CHAPTER 356 – SECRETLY OVERJOYED
He was stunned for two seconds, and then frowned unhappily.
“What are you doing here?” As he spoke, his eyes were full of scrutiny and suspicion.
“Finally!! I’ve been waiting for you for so damn long.
You hung up on me, so I had no choice but to come here.
Can you please keep your woman in line? She won’t stop harassing me! If it weren’t for all the money you promised to give me, I would’ve taught her a hard lesson by now!” Tina seemed so angry that she gritted her teeth and wagged her finger at Lewis.
When in reality, she was only acting.
“She’s still young.
Just cut her some slack, will you?” Lewis put down the documents in his hands and glanced around the office.
His devices all had passwords.
Even if Tina wanted to do something, she wouldn’t have succeeded.
Besides, he doubted Tina would try to do anything sinister, like stealing valuable information from him.
“Are you really going to just stand by and watch until she kills my baby?” Tina was very dissatisfied with his dismissive attitude.
Lewis frowned and pressed the spot between his brows.
Women were such troublesome creatures.
“l’ll talk to her tonight.
Satisfied? Now, get out!” he snapped impatiently.
This was exactly what Tina wanted.
She successfully got everything she came for.
“You’d better keep your word.
I don’t want to come here a second time!” Tina cast him a resentful glance, pretending to be annoyed, and then left in a hurry.
Instead of going back to the Peterson family home, Tina went straight to the cafe, where she was to rendezvous with Dominic.
When she arrived, Dominic was already there, waiting for her.
He was sitting at a table and had ordered a cup of decaf latte for her.
“All the information in Lewis’s computer is here.” Tina handed the flash drive to him.
Dominic slipped the small drive into his pocket and nodded in satisfaction.
“Thank you.” After saying that, he stood up to leave.
“If there is really evidence of him doing illegal things in here, I’ll sue him before the month ends.
But be warned: he’ll probably feel suspicious of you after receiving the indictment.
Be careful.” Tina sipped from her cup of coffee and nodded seriously.
Dominic returned to the Porter Group with the flash drive.
After handing the drive to the technical staff to decode the data in it, they soon found something of interest.
Dominic called the senior executives and the lawyers to a meeting that night.
As expected, they found a lot of evidence of Lewis’s crimes.
After getting everything ready, Dominic filed a case against Lewis.
Lewis received the indictment from the court exactly three days later.
“Goddammit, Dominic!” It was the first time that Lewis had lost his cool like this.
He went crazy and smashed everything in his office to vent his anger.
He knew that Dominic would never sue him without any hard evidence.
But both his computer and the company’s safe were password- protected, and only he knew the passwords.
Of course, someone might’ve be able to get their hands on the data in other ways, but how did Dominic’s men get inside his office? Lewis couldn’t figure it out.
In the end, there was only one possibility left: there was a mole in the company.
The Trial With a dangerous look in his eyes, Lewis made a phone call.
“Call all our senior eXecutives here.
Now,’ he hissed into the receiver.
When all the senior executives were present, Lewis asked someone to investigate their bank account records.
He thought that he would definitely find the mole.
Dominic had collected solid evidence against them, which was extremely disadvantageous to Lewis.
He had to come up with a plan.
He refused to lose to Dominic so easily.
At the very least, he had to find the mole who had betrayed him.
But two days later, the investigation turned up fruitless.
None of their senior executives had anything to do with the Porter Group.
Plus, they all knew that it was a sensitive time for both companies, so everyone had been avoiding contact with people from the Porter Group.
Lewis had also checked and double-checked the company’s surveillance footage, but didn’t find anything suspicious.
Lewis pursed his lips, feeling that he had missed something, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
The in-house nutritionists and servants of the Peterson family had been taking good care of Tina these days.
And her belly was slowly getting bigger and bigger with each day that passed.
The weather was getting hot lately, but she still had a good appetite and had eaten a hearty lunch today.
After finishing her food, Tina went to the garden to relax.
No one knew what was on her mind as she stared into the distance, lost in thought, stroking her belly absentmindedly.
“Mrs. Peterson, have some fruits.” The servant brought Tina a tray full of sliced fruits and set it on the table.
However, Tina was not in the mood to eat.
She had heard that Lewis already received the indictment from Dominic and was discussing with his lawyer how to deal with it.
“Don’t forget to tell me when Lewis comes back.” Tina reminded, leaning into her chair with her eyes closed.
She tried her best not to look nervous and recalled that day step by step, trying to find out if she had left anything that might’ve pointed to her.
The only thing suspicious about her that day was that she had asked Lewis’s assistant to turn off the CCTV camera in his office.
