Chapter 187: An unconcious stranger

Dorothy furrowed her brows as she watched the scene unfold, her irritation quickly turning into fury.

"Clara, what nonsense is this?" she demanded. "What are you trying to prove by bringing a dead body here?"

Vincent, who had noticed the man lying motionless on the ground, finally found his voice again.

"Clara, just how low are you willing to stoop?" he lashed out. "Did you hurt someone just to prove your point?"

Julianna, however, remained unusually quiet. Her eyes stayed fixed on the unconscious man, and the longer she stared at him, the more uneasy she became.

Clara noticed her reaction but said nothing.

Julianna eventually tore her gaze away and turned toward Dominic.

"Clara, what kind of game are you playing now? You’ve even dragged Hannah into this mess." She paused, her expression hardening. "She’s clearly a bad influence on Hannah. Before she does something even more horrendous, the police should take her away."

Hannah, who had heard every word, let out a short, amused chuckle.

"A bad influence?" she repeated. "That’s rich, coming from you."

Julianna’s face tightened.

"What are you talking about, Hannah? I’ve never spoken badly about Clara. In fact, I’ve always supported her, even when she was in the wrong."

Hannah stared at her, almost impressed by how effortlessly she continued to lie.

If Hannah hadn’t discovered Julianna’s true nature, she might have believed that sweet, concerned act. She might have even continued helping Julianna build resentment against Clara without realizing she was being manipulated.

"Well, if you’ve always been so supportive," Hannah said, folding her arms, "then why aren’t you supporting her now?"

Julianna blinked.

"You’ve spent years making everyone believe you’re Clara’s loving and protective sister. So how is it that you know so little about her?"

Hannah tilted her head, her smile fading.

"Clara would never deliberately hurt anyone. You should know that better than anyone."

The crowd grew quiet again, sensing that Hannah’s words had struck far closer to the truth than Julianna expected.

"Or was it that you deliberately tried to make her look bad in everyone’s eyes so you could shine?" Hannah added.

Julianna froze, clearly caught off guard by the accusation.

"W-why would I do that?" she stammered. "Even Clara knows how much I’ve supported her."

She turned toward Clara, expecting her to confirm her words. Instead, Clara merely smirked.

"Well, that’s something I can agree with Julianna about," Clara said calmly.

Julianna’s smile immediately returned.

"There, you see?" she said, glancing at Hannah. "Even Clara admits that I’ve always supported her."

Hannah furrowed her brows. Nearby, even Grace and Jonathan looked confused by Clara’s response.

Clara’s smirk deepened.

"She did support me," she continued. "By making sure I did everything wrong."

The smile on Julianna’s face faltered.

Hannah’s expression brightened, and she flashed Julianna a wide, satisfied grin.

"Look at that. You’ve managed to take credit once again."

A few guests exchanged awkward glances, while Jonathan struggled to suppress a laugh. Grace, however, remained composed, though the faint amusement in her eyes was impossible to miss.

Julianna’s face tightened.

"That’s not what I meant," she said quickly. "I was only trying to—"

"To help?" Clara finished, raising a brow. "You certainly have a strange way of doing that."

Dorothy, unable to tolerate seeing her daughter humiliated any longer, stepped forward angrily.

"Clara, watch your words," she snapped. "Just because you married into the Sterling family doesn’t mean you’re one of them."

The crowd grew quiet.

Dorothy pointed accusingly at her.

"You are still a Hayes, and you should be apologizing to us for dragging our family into this disgraceful mess."

Clara slowly turned toward her, her expression becoming colder.

"Apologize?" she repeated.

"Yes," Dorothy said firmly. "You’ve embarrassed the Hayes family enough for one day."

Hannah scoffed under her breath, but Clara lifted a hand, silently stopping her from responding.

Then Clara looked directly at Dorothy.

"I’ll apologize when I have something to apologize for," she said. "But if you’re demanding an apology simply because the truth is making your daughter uncomfortable, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait."

Dorothy’s face contorted with anger, but Clara refused to give her another moment of attention.

"I’ll make the truth come out," Clara announced, her voice carrying clearly across the lawn. "And when it does, everyone will finally see who the real culprit is."

Julianna’s expression went rigid.

Although she was certain Clara couldn’t have found anything substantial, the sight of the unconscious man lying before her made her heart pound against her ribs.

Could it be—

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Clara slowly knelt beside the man and reached for the cloth covering his face.

Julianna’s breath caught.

No... No way.

Clara pulled the cover away.

Thomas’s face was revealed.

Julianna’s eyes widened, and for a moment, her entire body went completely still. The color drained from her face as she stared at the man she had believed was safely hidden away.

She found Thomas.

The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

Clara glanced up at her, watching her reaction carefully.

"Do you remember something now, Julianna?"

Julianna didn’t respond. She seemed to have forgotten how to blink, let alone speak.

Clara’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Or should I help you remember?"

That finally snapped Julianna out of her trance.

"What are you trying to say, Clara? " she demanded, forcing her voice to remain steady. "I don’t understand what this man has to do with anything."

Clara rose to her feet, her gaze never leaving Julianna’s pale face.

"Really? You looked rather familiar with him a moment ago."

"I was simply surprised," Julianna replied quickly. "Anyone would be shocked to see an unconscious stranger dragged into the middle of an event."

"An unconscious stranger?" Hannah repeated with a mocking laugh. "You recognized him before Clara even uncovered his face."

Julianna’s jaw tightened.

"You’re imagining things."

"Am I?" Hannah asked. "Then why do you look as though you’ve just seen a ghost?"

"Enough!" Julianna snapped.

But the sharpness in her voice only drew more attention to her uneasiness.

She knew she couldn’t admit anything—not here, not in front of everyone. The moment she acknowledged knowing Thomas, the questions would begin. And once the questions started, there was no telling how much Clara had already uncovered.

So Julianna forced herself to straighten her shoulders and meet Clara’s eyes.

"I don’t know who he is," she said firmly. "And whatever you’re trying to imply, you’ll have to do better than dragging an unconscious man here."