Suzy concealed her lips beneath the scarf, a smug expression crossing her face.
A trace of triumphant conspiracy flickered in her eyes.
Fortunately, after more than a decade of sisterly companionship, she was adept at imitating Samantha.
To avoid leaving any trouble for herself, she deliberately imitated Samantha's voice every time she met Tiger.
Tiger was unexpectedly affirmative, "It's you. I remember your voice." After saying this, he took out a phone with a broken screen from his pocket and tremblingly handed it to Ethan. "Every time I talk to her during our meetings, I record it. If you don't believe it, the recordings are on the phone."
Ethan signaled to Jade with a glance.
Jade immediately fetched a laptop, connected the phone to it with a data cable, and, after some manipulation, quickly found the recordings.
"Hey, Tiger, do me a favor, kill someone for me."
"Who? What's the person's background? You should know I don't mess with people from the major families."
"Don't worry, it's just a kid. He has only one mother, and he has no connection with the major families. Even if he dies, his mother won't be able to find you."
"Five million."
"Deal! That kid is called Alexander Miller, nicknamed Alex. Her mother is Samantha Miller, and he has another sister named Charlotte."
“Okay, I'll arrange it with my men as soon as possible."
After ending the call, the expressions of everyone present turned extremely grim.
Anna's face alternated between pale and red, and her aversion towards Samantha reached its peak.
Ethan's deep black eyes locked onto Samantha, with an endless undercurrent seemingly surging within.
Suzy, hidden beneath her sunglasses, looked triumphant.
Samantha's lips turned deathly pale, her delicate face devoid of any trace of color, as if her body had been submerged in ice-cold water, chilled to the bone.
A setup.
From start to finish, it was a premeditated setup.
Suddenly, she seemed to understand something and looked sharply at Suzy beside her, exclaiming excitedly, "It's you, definitely you! You're truly terrifying, manipulating all of us in the palm of your hand."
Suzy pretended to look frightened, shrinking her head in fear, and cried with a victimized tone, "Sister, why are you treating me like this? Four years ago, you stole my child, nearly killed my child four years later, and now you want to shift all the blame onto me? Why... why are you treating me like this? What have I done to offend you? Do you have to treat me this way?"
Samantha didn't expect her to be so skilled at acting and slapped her immediately.
Suzy's sunglasses were knocked off, revealing her teary eyes.
Seeing this, Anna was immediately overcome with anger. She stood up and shielded Suzy behind her, pushing Samantha fiercely.
“What kind of thing are you? She is the daughter-in-law of the Steele family. How dare you bully her?”
Samantha stumbled after being pushed, and her ankle twisted severely. She almost fell but managed to grab the sofa in time to stabilize herself.
The living room turned chaotic.
Ethan's thick eyebrows knitted tightly.
In a fit of anger, he smashed the cup on the coffee table onto the ground, creating a loud 'bang.'
The living room fell silent instantly.
Suzy forgot to cry.
Anna forgot to scold Samantha.
Samantha forgot to seek justice for herself.
The three people stared blankly at Ethan.
Ethan glanced at Jade.
Jade tinkered with the laptop again, retrieving a second audio recording.
"Tiger, how is the situation progressing?"
"It's being arranged. When the time is right, we'll take action."
"As soon as possible. Within three days, I want to see the body of that little bastard."
The second part of the conversation caused the temperature in the living room to freeze instantly.
The gazes directed at Samantha changed from accusation to disgust and disbelief.
Following that, Jade played several more audio recordings.
The contents of the recordings were similar, but the female voice talking to Tiger was undeniably Samantha's, leaving no room for her to argue.
Samantha felt a sudden dizziness, her legs went weak, and she fell to the ground.
It was over.
Completely over.
This time, there was truly no way to defend herself.
Suzy lowered her head, appearing aggrieved on the surface, but her heart was blossoming with joy.
This time, Samantha would never have a chance to turn things around, right?
Not only would Alexander be taken away from her, but the Steele family would surely not allow her to stay by Ethan's side.
Anna and Liam looked at Samantha with eyes full of hatred. She hated that Samantha took Alexander away for four years, causing them to be unaware of the existence of their grandson.
Samantha was surrounded by an unprecedented sense of despair.
Just as she was about to give up any attempt to defend herself, Ethan suddenly said, "Find out the time of their calls!"
His words made Samantha shudder, and her eyes gradually lit up with joy as she looked at Ethan.
Ethan's expression remained cold as he said, "I'll give you a chance. If you can find a time witness, then I'll believe you."
Samantha, as if seeing a glimmer of light in the darkness, nodded vigorously.
Suzy's eyes were almost spewing fire. Her heart felt like it had been turned over, hating and envying Samantha.
The evidence was right in front of them, yet Ethan still didn't believe it. He wanted to find a way to absolve Samantha of guilt.
Jade operated on the laptop for a while and then truthfully reported the call times.
Samantha carefully recalled.
During the time of the first recorded call, she was with Candy and Alexander at Karen's house. Although they could testify for her, the Steele family would probably not believe them.
The time of the second recorded call...
Samantha paused, then turned to Ethan, her lips opening and closing as if wanting to say something but hesitating.
Ethan lowered his gaze, looking at her with a hint of playfulness, as if waiting for her to speak.
Samantha bit her lip in frustration and glanced at Ethan accusingly.
This annoying man was waiting for her to beg for mercy.
He clearly knew what she was doing that night but refused to testify on her behalf.
Seeing this, Ethan's mother, Anna, thought Samantha was feeling guilty and sneered, "What? Can't figure it out? Or maybe there's no alibi at all? Well, who doesn't sneak around when doing something wrong?"
Samantha hesitated for a while, a blush appearing on her small face. She whispered, "For the second call, I have an alibi."
Anna didn't believe her, saying, "Don't attempt to deceive us. We won't be fooled."
Suzy suddenly remembered something, feeling a shock in her heart.
It's over.
She forgot.
During the second call to Tiger, Samantha and Ethan...
Her thoughts were interrupted by Samantha's voice.
"That day, I met Miss Ellena at noon, and then I spent the whole day with Ethan..."
As she spoke, Anna's brows furrowed tightly, tightening so much that they could crush a fly.
Suzy's tense body trembled.
It was bad. She forgot about that.
If it were someone else, she might be able to figure something out.
But the alibi was Ethan, so what else could she do?
Samantha continued, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Ethan. If you still don't believe, we can pull up the surveillance footage from the mall. We were shopping together the whole time, and there was no time for a phone call."
After saying this, she looked at Ethan, signaling him to come forward and testify for her.
Ethan raised an eyebrow with a half-smile.
Seemingly unwilling to speak.
***