Jenna read Liya’s IOU over and over again before putting it away in her pocket. She then headed to the Green Jade Garden.
Trevor gave her a call that morning, asking her to meet him in the study at Green Jade Garden later at noon. He told her to be secretive and not let anyone see her.
Jenna was a little sleepy at noon, but knowing Trevor, he must have intended their meeting to be in secret, hence arranging it at noon. She got on the electric vehicle and headed towards the Green Jade Garden.
It was quiet in the Green Jade Garden. Some of the maids were transferred to the Ink Garden, whereas some of them were still taking their nap. Jenna headed upstairs to take a look at Jerry. Aunt Ella was keeping him company in his room. Jerry was sleeping soundly. Jenna kissed his cheeks and stayed there for a short while.
Ever since he knew that she was pregnant again, Jerry no longer stuck to her like glue. Jenna was also occupied with a lot of other matters. She was exhausted at most times. Aunt Ella and Larry were basically taking care of Jerry on her behalf. Jerry was busy with his own stuff too. His home tutor would teach him new things each day, and he would spend everyday with meaningful activities.
After learning of Jerry’s situation that day, Jenna then headed upstairs.
The atmosphere was slightly heavy in the study. Jenna walked in to find Trevor and Lomen waiting for her.
She greeted them both. Trevor then gestured to her to sit on the couch before saying, “Jenna, I have something to tell you today. It’s about Liya.” Trevor paused for a while before asking with concern, “Jenna, you must be tired at this hour. It won’t take long.”
The reason Trevor had Jenna over was that he was worried she would be emotionally burdened with Liya’s presence and be in low spirits. He didn’t want her to worry much, especially when she was pregnant.
He didn’t have a choice but to keep Liya in Richards Manor, despite knowing that this decision would hurt Jenna the most.
“Dad, it’s okay. I’m getting enough sleep and nutrition everyday. So, I don’t feel that tired.” Jenna smiled and shook her head. She could roughly figure out what that meeting was about upon hearing the mention of Liya’s name.
“Great, you definitely need to make sure you get enough rest.” Trevor felt more at ease. He then turned to Lomen and said, “Lomen, you can start telling us the results now.”
“Sure, Mr. Trevor,” Lomen replied. He then took out a stack of documents from the folder in hand and said, “I took Old Madam’s will for authentication a couple of days ago, and the result is out now.”
Speaking of that, Lomen paused for a brief moment as he flipped through the documents.
“Jenna, we never once believed that Grandma would revise her will to be like this, but we need solid evidence to prove it. Therefore, I discussed with Hansen, and we decided to send the will for authentication. Now that the result is out, we want you to join us,” Trevor explained to Jenna with a pleased tone.
Jenna listened calmly, as if she already knew about Trevor’s intention.
“Mr. Trevor, Madam, the result is like this.” Lomen cleared his throat before continuing to say, “The handwriting on the revised notes matches that of Old Madam’s, but the results show that there’s something odd in the ink of this word. It seemed like it wasn’t written at the same time. You can refer to it here,” Lomen said as he pointed to the word ‘must’ on the will.
Jenna squinted and looked at the word. The ink on the word ‘must’ was indeed fresh and slightly different from the rest.
“Then someone must have amended one word,” Trevor said with a thoughtful look after taking a look at it.
“Yes, Mr. Trevor. The results state that the curves in this word are highly suspicious.” Lomen said in a pertinent manner, “It also states that we should send this to the judicial authority for inspection at a higher level.”
That confirmed Trevor’s speculation. However, he was still in deep thought.
“Dad, what can we do when we prove that someone had amended the will?” Jenna asked calmly.
“We’re already halfway close to our success to prove that this word, ‘must’, was amended. Even a slight difference like this can further strengthen our argument. Jenna, you do believe that Grandma wouldn’t revise her will to be like this, don’t you? Vivian has always loved you, and it wouldn’t make sense for her to revise her will in a way that would hurt you. Therefore, there’s no suspense in saying that someone else fabricated the will,” Trevor said genuinely and gently to Jenna.
Jenna nodded. “That’s true. I don’t believe Grandma would revise her will this way too. I’ve been reading through the sentence over and over again for the past few days, and I do agree that this ‘must’ word is suspicious.”
