Chapter 209

“Why not?” he asked rhetorically. “Since I need to marry a woman sometime, does it matter if I do it sooner or later? Jennifer Atkinson is quiet and obedient. A marriage to the Atkinsons would benefit the Reed family's shipping business, so why not?”

He was speaking pragmatically, and Grace felt a pang of fear. It was as if he didn't understand love; even marriage was a business transaction to him. What truly mattered to him?

“However,” he continued, his eyes fixed on her as he smiled, “I think it would be pleasant to marry a woman I find interesting.”

She awkwardly turned away. His words felt oblique, detached.

She told herself not to overthink it. They were from different worlds, destined to remain separate. After she gave him his gloves, they would likely never see each other again.

“Well… I’ll get your gloves,” she said, hurrying around him to retrieve them.

“No rush,” he said, taking her arm, bending down slowly to look at her. “Sis, you haven’t answered my earlier question. Are you trying to overturn the verdict?”

Of course she was! Failure to overturn it meant bearing the stigma of this crime for life.

“What about it?” she asked rhetorically.

“If you want to overturn the verdict, I can help,” he said.

She gasped. “You believe I wasn’t driving under the influence?”

“Whether you were or not is irrelevant,” he muttered. “It's about clearing your drunk driving conviction. To overturn the verdict, I'll find the best lawyer to exploit any loophole in the case.”

The gleam in her eyes dimmed. She understood. The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” required a legally defensible argument, but that didn’t guarantee vindication. Even with a reversed verdict, the suspicion would linger.

“Why? Don’t you like that idea?” He noticed the change in her expression.

“I want to get to the bottom of it. I want to know what happened during the accident. Why did the witnesses claim I was drunk? What happened to the physical evidence? What about the blood test the police administered? Why did it indicate drunk driving…?”

These questions had haunted her for years. Without answers, the stain of the crime would remain, even if legally exonerated; in the eyes of others, she would always be a criminal.

His face darkened. A cold look appeared in his deep black eyes. “Is knowing the truth that important to you?”