Chapter 16: Beautiful Dreams

“Alright, Claire, I’ll go tell Frederick right away. Don’t worry, he will listen to me. Just wait for me.”

Caroline was initially angry, but suddenly, she seemed to remember something and her expression changed. She approached Claire with a smile and held her hand affectionately.

“Sure.”

Claire knew Caroline must have thought of something, or was preparing some disgusting tricks to deal with her. But it didn’t matter. If Caroline could truly persuade Frederick, then she wouldn’t have to starve, and finding a job wouldn’t be so difficult for now. It would even be better.

When Frederick sent her to prison, he and Harrison had erased all her academic records. Now, without any educational background and with a criminal record, finding a job was even more challenging.

Claire thought that no matter what tricks Caroline played next, as long as she didn’t kill or starve her, she didn’t care. She also didn’t believe Caroline could influence Frederick. After all, he hated her because of Anna’s death.

Unexpectedly, later that evening, Caroline came with Bailey.

Chapter 16: Beautiful Dreams

“Claire, what do you think? Frederick has agreed! That’s great. Starting today, you don’t have to stay in the basement anymore. He said you can follow me from now on. Wherever I go, you go,” Caroline proudly exclaimed, walking over and hugging Claire in front of Bailey.

Claire knew she did it on purpose and that she was acting. She also understood why Frederick allowed her to leave the basement and stay with Caroline. It was to better protect her from harm.

But she couldn’t dwell on that anymore. No matter what, it was still better than starving to death in the basement.

At ten o’clock in the evening, Bailey brought Claire to a room. Caroline had prepared it so she could more easily carry out her plan. So, she didn’t let Claire stay with the other servants.

Although the room wasn’t great, it was still a relief for Claire. At least she didn’t have to stay in the cold basement anymore.

She closed the door, enjoying the warmth that had been absent for so long in the winter. She lay on the bed, covered herself with a blanket, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face. It wasn’t just because of the hardships of staying in the basement during this period, but also because this moment reminded her so much of the day she was released from prison and returned to the Prescott Manor.

It seemed like all the grievances and pain overflowed at this moment, unstoppable, as tears continued to fall.

Chapter 16: Beautiful Dreams

That night, Claire had the best sleep since arriving at the Halfmoon Manor. Just like the night she returned to the Prescott Manor after being released from prison, she had a beautiful dream. However, in the dream’s final moments, she dreamed that Frederick had gathered a group of thugs and bullied her to death, just as tragic as Anna’s death back then.

She still remembered the scene vividly from four years ago when she, Frederick, and Harrison arrived and saw Anna lying lifeless at the entrance of the bar. She was naked and covered in blood. It was such a horrifying sight. If it weren’t for Anna’s recognizable face, she wouldn’t have believed that person was actually Anna.

She desperately tried to explain to Frederick and Harrison, but the message from Anna on her phone was the damning evidence: “Claire, I’ve arrived at Redsun Bar.” To this day, she still didn’t know why she received that message. She clearly didn’t make plans to meet Anna at the bar, but she ended up dead, and there was no way to investigate further. The few thugs were shot dead on the spot by Frederick, leaving no witnesses.

Chapter 16: Beautiful Dreams

After that night, for Harrison, she—a fake sister who had occupied Anna’s identity for many years—had killed his biological sister. As for Frederick, she had murdered the woman he loved most. So, based on that one message, they used all their connections to send her to prison.

She even wondered if it weren’t for the strength of the Prescott family and the fact that Frederick needed their support in his presidential race, they wouldn’t have cared about Elizabeth’s condition and let her out of prison.

Just as she was thinking, her phone rang. It was a call from Elizabeth.

Chapter 17: No N