after committing a crime.’
When the news was published, all the netizens were stunned beyond words. After all, it created such a buzz back then when news of Kathleen’s death got out, and some of her fans even demanded justice for her death. Not only did they boycott the Hathaway Philharmonic, they even hurled abuses at Tessa.
But the person that should be dead had returned to life, and something so unexpected was difficult for people to accept, especially Kathleen’s fans who had defended her. The deeper the love they had for Kathleen, the deeper the hate they had for her now.
‘Now, I finally understand why Miss Hathaway refused to care about Kathleen back then. There was no doubt she was very disappointed in Kathleen.’
‘I’m curious about how Kathleen was able to fake her death to avoid punishment. Also, is it truly confirmed that Hathaway was not in the know about this?’
‘You can stop being so curious, BBC News already reported that she was able to pull this off because her father spent a huge amount of money to pay someone to make a mask that looks like the real thing. They also clarified that Miss Hathaway has no idea about this.”
Once this comment was posted, several netizens immediately searched the BBC website to check their report on this sensational news. At the same time, there were a lot of journalists crowding around Hathaway’s office. All of them hoped to get a chance to interview her and receive the latest firsthand information.
Mona frowned deeply when she learned about the news. This matter was also a big shock to her. Never in her wildest dreams did it occur to her that Susan was, in fact, Kathleen. Honestly, if she wasn’t swamped with work, she really wanted to call Tessa and ask about the whole situation in detail. Just when her thoughts were running wild, a band member suddenly ran to her anxiously.
