The video stopped at this point, and a cop said with a stern face:
âYep, thatâs the guy! That dude chatting with Elinor is the same jerk, Zachary, who tried to attack Ms.
Howard last night!â
Then the cop turned and looked at Elinor, grilling her: âElinor, have you got anything to say now?â
Elinor was stunned and silent, her lips quivering slightly. Wow, that was something! The person trying to frame her had this all figured out!
Balfour was one sharp cookie; he started with a string of seemingly harmless questions, but every single one of them had a purpose: to make her motive seem plausible, hinting that she committed the crime out of jealousy, and then pulling out the evidence.
At this moment, Patricia saw that bad guy who almost hurt her on TV and flung herself into Balfourâs arms, shivering with fear, her voice choked with tears.
âBro, thatâs him. He was the one who tore at my clothes; he wanted toâ¦â
Thinking of Patricia, whom he had cherished and protected since they were kids, Balfourâs eyes flashed with anger. He gently comforted his frightened sister.
âDonât worry, itâs all over now! Iâm here; no one will dare to mess with you!â
Patricia was not only scared but also deeply hurt. âBro, why did this happen? Why would Elinor want to hurt me? I really wanted to be friends with her.â
Balfour gently stroked Patriciaâs hair and said softly, âYou canât always judge a book by its cover. You need to be more guarded from now on, okay? Some people just arenât worth it.â
Balfour appeared gentle, but in reality, he was quite cold.
To others, he was polite and wellâmannered because of his upbringing and high standards for himself.
But in reality, he was often expressionless.
To Patricia, Balfourâs eyes were filled with real tenderness; he was always patient, comforting her, âItâs okay, donât cry; Iâm here; no one can hurt you.â
âBroâ¦â Patricia gradually calmed down under Balfourâs comforting words.
Bryan, who was standing by the side, hadnât spoken a word from the start. With his brother Balfour there, he didnât need to.
When he saw the irrefutable evidence that Elinor was the one who hired someone to hurt his sister, Bryan lost control. He looked at Elinor with anger and disappointment, approached her, and pointed at her, saying:
âElinor, how could you do such a wicked thing? I thought you were a good person; I even defended you! How dare you hurt my sister? Youâre a girl too; how could you?â
Elinor lifted her eyes to look at the resentful Bryan. Her gaze was indifferent and cold; she didnât even want to argue.
Haillie stepped forward, pulling Bryan back and urging him to calm down. Then she sighed and said, âBryan, havenât I told you before? Sheâs cunning, not a good person. But you just wouldnât listen; you always believed in her. Well, better late than never to see her true colors.â
After saying this, Haillie turned to look at Theo, who was still silent. She felt a sense of satisfaction but pretended to be helpless, shaking her head and saying, âTheo, youâre the same, always fooled by Elinorâs fake innocence. Thankfully, Patriciaâs brother helped uncover the truth this time; otherwise, who knows how long you would have been left in the dark?â
Patricia got up from her brotherâs arms, turned her head, and looked at the man sitting in the chair, his face serious and silent.
She wiped her tears and walked over to him, whispering comfortingly. âTheo, donât be mad; Elinor might have just been confused.â