CHAPTER 220

Leigh froze, then nodded slowly. "You have a point."

Scott had found someone to take the fall for his crime while Leigh's parents had to die without justice ever being served, and it was all because the Bakers had power and money while Leigh had no one other than her grandfather to stick up for her. She was only six when her grandfather left her, and no adult would listen to or believe what a six-year-old had to say.

If she were to sign the contract and become part of the Hart Family, she would never have to worry about getting picked on ever again, not while the Harts were a force to be reckoned with in Elsenburg.

That said, she wouldn't have agreed to Sebastian's terms had he not been a good person at the outset. If he was secretly vile, he might end up forcing her to take the blame for somebody else's crime, just as Scott had done to save himself. holds © this.

However, this was the least of her concerns right now. The only thing she cared about was getting revenge on the person who took her family away from her. If she had been ready to stake her life for this, then signing a contract with Sebastian was but a small price to pay.

Besides, even if Sebastian did force her to do anything she did not want to, she could always take her own life. She would much rather that than suffer the humiliation of being labeled a murderer even though she was completely innocent.

"Alright, then, seeing as you've agreed to the plans, let's call it a day. I'm going to need to dig up more evidence so that I can figure out the next step." Sebastian eyed Leigh seriously before adding, "By the way, it'd be wise for you to lie low for a while. Maddie's very worried about you. She's prideful and stubborn by nature, and not once has she ever asked me for a favor. For her to have come to me for

help in order to ease your burden just goes to show how much you mean to her."

At the thought of Madeline, Leigh felt a rush of warmth seized through her, and she nodded as she said, "You're right. Maddie is one of the kindest people I know, and she's my only friend too."

He smiled and made no response to this.

Shortly after Leigh left the study, Madeline knocked on the door and came in.

Sebastian looked up at her curiously and asked, "You alright?"

"I cut up some fruits for you," Madeline announced. She had cut the fruits into neat little squares and arranged them on a platter before setting the platter down on the desk. Staring at the fruit platter, Sebastian saw that she had poked toothpicks into some of the fruit slices.

He took a piece of fruit and popped it into his mouth, then nodded as he praised, "Pretty good." All of a sudden, he narrowed his eyes and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Oh, I see through your sly moves, lady. I never got such special treatment even when I was working through the night before this, but now you're treating me like a king because I agreed to help your friend out."

"That's preposterous," she countered, amused. "The housekeeper would have done the same thing too had I not beaten her to it tonight."

Leigh froze, then nodded slowly. "You have a point."

Scott had found someone to take the fall for his crime while Leigh's parents had to die without justice

ever being served, and it was all because the Bakers had power and money while Leigh had no one other than her grandfather to stick up for her. She was only six when her grandfather left her, and no adult would listen to or believe what a six-year-old had to say. "See, there's nothing special about a fruit platter that the housekeeper cuts up for you, is there? It'll just be a plain midnight snack. But when the mistress of the household does it, then it's a meal prepped with love," he argued.

Madeline gaped at him. What a load of nonsense! She could hardly believe he had said this with a straight face. Besides, she was quite sure that a midnight snack would be taken at, well—midnight!

Presently, Sebastian took another bite of fruit before looking up at her and asking, "You've gone quiet all of a sudden. What's the matter?"

"I don't know," she said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "I find it stressful talking to you. Most times you're operating on a different wavelength, leaving me speechless."

He looked like he was trying to keep his laughter at bay. "You're not so speechless now, are you?"

"Okay, can we just put the bantering aside for a bit and talk about something serious?" Madeline put up her hand as if to physically stop the witty remark she just knew was on the tip of his tongue. "About what you told Leigh... How are you so sure that you could get Scott thrown into jail?"

"Oh, ye of little faith." Sebastian raised a brow at her. "Why did you ask me to help Leigh out if you doubt my abilities?"

