Chapter 172 The Truth on Record
The hall buzzed with harsh whispers, every one of them aimed squarely at Anneliese.
Sonya nearly burst outughing, rolling her eyes at Anneliese with open mockery and provocation.
<b>38 </b>
s
Selina stood quietly at Mnie’s side, head lowered in an air of calm elegance that only made Anneliese seem more isted, irrational, and abandoned.
Zacharias, watching Anneliese stand alone, felt a pang of pity. His eyes softened, and with a sudden motion, he pulled her into his arms, his gaze sweeping the hall like a de. “Enough!”
The hall fell silent in an instant, guests turning their eyes away.
Zacharias lowered his head toward her. “Anne, you don’t have any proof. Don’t speak rashly anymore. Let me take you out of here.”
He meant well. By now, her words had been doubted and dismissed; even if she revealed the truth, it would only make her look like a liar, pitiful andughable.
But Anneliese hadn’t been prepared for his sudden embrace. That once–familiar masculine scent wrapping around her felt utterly foreign now. Disgust twisted inside her. She pulled back two steps, forcing distance between them, her lips curling in a cold smile. “Why should I leave when I’ve done nothing wrong?”
Her eyes flicked over Zacharias‘ handsome but hypocritical face, then fixed on Mnie’s sorrowful expression. As her biological mother, Mnie’s pained look alone was enough to condemn her. And Mnie knew it–yet she still chose to cast dirt on her own daughter, just to preserve the spotless image of the adopted one.
Anneliese had long since given up hope for family love, yet the chill spreading through her was undeniable. She gave a short, bitterugh. “You’re really my mother? You really love me? What kind of mother rushes to condemn her own daughter?”
Mnie couldn’t meet her sharp gaze. Her heart twisted painfully, but seeing Selina trembling at her side, ready to copse, she steeled herself. Selina was proud, too proud to endure nder. And that night’s chaos had been stirred entirely by Anneliese–she deserved to be taught a lesson.
“Anne, I-”
But before Mnie could continue, Anneliese’s lips curved into a cutting smile. She raised her voice. “I have a recording here. Why don’t we all listen together?”
<b>9:38 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>11
Chapter 172 The Truth on Record
38
s
Before the Whites could react, she swiftly pressed y on her phone. The hall went still as a taunting, careless male voice echoed through the speakers.
<i>“</i><i>Of </i><i>course</i>. <i>Back </i><i>then</i><i>, </i><i>Selina </i><i>hired </i><i>people </i><i>to </i><i>rough </i><i>her </i><i>up</i>. <i>Anneliese </i><i>took </i>two <i>knives </i><i>and </i><i>nearly </i><i>lost </i><i>her </i><i>womb</i><i>. </i><i>Everyone </i><i>in </i><i>Oceaton </i><i>knows </i><i>she </i><i>can’t </i><i>have </i><i>children </i><i>now</i>.”
“Anneliese!” Christopher’s eyes nearly split with rage. He recognized his own words from that day in Zacharias‘ office. With a roar, he lunged forward to snatch the phone.
But Anneliese had been ready. She dodged aside, the recording still ying.
<i>“</i><i>If </i>it weren’t <i>for </i><i>you </i><i>taking </i><i>care </i><i>of </i><i>her</i>–<i>proposing </i><i>on </i><i>your </i><i>knees</i><i>, </i><i>taking </i><i>her </i><i>abroad </i><i>to </i><i>calm </i><i>her </i><i>down- </i><i>how </i><i>would </i>we <i>have </i><i>had </i><i>time </i><i>to </i><i>clean </i><i>up </i><i>Selina’s </i><i>mess</i>? <i>If </i><i>she </i><i>had </i><i>gone </i><i>to </i><i>prison </i><i>because </i><i>of </i><i>it</i>, <i>her </i><i>life </i>would’ve <i>been </i><i>over</i><i>, </i><i>and </i><i>you—</i>”
Zacharias‘ handsome face drained of color. He rushed in from the other side, seizing Anneliese’s phone and forcing the recording off. His hands trembled as he killed the sound just before his own voice emerged.
Christopher snatched the phone from him and deleted the file at once. But when he looked up, Anneliese was smiling at him with mocking amusement, her eyes saying clearly: Fool.
And indeed, if he hadn’t jumped up in panic, many people might not have recognized his voice. But his desperate scrambling only made it obvious–like a confession without words.
The silence broke into a wave of stifled, fevered whispers.
“That was Christopher’s voice, wasn’t it? With a reaction like that, it must’ve been true. God!”
“So, Anneliese’s ident was Selina’s doing all along? Just like something out of a drama!”
“Looking at the Whites‘ guilty faces, it’s highly likely true. Didn’t expect to feast on such juicy gossip tonight.”
“The fake daughter hired thugs against the real one, and the Whites still protected her without a shred of guilt for their own blood. What a disgrace.”
“How shameless can Selina be, hiring someone to maim her sister? I never thought she was that kind of person.”
The whispers swelled until every once–hostile eye that had been fixed on Anneliese turned instead to Selina.
Amid the mor, Anneliese caught a voice she almost recognized–Jessica’s, twice disguised in tone. It was all she could do not tough outright.
9:38 Thu, Sep 11
Chapter 172 The Truth on Record
Selina, meanwhile, felt her heart seize in her chest. Her face went deathly pale.
938
s