Chapter 6
"Hannah and I grew up together. She would never bribe a kidnapper to take you. April, you're way too hard on her. You don't know; she felt so guilty she even tried to hurt herself," Julian said.
By the end, Julian's face showed a hint of disappointment. "She's in such a state, and you still accuse her without any evidence?"
April snorted coldly, "Did she die?"
She finally got it: no matter what she said, Julian would never believe her.
Seeing April's pale face, Julian felt a pang in his chest. But her tone was so sharp, he couldn't let it go.
"April, this was really an accident," he said. "Will you come to Hannah's design exhibition this afternoon?"
April couldn't take it anymore, slapping him hard.
"Are you insane? After everything she's done to me, you expect me to show up and make her look good at her exhibition?" she snapped, her voice sharp with fury.
"April, stop making a scene. This is the last time. I promised Hannah," Julian said.
April still went. She knew Julian never took no for an answer.
Hannah's design exhibition was clearly a labor of love, with touches of famous masters everywhere.
April wandered around aimlessly, when suddenly Hannah blocked her path.
"Ms. Wynn, you really came," Hannah said, her tone dripping with fake sweetness.
She flashed a bright, sugary smile, but her eyes were full of smug satisfaction. "Bet you didn't expect this, huh? Even a maid's daughter can hold her own exhibition. Of course, I owe it all to Julian."
April didn't have the energy to argue with her. She turned and walked away.
Suddenly, a voice yelled behind her. "Bitch, there you are!"
"Let go of me!" Hannah shouted.
April turned and saw Hannah in a messy brawl with Emily Sutton, their faces both twisted with anger.
Emily spat, "I haven't settled the score with you for seducing my husband overseas, and now you dare show up here? You're not worthy."
The next moment, she screamed.
April stepped back in shock as she watched Hannah roughly shove the woman hard against a sharp decorative corner.
Blood poured from the back of Emily's head, and she collapsed instantly.
Without hesitation, April dialed 911.
Hannah shouted, panic in her voice. When April came to her senses, Hannah had thrown herself into Julian's arms, crying her eyes out. "Julian, I swear, it wasn't on purpose. She slipped."
The police showed up in no time.
Hannah went pale, then suddenly grabbed a shard of glass and pressed it to her neck, breaking down in panic.
"Julian, I can't go to jail," she cried. "I just finished my exhibition; my future's starting. If Matthew finds out I hurt someone, he'll lock me up for life.
At the same moment, Julian and Hannah turned their eyes to April.
Julian's eyes flashed with heartache and pity, his voice rough. "April, please, help Hannah. Just three days, and I'll bail you out."
April shook her head in disbelief. "Are you two out of your minds?"
Even as she was taken into custody, April still felt like she was trapped in some absurd nightmare.
On her very first day in the detention center, April was beaten so badly her head was left bleeding.
It was as if those women had been paid off; they tortured her relentlessly.
They replaced her drinking water with cleaning fluid, took sick pleasure in hurting her, forced her to wash her face with boiling water, and even scratched a game of tic-tac-toe into her back with broken glass.
After one day, April was left hanging by a thread, barely alive.
Finally, the guard said, "April, you're out on bail."
April forced her battered body to the door. If she hadn't managed to get a message to Matthew, she might not have made it out alive.
Matthew's trusted secretary handed her a document. "Mr. Matthew Sheppard asked me to give this to you."
April didn't ask where Julian was. She didn't care anymore.
She signed the papers without hesitation. Her flight was about to take off.
*****
April leaned against the window, watching as the plane sliced through the clouds, leaving behind the city that had held all her joys and sorrows.
From that moment on, she was gone from Petrico for good.
Before she left, she left a USB drive for Julian.
Inside were all the evidence of Hannah's plotting against her, along with proof of Hannah's scandals and affairs overseas.
*****
Meanwhile, back in Petrico, Julian was trying to clean up the mess after Hannah hurt Emily at her exhibition.
Emily wasn't anybody; she was the Sutton family's precious heiress. She married overseas years ago and had long been known for her unyielding, fiery temper.
Her grandpa, Yosef, leaned on his cane, his eyes sharp and imposing as he snapped at Julian, "If anything happens to Emily, your family won't get away with it."
Julian's face was cold, his eyes full of gloom. "Ms. Sutton got hurt at the exhibition hosted by my family. Don't worry. We'll make things right."
After Yosef left, Julian headed back to Sheppard Manor. This was a matter for the elders. Even though he was the heir, he couldn't make the final call on his own.
"Grandpa, no matter what, Ms. Sutton got hurt at an exhibition hosted by our family. I'll handle the business side; Sutton Group will get priority for the next quarter's projects," Julian said to Matthew.
He paused, then said calmly, "As for Yosef, could you please talk to him? Every day the letter of understanding isn't signed means one more day April has to stay locked up."
Matthew leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. "Julian, Emily and April have no history between them. Why would they get into a fight? Did you check the security footage from the exhibition?"
He opened his eyes and fixed Julian with a steady gaze. "Was it really April who sent Emily to the hospital?"
Julian froze for a moment, a wave of bitterness spreading through his veins. He couldn't help but remember April's tear-filled eyes.