"I don't doubt you," Madeline corrected, shaking her head imperceptibly. "I'm just being sensible here. The incident was well over a decade ago, and there are hardly any eyewitnesses or evidence you

could use to build a case against Scott, much less pin the blame on him. I know you're really capable, but sometimes things just don't work out no matter how powerful you are, and I don't think you'd resort to fabricating evidence... would you?"

"Fabricate evidence?" This time, he actually laughed, and he looked highly entertained as he asked, "Why would I do that? What kind of person do you think I am? I'm not like Scott; I would never stoop so low. Besides, if I did anything illegal, my dad would be the first to knock some sense into me, literally!"

"Well, that's true," Madeline admitted. "I just don't see how you'd be able to find evidence on a case that is over a decade old."

He blinked and asked, "I'm assuming Leigh didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?" Madeline tipped her head to one side, looking at him curiously.

"That I've already found the man who took the fall for Scott," Sebastian explained. "His name is Roland Webbs, and apparently, he was Scott's chauffeur for a while, but he quit after his mother fell ill and needed somebody to care for her 24/7. He was running out of money, and when Scott offered to pay him handsomely for the prison gig, he agreed to it. So, Roland took the money and went to prison in Scott's place."

"Leigh didn't tell me that," Madeline said, frowning. "So you're saying that Scott paid this Roland guy to take the blame?"

"Yes," Sebastian answered with a firm nod.

She pressed further, "But Roland would have been released from prison by now, wouldn't he? Most hit-

and-run cases don't come with sixteen-year imprisonment sentences."

"Right on," he said with a smile. "The guy was released six years ago."

"It doesn't make sense then, does it?" She sounded exasperated as she went on to ask, "Wouldn't Roland have run away with the money after he was released from prison? How could you and your team track him down so easily?"

"Because Scott is an idiot!" Sebastian took another bite of fruit and added nonchalantly, "He probably thought the case ended as soon as the sentence was meted out and that he'd have nothing to worry about after that. He was especially convinced by this line of thought because Leigh's family was wiped out, and Leigh was only six when she became an orphan who was later sent to a children's home and was never heard of again. All his problems were taken care of, and he thought he'd gotten off the hook."

Madeline pondered on this and nodded. "You make a fair point. So what are you going to do next?"

He said, "The Bakers were still a prestigious family at the time Scott asked Roland to take the blame for him. He promised to pay a handsome sum as well. Judging by the number of assets Roland has at the moment, I'm guessing Scott paid him close to five million that year."

"What? Five million?" Astonished, she exclaimed, "That's a lot of money! The standard of living back then was probably not as high as today's, and if we take into account the normal inflation rate, five million was the retro equivalent of fifty million!" She shook her head in disbelief. "Now I know why the Bakers fell from grace eventually. I mean, it's hard to keep a family afloat with someone as dumb and vicious as Scott at the reins."

"Precisely! Do you see the picture now?" Sebastian grinned. "If you think about it, finding evidence against Scott isn't difficult at all. Roland was just a chauffeur whose family was struggling to make ends meet, so how would someone like him end up with tons of cash all of a sudden? I looked into it and traced the money back to Scott."

"You make it sound so easy," Madeline pointed out, her brows drawn together. "In that case, does it mean that the legal system is broken for facilitating crooked transactions like these?"

"Not really." He paused, then added, "According to my subordinates, Roland was dirt poor when he went to prison, which indicates that he had hidden the money Scott paid him, but perhaps the investigating officer could have a better job. They tried looking for evidence, but nothing came up, and they couldn't trace the accident back to Scott. Coupled with Roland's confession, I can understand why the police ended up arresting the wrong person."

Madeline probed, "Which means Roland only took the money out after he came out of prison?"

"That's right," Sebastian affirmed. "He only took out a small portion of the money to pay for his mother's medical bills, but after he was released from prison, he bought a bungalow in Elsenburg and two commercial buildings. He had about a few hundred thousand in his savings after that, and he's been living comfortably off the money since."