Sniffling, she then shakily added, “When the plagiarism incident first came to light, Director Bethan had been eyeing me suspiciously.”
Alice looked at Brettley with teary eyes. “I ‘m afraid that Director Bethan wants to meet with my father alone so she can force my father to drag people who had nothing to do with this incident into this.”
Finally, Alice took a deep breath. “I still think we should let the cops handle this right away. What do you think?”
Brettley said nothing.
Taking a seat, he eyed Alice with his deep, endless eyes before looking at Bethan.
In the end, he said flatly, “Alice is right. Before we clarify this matter, no one should see Joseph Peterson alone, whether it be Bethan or Alice.”
Brettley waved his hand at Lucas. “Let the police handle this.”
At that moment, Bethan’s heart wrenched tightly.
Although she was displeased with Natasha and Joseph playing favoritism and their reaction toward her death, they were still her biological parents.
Although she had said many times that she wanted to cut off ties with them and not care about them anymore, the fact remained that she lived with her parents for zo years, calling them her parents throughout those times.
If Joseph ended up imprisoned, he would be in for many years for leaking such a huge piece of confidential information.
He was a scumbag, having a mistress behind Natasha’s back for so many years. He deserved to go to prison.
Still, what would happen to Natasha after that?
Bethan shut her eyes. The second Lucas was about to exit the door, she called after him.
She lifted her head and looked at Brettley. “Mr. Morrison, is there no way around this?”
Brettley raised his eyebrows and looked at her in surprise. “Bethan, Joseph stole your design. If he’s not brought to justice, there’d be no way to prove that Mo Sam stole your designs. Without proof that he stole your designs, that means that you’d be the one who could be plagiarizing his work. You won’t be able to continue making a living in the jewelry world in the future.”
Brettley succinctly clarified the impact of this incident to Bethan.
Bethan bit her lips. “I know, but…”
Bethan began to sniffle. “Joseph Peterson is still Alice’s father and your father-in -law, after all. W–We…can think of another way to prove that Mo Sam stole my designs.”
Brettley looked at Bethan. His sharp eyes seemed to be able to pierce through her soul, reading her deepest, darkest secrets.
Bethan looked away, not daring to meet his gaze. “I only feel that– “
“This isn’t how you should act toward someone who violated yours and the company’s interest. You’re not an indecisive person.”
Brettley directly took a jab where it hurt the most. “
What on earth are you thinking about? Why the sudden kindheartedness?”
Bethan gasped. She took a deep breath, turned around, and faced Brettley’s gaze fearlessly. “Mr. Morrison, I only feel that as humans, we can’t be so ruthless. No matter what, he’s your father-in-law. Even if he had made a mistake, it is your family matter. If you want to get the police involved and if he goes to prison, have you ever thought about your mother-in -law, who always had a heart problem? What would happen to her?”
Finally, Bethan threw the documents on the table. “
Forget about it. In the end, this is your problem with the Petersons. I’m only a victim. What right do I have to speak up?”
Bethan stormed off and left everyone in the conference room in a daze. Clearly…
Clearly, Bethan was the victim while Alice was Joseph’s daughter.
Why were their roles swapped at that moment?
Brettley narrowed his eyes on Bethan’s leaving form, his gaze murky with confusion.
“Brettley…”
Alice sighed. She walked over and grabbed his hand. “Why is Bethan so concerned with our family matters? Since when is she so enthusiastic about us?”
“I’m surprised, too.”
Brettley retracted his gaze, his voice flat when he spoke. “Bethan has always been professional in her work. I can’t get used to her suddenly bringing in family as an excuse.”
Then, he looked at Alice. “Just like how you used to b e concerned and worry about your family unconditionally, yet you’d suddenly choose to punish them. It’s baffling.”
Alice’s expressions changed a little.
After a while, she bit her lip and looked a little embarrassed. “I’m doing this just for you…”
She cautiously looked at Brettley’s expressions. “T– Then…what are you planning to do with my father? “
There was a hint of hesitation in Brettley’s gaze for a moment. “We’ll go according to plan. Make a police report.”
Coming out from Morrison Group, Bethan instantly hailed a taxi back to Swan Lake Residences.
Once she got back, she saw Theo’s door next door was opened. Theo was making prosciutto at home.
Upon hearing the elevator door open, Theo immediately rushed out. He smiled and looked at Bethan. “Come, I’ll treat you to some good food.”
Bethan furrowed her brows and rejected. “I’m not in a good mood.”
“I know you’re not in a good mood, so that’s why I made you a feast.”
Theo smiled and dragged Bethan into his living room. “
When you came out from Morrison Group, Nigel called me and updated me on what happened.”
Bethan paused a little.
She subconsciously lowered her head and grabbed the dangling necklace on her neck.
“Did you secretly turn the necklace on behind my back again? Eavesdropping on our meeting?”
After a long while, only then did Nigel’s depressed voice come through, “It’s not like I’ll reveal the ongoings during the meeting.”
Bethan was silent.
Nigel was never an immature kid. At that moment, he was speaking to her in a relaxed, teasing, and cheeky way. He was obviously trying to cheer her up.
However, she could not smile at all.
“It looks like Neil would be better at cheering people up.”
After a long while, Nigel, on the other end of the call, sighed. “I saw the design that Mo Sam published this morning. I only opened it because I was worried for you. Mommy, I ‘d never try to invade your privacy.”
Theo came out from the kitchen with dishes of food. “You’re her son. Even if you invade her privacy, she won’t do anything to you. Furthermore, your mother likes to keep things to herself. If we did nothing, she would’ve kept all her troubles to herself.”
Then, Theo passed the utensils to Bethan. “Eat up. We’ll think of a way after eating.”
Bethan picked the utensils up and looked at the feast of dishes on the table. She somehow did not have the appetite.
Seeing her disheartened look, Theo furrowed his brows and put his utensils down. “Bethan, I know that you can’t bear to see your own father go to prison, but have you ever thought that if Brettley were to tolerate his wrongdoing this time, he might do it again? By then, the loss that the Morrison Group would incur isn’t something that you can bear. It doesn’t matter whether your father has been instigated by Alice or not. Since he made such a mistake, he has to bear the consequences.”
Bethan bit her lip. She wanted to say something else when her phone rang.
It was from Lucas.
“Bethan.”
His voice sounded a little troubled. “Joseph has been arrested. His wife has passed out and has been sent to the hospital. “Mrs. Morrison wanted me to tell you that since you’re so kindhearted, you should perhaps pay her a visit.
Bethan did not go to the hospital to visit Natasha. Instead, she took a taxi to the police station.
The officer on duty turned her down in a righteous manner. “The suspect is still under interrogation, and no one can see him.”
“When can I see him, then?”
The officer looked at his watch. “At least another three to four hours.”
“Three or four hours, right?”
Bethan sat down on the bench. “I’ll wait.”
The officer looked at her in surprise but said nothing as he then left.
Bethan sat on the bench from the afternoon, all the way until night fell in the evening.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.