But the Peterson family was on the verge of bankruptcy, and that was all the more reason for Lewis’s assistant to keep his mouth shut.
If word got out that he was the one who had turned off the CCTV in Lewis’s office, he’d definitely have to take the fall.
Now, there was nothing Tina could do but wait for the trial.
A week later, the trial began.
Tina attended the trial as a member of Lewis’s family.
They hadn’t seen each other in a few days, and Lewis looked much more haggard than before.
His five o’clock shadow made him age ten years.
Tina was secretly overjoyed to see him in such a mess.
Suppressing a smug smile, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of Jodie, who was sitting a few rows ahead of her.
She too looked like a mess.
She was crying so hard that she kept wiping her tears and blowing her nose into a tissue.
Lewis wasn’t all that unlucky.
At least in this trial, there was someone who sincerely hoped he could win.
Tina withdrew her sight and subconsciously placed her hand on her rounded belly.
Her fate, as well as the child’s, depended on the outcome of today’s trial.
Soon, the judge came in and announced the beginning of the trial.
Because of all the solid evidence stacked against Lewis, Dominic won without a shadow of a doubt.
Lewis was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment.
Of course, Lewis couldn’t accept such a fate.
He looked calm, but his bloodshot eyes and trembling fingers exposed his panic.
Holding onto hope, he filed an appeal, but the original sentencing was maintained in the second and final trial.
When the final judgment came, Lewis nearly broke down on the spot.
Tina had attended both trials.
It was the first time in her life that she had seen Lewis bowing his head.
CHAPTER 357 – HOW COULD YOU
Twenty years’ imprisonment.
Lewis was already in his 30s, and so he’d be over fifty years old by the time he got out.
His life would be almost over by then.
On the day of the final sentencing, Tina went to see Lewis.
When Lewis was about to be taken away, Tina walked up to him and said calmly, “I’m here to say goodbye. Don’t worry about the baby. I’ll raise him well.”
Lewis’s eyes were devoid of life.
For the first time, he said, “Thank you.”
Tina smiled knowingly. How stupid he was! She leaned closer to him and whispered, “Haven’t you figured out how Braden got his hands on all that evidence?”
Since she would never see Lewis again, Tina decided to tell him the truth. At first, Lewis didn’t understand why Tina would ask him such a question, but it soon dawned on him. His eyes went as wide as saucers and his heart was filled with anger and indignation. He opened his mouth and stared at Tina in disbelief.
“It was you! You were the one who used my computer and stole all my files! That was why you went to my study!”
Tina raised her chin and smiled triumphantly.
“Yes, it was all me. I copied the files from your laptop and gave it all to Dominic. My first attempt was a failure. Jodie caught me before I was able to copy all the files. So I went to your office to finish the job.”
Lewis’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
Who was this woman?! Was she really the Tina he knew? lt was said that the more timid a person looked, the more ruthless they would be when cornered. It was true for Tina.
All of a sudden, a cold smile appeared on Lewis’s face and his eyes took on a dangerous light.
“I never thought that you’d be the one to deliver the fatal blow. I should’ve taken you more seriously.”.
It never occurred to him that Tina would have the guts—and the intelligence—to pull off such a stunt.
Lewis had always thought that she was a simple, stupid woman who let others walk all over her.
In his eyes, Tina had always bent over backwards for others.
“Yes, you’ve always looked down upon me, and it ended up being your downfall. Lewis, thanks again for the loads of money. I’ll live life comfortably after our divorce.”
Tina sneered in disdain. She knew that she and her child would never be able to use up the money Lewis left them.
Lewis smiled coldly, staring at Tina, who now seemed to have changed into a completely different person. It was the first time that he realized how much he had underestimated this woman. He was such an idiot! Seeing that Lewis had fallen silent, Tina didn’t want to waste her breath on him any longer.
She turned around and was about to leave when Lewis suddenly shouted at her.
“Stop!”
Tina looked back over her shoulder coldly and asked, “What?”
After recovering from his shock just now, Lewis growled angrily, “Tina! You are my wife and a member of the Peterson family. How could you betray me?”
Tina looked at him as though he had just cracked a joke. She sneered, turned around, and carefully looked into Lewis’s fury-filled eyes. She wanted to remember the way he looked when he discovered that she was the one who brought him down, imprinting the shame and embarrassment on his face in her mind forever.
“Wife? When did you ever treat me as your wife? Or as your family even? Lewis, you are such a selfish and indifferent bastard. Yet you dare to ask why I betrayed you? You betrayed me first!”
