“Dad, why? Why let her live with us?” Hansen asked. He was in the Ink Garden’s lounge with Trevor. Hansen’s tone was rushed as he asked, “Do you know how hurtful your decision would be to Jenna?”
Hansen’s gaze was filled with helplessness and pain.
“Hansen, can you please be more mature? Would you rather see Liya smearing our family reputation by claiming that we did not acknowledge the will? There are way too many things on the Richards family’s plate right now. It would help to have one issue under our control. If all she wants is to live here, then we should just let her live with us. It’s just one more person under our roof. Moreover, you don’t love her at all. Let’s see what else she’ll do about that,” Trevor said.
There was another hidden layer of meaning in Trevor’s words. It didn’t take long for her to march over right after the reading of the will. Trevor wanted to see what her true intentions were. He was also waiting to see what she could do to the Richards family.
“Dad, the will is obviously not legitimate. She’s just here after the inheritance. We shouldn’t entertain her, or else we will only bring endless trouble upon ourselves,” Hansen said with a cold expression.
“Hansen.” Trevor said with a stern tone, “Stop being childish. Jenna is a sensible young lady. She isn’t as fragile as you claim to be. If you think that there’s something off about the will, then let’s investigate further into it. We can only tackle the issue, and kick her out of Richards Manor by then.”
Trevor cast a glance at Hansen as he said this. He then shook his head and walked towards the surveillance room.
“Retrieve the surveillance records in the Ink Garden for the past six months.” Hansen told the security team leader as they walked in the surveillance room.
“Sure, Mr. Trevor,” the security team leader replied. He then started retrieving the surveillance records. Hansen and Trevor started flipping through the records to spot if any suspicious person had entered Vivian’s room.
There were surveillance cameras installed along the corridors as well as the living room in the Ink Garden. However, it was impossible for the bedrooms to be equipped with the cameras too.
Trevor and Hansen spent the whole morning searching thoroughly, and finally spotted a woman creeping into Vivian’s room one night. It was a dark night, and there was no one in the Ink Garden. The lights were dimmed, and the woman seemed to be Liya. However, as they couldn’t see her face, it wasn’t evident enough.
Hansen fixed his gaze on the monitor as he thought to himself, what was this woman doing creeping into Vivian’s room like a ghost?
Vivian’s room was the most honorable place in the Ink Garden. No one could easily get in. Yet, there was no obstacle stopping the woman from entering Vivian’s room that night. It was too strange!
Trevor and Hansen exchanged looks. Questions were apparent in their gazes.
The surveillance camera slowly shifted the angle to the entrance of the Ink Garden. The woman was already near the entrance by that time, and she looked nervous.
Through the dim streetlights, although her face was still not shown clearly, they could at least confirm that the woman in the surveillance records was none other than Liya.
Her walking in and coming out of the Ink Garden took around half an hour.
What did she do in that 30 minutes?
They continued searching through the other surveillance records. Yet, this was the only suspicious record they got.
There were a lot of people who walked in and out of Vivian’s bedroom, but they were either servants or family members. Even Sergio only went in once, and Aunt Ella was there for the whole process. However, on the night Liya crept in, there was no one in the living hall at all.
“Dad, it must be an oversight. That woman was definitely Liya,” Hansen said with his brows furrowed. He pointed towards the woman captured in the surveillance footage and said, “Could it be that she did something to the will?”
Trevor’s eyes were fixed on the surveillance record, and his expression stiffened.
“That’s possible, but didn’t we find the will in a hidden drawer? How did she manage to get the will in such a short time?” Trevor asked. He remembered that they only found Vivian’s will after Aunt Ella guided them. As for Liya, she was an outsider. How could she find the will that quickly?
Besides, they would never allow Liya to enter the Ink Garden. She shouldn’t be this familiar with the surroundings.
Hansen also fixed his gaze on the surveillance record as he processed this in his mind.
“Dad, didn’t Aunt Ella mention that Vivian had the black bag with her back then? Doesn’t this mean that the will was with Vivian instead of being hidden in the drawer?” Hansen asked.
Trevor’s eyes lit up as he heard this.
“But why was Vivian holding the will then?” Trevor contemplated.
“Dad, I believe Vivian knew and was concerned about the current situation of our Richards family, when she was still conscious. Perhaps, she also expected Liya to plot something against us. That’s why she wanted to revise the will when she was still conscious. For her to call Mr. Pringle over, it was possible that she knew she was about to pass out. She couldn’t wait any longer for him. Hence, she could only revise the will by hand.” Hansen analyzed the situation with full attention.
Trevor’s heart skipped a beat after hearing that. He nodded.
“Hansen, your analysis is accurate. Otherwise, Vivian would not mention specifically that the Richards family doesn’t owe Liya anything anymore. She wanted us to reject Liya no matter what. According to this logic, what she wrote in her will must be something like, you can never marry Liya if you don’t want to be deemed ineligible for the inheritance. She was worried that you might not know how to reject Liya, or that you’d fall into her trap and hurt Jenna in return. Vivian wanted to use the inheritance to stop you from marrying Liya. Otherwise, according to her will, you would be kicked out from the family,” Trevor said.
