Chapter 350: A Broken Engagement and Lingering Regrets

“You idiot! If you don’t want to send your poor mother to an early grave, don’t talk to me today. Your hopeless stupidity has me at a loss for words,” she snapped, practically kicking him out.

But Easton didn’t move, staying put as if he hadn’t heard a thing. His stubborn attitude was painfully familiar, just like how he used to treat Ellis. Sophia took a deep breath, silently repeating to herself: He’s my son. He’s my son. He’s my son…

“Forget it. I’ll just find more evidence,” Easton said, standing up. “I’ll go to the detention center; Victoria will testify on record that I didn’t cheat on her. I’ll take the recording to Ellis.”

Ellis had refused to go with him to see Victoria in person and hear her say he hadn’t cheated. So maybe recording it would work, right?

Watching Easton get ready to leave, Sophia could already predict he’d probably come back a few hours later, frustrated and defeated. Getting upset with her son twice in one day? That was too much to handle. Might as well get it all done at once, she thought. Better that than letting her son frustrate her into developing high blood pressure.

With that in mind, she called Easton back and asked, “Have you even thought about what happens if Ellis hears the recording and still doesn’t believe you?”

Easton paused mid-step, turning his head to look at his mother. “Even if she doesn’t trust me, there’s still a chance she’ll believe what Victoria says.”

“If Ellis doesn’t trust you, why would she believe Victoria? Do you really think she’s as foolish as you are… just blindly following your logic? What’s stopping her from thinking you coerced or bribed Victoria into lying?”

With that, Sophia’s expression mirrored that of a teacher waiting for a student to solve a problem. Her son clearly didn’t understand that without a foundation of trust, convincing someone to believe you was extremely difficult.

At this point, her son’s path to reconciliation was more than just a long and difficult journey. It was practically a battle through thorns and brambles, and even that might not be enough to get Ellis to agree to remarry him.

But Sophia had a point. Easton sank back into the couch, now fully focused on his mother’s words. Seeing her son stay put like an obedient student finally paying attention, Sophia’s frustration eased significantly. She patiently advised, “What you need to do now isn’t to record Victoria’s testimony to prove your innocence; it’s to rebuild the foundation of trust between you and Ellis.”

Uncertain how much trust Ellis still had in him, Easton furrowed his brows in frustration.

What Sophia didn’t expect was that while her son had taken her advice to heart, he hadn’t followed it to the letter. Easton still went to the detention center and met with Victoria in the visitation room.

After being extradited back to the country, faced with irrefutable evidence and no one able to bail her out, Victoria had no choice but to resign herself to her fate, waiting the judgment of the law with a heart full of despair.

Suddenly, an officer informed her that someone had come to see her. Victoria’s heart leaped; perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope. To her dismay, the visitor turned out to be Easton.

Knowing Easton’s ruthless nature, Victoria realized he was unlikely to bring good news. Like a stray dog with nowhere to turn, she sat down, her face ashen. Without a word, Easton placed a voice recorder on the table beside her, signaling for her to speak.

The police had already finished most of their questioning, and Victoria had no idea what Easton wanted this time. Still, she decided to cooperate obediently; it was better than risking Easton using his powerful connections to ensure she received the maximum sentence with no chance of a reduced term.

“What else do I need to confess?”

Living without freedom, constantly under surveillance was terrifying. Stripped of her dignity, Victoria no longer carried the arrogance of a wealthy heiress or the manic defiance she’d shown on the day of her arrest. Now, she was cautious, flattering, and eager to please.

“You don’t need to confess anything,” Easton paused. “Just repeat whatever I say next.”

Victoria remained silent but nodded to show her willingness to cooperate. Seeing Victoria so meek and cooperative, a stark contrast to her past rants about how both he and Ellis deserved to die, and her threats to kill them after serving her sentence, Easton was slightly surprised.

For a moment, a phrase crossed his mind: If you had known it would come to this, why act that way in the first place? He averted his gaze slightly. “I am Victoria, and I swear that there was never anything inappropriate between Easton and me. We are completely innocent.”

Hearing those words from Easton’s mouth, Victoria instantly grasped his intent. Before repeating his words, memories flooded back, memories of Easton denying that Ellis had seduced him during their engagement. Resentment surged back like a raging tide, and a flicker of anger broke through Victoria’s ashen face. She couldn’t accept it, losing to someone she had always looked down on. Everything Ellis had should have been hers!

But now, she was nothing more than prey at the mercy of her captor, powerless to resist or fight back.

Following Easton’s instructions, Victoria switched on the recorder and repeated the words he had just said. Once finished, she obediently handed the recorder back to Easton. Gripping the recorder in his hand, Easton stood up.

Just as he was about to leave, Victoria blocked his path. His gaze narrowed as he looked down at her. Victoria took a moment to muster her courage before speaking. “We grew up together. If my family hadn’t broken off the engagement, we would’ve been married right after college.”