Chapter 283

She hadn’t expected that, in just three short years, 99% of the children who had cried to her had changed.

After dinner, Abigail went through the accounts with Sebastian.

Over the past three years, the funding expenses had steadily increased. At the time, Abigail thought it was due to the rising costs of tuition for the children attending college, so she didn’t think there was any problem.

“By the way, when you have time, send me their contact info. It’s getting late, and Seb and I have to head back,” Abigail said, as she still had a meeting with her research department colleagues at 9:00 p.m.

“Abby, do you think I’ve been too lenient with the kids?” Judy asked, noticing Abigail frowning at the accounts, feeling like she might have handled things poorly.

“Yes, they haven’t handed in their transcripts, and you didn’t remind them,” Abigail replied with a sense of helplessness.

Her honesty seemed to ease Judy’s mind a little.

“I have reminded them, but sometimes they get annoyed and just ignore me,” Judy said, wearing a helpless expression. To Judy, those kids were like her own. When they ignored her, she didn’t know what else to do. The restaurant needed management, or it would end up losing money.

“It’s fine. I’ll handle it from now on. You just focus on your shop,” Abigail said.

Judy nodded in agreement, then smiled at Sebastian. “She’s still getting the hang of things. If you know more, please help her out whenever you can.”

“Okay.” Sebastian nodded.

After leaving The Hearth Table, Abigail looked at Sebastian and asked, “So, did you notice the issue before, and that’s why you brought it up today?”

“Not exactly. It’s just that while Ivy was gathering evidence, she found out you own quite a few assets, but your account balance didn’t add up,” Sebastian said, having immediately understood where the money had gone.

“She found all of that?” Abigail asked, surprised.

“Yeah, and you also have your own design studio, right?” Sebastian asked.

“Yeah… but I haven’t taken many orders since I got out of prison. When I don’t take orders, I don’t make much,” Abigail replied, not realizing just how thoroughly Ivy had investigated.

Back at the villa, after both Sebastian and Abigail took showers, they sat down to watch TV in the living room. Sebastian put his arm around her shoulders and showed her videos of the houses he had looked at earlier that day.

“The first one is in an older neighborhood with mostly senior residents. It’s a quiet area, but on weekends it can get a little noisy in the mornings with children playing around,” Sebastian explained.

“The rent is twenty-five hundred per month,” he continued. He had never lived in such an affordable place before.

“It does seem like a nice environment,” she said, satisfied as she leaned in to look at his phone.

“Now, let’s check out the second one,” Sebastian said.

Chapter 284

The second house had large floor-to-ceiling windows and a beautiful layout, with trees just outside. It was in an upscale neighborhood, with a rent of five thousand dollars per month. The best part was that it was just a ten-minute walk from Abigail’s workplace.

After looking at four houses, Abigail chose the second one. “It’s a bit more expensive, but the environment is great, and the size is perfect for me.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll book this one.”

“Okay.”

The landlord didn’t live in the house much, but Sebastian still arranged to have the furniture moved out and replaced with new pieces. This meant moving in would take another week.

Before that, Abigail’s case had another court hearing.

Early the next morning, Abigail, Sebastian, James, and Warren arrived at the court. This time, Ivy was representing Abigail. When she appeared, Marcus seemed a bit surprised.

Once Abigail was seated, she noticed that Blair was also present.

The trial began.

As Abigail focused on Ivy’s summary of the case, she noticed Blair staring at her and Sebastian. When she looked at Blair, Sebastian instinctively reached for her hand. “Don’t worry about anyone else,” he said quietly.

Abigail looked away and held his hand in return.

This was the last chance in the first trial. If they lost, the appeal process would take a long time.

After Ivy finished presenting, she said, “The evidence we’ve gathered strongly supports the fact that Abigail was wronged, and there’s no ulterior motive on her part.”

As she submitted the evidence, Marcus spoke up. “Your Honor, Abigail and her friend Warren own a significant amount of shares in the Gibson Group, which raises questions about her motives. This is our evidence—a conversation between Warren and Abigail’s grandfather, Wyatt, discussing business details.”