She answered Trevor’s question with certainty.
“Since it is now proven that the will has been fabricated, then it shouldn’t be a problem for us to declare that the will is invalid.” Trevor continued to say in a pertinent manner.
Jenna looked down, and the light in her eyes dimmed.
“Dad, have you thought about who’s behind this? Who would be that fearless to fabricate Grandma’s will?” Jenna asked faintly.
Trevor nodded in admiration.
“Jenna, you are indeed a meticulous child. That’s exactly what I’m about to tell you. The reason someone fabricated the will is that it’d benefit her. As for who’s behind this, I’m sure you already know.” Trevor fixed her gaze on Jenna with a faint smile.
Jenna nodded knowingly. “I do know, but I won’t advise you to declare this so soon. We have to defeat her completely, so that she can stop thinking about the ‘what ifs’. We have to make sure she’ll never set foot in Richards Manor ever again. Therefore, we have to calm down and investigate this thoroughly before sending it to the authorities.”
“Sure, that is what I intended to do too. I was afraid you might have a second opinion on this. It’s good to know we’re on the same page. Jenna, don’t worry. We will get through this, and we will not only kick her out by then, we will let the authorities take care of her,” Trevor said determinedly as he suppressed his urge to kick Liya out.
Lomen was standing at the side with a frown. His expression was not at ease.
“Mr. Trevor, if we want to accuse her of fabrication, the minimum requirement is at least ten words, but so far we only have one word. It won’t be easy for us to ask for high-level authentication based on that word alone,” Lomen suggested with a concerned expression.
Trevor was startled upon hearing that. His expression grew complicated.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I have her handwriting with me,” Jenna said calmly after taking in Lomen’s words and Trevor’s expression.
They turned around to look at her.
With a light smile, Jenna took out a piece of paper from her pocket and placed it on the desk. She then said calmly, “Dad, why don’t you take this and see if it’s helpful for the authentication process? If we can prove that the handwriting on the will is the same as this handwriting, then this will be a piece of solid evidence from our end.”
Trevor picked up the paper and looked at it carefully. He brightened up and said, “Jenna, this is fantastic. We can use the same alphabets in this to further validate if the handwriting is from the same person.”
Lomen was also delighted to hear that. He took over the paper from Trevor and glanced at it. He was impressed by Jenna.
“Lomen, take this with you and send it over to the most authoritative authentication agency. Once we get the result, we will have the most solid evidence against her. By then, we can carry out our plan smoothly,” Trevor ordered Lomen in an excited manner.
Lomen then left with the material in hand.
“Jenna, you’re such a great child. I feel like we’ve wronged you by keeping you in our Richards family. I’m ashamed to say this as your elder.” Trevor said to Jenna, “I believe your future will only be bright because of how kind you’ve been to us. We’ll definitely bring you justice. Hansen is lucky to have you. The Richards family is even luckier to have you. I feel so sorry to put you through all this.”
Trevor’s heart ached, and he felt helpless at the same time as he said that to Jenna. He felt sorry to let Jenna handle so many things with Richards Manor. He felt like he had not protected Jenna better.
“It’s alright, Dad. I’m thankful to be treated so well by your family. I’m content this way,” Jenna replied genuinely. In Richards Manor, everyone from Vivian herself, to the helpers respected and adored her. She meant what she had said.
“Jenna, thank you for being this thoughtful. With Hansen in Capital City now, he might not be able to take good care of you. So, you have to be extra careful in keeping yourself safe.” Trevor stood up and said, “Alright, Jenna. You should get some rest. I didn’t want to disturb your nap, but I had no choice since this is the best time to avoid people eavesdropping on us.”
“Dad, I understand. Alright, then. I’ll take my leave,” Jenna replied considerately. She also stood up and left the study.
In a European-style villa near the sea, the natural light was seeping through the many windows of the villa.
Lilian was seen sitting on a luxurious French-style couch. She was watching a video with her glasses on.
Quina walked in quietly.
“Ma’am, you were right. The gang smuggling weapons in the war-torn country must have heard about the news. They’re now staying put,” Quina said.
Quina’s voice was low, but Lilian could listen to it very clearly.