Chapter 7
I headed out to find Fabian, handing him the printed documents I had prepared. I asked him to use the evidence to file a lawsuit against Helena the next day. Even if she could not be convicted, I wanted everyone to know she was still alive and that my family had been covering for her.
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After that, I logged into my social media accounts and uploaded all the pictures and audio files. I set them to go live at a scheduled time, ensuring everyone would see them.
Finally, I replied to Helena’s message, taunting her, “Do you really think I can’t make them abandon you and come back home?”
She took the bait and fired back, telling me to just wait and claiming they would not return today. Not long after, I got a call from my parents. They said. they still had some last–minute preparations to handle and needed to rush out to get something custom–made, so they told me not to wait up.
Everything was going perfectly as I planned. After hanging up, I sent the final piece of evidence to Dr. Roberts. Then, clutching my plane ticket, I left behind the home I had lived in for the past ten years.
The next day, at the ribbon–cutting ceremony for Helena’s company, Dad received a call from Dr. Roberts. “Mr. Gardner, bad news! Ms. Gardner seems to have found out the truth about the car accident five years ago. She overheard what we said in the hospital room that day!”
Dad’s face turned pale. He tried calling me, only to find my phone was already turned off.
“Dad, the ceremony is about to start. Let’s go,” Helena said, pulling him to the stage. Before she could even take the red ribbon, the crowd below began to stir.
Someone commented, “That’s him, right? The chairman of Gardner Corporation, Mr. Edward Gardner? How heartless! Covering for his adopted daughter while letting his real daughter suffer in a wheelchair for life. Disgusting!”
Another shouted, “Wait, isn’t that his adopted daughter standing next to him?”
Bowen rushed onto the stage, holding his phone and looking panicked. “Edward, something serious happened! We need to leave now!”
He dragged Dad away, leaving Helena standing there, confused and alone.
In the car, Bowen sped through the streets while Mom pressed him for answers.
“What’s going on? Tell us!” she demanded.
When they got home, Bowen handed her some heart medication and finally explained. “Maisie found out about everything. She knows we lied to her.” “What?” Mom gasped, her face filled with shock.
Dad sighed heavily. “Dr. Roberts called me earlier and told me Maisie overheard us that day. I already asked him to come over. We’ll figure this out when he gets here.”
Bowen cut him off urgently. “There’s no time! Maisie posted all the evidence online!”
He handed his phone to Dad, who scrolled through the posts, his face growing paler with each one. He clicked on an audio file, and the recording of his conversation with Dr. Roberts–while I was under anesthesia–played clearly.
The comments section was flooded with outrage. Someone wrote, “Even animals don’t harm their own! How could you do this to your biological daughter just to protect your adopted child?”
Another added, “Did you see how they tried to destroy the evidence? That’s illegal!”
“Yeah, but look at the documents–her husband signed legal waivers for her. Even if they broke the law, she’s not going to jail for it!”
The fury online only escalated, with people demanding to know if they would really be able to get away with it.
Bowen tried to calm Mom down as their phones kept ringing–people kept asking if the rumors about him were true. Meanwhile, Dad was furious as he scrolled through Bowen’s leaked messages.
He shouted, “I told you not to leave any evidence! How could you be so careless? You didn’t even delete your chat history, and you posted pictures on social media? You’re an idiot!”
Bowen looked defensive. “Edward, I didn’t think Maisie would go through my phone and dig up my archived messages and social media posts!” Soon after, Dr. Roberts arrived. He handed over the remaining evidence to Dad with a deep sigh.
Chapter 8
