Chapter 789


    “Did they find anything then?” Natalie inquired.


    Alice smiled bitterly. “Of course not. The Grahams framed Ms. Larson just to keep Mrs. Garcia from


    sniffing Jacqueline out. That''s why Ms. Larson and her whole family were kicked out of the banquet. I


    was a coward back then. I didn''t dare to tell what I saw. It wasn''t only untilter that I told Ms. Larson


    about it.”


    “Is that why the Grahams went bankrupt?” Natalie surmised.


    Alice nodded. “Yes. The Larsons joined forces with enemies of the Graham family, and the Grahams


    went bankrupt as a result. After that, the incident of Jacqueline torturing a cat spread like wildfire.”


    “Wait, then why didn''t Shane know anything about it?” Natalie''s brows furrowed in confusion.


    If Shane knew about Jacqueline''s sick hobby of torturing animals, he would never have indulged her


    every step of the way.


    “Mr. Shane was studying abroad at that time. He only came back to J City after Jacqueline went


    missing. By then, the Graham family had already crumbled, so naturally, no one mentioned all the


    things Jacqueline did. I''m not surprised that Mr. Shane didn''t know about it,” Alice exined.


    Natalie widened her eyes in realization. “So that''s why.”


    “Mrs. Thompson, why did you suddenly ask to see me to talk about Jacqueline? Hasn''t she gone


    missing? I even heard some people say she''s already dead.” Alice peered at Natalie curiously.


    Natalie''s lips curled into a mirthless smile. “No, she''s not dead or missing. She''s just been in a


    vegetative state for ten years. No one knows about it because the news wasn''t made public, but she''s


    awake now. Anyway, I came to you because there''s something I need to ask you. Does the voice of the


    person who told you to take the me sound like Jacqueline''s?”


    Alice was momentarily stunned by the question, but then, she began to think back carefully.


    After a few seconds, her jaw fell wide open and she eximed, “Mrs. Thompson, now that you mention


    it, I think it really was her. Even though I haven''t seen her or heard her voice in ten years, I can still


    remember what her voice sounded like. There was a slight difference in the voice of the person on the


    phonepared to Jacqueline''s, but the difference isn''t significant.”


    “Alright, that''s more than enough for me to confirm that the real culprit who wanted me dead was


    Jacqueline,” clenching her fists, Natalie murmured in a cold voice.


    It all makes sense now. The one who reported Alice as the culprit was Mr. Gunn.


    He''s a retired high-ranking official. That''s why Shane and I never once doubted the investigation results


    he provided us.


    But we both overlooked a very important detail, and that''s the rtionship between Mr. Gunn and


    Jacqueline.


    Even though Shane already knew that Mr. Gunn was Jacqueline''s great-grandfather, at that time, he


    still thought Jacqueline was the same innocent and kind girl. That''s why he never entertained the


    possibility that she''d be the culprit, which was also why he never suspected Mr. Gunn of covering up for


    her.


    I never suspected it either, firstly because I didn''t know about Mr. Gunn and Jacqueline''s rtionship


    untilter on, and secondly because I didn''t know that Alice was actually innocent. So I never thought


    of the possibility that Mr. Gunn might have found someone to take the fall for Jacqueline.


    This conspiracy is much deeper that I''d initially thought.


    N?velDrama.Org content.


    Especially Mr. Gunn. As a retired official, he actually covered up for a criminal. How despicable.


    I can''t believe I even thanked him before. Not only that, I also spared Jacqueline after she pushed me


    down the stairs for his sake.


    “Are you okay, Mrs. Thompson?” Alice asked with concern upon noticing the anger and sorrow lining


    Natalie''s features.


    Natalie shook her head and replied, “I''m fine. I just figured out a lot of things I couldn''t before.”


    “Oh, I see.” Alice nodded but didn''t probe further.


    Taking a deep breath to suppress her anger, Natalie smiled slightly and said, “Alright. Time''s almost up.


    I''ll bring your mother to visit you next time.”


    “Alright. Take care, Mrs. Thompson,” Alice said gratefully.


    With that, Natalie put down the receiver and left.