Winning Her Heart Back

 An Act

Emelie laughed softly as if she had just heard something amusing.

"I've wrongly accused him? Mr. Swanson, when Charles played the recording of him interrogating my mother in the hospital about the account book, you must have heard it too, right? Seeing how he had practically driven my mother to her death, how exactly have I misjudged him?"

Bryan countered her words with his own question. 'Ms. Hoven, did you ever wonder why that recording even exists in the first place?"Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

Emelie paused. She did not quite understand. "What do you mean?"

Bryan leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table as he continued, "That recording was made with a bug that Charles had planted. Why do you think he bugged Mrs. Hoven's ward?'

A flicker of realization crossed Emelie's eyes.

Bryan pressed on with a third question. "If Charles had complete trust in Mr. Middleton, that he wouldn't protect you or Mrs. Hoven, then he wouldn't need to bug the room. He could simply wait for Mr. Middleton to report the outcome of his questioning. So, why did he secretly bug the room?"

Emelie's fingers tapped the table lightly. Her expression was unreadable. "Mr. Swanson, if you have something to say, just say it. I'm not fond of being questioned."

"That's because, at the time, although the Middleton, Davis, Swanson, and Collins families were allied, their goals were not aligned. Charles wanted to eliminate all threats by any means necessary, whereas Mr. Middleton wanted to protect you. Because of this, Charles didn't trust Mr. Middleton and installed the bug to make his judgment."

Bryan locked eyes with her. 'Ms. Hoven, do you think Mr. Middleton was unaware of the bug's presence? I apologize. I couldn't resist another question."

The person who wanted to eliminate all threats might not have been Charles. It could have been Beathan. Emelie met his gaze and said in a cold, stern tone, "Mr. Swanson, are you suggesting that William's intense questioning of my mother about the account book was just an act for your benefit?"

"Do you think that's impossible?'

Bryan replied, 'Mrs. Hoven's hospital room was under Mr. Middleton's control. Ms. Hoven, you were his chief secretary, and you know better than anyone how capable he is. How could he not know about a bug being planted right under his nose?

"He might have known, which is why he staged the entire thing."

Emelie's hand tightened around her teacup. She gripped it so tightly that her fingers turned white.

Her voice was taut as she asked in return, "You said he might have known, not that he was certain. Given how obsessed he was with the account book, why couldn't he have genuinely wanted to force its location out of her?"

"And acting?" She let out a cold laugh. "My mother suffered a heart attack from his interrogation, ended up in emergency care, and fell into a deep coma. How could that be an act?'

Bryan lowered his head and picked up the teapot. Then, he poured her another cup of tea.

The tea was clear, with a strong, fragrant aroma.

He said, "I once had a conversation with Mr. Middleton.

"At the time, Charles was advocating for eliminating all threats, but I could tell that Mr. Middleton wanted to protect you. Since we had worked together for a time and because of your relationship with Sam, I also wanted to protect you.

"So, I told Mr. Middleton that unless we could prove that you had no knowledge of the account book's whereabouts and that you had never seen the account book, along with evidence that you and Mr. Middleton

were deeply in love and posed no threat to the Middleton, Davis, Swanson, and Collins families, then Charles would possibly relent."

"And how could those three points be proven?" Emelie asked.

Bryan shook his head. "I didn't know how to prove them either, but then the incident with Mr. Middleton questioning Mrs. Hoven happened, and I realized that his solution was to have Mrs. Hoven personally state that you knew nothing about the account book.

"Think about it. If he pushed her to such an extreme and she still insisted that you knew nothing, then wouldn't that make it highly credible that you truly didn't know?'