Chapter 336
Ophelia had been watching the livestream the entire time. She had indeed cleaned up plenty of Jake’s messes in the past. But they were the usual trouble—bullying girls, lighting fires, hit-and-run accidents—nothing like kidnapping, trafficking, or murder.
Ophelia thought, ‘I never imagined Jake could be involved in many illegal activities.’ Ophelia was now in a panic, her mind racing. She thought, “I’m more worried than ever about Jake. The murderer has pinned this on him. If they find out he’s involved, he’s in deep trouble.” The situation would drag her into it, too. After l’horbe exposed everything, it was clear that Jake had a connection with her, even more. She thought, “Phoebe is targeting me. I was right to stop her from getting close to Recor.”
Seeing Reece’s conflicted expression made Ophelia angrier. She thought, “He is the perfect example of a liability. Phoebe had asked him to get the keys, and he went along.” Ophelia thought, “Now, seeing Jake get arrested, Reece doesn’t even try to help, and he still has the nerve to continue with that stupid reality show. And he keeps hanging around Phoebe, the one person who’s after them—it’s infuriating.”
Unable to hold back, Ophelia checked the live stream comments. As expected, everyone was blasting Jake and her. Many people also threatened to expose her and file complaints, demanding a full investigation.
After a while, Ophelia discovered that the incident had made its way to the trending topics. The headline read, “Ophelia Hill’s Nephew Turns Out to Be a Murderer.” The story was gaining momentum, and not only was the incident being discussed, but her background had also been dug up. Her family was under scrutiny. There were reports about her brother’s company, revealing a history of misconduct and illegal activities. Then, more people came forward, claiming her niece had tried to steal a man from someone else, and when she failed, she threw acid on the woman’s face.
Ophelia knew about this. The woman had been disfigured and was planning to sue her niece. Ophelia had intervened, paying for the woman to go abroad for reconstructive surgery and settling the matter with a hefty sum for emotional damages.
Soon, another nephew, who had entered the entertainment industry as an investor, had his secrets exposed—allegations of exploiting his position. Not long after, the rest of her family members were also dragged into the mess, with their scandals being revealed. Ophelia could feel the situation spiraling out of control, getting worse by the minute.
Suddenly, her phone rang. It was Beatrice calling. As soon as Ophelia picked up, her mother’s voice came through, furious. “You little bitch! Do you get some sick pleasure out of ruining your maternal family! What’s wrong with you, sending Jake to provoke that damn horoscope master?”
“Well, now look at this, Jake’s been arrested, and everyone’s out there tearing our family apart.”
“Your brother says if this continues, their company will be under investigation too.”
“How the hell did I give birth to such a fool, such a worthless idiot!”
“You’re nothing but a money pit…”
The harsh words on the other end of the line made Ophelia’s face flush with anger. Since marrying into the Hill family, Beatrice hadn’t insulted her like this—calling her a leach, an idiot, or a money pit. Her maternal family had started pampering her, making her feel proud. To maintain that pride in front of her family, she had supported them financially and helped them in any way she could. Thanks to her help, her older brother and second brother ran their own companies. When her nieces and nephews got into trouble, her money and…
Ophelia thought, “It’s been years since Beatrice insulted me like this.”
Chapter 336
Her face reddened, and she couldn’t hide her discomfort. “Beatrice, what are you saying?”
“This is all Jake’s fault. He’s the one who got involved with the murderer, bringing all this trouble on us. How can you blame me for this?”
Ophelia thought, “I’m starting to resent Jake. That idiot went and stirred up trouble with a murderer, and now look at the mess he’s caused.” But Beatrice wasn’t hearing any of it. “Bullshit! If you hadn’t sent Jake to mess with Phoebe, none of this would have happened!”
“Go find someone, and get Jake out of there, now!”
Take care of those online insults too, her mother snapped. “And don’t let your brother’s company get investigated.”
“If you don’t… I swear I’ll never forgive you, and we won’t recognize you as our daughter anymore!”
Ophelia’s mother thought, “When Ophelia was of value, I treated her well. But now she’s put Jake in jeopardy, disgraced the family, and caused nothing but trouble—it’s too much?”
“She’s as clueless as ever. Thank God she has a pretty face that makes Finnian fall for her. Otherwise, who knows what kind of mess we’d be in.”
Ophelia wasn’t just concerned with her reputation; she valued family ties highly. She had always sought the approval of her maternal parents and siblings. Her expression shifted again upon hearing this. “I understand,” Ophelia said.
“I’ll immediately call Finnian and have him handle it?”
Beatrice gave a satisfied grunt. “That’s more like it.” Then she hung up the phone.
She hung up, and Ophelia immediately tried calling Finnian. The phone kept ringing with no answer, and the message stated he was out of service range. She tried his assistant, but it was the same no response. After calling the company, she learned Finnian was overseas for business and likely had his phone turned off during the flight.
With no other choice, Ophelia frantically began calling anyone who could help. The situation Jake was involved in was nothing short of criminal. Not only had it been exposed live on air, but its scale had grown so big that no one in their right mind would risk getting involved. The news had spread like wildfire, and anyone who got too close would be targeted. People weren’t stupid—they quickly found reasons to decline politely. Some even saw Ophelia’s call and deliberately ignored it.
Ophelia thought for a moment, then decided to call Lydia. Lydia was unaware of the situation. Earlier, she had been furious after seeing Jamar serve Chocbe like a servant, so she had returned to the hotel to… She was too angry to watch the livestream. With Phoebe disrespecting her, Lydia had planned to go to the hospital and complain to Elliot and…
As she sat down in the hospital room, Ophelia’s call came through. Lydia answered, and Ophelia quickly explained that Phoebe had set Jake up and was now locked up in Caluwa. Knowing Lydia was in Caluwa, Ophelia asked for her help getting Jake out, subtly shifting all the blame onto Phoebe and stirring up anger.
Lydia was shocked. She thought, “I can’t believe Phoebe would do something like this.” She had become close with Ophelia, treating her like a confidante and best friend. Without hesitation, Lydia agreed to help. After hanging up, she turned to Elliot and explained the situation. Her voice carried a hint of frustration as she spoke. “What is Phoebe trying to do?”
“Just because I sent to ask her for help with Cain, she gets upset.”
“She not only heartlessly refused to help her Cain, but she humiliated me on live stream.”
“Now she’s even involving Ophelia.”
11:44 AM
Chapter 336
“She’s wrongly accusing Jake, setting him up to be arrested.”
From what Ophelia had told her, Lydia was sure that Phoebe knew about their close relationship, which was the real reason for her anger. It seemed Phoebe had targeted Ophelia out of spite, which made Lydia even more frustrated. Lydia thought, ‘Phoebe isn’t just distant anymore, she’s becoming downright unreasonable. I haven’t been that hard on her, so why is she deliberately making things difficult for me!’
She turned to Elliot. “Elliot, don’t you know some of the higher-ups in Caluwa?”
“Could you help and get Jake out?” Lydia asked. To her, it was nothing more than a simple favor—just helping an innocent person who had been wronged. It wasn’t a big deal.
Elliot felt something was off when he overheard Lydia’s phone call. After hearing her request, he was angry and ready to…