It was the first time Harrison had ever lost his temper with her, and Ava was momentarily stunned, rendered speechless by the sudden attack.
She did indeed want to coax some truth out of Harrison regarding what had happened to Alessia during the days she was detained. But Ava had long forgotten what shame was, and after a few seconds of silence, she began to cry in grievance.
"Brother, how can you resent me like this? I wanted to marry Gordon to help our family, what happened to Nolan was an accident, and what almost happened to Jessie was also an accident. I didn't want any of this."
Seeing the tears on Ava's face, Harrison's anger subsided slightly, replaced by the familiar pain when facing Ava.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ava continued, knowing that if she didn't tell some truth now, Harrison would never trust her again. So with a teary voice, she continued, "I'm not lying this time. Believe me. Gordon personally said that as long as I can persuade Alessia to help Evelyn, he's willing to divorce Evelyn and marry me."
"So you're threatening Gordon?" Harrison asked.
"How could it be considered a threat? It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. If he doesn't marry me, I won't persuade Alessia." Ava shrugged it off.
"Can you guarantee that Alessia will listen to you?" Harrison continued to inquire.
"Even if Alessia is capable, she's just a rural girl. It's not easy for her to divorce and raise two children on her own. She can use this opportunity to enter the Laroux family's door, which would be a win-win situation. The reason she didn't agree before was that the she hadn't turned around yet. But as long as I talk to her properly, she'll definitely listen to me," Ava confidently explained.
After hearing Ava's words, Harrison didn't ease up. Instead, he let out a heavy sigh and chuckled in frustration. "Ava, how long are you going to continue fooling yourself? These past few days, Jessie has already told me everything. Alessia is Dominic Carter's ex-wife, and her two children are also his."
"Dominic is actively trying to get Alessia back. With the background of the Carter family, do you think she still needs to return to the Laroux family? Do you know about the acquisition of our company by the Das Group? The largest shareholder of their company is Alessia."
With each revelation from Harrison about Alessia's strength, it was as if Ava was being struck on the head with a heavy hammer.
Although Alessia grew up in the countryside, her life seemed to have been scripted.
Born into wealth, married into wealth, and through her own abilities, became wealthy.
Ava admitted to herself that she was jealous.
She thought she was the one playing the game, but it turned out she was the one being played.
Madness flashed in her eyes. "Even if Alessia doesn't listen to me, so what? Even if I don't marry Gordon, so what? As long as Gordon doesn't marry me, I won't let Alessia treat Evelyn."
"It seems you've truly gone mad," Harrison was shocked by Ava's obsession.
"I went mad long ago, brother. Have you forgotten that I was hospitalized for mental illness?" Ava retorted, her lips still wearing a smile even in this situation.
She could still laugh.
Harrison didn't say anything more, as if contemplating something.
Seeing this, Ava thought she had won and started to walk upstairs.
Harrison didn't tell her what Alessia had done these past few days, which made Gordon suddenly change his mind. She believed that with her own abilities, she could find out.
In just a moment, Ava had already reached the stairs.
It seemed like Harrison had made a decision. He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, is this the M Hospital? Yes, my last name is Ramirez. My sister has relapsed, and I need you to come and take her away immediately."
Ava, who was about to go upstairs with a victorious smile, froze upon hearing Harrison make the call.
The M Hospital was a psychiatric hospital. She had spent several years there, and it was not a place for mentally healthy individuals.
She quickly turned around and ran back to Harrison, reaching out to grab the phone from his hand.
"Harrison, I'm not sick. You're the one who's sick. How could you send me to the hospital? Have you forgotten what you promised Dad?"
Harrison protected his phone, not letting Ava touch it. He was calmer now than ever.
"Ava, just because you're my sister and I promised Dad to take care of you, I've spoiled you to the point of having no boundaries, making you selfish, malicious, and frightening. I shouldn't have brought you back from the psychiatric hospital in the first place."
Every word Harrison said hit Ava's heart accurately. She was furious and helpless, resorting to her most adept skill-manipulation.
"Brother, I can't believe you've changed so much in just a few days. Have you been seduced by Evelyn too? Even you don't care about your own sister anymore."
"Smack!"
A sudden, unexpected sound.
"Harrison, you hit me!" Ava couldn't believe it, covering her face.
Harrison looked at his own hand, also stunned for a moment before realizing what he had done.
But he didn't regret it.
Harrison placed his hand behind his back, facing Ava with a determination he had never shown before.
"I hit you, and I should've hit you long ago. You're malicious and have tainted everyone around you with your own dirtiness. Don't think I don't know. Alessia isn't the offspring of any woman; she's Gordon and Evelyn's biological daughter!"
"How do you know?" Ava exclaimed, mouth agape, then quickly denied, "You're talking nonsense!"
"I'm talking nonsense?" Harrison's chest heaved with anger. "Do you think your brother is that foolish? Do you think you can manipulate me like this?"
Regret and frustration washed over Harrison, and he sat back on the sofa, revealing everything he knew to Ava.
As it turned out, when Ava was pressured by Alessia to admit she wasn't Alessia's mother and revealed that she had taken Gordon's genes abroad to have Alessia, it raised suspicions in Harrison's mind.
He privately hired a detective to investigate Alessia's age and made inquiries at the welfare home. He discovered that Alessia's birth age was only a few days apart from the age of the deceased daughter of Evelyn.
When Ava found out about Evelyn's pregnancy, she used unethical means to conceive Gordon's child. With her own child, she had already won, and it was inconceivable that she would have the intention to take Gordon's genes abroad again.
There was a flaw in the plan.
As Harrison analyzed and observed Ava's reaction, he continued, "When you were about to give birth, you heard that Ava gave birth before you. You were dissatisfied, so you secretly went to the Laroux mansion and took the child away."
"I wonder what you had in mind at that time. Anyway, you took the child away. When the Laroux family came looking for the child again, they found only a dead infant. At that time, there was no evidence, so the Laroux family had to let you go. Your child was born in those days, and initially, everything seemed fine. But a few days later, you came back and claimed that the child had died of illness."
"Now thinking back to those coincidental events, it's clear that your initial child was stillborn. Dissatisfied, you schemed so much, but in the end, gained nothing. You switched the dead baby for Evelyn's child."
"You originally planned to wait a few days and then bring Evelyn's child to Gordon, but then Gordon angered you by threatening to send you to a psychiatric hospital to appease Evelyn's anger. In a fit of anger, you lied about the child's death."
"Heh... Haha." Listening to Harrison's analysis, Ava suddenly laughed, louder and louder.
When she finished laughing, she looked at Harrison. At this point, she no longer concealed anything. There was nothing left to hide.
"You're right, brother. If you had been this smart earlier, our family wouldn't have fallen into such a state. When I entrusted my poor child to Gordon, I sent Evelyn's child to the welfare home. I had planned this from the beginning."
"I should have brought that child back to Gordon earlier to break up his family and strike at Evelyn. But when I came out of the psychiatric hospital, Alessia had been adopted, so it took me so many years. This is karma. Alessia refused to treat Evelyn's illness, and now neither Evelyn nor Alessia would have expected this."
Ava, feeling triumphant, began to laugh again.
"You're beyond redemption," Harrison sighed with sorrow.
"So what?" Ava remained unrepentant, seizing on Harrison's psychology and provoking him.
"In that case, why don't you tell Gordon about this? Don't forget, our family's downfall is partly due to the Laroux family. Nolan's death was indeed an accident, but Alessia bears half of the responsibility. Are you really going to betray us for Evelyn?"
***