Chapter 36: Grandmother, Come and Care for Me
A snicker broke the tense atmosphere as Hayden laughed inappropriately. Miss Reed was impressive! Her retorts were satisfyingly sharp. Jared and Nathan showed little expression, but Sophia tilted her head and asked Tina in her innocent voice, “Miss Reed, is Miss Amber a human being?”
“No, she’s not a human being,” Tina replied earnestly.
Hayden couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into laughter. Miss Reed was amusing!
Sophia pondered for a moment with her head lowered, “Then, is she a ghost? Otherwise, why did she disappear after she entered the room with you? Did she use some kind of magic to vanish?”
After saying this, she seemed to find a flaw in her own logic and corrected herself, “No, that’s not right. Ghosts can’t transform; they can only use some tricks to scare people.”
As she spoke, she nestled into Tina’s embrace, feigning fear, “Tina, I’m so scared! There’s a ghost!”
Sophia’s words may have sounded humorous, but everyone present was quick to think. Amber had come to the room with Tina, but then she brought a group to catch a cheater. When they caught Talon instead, they accused Tina of being the one who drugged him. Upon further consideration, the plot had many holes.
The Reed family was playing games that were none of their concern, so no one interjected. They just treated the situation like a joke.
Amber’s face turned from pale to flushed with anger as she was spoken about. She struggled to suppress her rage and demanded sharply, “Tina, what do you mean by this?”
“You don’t understand?” Tina glanced at her indifferently.
“I don’t understand!” For some reason, Amber always lost control when speaking with Tina, and she raised her voice without thinking, “Yes, I came to the room with you, but I left after bringing you the clothes. You said you had something to discuss with Mr. Farrell and asked me to call him. I don’t know what happened after that.”
Seeing the odd looks from everyone, Amber quickly diverted the blame to Tina, “We came here because the nanny heard strange noises in the room. Who knew it would be Uncle Talon here? During this time, only a few of you were around. How could this have nothing to do with you?”
Tina let out a mocking laugh, “You came to see because you heard strange noises?”
“Yes,” Amber said assertively.
Her gaze lifted, measured and deliberate, “What did you want to see? To check if Mr. Farrell and I were being indecent? If indeed we were, such a disgraceful matter is something one would normally keep behind closed doors. Yet you came with a crowd, unafraid of airing dirty laundry, so certain you would catch Mr. Farrell and me in the act. Were you frustrated when you found out the people inside weren’t us?”
The others started to see the sense in her words. Even if Tina hadn’t been intimate with Jared, Elizabeth should have immediately contained the news to prevent it from spreading. Family scandals, especially in wealthy households, are magnified many times over by the media. But Amber had deliberately announced in front of everyone, in a voice loud enough for all to hear, that Tina and Mr. Farrell were alone in the room, as if they were engaging in something scandalous. Wasn’t this intentionally letting everyone in on the story?
As people considered this, they understood that Miss Tina might have been the victim of a setup, and the culprit was likely Miss Ensford, Amber. Their gazes turned to Amber, each filled with different emotions.
Amber’s face burned under their scrutiny. She hadn’t expected the villager Tina to be so eloquent, turning the crowd’s attention on her with just a few words. She had underestimated Tina.
“You scoundrel!” Elizabeth suddenly cursed, “You’re intimate with Mr. Farrell before marriage and then plot against your Uncle Talon. You don’t repent and even accuse others. It’s outrageous!”
“Did you see Mr. Farrell and me being intimate?” Tina asked calmly.
“I…” Elizabeth began, but Tina interrupted, “You’re accusing me without having seen anything? I’m arrogant and insolent? I don’t respect you? May I ask, how can someone who has never shown concern for her own granddaughter and frequently mistreats her daughter-in-law judge my character?”
The atmosphere fell silent instantly. The guests had not expected such a juicy revelation within the Reed family and stared at Elizabeth in shock.
Hugo and Jennie sighed quietly to themselves. Since Tina had returned, she seldom spoke. If she could avoid speaking, she would not say a single word. Today, her many words indicated her extreme disappointment with Elizabeth.
“You’re talking nonsense!” Elizabeth reacted vehemently, “Your arrogance is known to all, and now you blame me? I don’t care about you? With the way”You act, do you ever give me the chance to care?”
She would have torn Tina apart if she could. This wretched girl, saying such things in front of so many people, was she trying to embarrass her?
Tina’s eyes narrowed, her voice deep and solemn, “Since that’s the case, I’ll give you a chance to show your concern.”
She cast a glance at the nanny’s room, where Talon and the nanny were still fervently entangled, her eyes reflecting a cold indifference. Keep up the good work! This drug she had concocted wouldn’t wear off until after many releases.
She withdrew her gaze and spoke indifferently, “Mr. Farrell has something interesting. After you’ve seen it, then come and show your concern for me.”
Hearing this, Jared handed his phone to Nathan from his wheelchair, “Since the Reed family enjoys a spectacle, let’s project everything on the wall for everyone to watch.”
Nathan complied, and the video from the phone began to project onto the wall. The footage became clear.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
In a corner, Amber was seen handing a packet to the nanny and saying, “During the dinner, put this in Tina’s cup. Remember, don’t get caught.”
Amber’s face turned deathly pale. How could this be? How was there surveillance in that spot? She was certain there had been none.
And how had Jared gotten hold of it?
Jared’s hands were clasped on the edge of his wheelchair, his fingers intertwined, his voice unemotional, “Elizabeth, your foster granddaughter attempted to drug Miss Tina. If it weren’t for the fact that Miss Tina had studied medicine and counteracted the drug, she would have indeed been compromised by me.”
He lifted his eyes slightly, his tone steady, “Miss Tina has been wronged. Don’t you care about her?”
The spot captured by the surveillance had not been monitored before. It was Tina who had installed the cameras. He hadn’t asked how Tina managed to install hidden cameras in every blind spot under the scrutiny of the Reed family. The video had been sent to him by Tina.
Yes, the young lady had said she wanted her fiance to stand up for her.
“Grandmother, come and care for me,” Tina spoke earnestly.