Chapter 98

"Liliana, sooner or later, you'll be begging me to take you."

He abruptly released her jaw. Her eyes were already red with pain. She watched as his expression shifted from fury to a cold, calculated resolve. Cedric got up, grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the nightstand, and left the bedroom.

Liliana lay awake all night, a sense of dread settling in her stomach. She finally drifted into a restless sleep near dawn and woke up close to nine. She scrambled out of bed, washed up, and went downstairs.

Dowager Forrest spent every weekend morning in her study practicing her calligraphy, a ritual no one was allowed to disturb. The living room was empty, and Cedric's car was gone from the driveway.

Her meeting with the Archers was at ten. She quickly found the dowager's driver. "Old Lynn, could you give me a ride into the city?" Catching a cab from here would make her late. She had no choice but to ask for a favor.

"I'm sorry, Young Lady," Old Lynn said, his eyes darting away, unable to meet hers. "The Young Master said that the Dowager is getting on in years, and I'm not to take the car out, just in case there's an emergency."

Liliana understood immediately. This was what Cedric meant. This was how he would make her beg.

A cold smile touched her lips. "I see."

She grabbed her bag and left the Forrest Estate. As she walked, she tried to book a ride on her phone and messaged Attorney Kerr to let him know she might be late.

[Don't worry,] Kerr replied. [The Archers are more anxious to meet than we are.]

Baber was their only son. The thought of him in prison, even for a few years, was unbearable for them.

It was ten-thirty by the time Liliana arrived, flustered and out of breath. Attorney Kerr was waiting for her outside.

"When I arranged the meeting, they were already trying to contact me. They're desperate to make a deal," he said in a low voice. "Miss Preston, you need to stay calm."

Liliana nodded like a bobblehead. "I know." Her gaze fell on a couple in their sixties inside the coffee shop She had only seen Baber's mother once, at the trial, but the image was seared into her memory. The woman had a sharp, shrewish face and had spent the entire hearing wailing dramatically, only to break into a smile the moment the verdict was read.

The second Liliana walked in, Mrs. Archer rushed over and dropped to her knees in front of her. "Miss

Preston, I'm begging you, net

spare my son! He just lost his wife

because of your brother. He was just

angry and wanted to scare you!

You've alrecost

my

daughter-in-law her life, you can't

take my son, too!"

The coffee shop was quiet for a weekend morning, but her loud wail shattered the peace, drawing stares from every corner. Mrs. Archer was trying to paint Liliana as the villain. Fortunately, Attorney Kerr had warned her.

"This is a public place," Liliana said calmly, her voice steady. "I didn't come here to be threatened. If you're not going to sit down and discuss this rationally, I'm leaving."

Mrs. Archer's sobs stopped abruptly. Her trembling body went still.

"Miss Preston, please, let's talk," Mr. Archer said, getting up to pull his wife back to their table.

Ignoring the stares, Liliana walked over and sat down across from them. She didn't want to waste time with people like this. "You know my brother was framed, and you know your son committed a crime. This is a fair trade. Your family is not fosing out."