Chapter 299

"That's him!" The officer's voice cut through the tense silence. "The man sitting with Miss Evelyn is Daniel Carter—the same man we arrested for attempted assault."

The officer turned sharply toward Evelyn, his gaze unyielding. "Miss Whitmore, care to explain?"

Evelyn's face remained impassive, though the faintest twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed her irritation. Clever. They’ve really gone all out to frame me. First, Nathaniel’s calculated questioning—masked as casual conversation—had laid the groundwork for motive. Now, this damning video.

Amelia, trembling violently, collapsed into Nathaniel’s arms the moment she recognized her attacker on screen. "Nathaniel, that’s him! He—he tore my clothes—he tried to—"

A dangerous glint flashed in Nathaniel’s eyes at the thought of Amelia—his most precious person—being violated. He pulled her closer, his voice low and soothing. "Shh. I’m here. No one will ever touch you again."

But Amelia wasn’t just afraid of her assailant. She couldn’t fathom why Evelyn would orchestrate such cruelty. "Nathaniel… why would Evelyn do this? I only ever wanted to be her friend…"

Nathaniel stroked her hair gently. "Sweetheart, haven’t you heard the fable about the wolf in sheep’s clothing? Not everyone deserves your kindness."

To the world, Nathaniel was the epitome of grace—polished, composed, effortlessly charming. But beneath that veneer lay a man of ice, his smiles never reaching his eyes. Amelia was the sole exception. The warmth in his gaze now was real, his worry palpable as he murmured, "Don’t cry. As long as I’m here, no one will harm you."

"Nathaniel…" Amelia’s sobs gradually subsided under his quiet reassurances.

Benjamin, who had been silent until now, finally snapped. He knew better than to interrupt when Nathaniel was handling things, but the evidence against Evelyn was too blatant to ignore.

Disgust and fury burned in his eyes as he stormed toward Evelyn. "How could you? I defended you! I thought you were different! Why would you hurt Amelia? You’re a woman—how could you do this to another woman?"

Evelyn met his rage with cool detachment. Arguing now would be pointless.

Gabrielle tugged Benjamin back with a sigh. "I warned you, Benjamin. Evelyn’s always been a master at deception. At least now you see the truth."

Then, her gaze slid to Nathaniel, who still sat motionless, his expression unreadable. Internally, she was smug—vindicated. Outwardly, she shook her head in feigned disappointment. "You too, Nathaniel. You fell for her innocent act. Thank goodness this case exposed her. Who knows how long she would’ve fooled everyone?"

Amelia wiped her tears and approached Nathaniel, her voice trembling. "Nathaniel… please don’t be angry. Maybe Evelyn didn’t mean for things to go this far…"