Chapter 151: Do It Your Way

Siena nodded. The two sat in silence for a moment before Jonathan suddenly declared, “The one who hit and killed that person was Denise, wasn’t it?” His tone was resolute. Sierra turned to him, startled, and after a brief pause, asked, “How do you know?”

“It’s obvious,” he replied. “Sierra wasn’t the type to act so recklessly.”

“The Xander family is absolutely deranged!” Jonathan’s voice carried a trace of restrained fury. Suspicions were one thing, but confirming the truth was another. The Xander family had actually sacrificed their biological daughter to protect an adopted daughter.

Sierra had never told anyone about this, not even Lily. She had believed she had moved past it, but upon hearing the anger in Jonathan’s voice, the way he instinctively defended her, an overwhelming sense of injustice welled up within her.

“How did they force you?” Jonathan asked.

Sierra stared at him in disbelief. She hadn’t expected him to piece that together so well. As if reading her thoughts, Jonathan said, “I don’t think you would have been that foolish.”

“No, I really was that foolish,” Sierra said with a self-deprecating laugh before delving into the past. “I got my driver’s license before Denise. I don’t know if it was jealousy or something else, but she insisted on driving that day despite not having a license. We were both in the car. She was stubborn, and in the end, she crashed, killing someone. We were terrified. I was so worried about her, afraid of what would happen to her. But in the end, I was the one who paid the price.”

She continued, “After the accident, Bradley came to me. The car belonged to the Xander family, and since it was just Denise and me inside, there was no way to deny responsibility. He told me to tell the police that I was the one driving. He said Denise didn’t have a license, and driving without one was a serious offense. But I had a license, so even if someone had died, it would just take some money to settle it.”

She added, “My mind was in chaos at the time. I didn’t fully grasp what he was saying, so I went along with it. Later, I realized things weren’t that simple. The person Denise killed wasn’t just anybody, and this wasn’t something that could be brushed aside with money. There was a lawsuit. By then, I had come to my senses and refused to go along with it any longer. But Bradley told me that falsifying testimony was also a crime. Then he threatened me, using Grandma. At the time, her leg was injured, and she needed a skilled doctor and expensive treatment that I couldn’t afford.”

Sierra let out a wry smile. “He said that if I took the blame, he would make sure Grandma received the best care. And he told me that all the evidence was gone. No one would believe me even if I claimed Denise was responsible. He even promised that I wouldn’t go to prison, that he would fight for me with everything he had. I believed him again.”

Sierra didn’t continue speaking after that. Looking back, she had been too young, too inexperienced. She had still held onto the naive belief that the Xander family wouldn’t abandon her, that they were still her family. But later, she realized just how gravely mistaken she had been.

Jonathan’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening. He had always known Sierra had suffered under the Xander family, but he hadn’t expected them to have treated her so cruelly.

“I was an idiot, wasn’t I?” Sierra let out a bitter laugh.

“No! They were idiots!” Jonathan grasped her hand firmly. “From now on, no one will ever make you suffer again.”

Whether or not he could truly guarantee that, those words still warmed Sierra’s heart.

“I had planned to stay out of their way after I got out of prison, but they pushed too far.” A cold glint flashed through Sierra’s eyes.

At first, all she had wanted was to clear her name, but the Xander family had crossed the line. Now, she wouldn’t let them off so easily.

“I’ll take care of it,” Jonathan said.

“No! I want to do it myself.” Sierra looked at him with unwavering determination. “I need to handle this on my own.”

Whether it was reclaiming her innocence or severing all ties with the Xander family, she wanted to be the one to do it.

Jonathan studied her for a long moment before finally stepping back. “Alright, do it your way.”

If Mateo and the others had been present, they would have been stunned. Jonathan was a man who never compromised. He had an ironclad need for control and hated when things slipped beyond his grasp. But for Sierra, he relented. Jonathan himself didn’t even realize it. He didn’t know when it had started, but he had been indulging her more and more. Even though he had agreed to let her handle it, he was still uneasy. He handed her a pair of earrings. “They have a tracking device and a recording function. I need to make sure you’re safe.”