Trevor finally figured out the big picture, as well as Vivian’s intentions. He was moved to find out how protective Vivian was towards Jenna. She was never shy in showing how much she adored Jenna. Trevor sighed.
Some people were born to love each other, whereas some people were born to be enemies. Perhaps, a lot of things were already arranged in their destiny upon birth.
However, then again, a daughter-in-law like Jenna was really worth the adoration and love from Vivian. Jenna was the perfect daughter-in-law in their family. Everyone loved and respected her.
“If that’s the case, then Liya must have happened to see the revised will in Vivian’s hand when she passed out. Liya then took advantage of the opportunity and amended it. If she really did this, then she’s just evil!” Hansen said, gritting his teeth.
Hansen’s veins on his forehead were bulging as he said, “It’s illegal to tamper with the will. We can send her to jail based on this alone.”
Trevor stood up and paced around the room.
“But then, Hansen, have you thought about what else she would do while inside the room? Who can prove that she tampered with the will? We can’t prove anything just because we caught her creeping into Vivian’s room. Moreover, why was there no one to stop her from entering the Ink Garden? Could it be that there is something more to this?” Trevor threw out a couple of questions as he processed this in mind.
“So, this is an oversight then. We are all to be blamed for. This must have been the night before the wedding. Everyone’s attention was on the wedding. We were all busy and tired. That’s how Liya got in,” Hansen said with a painful expression.
“Hansen, don’t be discouraged. We have to send the will for further examination, and if there’s any sign of alteration, then we can at least prove that the will was invalid. As for Liya, let’s keep her under our roof before we can confirm about the will. This can at least stop her from dragging our family name through the mud. Once the will is proven to be invalid, we will see how she reacts towards this. I’m sure during her stay, she will somehow give herself away. She’s just a young lady who’s trying to get smart. I don’t think she will achieve anything.” Trevor tried to convince Hansen.
Hansen’s expression still looked awful.
“Hansen, there’s something else that I think Liya might be our only solution to.” Trevor said in a low voice, “There’s no evidence to the crime that was accused of the Richards Group, but Liya is still useful. That’s why I chose to keep her around.”
Hansen stood still and did not say anything in return.
Not long after, the two of them walked out of the security room, and started strolling around the garden.
“Hansen, now that we know what to do with Liya, do you have any plans for the Richards Group?” Trevor asked.
Hansen’s expression was dark. He looked up to the clear sky above his head and inhaled deeply.
There was a saying that the sky hanging above Richards Manor was exceptionally clear. This was a rare commodity for anyone in the city. Perhaps this was what was attractive in Richards Manor. People admired this place. Yet, at the same time, the admiration that turned into temptation had caused dangers to lurk around this place.
Hansen was reminded of the Ocean Heart which Jenna mentioned to him. His heart felt even heavier.
It was Hansen’s duty and responsibility to protect the assets as well as the treasures of the Richards family.
“Dad, don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility for whatever comes next. I will protect this place, every little part of it,” Hansen muttered, lowering his head.
Fear surged in Trevor’s heart as he heard what Hansen said. Hansen sounded lonely, as if he was betting everything on himself.
“No, Hansen. You’re the head of the family. You have to take responsibility and at the same time stay alive to carry on with our family’s legacy. We can’t let anything happen to you, no matter what sort of time it is,” Trevor said.
How could Trevor allow any unexpected accident to happen to his only son? Trevor strengthened his tone and said, “Hansen, in order to be the best, you not only have to take responsibility but you also have to stay wise enough to stand against all odds. Although Yadriel and Sergio are pushing us to our limits, we still have to stay still and stay confident in ourselves. We can’t let them push us around.”
“If we can survive this, then we will have hope. Now that Norton has already turned over a new leaf, and the Richards family is finally united, these are all good signs that we are heading to a brighter future together.”
Trevor was trying his best to convince his son.
Hansen lowered his head and listened intently to Trevor’s pearls of wisdom. He was a little moved.
Paul and John were already working with Luqman in Capital City, whereas Alvin and Irvin were working together in the Middle East. These two forces were against Yadriel. Hansen knew exactly what he had to do!
“Dad, I have something to ask of you,” Hansen said in a serious tone after pondering about.
“Go ahead,” Trevor said as he glanced at Hansen.
“I will be heading to theCapital City in the next two days. Please let Lomen follow Jenna around, and keep her safe in my absence,” Hansen asked sincerely.
Looking at how concerned his son was, Trevor already knew what he would see. He nodded with a smile and said, “No worries. Hansen, Jenna is our daughter-in-law, and she’s carrying the grandchild of the Richards family too. I will make sure that she’s protected, and no one will ever get to hurt her. I’ll arrange it later tonight.”
“Thank you, Dad.” Hansen felt relieved to hear that. Vivian had arranged for Paul and Irvin to keep Jenna safe, but now that these two were occupied, Lomen was the next candidate in line to protect Jenna.
Hansen and Trevor continued with their stroll as they talked about the situation in Capital City.