Chapter 65

Caleb's sudden appearance startled Aurora, her face betraying a flash of disappointment.

Was Jasper not coming after all?

She and her assistant had orchestrated this scene,hoping to convince Jasper of her innocence in the attack on Evelina. She feared that without his belief, Jasper would never forgive her.

Aurora, with the theatricality honed over the years within the Marsh family, faced Caleb's accusations in silence.

Leaning weakly against the bedpost, she occasionally coughed and tears rolled down her cheeks without a sound. Beside her, the kneeling assistant was desperate to keep their planned deception from unraveling.

She quickly grabbed Caleb's sleeve, crying.She said,"Mr. Quinn, please, the fault is mine alone. I acted without Miss Marsh's knowledge. Blame me, and me alone, just please don't turn me over to Mr. Russell..."

"So, you're terrified of me, yet you still chose to strike at someone under the protection of the Russell family?" Jasper entered, pinpointing the contradiction in her plea.

At his words, the assistant shook with genuine fear.

Caught off-guard, she momentarily forgot the lines she had rehearsed.

Aurora said, "You need to face Jasper and accept responsibility for your actions. I'm not covering for you."

Aurora's words made the assistant regain some poise.

Still, the assistant's voice shook as she said, "I admit, it was my doing. I thought a minor scare for Evelina wouldn't draw attention. I didn't foresee such severe consequences..."

Jasper was quickly losing his temper with the excuses.

His only concern was clear. "Tell me, who put you up to this?"

"No one instructed me!" The assistant's voice was firm,her demeanor fraught with fear.

Jasper sensed her resistance to the truth. He signaled someone off to the side. "Give her a taste of her own medicine."

At his command, a formidable bodyguard from the Russell family stepped inside.

The assistant, now visibly shaken, clutched at Aurora's gown. "Please, Miss Marsh, protect me!"

Caleb, witnessing the scene, directed his fury towards Aurora. "So it was your doing! What else do you have to say for yourself?" Aurora, seeming resigned, merely said, "I... have nothing to say." There was not a trace of guilt or unease on her face.

Caleb was taken aback by this development.

Was it possible they had accused the wrong person?He glanced at Jasper, searching for clues in his demeanor.

The bodyguard attempted to detain the assistant,who resisted fiercely, clinging to Aurora.

Aurora's voice cut through the tension, exclaiming,"Enough!"

She stooped to her assistant's level, her tone stern yet protective. "You must own up to your actions. It's time to tell Jasper everything."

The assistant wavered, then firmly shook her head."No, Miss Marsh, I can't reveal it. My family will suffer if I do..."

In a moment of desperation, she wrenched herself free from the bodyguard and charged towards the room's cabinet.

Her head collided with its sharp edge, and she collapsed as blood began to pour from the wound.

Aurora was horrified. "What have you done? Why would you do this?"

Frantically, she grabbed a cloth and pressed it against the assistant's head to stem the bleeding,crying out for help. "Doctor! We need a doctor here immediately!"

Aurora called out repeatedly without a response,then pleaded with Jasper, "Jasper, please,help her.We can sort everything else out later, just save her first."

Jasper's expression remained stoic.

In a burst of desperation, Aurora shouted, "It was me,I ordered her to do it! I'll make it right with Evelina,just save her now!"

With a nod from Jasper, the bodyguard stepped aside, allowing a doctor to rush in and attend to the at most assistant.

As the assistant was being carried away, her grasp loosened, dropping a pink hairpin.

Aurora snatched it up, holding it delicately. "This belongs to her sister. They lost their parents, and she's all she has left." Meanwhile, Jasper was already on the phone,instructing his family's investigators in lreah to look into the assistant's sister's situation.

Returning to the room, he found Aurora slumped by the bed, her gaze lost on the bloodied cabinet."Jasper, loving you was my biggest mistake..."