Chapter 268
Chapter 268
He knew Emily didn’t want Charles to worry, so he had to make sure the swelling and any visible marks on her face were gone or at least well hidden as soon as possible.
If he hadn’t come tonight, Emily probably wouldn’t have gotten any rest at all. That night, Austin stayed by Emily’s side the whole night, not doing anything else.
In the middle of the night, seeing Andrew’s car return, Austin suddenly thought of something and sent a message. He had originally set a trap for Andrew, intending to teach him a lesson for hurting Emily.
But now, he had changed his mind. He was going to make this trap even bigger, not just enough for Andrew to fall in, but big enough to drag the entire Bennett Family down with him.
After all the drama that night, the Bennett residence finally quieted down for once. Everyone tacitly agreed to keep it from Charles, not just because of Emily’s earlier warning, but also because they didn’t dare let him find out.
But Charles, with his years of experience, sensed the strange atmosphere at home, especially Emma’s wary glares at Emily. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” he asked Emily.
Emily had no idea Charles was so hard to fool. Keeping her expression calm, she replied, “Nope. I just… I’ve never really been that close with the Bennetts. It’s always been like this.”
She spoke calmly, and Charles knew she and the Bennetts could never return to how things were. ‘My little Emily should have been cherished, he thought, feeling disappointed and heartbroken.
Emily pretended not to notice the pain in his eyes as she helped him take his medicine and settle in for his nap. Charles had a habit of napping every day, and now that he was older, he fell asleep even faster.
Emily quietly closed the door behind her, telling the servants to call her right away if Charles woke up, then headed out.
Tina had called her earlier, saying she wanted to talk to her alone about something. Because of Quiana, Emily had been in touch with Tina a lot lately, and the two of them could be considered friends now.
For Tina to suddenly call and say she wanted to talk alone, it had to be something important. Sure enough, not long after they sat down, Tina pulled a USB drive out of her bag and handed it to her.
Seeing the confusion on Emily’s face, Tina explained, “When my mom first started using computers for her classes, she was totally lost and kept losing her files. So, every month, I’d back up all her stuff for her.
“Everything on this USB drive is proof that your peacock painting wasn’t copied from anyone.”
Emily was surprised. So much time had passed, and many things had happened; she no longer cared. ‘I thought Tina had let it go after Prof. Perez resigned,’ she thought, not expecting her to bring this up.
Feeling Emily’s gaze on her, Tina cleared her throat. “Honestly, I wasn’t planning to bring this out. I just didn’t want to get myself into any trouble, but I really don’t think you should have to carry this kind of burden.”
Louisa was an artist, so she knew well the consequences of being labeled a “copycat.” Through her interactions with Emily due to Quiana’s incident, she felt Emily shouldn’t bear such a reputation.
At that moment, Tina understood why Louisa had been so insistent on clearing Emily’s name all these years. Even though Emily had long since stopped caring about the whole thing, she didn’t refuse Tina’s kindness. She accepted the USB drive and thanked her earnestly.
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Chapter 268
Charles didn’t nap for very long, so Emily didn’t stay to chat with Tina for too long before heading back to the Bennett residence. But as soon as she entered the villa complex, she noticed a bunch of suspicious figures lurking around.
