Chapter 299
The faint, lingering damp scent of sweetbriar was completely gone, replaced entirely by the raw, earthy smell of brand new soil.
It was painfully obvious that the soil across the entire grove had been completely excavated and replaced.
Sienna stared in sheer disbelief. “Where are the original Sweetbriar trees? What did you do with them p>
“They were destroyed, obviously. Did you expect us to leave them here for you to exploit?” Helena yelled back dismissively, looking entirely thrilled, like someone who had already figured everything out.
“I personally supervised the bulldozing and transplanting today! I didn’t see a single thing out of the ordinary!
Even if I missed something, there were dozens of workers here. You claim Celeste crashed the old man into a Sweetbriar tree?
If there really were such obvious signs of a physical struggle, how could they have possibly escaped dozens of pairs of eyes p>
Helena shot Sienna a look of pure contempt and sneered. “Thankfully, Celeste reminded me that with all the accidents happening to the old man lately, someone might have ruined our luck. I invited an Estate Consultant over to take a look, and he immediately pointed out that someone tampered with the woods to curse the Sterling family.
If the woods weren’t destroyed, both the Manor and the old man would eventually meet a tragic end p>
Helena’s gaze turned absolutely vicious as she glared at Sienna.
“Sure enough, it’s you, you scheming bitch, using your dirty tricks. Did you bury a curse in the soil of the Sweetbriar Woods ahead of time?
Were you just waiting to dig up that tampered soil for testing so you could pin the whole thing on Celeste and make her take the fall for you p>
Sienna remained silent, her eyes locked onto Celeste.
Deep within those tear-filled eyes, there was absolutely no panic of a criminal caught in the act. There was only the greedy, triumphant gleam of a predator watching its prey step directly into a snare.
Sienna tightly clenched her fists. This venomous woman was far more manipulative and deeply entrenched in her plotting than Sienna had ever imagined.
Taking in the sheer shock written across Sienna’s face, a victorious smile crept onto Celeste’s lips.
“If there are any abnormal traces in these woods, I’m afraid they are solely the ones Ms. Sloan created tonight while digging up the dirt herself p>
Celeste shook her head with a look of profound pity. “It turns out the person constantly creating illusions, faking crime scenes, and maliciously trying to frame innocent people… has always been Ms. Sloan herself p>
With that final declaration, the entire crowd erupted.
Whispers surged forward like a suffocating tidal wave.
“What a manipulative bitch. I was almost fooled by her innocent face p>
“She is absolutely shameless. Filled with dark schemes, relying entirely on her acting to control everyone p>
Every single accusation was heavy and bone-chilling, more than enough to completely pulverize her reputation and nail her permanently to a cross of public shame.
Sienna stood rigidly in place, a bone-deep coldness sweeping through her entire being.
She had always been decisive and fiercely capable, easily navigating her way out of any crisis she faced.
But she had never felt something quite like this—the sheer, suffocating frustration and utter helplessness of realizing she had been systematically cornered into a dead end by someone else’s absolute malice.
She raised her eyes to look at Jarred, who had remained entirely silent, a trace of intense questioning lacing her tone. “Mrs. Bridges watched you grow up and has taken care of you your entire life.
You know exactly what kind of person she is. Are you seriously telling me you can’t tell whether she is speaking the truth or lying through her teeth?
You were a SWAT captain, meticulously trained to read people and situations. Can you truly not see through such a shallow, manipulative scheme p>
Jarred’s dark eyes stared deeply back at her, swirling with a complicated, agonizing mix of emotions and a deeply hidden restraint no one else could comprehend.
Within those eyes was a fire he recognized intimately. Even standing completely alone against the entire world, she would absolutely never bow her head.
He knew exactly what kind of person Sienna was, better than anyone else alive.
She was not the kind of person who would threaten a maid into committing perjury.
And she was certainly not the kind of person who would sneak into someone else’s home in the dead of night just to frame an innocent victim.
Her pride absolutely forbade it, and her rigid moral compass would never allow it.
After two agonizing seconds of silence, Jarred finally, slowly, opened his mouth to speak.