Around six in the evening, the officer finally approached her. “You can see him now.”
Bethan thanked the officer and followed along to the visitation room, much to Joseph’s visible surprise.
“I heard that a woman has been waiting to see me for the entire afternoon. I never thought that it was you.”
Then, Joseph sneered. “Director Bethan, why are you so anxious to see me? Are you here to laugh at me?”
When Alice got him to steal Bethan’s designs, he long expected this day to come. He just did not expect that it would come so quickly.
Before the plagiarizing incident could take off online, Brettley had already sent him to prison.
“Yes, I’m here to laugh at you.”
Bethan took a deep breath. Her eyes were filled with a little more mockery.
“The Petersons were also once businessmen. Although the business wasn’t too big, Mr. Peterson, you were once a boss. You willingly leaked confidential information of other businesses even though you knew that it was wrong.”
Joseph swept her a cold glance. “Who knew that you’d intentionally do a background check of my past, Director Bethan. Are you happy now? You almost successfully manage to seduce my daughter’s husband, even sending her father to prison. Are you happy seeing her being sad?”
Joseph harrumphed coldly. “You won’t get what you want, Bethan! Brettley loves my daughter deeply. No matter how pretty you are or what tactics you use, it’ll be in vain! “
Bethan gasped. She changed into a more comfortable position and leaned back on the chair. “Do you genuinely think Brettley likes Bethan Peterson? Have you forgotten how lowly Bethan Peterson was when she married Brettley? She didn’ t want anything. She even went against all your wishes just so she could marry Brettley.
“However, Brettley gave her nothing in return. Even when your company went bankrupt, Brettley has never helped you out financially. Bethan was the one that helped to pay your debts bit by bit, using her scholarship money and the money she earned by secretly selling designs online.”
Bethan sneered, looking at Joseph’s face gradually getting paler. “How could you be so sure that Brettley loves her?”
Joseph’s wound -up emotions broke loose at Bethan’s words. He glared at Bethan and gritted his teeth.
“What on earth do you want? My eldest daughter is pitiful enough! Ever since she was young, we only spoiled our youngest daughter. We neglected Bethan’s feelings and missed out on giving her a good childhood.
“Now, her two children aren’t even close to her while Brettley is being hot and cold toward her. She’s miserable enough. Will you only be happy, ripping her off of her last chance at happiness?”
Bethan shuddered violently at Brettley’s words.
Ever since she was young. This was the first time she heard Joseph saying how he was sorry for her and how he regretted his actions.
She bit her lip and looked at Joseph coldly. “
Although Brettley wants to bring you to court for leaking confidential information, you stole my designs anyway. If I don’t want to pursue this matter, you won’t need to go to prison.”
Upon hearing Bethan’s words, Joseph’s eyes brightened a little.
Joseph looked at Bethan agitatedly. “In that case, Ms. Bethan, will you let me go?”
“Sure, “
Bethan closed her eyes. “but I need you to answer two questions.”
“First.”
Bethan took a deep breath and looked at the white-haired middle-aged man sitting opposite her closely.
“Before Cynthal left for overseas, she told me something. She said that she wasn’t Natasha’s child. She was a child you had with another woman. You sent the daughter you had with Natasha to the orphanage and brought Cynthal back instead. Is this true?”
The room was instantly in dead silence.
Joseph lifted his head and looked at Bethan in shock. He opened and closed his mouth many times, but could not form his words.
After a long time, he said in a hoarse voice, “Why did she tell you this?”
Bethan closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “You only need to answer whether this is true or not. If I were to tell this to Alice, based on her character and how kind she is, do you think she’ll want to rescue you after knowing that you abandoned her own younger sister?”
Joseph’s face lost all of its colors. He was paler than the wall behind him.
After another round of long silence, Joseph closed his eyes. “This is a long story, but I’ve indeed swapped children.”
Bethan’s heart hurt terribly.
A mistress’ child. A mistress’ child took over the affection of her biological mother for more than zo years.
Even up to that moment, her mother, Natasha, was still kept in the dark.
That afternoon, she even got too agitated over the scumbag that secretly swapped her daughter away. She passed out and was hospitalized.
Bethan bit her lip harshly as she glared daggers at Joseph. “Don’t you think that it was heartless of you doing that? What do you treat your wife as?”
Joseph bit his lip timidly, not saying anything for a very long time.
In the end, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
“I’m going to prison anyway, so there’s no reason for me to continue hiding this. Actually…”
Joseph opened his eyes.
“Although Cynthal isn’t Natasha’s daughter, neither is she mine. She’s the daughter of a rich foreigner.
Back then, when I heard that the rich foreigner was coming to pick their daughter up, I had the idea. I had no ability to let my daughter have a better life…”
Bethan gasped. “So you swapped your daughter with someone else’s daughter? Is that it?”
Joseph said nothing.
Bethan closed her eyes. This man in front of her was her father. For many years. Joseph was always a mature and great person in her eyes.
However, at that moment, everything was ruined. “Natasha doesn’t know about this, even until now. “
Joseph lowered his head. “Even if she does someday, she won’t blame me. After all, our daughter is having a great life now. I’ve been blaming myself all these years, but it has already happened. Other than treating Cynthal better, I have no other way…”
Then, Joseph lifted his head. “I have answered your question, Ms. Bethan. What’s the other question?”
Bethan hesitated for a while. She smiled. “The other question is…you said that you and Natasha were regretful of your actions toward Bethan Peterson. Were the both of you truly regretful and guilty, or are you just trying to please Alice to get protection from Brettley?”
Bethan’s mind was dizzy as she exited the police station, yet Joseph’s words haunted her ears, still
“We’re very remorseful. All this while, we thought that Bethan won’t need us to worry about her, seeing how mature and capable she is.
“We want to make it up to her. Me, stealing your drafts this time, was just an attempt to make her happy.
“You previously asked me why I still do it, knowing the consequences. That’s because I’m willing to risk it for her. If Alice wants the stars in the skies, we’d try our very best to give it to her, seeing how we disregarded her badly in the past…”
Bethan looked up at the dark skies. Suddenly, she felt like crying.
Why did none of her parents or Brettley cared for her or showed her any ounce of warmth when she was still Bethan Peterson?
Why did they only start to adore her, willing to do everything for her when she became just Bethan and Alice became Bethan Peterson?
In the end, she merely lacked luck. Was she fated to never experience their tender love?
“Bethan.”
Suddenly, a male voice rang in her ears.
Bethan came to her senses and subconsciously looked in the direction in which the voice came from.
Lucas was standing next to the familiar black Maserati, smiling and waving at her.
In the car next to him, Brettley was sitting in the back seat with his head lowered and a cold expression. She did not know what he was looking at.
Bethan hesitated for a while before walking toward the vehicle.
“I never thought to see you here.”
Lucas smiled and looked at Bethan before sneakily went in closer and said into her ear, “When I called you this afternoon, Mrs. Morrison was next to me, so I can’t say much to you. Have you visited Mrs. Peterson in the hospital?”
Bethan shook her head. “I came here straight away.”
Lucas nodded. “That makes sense, too. Mrs. Peterson was just too agitated. The source of the problem is here.”
He got closer to her once more, wanting to say something when the car door opened.
Brettley elegantly closed the documents that were on his lap and shot Bethan a cold glance.
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.