"If I told you that Olivia was lying, would you believe me? If I said that I don't know how she hurt her
arm, and that she never came to my room, would be you believe me? In fact, would you believe
anything I said?" Rachel looked at Victor challengingly.
Her tone was level and calm, as if she didn't care whether he chose to believe her or not.Victor just
looked at her and said nothing.It came as no surprise to Rachel when Victor remained silent; she'd
been expecting it.But now that she'd accused Olivia of lying, she had to prove it.She'd always lived by
those morals; keep quiet when necessary, or defend herself until she could prove she was right.
"Olivia, could you tell me when you came to my room and offered me something to eat? Or better yet,
what did you offer me?" Rachel asked with a pleasant smile.
Olivia averted her eyes, choosing instead to stare at a point just past Rachel.
"Well…" she started, "I came to your room about an hour ago.I brought you a glass of milk with
cinnamon and honey in it."
"And where is the milk now?" Rachel asked.
"It… It's…" Olivia suddenly lost her nerve and ability to lie.
She'd already planned out how she was going to contradict anything Rachel said, so she couldn't
understand why she was suddenly struggling to speak.
"You accused me of throwing a vase at you.Can you tell me how big the vase was? Where I got it
from? How hard I threw it? Was it underhand or overhead?"
"It… It was a small vase.And you got it from… I don't know…"
Olivia gave up trying to lie her way through Rachel's questions and turned to Victor with a pitiful
expression.
"Mr.Sullivan, I don't know why Rachel is asking me these questions.But do you think it's really
necessary? Surely you don't think I would have cut my own arm?" Victor kept his expression perfectly
neutral.
"Answer her questions," he said blandly.
"Wh-? Mr.Sullivan?"
Olivia's eyes widened in disbelief.She stared at Victor like he'd suddenly turned a different color.
Rachel stayed quiet and watched the two of them.She was beginning to think her previous
assumptions were right; perhaps there was something wrong with Victor's brain.
Olivia started to cave under the assault of Victor's cold stare.
Tears sprung to her eyes as all the color drained from her face.
"I…" she said in a trembling voice.
"I can't remember."
"That's alright.Let me ask you this one last question, just to make things easier," Rachel said with a
triumphant smile.
"Was there water in the vase when I threw it at you?"
Olivia's heart was pounding so fiercely in her chest that she could barely concentrate.
Without thinking, she answered, "Yes.There was water in it."
"Strange," Rachel said as if she were perturbed.
"What… What's strange?" Olivia said, still in a panicked daze.
"I just find it strange that your clothes somehow didn't get wet during the whole ordeal.I mean, if one of
the shards of the vase could gash your arm when it shattered against the wall, then how is it that you
managed to stay dry? Surely you'd have been soaked?"
Rachel's mellow, level voice got louder and louder as she spoke.
Olivia was already panicking so badly from the guilt at being found out that the questions threw her
totally off guard.
"I… I… I changed my clothes afterwards," she blurted out, not even pausing to consider her words.
She tried to take a step back, realizing that she might be in real danger now.
But she ended up stepping on herself and stumbling.
"Really? If you changed your clothes, then why is your sleeve torn?"
Rachel nodded towards the clothing she was currently wearing.
When Olivia had first told the story, she'd vividly described how a piece of broken vase had cut her arm,
and how much she'd bled as a result.
It was understandable that the clothes she'd been wearing then were torn.
But it made no sense that the clothing she was wearing now also had a torn sleeve that was covered in
blood if she really did change her clothes.
Olivia realized too late that she'd fallen in the trap that Rachel had so cleverly laid out for her.She
hadn't even seen it coming.Her face blanched of color, making her look as though she was going to
pass out at any given second.She fell to her knees in front of Victor, whimpering as she said,
"Mr.Sullivan, I didn't…"
"Have you finished with your questions?" Victor asked Rachel, totally ignoring Olivia's feeble words.
"I have," Rachel said and tilted her head in question.
It was strange that Victor would ask that.
Victor ignored her look and left the room.
She could hear him climbing the stairs to the next floor.
Rachel stared down at Olivia in confusion, while Olivia had her eyes fixed on the floor.
Olivia was the first one to come back to her senses.
She shook her head, and a slow, victorious smile started spreading over her face.
