Chapter 481: Chapter 481

At the policeman’s agreement, Rayna called her assistant. “Ella, contact the best lawyer in Norwal City and ask him to come to the station to meet me.”

“Ms. Garland, are you okay?” Ella asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. I’ve only been charged with the attempted murder of a pregnant woman,” Rayna answered indifferently. “I might not be able to return to the office for a while. You have to keep a close eye on the new product. Also, call Newfirm Media and tell them to look for a stylist named Giselle Brent. Ask her to testify for me, then call Faymon Group and ask Mr. Tylinski to inform Mr.

Faymon about my current situation.”

Even if Vivi had evidence of her involvement, as long as she had Curtis’ and Giselle’s statements, she would not be found guilty of the attempted murder.

Ella immediately responded, “Got it. I’ll look for a lawyer right now!”

After ending the call, Rayna realized her palms were damp with cold sweat.

She had wronged Vivi and made her lose her baby.

She could provide any compensation as an apology to Vivi, but she also had to defend her rights.

If she lost the case and the news of her being pregnant and getting released on bail spread, everything would be over.

As the date of the trial was not set yet, Rayna had to stay in the holding cell with other women who were charged with various crimes and had yet to be convicted.

The holding cell was not spacious, but there were eight women in the small space. In fact, there was even one who was arrested drunk and had just vomited in a corner.

The clashing blend of perfume and pungency made Rayna’s stomach churn.

One of the women came over to ask why Rayna was in the holding cell, but Rayna only answered half-heartedly. When that woman could not get any other responses from Rayna, she flitted to another woman to chat away instead.

One night passed, and the policeman who had interrogated Rayna before came to take Rayna out of the holding cell.

Shortly after, Rayna was brought to a desk.

When she noticed a man in a suit sitting by the table and the bag on the desk, she guessed he was the lawyer Ella had hired.

“Ms. Garland”—the lawyer stood up to shake hands with her—”I am your defense attorney, and I will do my best to help you.

Please tell me everything that happened and please don’t hide anything from me.”

Rayna inclined her head.

In the following thirty minutes, Rayna informed the lawyer of everything she knew.

Then, the lawyer paused in his note-taking and lifted his head to look at Rayna. “Ms. Garland, may I ask who the father of the children is?”

“Is this relevant to the case?”

“Yes. I heard you used to be in a relationship with Mr. Faymon. If the children are his, then I’ll guess that the herbs were put into the duck stew under Mr. Faymon’s orders.”

Rayna lowered her head and gripped the hem of her clothes.

The lawyer went on, “If that is the case, then you are not involved in this case, Ms. Garland. You gave the stew to Ms. Louden, completely unaware. The one who’s involved in this case should be Mr. Faymon instead.”

“I broke up with him a long time ago. My fiancé is working in Jetroina. I’m sure the chef must have accidentally added the herbs to the duck stew.”

The lawyer stroked his chin in contemplation. “Indeed, some hotel chefs like to add expensive herbs in stews and soups as seasoning.”

“So this has nothing to do with Mr. Faymon?”

“Yes.”

Rayna did not wish to dwell on those matters; she only hoped for Curtis to appear in court to testify for her.

After finding out what happened, the lawyer closed his notebook and said, “I’ll go to Summerbank to find out more details. If Giselle and Curtis are willing to testify for you, there is a ninety percent chance for you to win this case.”

“Okay. Thank you.” The lawyer’s answer was what Rayna had expected.

As long as the two of them could testify for her, she would be fine.

Alas, right as the lawyer left, trouble came.

A police officer told her that the date for the trial had been determined—it would be held ten days later.

Then, Ella called and informed Rayna of two bad news.

One was that Giselle had gone to Valmora with the film crew for filming. They had chosen a ship as their mode of transport, so Ella could not contact her. The second bad news was that Ella had failed to contact Curtis as well, for he and Gabriel had gone on a business trip abroad.

Rayna’s nerves were frayed when she found out about that.

How can this be so coincidental? How can they all be abroad and unreachable at the same time?

“I’ll give you Mr. Faymon’s number.” Rayna then told her the string of numbers off the top of her head. “It’s fine if you can’t get to Giselle, but you have to reach Mr. Faymon. My trial will be held ten days from now.”

“I’ll do that right away.”

Rayna wanted to wait by the phone, but the officer told her that he would come and get her when she received a call. She was sent back to the holding cell instead.

The wait lasted for days.

When the officer finally called Rayna for her call, Rayna eagerly rushed out of the holding cell.

Yet, she found out from Ella that Curtis’ phone remained switched off the entire time, so he was still unreachable.

Rayna’s heart sank to the bottom.

Did he really switch off his phone during his business trip, or is he just not interested in helping me after finding out that I’m in trouble?

Hearing silence from Rayna, Ella said, “Don’t worry, Ms. Garland. I’ll tell the lawyer right away and get the chefs to testify for you.

They’ll let them know that you didn’t intend to hurt—”

“Vivi’s husband owns the restaurant,” Rayna said, cutting Ella off. “Vivi’s the one suing me. There’s no way she’s going to let her employees testify for me.”

“Then I’ll call Faymon Group again.” Ella was starting to grow anxious as well. “I’ll find out from them where Mr. Faymon is at right now.”

Rayna licked her dry lips and said hoarsely, “No need. Mr. Faymon is busy. Let’s not disturb him anymore. Keep contacting Giselle and see if she can come back in time before the trial.”

“Okay. Ms. Garland, do you need anything? I can bring it to you.”

“It’s fine. I’m all right.”

Rayna was not in the mood to chat with her assistant, so after giving Ella her instructions, she ended the call with a heavy heart.

Dinner was served later that day, so it was a little cold by the time Rayna received hers.

Some of the women were displeased with the cold dinner, and they wanted the staff at the station to heat them up.

However, the only response they received from the staff member before they left was about how the women should be grateful for receiving free food.

Rayna’s stomach did not feel well after she ate a few mouthfuls of the cold dinner, so she stopped eating.

Curling on the bed, Rayna went into a deep sleep.

Voices kept echoing in her ears. Then, she was suddenly standing in the dock at the trial. No one testified for her, and she was found guilty.

After receiving the report of her pregnancy, the judge decided to release her on bail. Only after she gave birth to her babies would she go to jail.

When she left the station, everyone was calling her a murderer.

The news spread like wildfire, and it burned Rayna’s reputation to ashes. She lost her job, and she had no one to help her out.

Rayna ran. She ran as quickly as her feet could move until she was on a bus in an attempt to leave the place.

The lights on the bus were dim, and there were few people on board.

The bus windows were sealed, and it felt as if the air in the bus was getting thinner and thinner.

Slowly, she found herself breathing laboriously. She wanted to break the window, so she reached out for the safety hammer.

Right then, Rayna woke up.

Her nose and mouth were covered by something soft, and someone was holding her limbs down.

That sobered Rayna up immediately.

She thrashed around and tried to pull her hands free, but the other person had more strength than her. Rayna’s consciousness began to fade.