Chapter 296
The crowd slowly parted down the middle.
Celeste was wheeled forward, gracefully emerging from the center of the group.
She wore a delicate white cardigan, her long hair draped softly over her shoulders. With no makeup on, she looked exceptionally pale and incredibly fragile.
Her weak, sorrow-filled eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
Looking every bit the terrified, pitiful victim, she bit her bottom lip, resembling a delicate flower that had just been ruthlessly ravaged by a storm.
She looked at Sienna, her voice soft, trembling, and laced with just the right amount of innocent confusion.
“Ms. Sloan… it’s so late. Why are you sneaking into the Manor’s backyard, squatting alone in the woods, digging up dirt and taking pictures?…What exactly are you doing p>
A dead silence instantly swallowed the woods, the air growing so oppressive it was almost suffocating.
Dozens of hostile glares nailed Sienna to the spot like physical daggers.
Questioning, disgusted, probing—they trapped her completely, leaving no room for escape.
Sienna was still holding her phone up.
The crucial photo she had painstakingly framed on the screen had ultimately failed to save.
Staring at Celeste’s sickeningly artificial, delicate face, a cold dread crept up Sienna’s spine as the realization hit her.
She had been so incredibly careful, yet she had still walked right into Celeste’s meticulously laid trap.
Helena was the first to break the silence, a harsh, undisguised scoff erupting from her nose.
“Hah, when Celeste warned us earlier, I actually didn’t believe her. She told me that with so many people visiting lately, some individuals with ulterior motives might sneak into the Manor.
At first, I thought, this is the Sterling estate—who would be stupid enough to try something here?
But looking at this now, well, I guess I’ve truly seen it all p>
She looked Sienna up and down, her judgmental gaze sweeping from the phone in Sienna’s hand to the evidence kit at her feet. She looked at Sienna as if she were a piece of rotting garbage.
“Sienna, you are Jarred’s ex-wife after all. Why are you sneaking into someone else’s home in the dead of night to do such shady things? What kind of pralicious scheme are you brewing now p>
Facing the overwhelming hostility of the entire crowd, Sienna didn’t display an ounce of panic.
Her inherent pride and independence absolutely refused to let her cower or show weakness.
She slowly stood up, facing their scrutinizing glares head-on. Her expression remained perfectly calm, her voice cold and unshakeably steady.
“I haven’t been sneaking around doing anything shady. I came here to find the truth behind how his grandfather was injured p>
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally landing on Celeste’s pale face, emphasizing every single word.
“The blood left at the bottom of the stairs the day he fell? I’ve already had it professionally tested. The lab results confirm it was absolutely not his blood it was faked using pig’s blood.
Dr. Clayton can also testify to this. The small amount of his actual blood found by the stairs doesn’t even come close to the volume expected from a tumbling fall p>
Dr. Clayton nodded without hesitation. “That’s correct p>
As soon as the words left his mouth, low murmurs erupted through the crowd.
Sienna stood tall, neither haughty nor humble. “This entire thing is a vicious scheme orchestrated by Celeste. She deliberately staged the scene to make it look like an accidental fall.
But the truth is, he never fell down those stairs at all. He was intentionally pushed, and the actual crime scene is right here in these woods p>
The atmosphere instantly boiled over into absolute chaos.
Celeste’s eyes immediately reddened.
She tilted her head slightly, looking up at Jarred standing beside her.
The angle was flawlessly calculated—allowing him to see the tearful glint in her eyes, her tightly bitten lower lip, and her faintly trembling chin.
She didn’t utter a single word, but those tear-filled eyes conveyed a thousand agonizing grievances.
It was as if she were screaming that Sienna was framing her yet again, and that she was once again the innocent victim being bullied.