Chapter 398: His Suspicions Finally Surface

At that moment, sheer terror and Claire’s intense questioning shattered Caroline’s composure. The second Claire mentioned asking Frederick, Caroline lost it. She whipped her head toward Frederick, panic etched across her face. Claire didn’t miss a single flicker of Caroline’s expression; every tiny reaction told its own story. Frederick, however, remained preoccupied with Claire’s earlier words, barely registering what was happening.

But Claire couldn’t care less. All she needed was to plant a seed of doubt in Frederick’s mind and scare Caroline enough to back off. That would do the trick. After all, Claire had bigger fish to fry. The Hiokeeh Group situation demanded her immediate attention. As for Caroline, Claire seriously doubted Frederick would do anything to her, unless, of course, Anna wasn’t actually dead, or Caroline had nothing to do with Anna in the first place.

After everything that had happened, especially the recent near-fatal car accident, Claire had made peace with whatever was between her and Frederick. Caroline was the least of Claire’s concerns now. Right now, she didn’t expect Frederick to act against Caroline. All Claire wanted was to focus on her own path, quietly growing stronger. As for Caroline, once Claire became truly powerful, taking her down would be child’s play.

Frederick snapped out of his thoughts. After hearing Claire’s words, suspicion clouded his expression as he frowned at Caroline. Claire noticed his reaction and smiled. “You know, just this morning, I was watching a crime drama. There was this case about someone hiring a hitman.”

“In the show, this guy paid off a truck driver to stage an accident. Turns out the truck driver was already dying from a terminal illness. He only had days left to live, and he was worried sick about leaving his wife and kids behind. So, he agreed to do it just to get a big payout, ensuring his family would be taken care of after he was gone.”

“Caroline, doesn’t this sound weirdly similar to my recent accidents? There are so many coincidences that match up perfectly. Don’t tell me you and Diana planned my car crash, too?” With that, Claire gave Caroline’s shoulder a sharp pat.

Caroline tensed, immediately rushing to explain herself. “That… Claire, how could that be possible? I can’t even kill a fish, let alone a person. Especially not you. We’ve spent so much time together. I’ve grown to care about you. We get along so well. Why would I ever try to hurt you? There’s literally no reason. And Diana? Even more impossible. Claire, you’ve been watching too many dramas. You’re overthinking this.”

Claire raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips. “Yeah, I guess I probably am overthinking it. I really can’t think of any reason why you and Diana would want to harm me… unless… it’s about Anna’s death back then. Because other than that, nothing else has ever happened between us.”

She deliberately left it at that. Sometimes, less was more. This approach would work best; saying more would only overplay her hand. Claire was confident that this much would be enough to make Caroline squirm under Frederick’s suspicion.

Sure enough, Caroline completely lost her composure, her face turning pale. She quickly moved to sit on the couch next to Frederick. “I didn’t do it, Frederick. You have to believe me. I would never do something like that.”

Frederick just sat there with a dark expression, his brows furrowed as he stared at Caroline, not saying a word. “Claire, I swear I didn’t do it. Even considering what happened to Anna, I couldn’t have done anything like that. You spent four years in prison and suffered through so much pain and punishment. How could I possibly do that to you? Besides, even with Anna’s WhatsApp messages from back then, the case wasn’t exactly airtight. There wasn’t solid physical evidence or witnesses. And someone as kindhearted as you… I just can’t imagine you killing anyone.”

Caroline rushed to the dining table, grabbing Claire’s arm as she tried to explain. While Caroline desperately made her case, Frederick sent a quick WhatsApp to Richard: [Double-check everything about the car accident. Focus on Diana and Caroline. Don’t miss a single detail.]