The observant netizens soon figured out the mysterious woman’s identity. It turned out she was one of the Wynters from D City.
The Wynters was affiliated with the Smallwoods. The ones affiliated with both families were none other than Kayla and her daughter, Shermaine.
Shermaine was a renowned celebrity who had been thrown behind bars for attempted murder. The person she had been going after was none other than the talk of the town—Clarissa.
Oh, God! What a surprise! It turns out they’re related to one another one way or another! This is even more epic than the year’s blockbuster movie!
Why has this mysterious woman made up her mind to defend her niece’s foe? Has Clarissa always been such an amiable woman? Is something wrong with Mrs. Wynter?”
Some of the netizens found out about how the Wynters had picked on Tyson Corporation after Matthew turned down Shermaine’s proposal.
I’m confused by the things going on! Has something occurred within the past few years? Why has Mrs. Wynter changed her mind and started siding with their foes?
The netizens couldn’t wait to figure out the things going on behind the scenes amongst those from the upper echelon.
The topic had taken the internet by storm—all sorts of conspiracy theories could be found. Nonetheless, most of the netizens found the theories unreliable.
As they couldn’t get their hands on any useful intel, they had no choice but to wait. They had a hunch it would soon blow up and take everyone by surprise.
Once again, Hilary’s effort was to no avail. To her surprise, the mysterious woman who had shown up out of nowhere was Shermaine’s aunt.
Initially, she was clueless about Sandra’s identity. However, when the netizens shared their findings with others on the internet, she had a bad feeling about it.
Why is Mrs. Wynter trying to defend Clarissa? She’s Shermaine’s aunt! Isn’t she supposed to pick on Clarissa and defend Shermaine instead?
Hilary was utterly confused as she couldn’t figure out the sort of relationship Sandra and Clarissa had. It was then she received another call from Shermaine
Shermaine didn’t bother to hold back with her words and took her anger out on Hilary.
“Have you lost your mind? What are you trying to do? Can you stop making a clown out of yourself? Will you ever stop making rash decisions?”
Hilary was taken aback by Shermaine’s response as the young woman was no longer the same.
The last time Hilary dropped by the prison to visit Shermaine, the latter had a calm and collected front as if she couldn’t be bothered by anything.
That was precisely the reason Hilary thought Shermaine had learned her lesson after spending such a long time behind bars.
To her surprise, those were nothing more than an act. Shermaine’s response had indicated she was aware of something important.
Hilary asked, “S-Shermaine, have you figured out—”
“What am I supposed to have figured out? Hilary, you’re the only fool who thinks you’re able to keep everyone else in the dark! Do you really think Clarissa won’t retaliate against you? Do you think you get to take advantage of her just because you’re her mother?”
“I-I—I’m her mother!”
“How are you going to convince others when you can’t even convince yourself! Clarissa won’t even bother to waste her time with you!”
“H-Have you guys figured it out? I-It’s impossible! It’s fine if you’re aware of the truth, but she can’t have figured out too! N-No way!”
Shermaine sneered and ridiculed Hilary on the other end as she finally regained composure after taking things out on her.
She couldn’t stop making fun of the helpless woman who had been expressing her disbelief over and over again.
Hilary thought Clarissa would never figure out the secret she had intended to take with her to her grave.
As a result, she stuttered, “N-No! It’s impossible! If she’s aware of the truth, she’s not going to play along with me!”
Clarissa will definitely come after me and confront me in person if she’s aware I’m not her biological mother! In fact, she’s going to approach the Smallwoods and tell them the truth!
There’s no way she’s going to keep them in the dark when she can easily get herself another strong backing in life as the sole heiress of the Smallwoods! It’s impossible for her to remain one of the Quigleys who possess nothing!
Hilary thought she would get to take the secret to her grave with her as she did a great job keeping everyone in the dark.
Judy was the only one she could think of as she was one of the mere few who were aware of the truth.
“Nothing is impossible! Otherwise, why has the Wynters done Clarissa such a huge favor? You don’t think they have nothing better to do, do you?”
“She’s your aunt, isn’t she? Why has she—”
“Isn’t it obvious? You’re the only foolish one who thinks you’re doing a great job keeping others in the dark! Since you have gone overboard, Clarissa won’t even hesitate to take you out!”
Hilary was intimidated by the things Shermaine had brought up.
