The Smallwoods made a trip to the Wynters to visit Hannah.
Jacque and Sandra were at work. Hence, Hannah was all alone in the house.
It was the very reason Kayla had chosen to visit at that particular hour.
She did not fancy seeing Sandra’s poker face. Hence, she deliberately chose to visit at the time where she could really talk to Hannah.
“Shermaine is doing really well right now. A lot of production teams are offering her various roles. I believe that she will be back on the big screens soon enough, and she is on the way to attaining her former glory. As for the woman who has slandered her, didn’t she get exposed already? Soon, everyone will realize that Shermaine was framed and that she’s innocent…”
Kayla continued to praise her own daughter in front of Hannah in hopes that the latter would rekindle her adoration for Shermaine.
However, Hannah did not seem too eager to listen to Kayla.
The old woman merely smiled and hummed generic responses to Kayla’s remarks.
Kayla was hoping for something more. To be specific, she was aiming to get Hannah chiding Clarissa together with her.
However, her efforts had proven to be in vain.
Disappointment was written all over Kayla’s face. Luckily, Shermaine squeezed her hands to support her mother, effectively preventing her from saying too many inappropriate things.
However, Kayla still could not help but recount how badly Clarissa was doing in front of Hannah.
She had only one intention in mind—to drive home the point that both the Tysons and Clarissa were not trustworthy. Kayla was hoping to influence Hannah enough so that the latter would talk some sense into Jacque from blindly appeasing the Tysons for their own interests.
“Mom, now that Clarissa’s reputation is down in the dumps, the Tysons will surely get dragged down by her. I don’t think it’s wise for Jacque and Sandra to butter up the Tysons right now. Judging by the way things are going, I don’t think it will take long before the Tysons get screwed over. Having a daughter-in-law with such a bad reputation will not bode well for them. It’s even possible that Matthias will get summoned by the higher-ups. It will not end well for Jacque and Sandra.”
“Kay, you can stop whatever you’re trying to do. I cannot make Jacque and Sandra’s decisions for them. To be frank, I know exactly what you’re after, but now I’m not going to interfere with anything. So, you can just drop it.”
To Kayla’s surprise, Hannah actually knew what she was trying to achieve. However, Hannah just did not wish to get entangled with the younger generation’s matter.
Kayla was dissatisfied with her mother’s response. “Mom, how can you say that? You’re our mother! They have to listen to your advice!”
Hannah shook her head and refused to comment further. Then, she excused herself by saying that she was all tuckered out and needed rest in her own room.
Kayla was crestfallen at her mother’s indifference.
My own mother is not siding with me. That’s right, she only cares about my brother.
“Mom, don’t be too upset. Grandma still cares about you. After all, she’s already old and needs to depend on Uncle Jacque and Aunt Sandra on a lot of things.”
Kayla turned on her daughter and sighed. “Shermaine, thank goodness I still have you. Otherwise, I think I’m going to end up worse than your Grandma when I’m old.”
“Mom, you can’t compare yourself to her. I’m your only daughter. Who else can take care of you other than me?” Shermaine smiled.
“That’s right. My Shermaine has always been the best daughter. I don’t have any regrets in my life.”
The two of them left the Wynters. Right after Shermaine stepped out of the house and was about to head to her friend’s place for a gathering, someone stopped her in her tracks.
“Ms. Smallwood, we are from the police station, and we need your cooperation in an investigation.”
Shermaine was taken aback.
However, she quickly regained her composure and nodded, albeit still puzzled. “Sure.”
She looked quite fidgety at the police station.
The police were courteous toward her. After all, one was innocent until proven guilty.
The interrogation started after she took her seat.
The police sought to question Shermaine because a security camera in an intersection caught someone looking very similar to her.
That being said, they were just suspecting her.
So, she was only summoned to assist in investigations.
“Ms. Smallwood, we’d like to know on the afternoon on second of March, where were you and what were you doing? Did you have anyone who could prove your claim?”
Hilary had left the hotel in the afternoon on the 2nd of March, and it was the day when Clarissa had received a call from Hilary as well.
“Me? I don’t remember. What day was that? I’m going to need some time to recall that…”
After confirming that it was the afternoon of a Friday, she started to recount, “That afternoon, my friend called me and asked me out to discuss a production crew needing an actress. We met up at our usual spot and chatted for some time. It must have been quite a long conversation because I remembered leaving the place after the sky was already dark out.”
“Really? Then did you leave the premise in between?”
