Chapter 374: Chapter 374

“I didn’t say anything about you being the murderer, Arnaud. Why are you getting so nervous, huh?” Jefferson snapped at him angrily.

“I’m not nervous.” Arnaud leaned lazily against the couch as he continued, “I just don’t appreciate you glaring daggers at me like that. You’re looking at me like I’m the murderer.”

Boniel cut them off, “That’s enough! I don’t want to hear another word from you two until the doctor arrives!”

He then turned toward Rayna, who was somewhat pale from fear, and added, “You look terrified. How about I have the housekeeper clean up your bedroom so you can get some rest upstairs?”

Rayna shook her head and politely declined his offer, “Thank you very much, Old Mr. Terblanc, but I’d prefer to stay here with you guys.”

Boniel said nothing further after that.

About ten minutes later, the doctor finally arrived. He was going to greet Boniel upon entering the living room, but Boniel motioned for him to examine the body upstairs first.

The doctor nodded and went upstairs while everyone else continued to wait in the living room.

About five minutes later, the doctor came back downstairs and said with a solemn expression, “The gown was coated with a huge amount of very deadly poison. It enters a person’s body upon contact and spreads rapidly throughout the entire body, resulting in an agonizing death within ten seconds.”

Boniel turned toward Rayna and asked, “Did you wear that gown today?”

“I never wore it again after changing out of it last night. It was already noon by the time I woke up today, so I brushed my teeth and went downstairs for lunch. After that, Calbert and I went to see you in the study. It was three in the afternoon when we returned to the bedroom. I then took a nap and woke up at half past seven. Calbert and I then came downstairs for dinner,”

Rayna explained in detail.

Boniel summoned the housekeeper and asked her, “Were you and Martha the ones in charge of cleaning Ms. Garland’s bedroom today?”

“Yes, that’s right. We entered Ms. Garland’s room to clean it shortly after she came out at noon. We did it a second time when she went downstairs for dinner,” the housekeeper replied with her head held low.

“Summon all the housekeepers that have been to the second floor today!” Boniel ordered sternly.

Soon, all eight housekeepers were lined up in front of him.

They were all able to state their reason for being on the second floor, and there were no surveillance cameras on that floor, so no one knew who the murderer was.

Infuriated and frustrated, Boniel glared viciously at the housekeepers as he yelled, “You all sure are bold for trying to take my daughter-in-law’s life in my house!”

Rayna arched an eyebrow in surprise when she heard that.

Huh... I remember him complaining a lot about me yesterday, so why is he suddenly calling me his daughter-in-law now?

The housekeepers panicked and claimed that they were innocent.

However, Boniel said coldly, “All of you claim to be innocent, and yet, you’ve all been to the second floor within that timeframe.

Since you’re all suspects, I should just have you all sent to prison. I will not allow anyone to harm my daughter-in-law, and I will do anything it takes to make sure of that!”

“Dad, these housekeepers have been serving our family for eight years. People are going to accuse us of abusing our housekeepers if you send them all to prison,” Arnaud reminded him.

“Arnaud, if I recall, a housekeeper once dirtied your suit jacket by accident. You broke both her legs and fired her on the spot.

Doesn’t that count as abuse as well? What happened today is a lot more serious. Someone coated my girlfriend’s gown with a deadly poison. Why are you trying to defend them?” Jefferson asked calmly.

Arnaud turned to look at him as he replied, “I was going to wear that suit to pay my respects to my late mother. That housekeeper had the audacity to insult my mother after dirtying my suit. I caught her in the act, so I had found solid evidence before punishing her. To send all these housekeepers to prison without knowing identifying the murderer will ruin our family reputation.”

He then shifted his gaze toward Rayna as he continued, “Besides, the murderer might not even be a housekeeper. For all we know, someone might have orchestrated this whole incident so she could marry into our family.”

“Watch your tongue, Arnaud! Belle is not as evil as you make her out to be! She only agreed to come home with me after I begged her for a really long time!” Jefferson yelled angrily.

Arnaud flashed him a faint smile as he said, “Yeah, she came back with you to help you become an heir. If that happens, she will automatically become a member of the upper class in Yartran.”

Infuriated, Jefferson was about to lunge at Arnaud, but Rayna stopped him by grabbing his arm.

She was about to say something when Boniel smashed the coffee table in front of them.

“Why must you two fight all the time? What will it take for you two to stop fighting, huh? Have we not embarrassed ourselves enough?” he yelled with a stern look on his face.

Both Jefferson and Arnaud went silent after that.

Rayna waited for a bit to make sure Boniel was done talking before saying, “This incident has put us all in a bad mood. Since we can’t identify the murderer, I think we should just forget about it. Mr. Arnaud is right. To send all these housekeepers to prison without evidence would only ruin the Terblanc family’s reputation. Besides, you could just fire them if you don’t trust them. What do you think of my suggestion, Old Mr. Terblanc?”

“You want to just let this incident slide?” Boniel asked with a frown.

“Yes!” Rayna flashed him a smile as she continued, “I’m perfectly fine, so I’ll just be more careful from now on! I just feel bad for the poor housekeeper who died because of me.”

Since Rayna had decided not to pursue the matter, Boniel waved his hand and said, “All right. I’ll have these housekeepers fired, then. Also, send one hundred thousand to Martha’s family as compensation.”

The housekeepers who were fired quickly packed their belongings and left together with the doctor.

Feeling exhausted after such a stressful incident, Boniel went up to the second floor. On his way up the stairs, he turned toward Arnaud and said, “Come see me in the study, Cyrus. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Coming, Dad,” Arnaud replied as he followed Boniel upstairs.

Fearing that Rayna would be hungry, Jefferson dragged her into the dining hall for a meal. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find the murderer who nearly killed you and your babies.”

Rayna shook her head. “It’s not your fault. That murderer was way too smart.”

I have no enemies here, and this incident happened during my stay in the Terblanc residence, so it must’ve been Arnaud. I can’t believe he’s so eager to kill me that he’d make his move on my second day here. Thank goodness I chose not to wear that gown again because it was too heavy. Otherwise...

Rayna glanced at the stairs and said solemnly, “Arnaud sure is a smart one. He mentioned his late mother the moment you said that. Boniel knows how his mother died, so he must feel guilty about it. I bet he’ll ask Boniel for some money or resources after following him into the study.”

“I should’ve been more careful,” Jefferson mumbled.

I was so focused on exposing Arnaud’s true intentions, but I ended up walking right into his trap instead!

Rayna pursed her lips and comforted him with a smile, “That’s fine. We still have plenty of time to deal with him. Your father may feel guilty about Arnaud’s mother, but you’re the one he loves most. He could’ve torn up the documents you sent and just reprimanded Arnaud in private, but he chose to hit Arnaud in front of you and gave you a shot at becoming the heir. That means he’s taking your side.”

The oil painting in the study was probably the best proof of that.

Jefferson nodded with a determined look in his eyes. “Yes, you’re right. We still have plenty of time.”

Given my condition, I probably wouldn’t last more than a few months. Even so, I’ll be satisfied as long as Rayna remains by my side.