Chapter 188: The one who hired me is....her

Hannah considered Julianna’s words for a moment.

"Well, she’s not entirely wrong," she admitted. "He has been unconscious for quite a while, hasn’t he?"

She glanced at Clara, who looked equally puzzled.

There was no way Thomas was dead. Clara had made sure of that herself. But seeing him lying completely motionless, as though he had turned into a corpse, was beginning to make her wonder just how long he could remain unconscious.

"Then let’s find a way to wake him up," Clara said.

Without wasting another second, she looked around until her eyes landed on a glass of water sitting on a nearby table.

Her eyes lit up.

Before anyone could stop her, Clara hurried over, grabbed the glass, and returned to Thomas.

"Clara, what are you—"

Splash!

She threw the entire glass of water straight into his face.

"Ahh!"

Thomas jerked violently, sucking in a sharp breath as he suddenly woke from his deep slumber.

The crowd collectively gasped.

Clara calmly placed the empty glass back on the table.

"Well, now he’s awake."

Hannah stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"That was your solution?"

"It worked, didn’t it?"

"You could have shaken him!"

"I tried that earlier."

"And that didn’t work?"

"No."

Hannah shook her head, amused. "Of course. Naturally, throwing water at him was the next logical step."

Thomas coughed several times, shaking his head as he struggled to catch his breath. Water dripped from his hair and down his face as he looked around in confusion.

Then his eyes landed on Clara.

His expression instantly changed.

Clara folded her arms and stared down at him.

"Good morning, Thomas."

Thomas swallowed hard.

For a brief moment, he seriously considered closing his eyes and pretending to be unconscious again.

But one look at Clara’s expression convinced him otherwise.

Just what have I gotten myself into? he cried inwardly.

He looked like a man who had already accepted that his life was over and was simply waiting for someone to tell him how badly things were about to go.

Julianna’s face had gone pale.

"Thomas..."

The name escaped her before she could stop herself.

Several people immediately turned toward her.

Clara noticed.

So did Hannah.

Thomas looked around, taking in the dozens of eyes watching him before slowly turning his attention back to Clara.

"Are you fully awake now?" Clara asked.

Thomas nodded cautiously.

"Good."

Clara tilted her head. "Or would you like me to throw you into the pool to clear your head?"

Thomas gulped. He shook his head so quickly that water flew from his hair. "No! I’m awake. Completely awake!"

"Excellent." Clara took a step closer. "Then tell everyone who hired you."

Thomas’s face tightened.

"Or," Clara added casually, "you can take a little swim."

Thomas stared at her in horror.

"I’ll talk!"

"Clara!" Dorothy suddenly shouted. She stepped forward, furious. "Is this how you intend to make him speak? By threatening him?"

Clara slowly turned toward her.

"Well, some people only understand that kind of language." Her voice remained calm, but her eyes hardened. "Otherwise, they go around ruining other people’s lives as though it means nothing."

Dorothy’s expression changed.

Clara’s sharp gaze made her stomach churn. She opened her mouth to argue, but no words came.

Hannah folded her arms and watched with a faint smile.

Thomas, meanwhile, quietly lowered his head, apparently deciding that staying out of the women’s argument was the safest choice for his survival.

Vincent finally stepped forward.

"Clara, stop this nonsense," he warned. "You’re wasting everyone’s time. Why don’t you simply surrender? Cooperating now might help reduce your sentence."

The crowd fell silent.

Clara stared at him.

The man showed not even a trace of empathy toward the daughter he had brought into this world. Yet he stood there speaking so casually about her surrender, as though her imprisonment were already a foregone conclusion.

A quiet chuckle escaped Clara.

Vincent frowned.

"What’s so amusing?"

Clara shook her head.

"Nothing."

Then her gaze slowly shifted toward Julianna.

"Well, let’s see who actually needs to surrender."

Julianna stiffened.

Clara’s eyes remained fixed on her.

"And then we can find out exactly how many years the person responsible will be facing."

The color drained from Julianna’s face.

She looked as though she had just seen a ghost.

For the first time that evening, her carefully maintained composure began to crack.

Clara noticed every bit of it.

A faint smile touched her lips.

"Don’t worry, Julianna," she said softly. "The truth is about to speak for itself."

For several seconds, no one spoke.

The silence that followed Clara’s words was almost suffocating.