“You set me up! Tina, I’ve given you the money you wanted. Why would you go behind me back?” Lewis demanded.
Tina smiled calmly, but her eyes were devoid of warmth.
“Because I hate you,” she said matter-of-factly.
“I hate you for trying to take away my child. I hate you for marrying me just to use me. And when I was no longer of any use to you, you tossed me aside for another woman, whom you brought into our home to humiliate me. Even after finding out I was pregnant with your child, you didn’t change your mind. You even wanted to take my baby away! Lewis, what do you take me for?
Some lifeless doll that’ll roll over at your beck and call? No! I am a human being! I betrayed you because you betrayed me first. I have to protect my child, and in order to do that, you have to be behind bars.”
Lewis glared at Tina murderously, but he found he couldn’t say anything to refute.
The woman standing in front of him with a calm and indifferent expression was completely different from the Tina he knew.
Tina took a deep breath and shrugged.
“Well, it’s all in the past anyway. It’s meaningless to say anything more. You were good at what you did, you know? You shouldn’t have been brought down by me, a lowly housewife. But that’s precisely how you lost. The biggest obstacle to survival is not weakness nor ignorance, but arrogance.”
Lewis felt as though he was struck by lightning and all the color drained from his face.
Arrogance? Lewis had never considered himself arrogant. He had always been praised and envied by all, which led him to believe that he was better than everyone.
At a young age, he had been sent abroad. He had always been surrounded by strangers.
Even at home, the housekeepers and servants were routinely replaced, and Victor never allowed him to get close to any of them.
In addition, Victor always told him that strong men didn’t need feelings.
Having feelings was a fatal weakness.
As a Peterson, he had to be undefeatable.
Thus, Lewis had grown to be indifferent to everything.
Nothing in this world attracted him other than money and power.
But in the end, his own arrogance was the death of him.
Tina watched as Lewis was taken away by the marshals. She watched him walk out of the court room with his shoulders slumped over in defeat.
Suddenly, she remembered the first time she met Lewis. Lewis was standing by the door of her house, looking at her gently. It was love at first sight for her.
Fortunately, she saw things clearly now.
Expressionless, Tina picked up her bag and left the courthouse. It was a sunny day. She breathed in the fresh air and smiled with relief, as if she had been reborn.
When she returned home, Tina filed for a divorce.
As Dominic had promised her, he hired the best lawyer to assist her with the divorce. It didn’t take long before Tina successfully divorced Lewis.
Because she held an overwhelming advantage over him, she ended up getting more property than Lewis had originally promised her.
Additionally, since she hadn’t given birth to their baby yet, the court gave her sole custody of the child.
When everything was finally settled, Tina invited Dominic and Rachel to a fancy restaurant for a celebratory dinner….
“Cheers!” The three clinked glasses merrily.
Because she was pregnant, Tina didn’t have wine and instead was nursing a glass of orange juice.
With a smile, she sighed in relief and said, “Finally, it is over! I won’t have to worry about him finding me out anymore. These days, I had been worried sick! I could’ve died from anxiety!”
Rachel was also happy for her. She raised her glass and clinked it with hers.
“Cheers to your freedom, Tina!” Tina grinned from ear to ear.
Then she turned to Dominic and said sincerely, “Thank you so much for helping me. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to take Lewis down on my own.”
Dominic nodded and humbly added, “If it weren’t for your help, I wouldn’t have been able to pin Lewis down for his crimes.”
Rachel smiled and reached for Dominic’s hand, squeezing it gently.
“We should be the ones thanking you. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat Lewis so easily.” Tina chuckled.
“This serves him right. If he hadn’t been so ruthless, I wouldn’t have done this to him.”
“Now you’re the biggest winner, aren’t you? The property he left you is more than enough for you and your child to live a happy life, you lucky lady!” Rachel teased Tina playfully.
“Well, actually most of his assets are under investigation now, so there might not be much left afterwards. I can’t count on the money he left me. Moreover, I feel like a career is calling me. Truth be told, I wanted to treat you two to dinner today because I have one more thing I wanted to ask from you…”
Tina looked at Rachel expectantly, waiting for her answer. Rachel couldn’t figure out what she was building up to.
“What is it?”
“I want to go back to the design industry after I give birth to the baby, but I’ve been a housewife for years now, isolated from society.” Tina bit her lip anxiously.
“I haven’t designed a single thing in years. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pick up everything I learnt from college.”
It turned out that her request was no big deal. Without hesitation, Rachel said, “Don’t worry. I’ll help you. I remember your works back then—they were all excellent. I’m sure it won’t be that hard to get you started again.”
