Laura declared, "Exactly, my goal back then was simple: to drive a wedge between you and Jared. I knew your high-and-mighty character wouldn't associate with the person responsible for your mother's death. No matter how close you and Jared were, you would leave him."
Agnes continued, "Laura, your brilliance back then was not just making me believe Alyssa was the enemy who killed my mother. You also set me up to expose the Whitfield family's darkest secrets, leading them to think I wanted revenge on Alyssa. This way, Tim would inevitably also turn against me, cutting off my ties with Jared completely."
Laura nodded, "Everything I did back then was for Beatrice and for myself. Unfortunately, Beatrice was a lost cause. I know what you want to know most is how your mother died. Yes, I bribed Lundy. As for Alyssa, your mother's grudges with her were well-known. During the financial crisis, Starlight International Group was deeply affected. Your mother was borrowing money everywhere, and the two million was originally meant by Alyssa to humiliate your mother. Alyssa wanted your mother to ask her for help, but in the end, she deliberately smashed the two million into the charity foundation established by your mother instead of helping her. Your mother was upright and would naturally not use that money. So, I embezzled it to her personal account in your father's name to maintain the liquidity of Starlight International Group, then bribed Lundy to expose this. Your mother died thinking she was taking the blame for your father, believing the money was used by him. So, she admitted guilt and her reputation was ruined."
Agnes clenched her teeth. She had considered many possibilities, but she never thought Laura could be so vicious back then. She had caused a rift between her parents, and her mother died without knowing the truth.
Laura laughed, "Do you think this plan is silly? Because they are a couple, if they talked it over, this plan would be exposed quickly. But the human heart is the most unpredictable thing in the world. Your father never asked till his death, and your mother never told him either. Your father thought your mother was confused for a while, your mother thought your father was desperate and had no choice. Perhaps there's something you don't know. The reason your mother willingly took the blame for your father was because she felt indebted to him all her life. Your father was very good to me, but he didn't love me. It was the same with your mother. She was obedient to your father, but she didn't love him. Your father discovered this secret early on. She had a lover in her heart, and she married your father on impulse. Your father was very distressed about this. When a person is in pain, they need an outlet, and that outlet was me."
The past that Laura was bringing up was something Agnes vaguely knew but didn't fully understand.
As a child, Agnes always thought her parents were deeply in love.
Later, the appearance of Laura and Beatrice shattered Agnes' faith in the world.
Then she learned about the existence of Michael Albert. Agnes realized that her parents' relationship was much more complicated than she had imagined.
Laura's words made sense to Agnes.
Perhaps back then, her mother was still thinking about the boy from her teenage age.
Her father was in pain, so he had an affair.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Heartstrings on Fire