Julianna forced herself to steady her breathing. She could feel everyone’s attention shifting between her and Thomas, and with every passing second, the pressure inside her chest grew heavier.

"This is ridiculous," she finally said. "I don’t even know that man."

Thomas immediately looked at her. Their eyes met.

Julianna’s expression changed for the briefest moment.

Thomas quickly looked away.

Clara noticed.

"So you don’t know him?" she asked.

"No."

"You’re certain?"

"Of course I’m certain!"

Clara nodded slowly. "Then there shouldn’t be a problem with asking him."

Julianna’s fingers curled into her palms.

"Ask him whatever you want."

"Gladly."

Clara turned toward Thomas.

"Tell everyone what happened."

Thomas swallowed. He glanced at Julianna again before looking at the crowd.

"I..." His voice trembled. "I was hired to get a bottle of poison."

A wave of shock swept through the crowd.

"What?"

"Poison?"

"Did he just say poison?"

The police officer immediately stepped forward.

"Everyone, remain calm. Let him speak."

Clara remained silent, allowing Thomas to continue.

Thomas rubbed his wet face while trying to steady himself.

Thomas rubbed his wet face, trying to steady himself as the weight of everyone’s attention pressed down on him.

"And the person who hired me..." He hesitated for a moment. Then, slowly, he raised his trembling hand and pointed directly at Julianna. "...is this woman."

The entire venue fell silent. For a heartbeat, nobody seemed to breathe.

Julianna’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?"

Then the silence shattered.

"What did he just say?"

"Julianna hired him?"

"Are you serious?"

"I thought she was accusing Clara!"

"Then what was all of this about?"

Whispers erupted from every corner of the crowd, growing louder by the second.

Dorothy and Vincent stared at their daughter, their faces turning ghostly pale.

Julianna quickly shook her head, desperately trying to regain her composure.

"What rubbish! This man is lying. I don’t even know him!"

Thomas’s eyes widened.

"Lying?" he repeated, looking genuinely offended. "Why would I lie about something like this?"

"You’re a criminal!" Julianna snapped. "You’ll say anything to save yourself."

Thomas stared at her in disbelief.

"Excuse me? You’re the one who hired me!"

"I never did!"

"You absolutely did!"

"I have never even seen you before!"

Thomas pointed at her accusingly.

"You gave me the instructions yourself!"

Julianna’s expression stiffened.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Thomas rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"You took the bottle yourself. You told me exactly what you wanted, and you even warned me not to ask questions."

A murmur spread through the crowd.

"What do you have to say about this, Julianna?"

Dominic, who had been silently watching the entire exchange, finally spoke.

His voice was calm, but the coldness in his eyes made Julianna flinch.

"D-Dominic, don’t listen to him," she said quickly. "That man is clearly lying. Didn’t you see Clara threatening him earlier? He’s frightened and is only blaming me because he has no choice!"

Julianna tried desperately to keep her voice steady. She couldn’t let Thomas destroy the carefully crafted image she had maintained in front of everyone.

"Mom... Dad, why aren’t you saying anything?" she pleaded, turning toward her parents with tears gathering in her eyes. "I could never do something like this. This is all Clara’s doing. She’s using that man to frame me!"

Dorothy and Vincent exchanged a brief glance.

They both understood exactly what Julianna was asking of them.

They had no intention of abandoning their daughter in front of everyone.

Vincent immediately stepped forward.

"Dominic, you need to believe Julianna," he said firmly. "She isn’t someone who would stoop to something like this. I’m certain Clara is the one trying to frame her."

Dominic’s expression remained unchanged.

"You’re certain?"

Vincent hesitated at the question.

"Yes," he replied. "I know my daughter."

Dorothy quickly joined in.

"Yes, Dominic. You’ve known Julianna for far longer than you knew Clara. You know what kind of person she is. Surely you can tell she would never do something like this."

Julianna wiped away a tear.

"Exactly. I would never hurt anyone, Dominic. Why would I? I only wanted to protect my family."

Thomas scoffed.

"Protect your family?"

Everyone turned toward him.

Thomas shook his head.

"You were the one who hired me. Don’t suddenly act like some innocent saint."

Julianna glared at him.

"You’re lying!"

"Then why don’t you prove me wrong?"

Thomas pointed toward the police officer. "Let them check my phone. I have the messages, the call records, everything. If I’m lying, they’ll find out."

Julianna’s face tightened. "I never contacted you!"

"Then you won’t mind them checking, will you?"