Encouraged, Tina breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely, “Thank you, Rachel.”
Life was so magical.
Tina had never thought that Rachel and she would meet again years after graduation and even become friends.
After the meal, Dominic drove Rachel to the airport. She had been going back and forth between Meadowview and Sunhaven recently.
Recalling what Tina had said to her, Rachel couldn’t help but sigh.
“Stephanie was right. Men are indeed the stumbling block to a woman’s career.”
Dominic, who had pulled to a stop at a red light, looked at her sharply. He brought Rachel’s hand to his mouth and nibbled on a finger.
“Me included?”
With a smile, Rachel raised her hand and patted Dominic’s cheek softly.
“No, my husband is the only exception.”
During this tumultuous period of time, the Peterson family experienced setback after setback.
As soon as Lewis’s illegal acts had been exposed, many other people were put behind bars as the investigation unfolded.
As for the Peterson family’s business, most of Lewis’s companies in Williamland were shut down, which greatly affected the Peterson family’s power. Now, they were no match for the Porter Group.
Even before the trial, Victor had been running all over the country trying to keep the Peterson Group afloat. The stress had aged him ten years overnight, adding wrinkles to his haggard tired face.
When he heard about Lewis’s verdict, he completely broke down. He didn’t even have the strength to try and pull himself together anymore.
Before returning to his home, Victor went to the private hospital where Remy was admitted.
CHAPTER 358 – ULTIMATUM
“You underestimated Dominic. I’ve always found him to be a smart, composed person. When he was little, Amanda, a grown woman, often picked on him. Yet he still managed to get this far on his own.””
While Remy had been confined in the hospital the past few weeks, she still caught word of what was happening outside.
But at her age, she could no longer meddle in these matters anymore. And she didn’t intend to…
Remy sighed sadly.
“I don’t have much time left. When your father was still alive, he used to say that people should pursue virtue after they pursued wealth. You’ve used up all the virtue he had saved for the family, and we’re no longer blessed.”
As she spoke, Victor poured her a glass of water and handed her the medication on the bedside table. He frowned and said, “Mom, stop talking like that.”
Remy sighed and pushed the medication cup away with her wrinkled hand.
“I’ve been taking this same medicine for years and it has done me no good. You can go back. I want to rest now.”.
Victor returned to his home alone, despair looming over him like a storm cloud. The house was empty, aside from the servants.
In the past, Victor usually heard the short-tempered Eric quarreling with his mother at home. But now, the house was eerily quiet and lifeless.
Victor sank into the sofa wearily, burying his face in his palms. He had no way to fix this.
Now Victor was fully aware of just how terrifying and cruel Dominic was. The latter had shown no mercy to his own family.
Dominic had picked off all of Victor’s family one by one—first, his wife, then his youngest son, and then his eldest. Even the Peterson Group, Victor’s pride and joy, had been destroyed. Now he had nothing.
“Sir, Mr. Dominic is at the door.”
A servant came and report to Victor.
Before Victor could say anything, Dominic strode into the living room with his hands in his pockets.
He looked around the house quietly. .
“The house is the same as before, yet it feels different. There used to be too many people in this home and it got too crowded.
Now it’s empty, which is good. It makes the house look bigger.” Dominic walked to the sofa opposite Victor and sat down, sneering coldly. Victor laughed bitterly.
“Are you here to see me at the end of my rope?” Dominic remained unfazed.
“On the contrary, I’m here to offer you a way out. Whether you take it or not will actually depend on you.”
Victor doubted Dominic would be so kind, but he was utterly exhausted and desperate. “Dominic, what more do you want? I don’t want to play any games with you anymore.”
“It’s not up to you,” Dominic answered simply, resting his chin on the back of his hand. “As you know, your family is on the verge of collapse. One push and it’ll all come crumbling down.”
Dominic paused for a few seconds and frowned at Victor. “But if you turn yourself in, admit to the police and the public that you raped and then slandered my mother, and apologize to her in front of her tomb, I will let you and your family go.”
Victor’s expression changed.
If he did this, his reputation would be ruined and irredeemable. Victor had enjoyed a certain level of prestige all these years and it’d undoubtedly be a huge shame for him to apologize to a woman he had never taken seriously.
He had only ever touched Elvira Porter because she was beautiful, nothing more.
Elvira was born in a rich family. When she was in school, many boys had chased after her, but she rejected all of them, including Victor.
However, things changed when the Porter family declined, and she was forced to take on a job as a waitress in a hotel in Sunhaven.