She asked with her voice quivering, “S-Shermaine, what am I supposed to do next? Y-You’re my daughter! Y-You have to help me! I can’t rely on anyone else apart from you!”
Infuriated by Hilary’s reply, Shermaine yelled, “Shut up! I’m not your daughter! Never bring that up in front of me again! Am I clear?”
“B-But—”
“Aren’t you asking me to do you a favor?”
“Y-Yes! I-I’ll keep that in mind and seal my mouth!”
“Alright, that’s it for today! I’ll think of something and get in touch with you in the near future! Also, you’re not allowed to contact me! We’ll remain strangers forever!”
As soon as she finished her sentence, Shermaine hung up the call.
On the other hand, Hilary, who thought she could get to the better of everyone, had her eyes flickering in despair as she imagined the things awaiting her in the near future.
At the end of the day, it turned out that her dreams of living a lavish life were nothing more than her own wishful thinking.
As much as Hilary regretted her decisions, there wasn’t anything else she could do to turn the tables around.
When Hilary heard her phone buzzing, she thought Shermaine had figured out something on her behalf.
Immediately, she picked it up and asked, “Have you figured out my next best course of action?”
The person on the other end asked, “Hello, is this Ms. Bowen? I’m calling on behalf of Mrs. Tyson as her appointed attorney to inform you we have pressed charges against you—”
The helpless woman went dead silent throughout the conversation as the attorney went on and explained everything she was supposed to be made known of.
I-It’s Clarissa! S-She is coming after me! Is she serious about pressing charges against me? Is there anything else I can do? There’s no way I can get someone who’s on par with the attorney of the Tysons to help!
Hilary thought she was destined to be doomed as she had never intended to press charges against Clarissa in the first place.
She thought she could take advantage of Clarissa as Clarissa might hesitate to air the dirty laundry and had her reputation ruined. Had that been the case, she would get to coerce Clarissa and acquire the fortune she had been longing for at ease.
Hilary finally had a taste of her own medicine. Albeit the drastic turn of events, things had not progressed according to the plan she devised.
She couldn’t believe she had to bear the consequences of her rash decision and atone for her sins for the rest of her life.
“W-Wait! I wish to meet Clarissa in person! If she refuses to meet me in person, I’ll announce something else that’s capable of turning her life upside down! Unless she meets me in person, or I’ll ruin her life!”
It took the attorney a few seconds to make up his mind. In the end, he said, “Alright, I’ll get in touch with Mrs. Tyson on your behalf.”
Meanwhile, as soon as Clarissa heard everything, she sneered and deadpanned her reply, “No!”
Ha! Has she finally learned her lesson?
There’s nothing left to talk about since she has made up her mind to mess with me! She doesn’t have anything that can threaten me anymore!
It’s time for her to learn her lesson and bear the consequences of her actions since she has stirred things up and made my life miserable!
Unfortunately, she has picked on the wrong target as nothing can possibly harm me anymore!
Hilary shouldn’t have gotten her hopes high—things had turned out the other way round once again.
She was on the verge of losing her mind as things had never once turned out as she imagined ever since the day she commenced her plan.
In spite of putting everything at stake, she ended up with nothing in return. She had successfully provoked Clarissa when she was in the middle of filing for divorce with Zach.
In other words, she had to brace herself through the things in store without her husband. She could only rely on Shermaine to get herself out of the nasty situation.
Shermaine soon got in touch with Hilary through another call instead of meeting her in person.
Once Hilary heard Shermaine’s plan, she immediately packed her stuff and departed from D City.
She wasn’t just about to flee. Instead, she made her way to W City and returned to Catherine’s place.
Clarissa’s heart sank to the bottom of her stomach when she saw Hilary behind Catherine the moment she joined Catherine for a video call session.
“Clary, this irritating woman said she couldn’t reach you! However, I’m not trying to do her a favor! Instead, I’m trying to tell you not to worry about me and make the call you need to sever ties with her! I’ll always support you! Although she hasn’t mentioned anything in front of me, I’m sure she’s here in an attempt to threaten you since I’m your only soft spot! Just do whatever it takes to get rid of her!”
Hilary was stupefied as Catherine had gotten worked up in front of her.
As a result, she asked with her expression darkened, “Mom, how can you pick on me when I’m not even asking for much from her? You’re not going to leave me alone when I’m in desperate need of help, are you? My late husband, your late son, Clarissa’s late father, would do everything just to keep me safe!”