“Well, I did go to the washroom, bumped into someone, and wetted my clothes. I stayed in the washroom for quite some time to dry my clothes.”
“Did you leave together with your friend?”
“No, she left earlier because she had something to tend to. I sat there alone for some time and thought about some things.”
“Then did you see Hilary that day?”
“Um, I guess not? I was not paying close attention.”
“So, you knew Hilary, right?”
Shermaine managed a bitter smile.
“Sir, actually you guys should be well aware that I know Clarissa Quigley, and I’ve met her and her mother, Hilary Bowen for a few times. Hilary even mentioned that she was my fan. Of course I knew her.”
“Are you guys very close then?”
Shermaine shook her head. “Not really.”
“Not really? Your call log suggested otherwise though. I wouldn’t say that I’m not close with someone if I talk to that person three to four times a week over the phone.”
Shermaine was stumped, and clearly did not anticipate herself getting exposed.
“I can explain that.”
The police were waiting for her explanation. Only then did Shermaine explain herself quite awkwardly, “I did not mention that because I was afraid that you guys might misunderstand, and I didn’t want to get into any trouble either. Believe me, I was no stranger to these kinds of troubles and was simply trying to steer clear of them. “But, seeing as you guys already know about it, I don’t think there’s any reason to keep it from you guys. “Actually, Hilary had contacted me because she was not doing so well with her daughter, Clarissa. She called me repeatedly just to complain about their tense relationship. “She mentioned that she was my fan, and back when I was still on good terms with Clarissa, I was quite touched to hear that she was a fan. We quite enjoyed each other’s company back then. “She did not show up again after the thing that happened to me. “That was until this year. She visited me before I got out of jail and complained how unfilial her daughter was. To be honest, I realized that Hilary thought I could resonate her hatred for Clarissa.
“Actually, what she did not know was maybe I once did hate Clarissa, but I had long moved on from that. However, Hilary did not seem like she understood that, and would call me anytime she felt like whining about Clarissa. Honestly, I was feeling quite helpless myself. “I felt bad for what happened to her too. Even though her character was questionable sometimes, she was not a bad person at all.”
Her words seemed quite heartfelt, and she appeared quite normal.
Everything about her seemed normal. She was nervous, fidgety, and even scared at one point throughout her narration, and even seemed eager to steer clear of any troubles.
She was released after the questioning, and Harmon asked Shawn, “This lady seems quite normal. She doesn’t seem like a murderer.”
To which Shawn replied impassively, “She looks way too calm and composed.”
“So, that means she…”
“I’m not saying anything.”
Harmon looked at him and shrugged. “Forget it. A pretty little face like that… it’s impossible.”
Shaking his head, Harmon walked away. Someone beside him mocked, “You’d better not let Amelia hear you. She hates this Shermaine, and yet you dare to say she’s pretty.”
“She is pretty. It’s just that she doesn’t have a good heart.”
The others broke into a chuckle and started to gossip about something else.
Meanwhile, Clarissa had gotten a firsthand news from Ellie.
“Shermaine has been summoned for a questioning. I knew it — that woman is really something else. Could she have murdered Hilary? Did she do it on purpose? So that she could slander you?”
At that point, Clarissa knew that anything was possible, and was not at all surprised to listen to Ellie.
She smiled bitterly and asked, “Ellie, did Shawn tell you that?”
“That b*stard tells me nothing, always yapping on about confidentiality. Is he afraid that I’m going to broadcast that information for everyone to know? Who am I going to tell anyway? He doesn’t even trust his own girlfriend. I wouldn’t have promised to be his girlfriend if it wasn’t for his pitiful manner.”
Clarissa was rendered speechless.
“Let’s not talk about him. The point is, Shermaine must be behind something, right? I can so imagine her killing someone. What a vicious woman!”
Clarissa shook her head. “Shawn and his colleagues will find out soon enough.”
“That Shermaine would have ran off by the time they’re done with the investigation right?”
“No, I believe that justice will never be absent. We just need to be patient.”
Clarissa walked the talked and waited patiently for the result of the investigation.
However, she was starting to get bored from getting pent up at home for such a long time. Damian had gone back to school, leaving her alone at home. There was only so much she could do at home—studying new menus with Julia and trying to come up with new ideas. However, that did not help preserve her energy as she felt quite sluggish, especially in the last few days.
Matthew was greeted by the sight of the woman lying on the sofa lazily as she gazed out into nothingness. It was apparent to the man that there was no vitality to her.