At the time, Victor had already married Amanda, and the Peterson Group reached its peak under his leadership. When they met again under such a circumstance, Victor wanted Elvira to be his mistress. Although she looked harmless enough, she was actually a tough woman and refused his offer without hesitation.
Victor was so angry that he raped her in the very hotel she worked at. Afterwards, he attempted to silence Elvira with money, because the latter was struggling financially. But she refused to accept his money.
Victor was afraid that the scandal would affect his reputation, so he lied to the public and claimed that Elvira had seduced him.
After all, he was rich and powerful, and there were many women who wanted to sleep with him.
It wasn’t until much later that Victor found out that Elvira was pregnant. Elvira probably didn’t abort the child because she was afraid that she might not be able to conceive again in the future, so she retreated to the countryside and gave birth to Dominic there.
Since she was incapable of fighting against the Peterson family and hadn’t stirred up any trouble, Victor ignored her existence altogether.
Unexpectedly, thirty years later, her son rose from the ashes to avenge her.
“It happened thirty years ago! Even if I admit my mistake to the public, it won’t make much of a difference. Your mother is dead,”
Victor said desperately.
Dominic expected such a response, so he said in a cold voice, “Quit making excuses. If you do as I say and turn yourself in, you’ll only be imprisoned for a few years at most, but ultimately, you’ll be able to protect your precious Peterson family. By the time you’re released from jail, you’ll have another chance to start anew. But if you don’t admit what you did, I’ll make sure you live a miserable life. I won’t stop until the Peterson family, which has been around for hundreds of years, is completely destroyed—and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. Like I said, it’s your choice now.”
Victor fell silent for a long time, and suddenly looked much older. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling illuminated his white hairs.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to respond, Dominic stood up and was about to leave.
“It seems that you don’t want to save the Peterson family. That’s fine by me.””
“Wait!” Victor’s voice suddenly sounded from behind Dominic.
Dominic paused and looked over his shoulder indifferently. .
After a long time, Victor sighed and said hoarsely, “I’ll turn myself in.”.
“For the first time, you’ve finally made a wise choice” Dominic said with a sneer.
Victor smiled bitterly and looked up at him. “Dominic, did you plan all this from the very beginning? Was everything—the court cases, the sentencing—was everything just a ploy to force me to turn myself in?”
Raising his eyebrows, Dominic turned around and stood facing Victor.
The light from outside the door illuminated his profile, but his face was against the light, making it difficult for Victor to see his expression clearly.
“In a word, yes. Although all the evidence that you raped my mom has been erased, do you honestly believe you can also erase all the crimes you’ve committed? The truth should be—and will be—revealed. My mother is innocent. It’s time for you to take the fall for your sins. We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Then, the young man turned around and left.
Victor watched him walk away in silence.
When Dominic was gone, Victor raised his head, stared at the ceiling with his turbid eyes, and suddenly burst into manic laughter.
In the end, he lost.
Dominic had won.
The following day, Victor went to the cemetery to see Elvira.
He had never been there before.
The cemetery was located in a decent area.
Nearby, there was a large plot of land covered in daisies, and the cemetery was surrounded by pine trees.
When Elvira was still alive, she liked flowers very much.
It was not difficult to see why Dominic chosen this spot as her final resting place.
Victor set a bunch of lilies in front of her grave.
Looking at the black and white photograph on the tombstone, he suddenly felt that time had slipped away from him.
In the photo, Elvira’s beautiful and gentle smile was immortalized.
Thinking of what had happened in the past, Victor suddenly found himself unable to look at her photograph.
He lowered his head, wrought with guilt.
Get on your knees.
What my mother needs is your apology.” Victor heard Dominic’s cold voice from behind him.
Feeling humiliated, he squeezed his eyes shut.
He hadn’t felt an ounce of guilt for over twenty years, and now he waso nly here due to Dominic’s ultimatum.
I’m sorry, Elvira. I made a terrible mistake. I, Victor Peterson, hereby apologize to you.” Victor had to kneel down in front of the grave.
Victor had been kneeling for over an hour before Dominic finally allowed him to stand up again.
After leaving the cemetery, Victor went straight to the police department and turned himself in.
He admitted to his crime of rape from thirty years ago.
Dominic had already arranged for the media to report this matter to the public.
Thirty years ago, Victor slandered Elvira, claiming that she had seduced a married man to sleep with her.
Ever since then, the public had thought lowly of her.
Now, her name was finally cleared and her innocence was restored.
Reading the news on the newspaper, Rachel was still not satisfied.
Sighing heavily, she murmured, “It’s been so many years.
People have forgotten all about it.
Victor is really lucky.