She was just about to get to her feet when two men dressed in black marched into the living room.
They grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her back down to the ground.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Olivia cried, trying to struggle against their firm grips.
Ivan walked up to Rachel and stood calmly at her side.
He held out an assortment of documents to her, then nodded and said, "Miss Bennet, these are the
details to Olivia's bank account.Since becoming the head housekeeper, she has embezzled 50, 000
dollars from its daily earnings.The money is now yours, you are free to do with it as you will.Mr.Sullivan
also asked me to tell you that you may punish Olivia as you see fit.You have been granted full
permission to do whatever you want to her."
Rachel listened to Ivan, then looked down at the papers he was holding out her.
She wasn't stupid, she knew what Victor was playing at.
He already knew all the awful things Olivia had done.He'd been waiting for a chance to get rid of her;
and that chance had come in the form of Rachel.He would be blameless in this sense, and all the
weight of guilt and responsibility would be on Rachel.
Rachel's mouth twitched in irritation.
Victor really was a profiteer.
Olivia burst into tears as reality finally came crashing down on her.
Victor had seen through her lies and tricks long ago, and it had just been a matter of time before she
was punished.
She turned to Rachel and knelt in front of her.
She could barely speak through her sobs as she begged, "Miss Bennet, please.Please, let me go.I'm
sorry.I'm sorry for everything.I'll do whatever you say.Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do
it.Please don't report me for embezzlement.I have children and parents to support.My grandmother…
She's at home, relying on me."
"Who said I was going to report you?"
Rachel cut into her pitiful tirade.She didn't look at Olivia.She turned to the bodyguards and said, "Throw
her out of the Sue Garden.I don't want to see her here again.Starting now, she is forbidden from setting
foot on the property!"
While she was speaking, Rachel opened her hand and dropped something on the floor.
No one noticed it; only Olivia.
Olivia's eyes widened and she grabbed the item without anyone seeing.
Then she kowtowed to Rachel, pressing her hands and forehead flat on the ground.
"Miss Bennet… Thank you, thank you so much…"
The bodyguards hauled Olivia to her feet and dragged her out of the Sue Garden.
Ivan watched the display, frowning disapprovingly at Rachel's actions.
"Miss Bennet, are you really going to let her get away with embezzlement? The details on the account
are proof enough of her actions."
Rachel turned to look at Ivan with a sweet smile on her face.
"Perhaps it's you who doesn't want to let her get away with it? I thought you just said that Victor gave
me free rein to handle this as I saw fit?"
"I'm surprised, that's all.I thought you'd give her a heavier punishment than just being thrown out the
Sue Garden," Ivan said pleasantly.
"Actually… You're right. I want to do a little more than just kicking her out the Sue Garden."
Rachel turned to Ivan with an impish smile.
"Ivan, tell me, if she were to pay back every cent that she has stolen, and then get arrested, how long
would her sentence be?"
Ivan blinked in surprise as he considered her question.
After a moment of silence he said, "I'm not sure. It's not set in stone, but I think the sentencing ranges
from 3 months to a year."
"Three months is definitely not enough."
Rachel's eyes glittered with malice, and the impish grin on her face turned nasty.
"Excuse me?"
Iyan turned to her, his eyes begging her for an explanation.
"Ivan, would you be so kind as to call the police and tell them,"she paused dramatically, "that there has
been a case of theft in the Sue Garden."
"Pardon me? Theft?"Rachel nodded solemnly.
"The matching earring of the one I'm currently wearing is missing.I dropped it on the ground just now
when I was dealing with Olivia, and I can't seem to find it."
She reached up and removed the earring in her left ear.She laid it in her palm and handed it to Ivan.
"This single earring is worth about 200, 000 dollars.How many years do you think the person who stole
it would get if they were caught?"
Before Ivan even had a chance to answer, Rachel turned around and left.She was well aware that the
sentence for stealing an item of such value was somewhere between 3 to 10 years.
No more, and no less.
There was no way Rachel would have just accidently lost something that valuable.
There was also no way that it would have fallen out of her ear so easily.
Rachel had planned this.She'd deliberately dropped the earring so Olivia would steal it.
Ivan could do nothing but stare down at the earring in shock when he realized this.
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