Chapter 503: The Process of the Fall

Chapter 503: Chapter 503: The Process of the Fall

’What if my sister throws me under the bus for everything?’

’If she tells them everything, I’ll have no defense. Will she get a reduced sentence then?’

The more he thought about it, the more panicked Mr. Donovan became. He kept looking back more and more frequently, and his struggles grew more violent.

If the officers beside him hadn’t been prepared, and if Mr. Donovan hadn’t been so out of shape from a sedentary lifestyle—leaving his limbs weak and limp—he might have actually broken free.

They could only hustle him into the interrogation room as quickly as possible, ignore his shouting, walk out, and shut the door.

Meanwhile, no sooner had Mrs. Donovan been escorted into another interrogation room than Evan Keller walked in with his team and sat down across from her.

"Mrs. Donovan, confess and you’ll be treated with leniency. Resist, and you’ll face the full force of the law.

Your only option right now is to tell us everything from beginning to end and cooperate honestly with the investigation. If you do, there’s still a chance for a reduced sentence. But if we have to find everything out for ourselves, it will be too late." Evan Keller folded his hands on the table, his gaze as sharp and piercing as a knife, making Mrs. Donovan squirm in her seat.

’Should I talk? Or should I keep quiet?’ Mrs. Donovan was conflicted.

’If I talk, I’ll definitely go to jail, and it might even affect my daughter. But if I don’t, these cops will surely find a way to figure it out, and I’ll probably end up in jail anyway.’

’It seems like no matter what, confessing is my only option.’

’Maybe talking isn’t such a bad idea.’

’Besides, even if I don’t say anything, when this cop goes to question my brother, that coward will definitely pin everything on me.’

’In that case, I might as well speak up first and take control of the narrative!’

Watching the series of expressions cross Mrs. Donovan’s face, which finally settled into a look of determination, Evan Keller felt a sense of relief. ’Got her!’

Mrs. Donovan took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. After composing herself, she began to speak. "The account you found belonged to my late cousin.

My cousin was an orphan, and my father raised him from a young age, so he was very close to our family. But he suffered from a mental illness and would often have episodes and harm himself. He opened that account before his condition worsened."

Hearing this, Evan Keller tapped the table and posed a question. "Your cousin is deceased. Wasn’t his account closed?"

Mrs. Donovan shook her head. "When my cousin died, my father was getting old, so he left everything for us to handle.

But at the time, my brother had already developed a gambling addiction. He had lost all his money, and his wife had left him. He and his child were completely dependent on money my father sent them. The day before we were supposed to close the account, he suddenly told me he had some business back in the city and would just take care of closing the account himself to save a trip the next day."

Mrs. Donovan had thought it made sense at the time.

Having lost the boy he raised as his own son—an old man burying someone so young—Old Man Donovan couldn’t bear the grief and fainted on the spot.

Her father was old, and as his daughter, Mrs. Donovan was worried about him. So when her older brother said he had to go back to the city anyway, it seemed convenient for him to close the account at the same time.

Mrs. Donovan figured that this way, the matter would be handled, and she wouldn’t have to leave her father’s side. So, she agreed.

That evening, Mr. Donovan returned with the account closure certificate.

But he only waved it at Mrs. Donovan from a distance to show the job was done. She never actually saw the certificate itself.

About a month after her cousin’s death, Mrs. Donovan suddenly noticed that her brother’s financial situation seemed to have improved.

The most obvious signs were that his clothes became more stylish, and he started paying more attention to his appearance. He also got the latest model phone and sent his two children to study abroad.

Naturally, such changes did not escape Mrs. Donovan’s notice.

Once she realized something was off, Mrs. Donovan started keeping a close eye on her brother.

At first, she thought he might have won the lottery or had a big win from gambling.

Later, she found out that wasn’t it. But before she could figure out what was going on, she had a "hero saves the damsel" moment.

Mrs. Donovan was distracted thinking about Mr. Donovan’s situation and missed a step while going down the stairs, nearly tumbling down.

The staircase was quite high. A fall from there would, at best, result in broken bones and torn ligaments; at worst, she could have broken her neck and died on the spot.

But just in the nick of time, a young man wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her and preventing the fall.

To thank him for his help, the two exchanged WhatsApp contacts.

Mrs. Donovan offered to treat the man to dinner to express her gratitude, but he declined, saying he didn’t have time. He was trying to hit his performance targets, and if he failed, his compensation would be reduced.

Naturally, the conversation shifted to the man’s work, and Mrs. Donovan learned that he managed a team of live streamers.

At first, Mrs. Donovan was wary, afraid it might be a scam targeting her. But one day, out of sheer boredom and on a whim, she found her way into his live stream and ended up getting completely hooked.

It started with just browsing, then sending small gifts worth a few dimes or a dollar. It really didn’t seem like a big deal, so Mrs. Donovan didn’t think much of it.

But gradually, more and more young, handsome streamers appeared in the live streams, with ever-increasing ways to charm the audience.

On top of that, there were other viewers, one making a huge donation after another.

Watching the handsome young streamers fawn over the other viewers, Mrs. Donovan couldn’t control her own competitive streak, and the gifts she sent became more and more expensive.

In the beginning, the man who had caught her on the stairs would even send her WhatsApp messages, telling her it was all fake and not to get too invested or let it affect her real life.

But over time, he stopped trying to persuade her. Instead, he began to hint, intentionally or not, about how difficult his situation was, and how his competitors had just recruited several promising new streamers.

Gradually, Mrs. Donovan’s donations grew larger and larger until she had secured the number one spot on the leaderboard.

Every time she entered a live stream, she was met with a flood of adoration and praise. Slowly, Mrs. Donovan became addicted to it, eventually throwing in the money she had been saving for her daughter.

When that wasn’t enough, she started borrowing.

By the time she came to her senses, not only were all her savings gone, but she was also drowning in debt.

Eventually, backed into a corner by debt collectors, Mrs. Donovan had no choice but to swallow her pride and go to her older brother to borrow money.

It was only then that she discovered her entire ordeal was intimately connected to her brother.

"Someone had approached him, saying they had a way for him to make enough money to squander and live a life of extravagant luxury.

He believed them, and he walked right into their trap, becoming a pawn in their game."