Chapter 86: He Lied To Me
His life had been very smooth and easy from the moment he had been born. The only terrible experience he had was that he lost his biological Mom when he was less than two years old. But he had very little memory of that, if any.
Before his childhood ended, he got a stepmom. And he was lucky that his stepmom was very nice to him.
After that, his life got even better. He persevered in his studies at school, and after graduation, he created a business that ended up being very successful. The only caveat was that he spent most of his time studying and working, so he had very little experience in relationships before meeting Selene.
He had always been resolute, steady, and calm. But he knew that he was far from perfect and that he would make mistakes from time to time.
But sleeping with Selene that one time had not been a small mistake.
And he fully knew that it had been a mistake, but it was too late to turn back now.
And so, one mistake led to many more.
A man who had been so diligent and ambitious was now indecisive and sad.
The fire was also his fault. It was because he failed to deal with Jennifer and her feelings for him that had caused her to do this.
All of these problems had been caused by him. Before, he had hoped and imagined that Selene would forgive him since he had helped her by getting the recording.
But, after hearing her conversation with Austin, he knew that that wouldn’t be the case.
He finally gave up on hoping that he and Selene would ever get back together. And he hoped that at least she would find happiness without him.
When he finished his cigarette, he looked at it in his hand. “You’re so pathetic.” He mocked himself.
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Three months later, the trial for the case was finally held, and Selene appeared in the court as the victim and Jennifer as the main suspect.
Jennifer now looked very haggard after this experience.
The case transpired very smoothly. The only surprise was that Dan shouldered most of the responsibility for it.
In the end, Dan and the man who started the fire were given five years each, and Jennifer 3 years in jail.
They had carried out the crime just like Selene had guessed; Jennifer and Dan asked one of their lackeys to set fire to her store in order to burn her dresses without knowing that Selene had been locked in the warehouse.
To some degree, Dan and Jennifer weren’t villains. They never intended to kill her.
But starting the fire was still a serious crime.
A crime they should be punished for.
Selene did not feel much sympathy for them, as she almost lost her life because of them.
Now that the case was solved, she held no grudges towards them.
She was finally moving on, which felt great!
When she left the court, Selene stood by the roadside to wait for Austin. A black car suddenly pulled up next to her, and the window pulled down. A beautiful, older woman with a pale but familiar face scowled at her. “Miss Morris. I know it’s Jennifer’s fault, but how could you be so cruel in her punishment?” Mrs. Keller questioned her.
“She brought this on herself. No one forced her to set my store on fire and nearly killed me. Yet, this is the law.”
“The Denovans are so righteous. They were so close with Jennifer and treated her well. But I guess she’s nothing compared to their biological daughter.” Mrs. Keller sneered. “Oh, right. Please inform your Mom, stepfather, and your brother, Clint, that we will take our revenge for this.”
“Your daughter admitted to her crime. Why are you so angry at me?”
Mrs. Keller snorted and closed the window, then left.
“Selene, Selene…” Austin called out from his car as he parked nearby.
She got into the car.
“How did it go? Are you happy with the conclusion?” Austin asked.
“Yes. Dan will be in prison for five years and Jennifer for three.”
“Wow, great!” Austin cheered.
Selene smiled. “Have you seen Clint lately?” She asked hesitantly.
“No,” Austin shook his head. “Do you miss your ex?”
She had not thought about him for a long time, but Jennifer’s Mom’s words made her worried. She didn’t see Clint in court, even though he had given his statement as evidence.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Selene started. ”It was Clint who handed in the recording to the police.”
Austin looked surprised. “Jennifer and Dan are his friends, and he betrayed them so easily.”
Selene didn’t deny it. “I met Jennifer’s Mom just now, and she was very angry about Clint and his parents. So I feel worried about this.”
“Don’t worry. Clint’s family is very decent, rich, and respectable. So they will be okay.”
“Right. Why should I worry about it? They must have expected this to happen anyway.”
“I didn’t expect that Clint would do this for you.”
“Maybe he felt he owed me. He lied to me for so long about my Mom.”
****
Nowadays, it is not difficult to find out if anything interesting happened in remote/out-of-the-way towns and villages. Technology allows people everywhere to keep up to date with news via the internet.
In Coastal City, the Kellers, the Denovans, and Dan’s families were involved in a huge business conflict. It was nothing trivial in the business field, especially for those who lived in Texas.
However, even those in other parts of America could read about it in financial news blogs and bulletins. It seemed like every day, there was a new shocking development in this business family feud.
Reporters and editors knew only half the story when it came to the reason that the three families entered this conflict in the first place. But they knew quite well how it was being carried out.
The three families had cooperated well in the past for many years, but they suddenly found reason to quarrel. Dan’s and Jennifer’s families were on one side, and Clint’s family on the other. It was so fierce in the business sense that Clint, who lived and worked in Houston, had to come back to his hometown to deal with it and help his parents.