Chapter 74

Immediately, she didn't think twice and rushed to grab the doorknob, trying to open the door to save him.

Maybe it was because the two rooms were so close together, but the metal doorknob was scorching hot from the fire, and the latch had warped from the heat, making it impossible to open.

Jennifer felt a pang of fear. She had only meant to cause a little accident, not to actually hurt anyone.

Trapped inside the burning room, William stayed surprisingly calm and asked through the door, "Did you call the fire department?"

"I forgot, I'll do it now." Jennifer, trembling, pulled out her phone and dialed 911.

The fire department assured her they would arrive soon, but it would still take a few minutes. Fearing that the smoke might knock William out, she hurried downstairs to the tool shed and grabbed a wrench and an axe.

She repeatedly smashed the door lock, and after several attempts, she nearly broke it.

At that moment, she almost lost all her strength and collapsed to the ground.

The pain she expected didn't come. Instead, a figure emerged from inside and caught her in his arms.

The bedroom, possibly because it was separated by a door, had slightly better air quality and less smoke. Jennifer, however, had inhaled enough smoke to feel dizzy and faint.

But when she saw William holding her with a concerned look on his face, she managed to force a weak smile.

"Seeing you safe is such a relief."

As soon as she finished speaking, her head tilted, and she passed out.

The fire truck arrived quickly. Fortunately, there weren't many flammable materials in the room, so the damage wasn't extensive. William immediately took her to the hospital, and after some treatment, Jennifer woke up.

Possibly due to prolonged smoke inhalation, she started coughing as soon as she woke up.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." William's expression was complicated.

His deep eyes held a myriad of emotions-confusion, reflection, and suspicion.

Jennifer understood that what lay ahead wouldn't be easy. She coughed heavily a few more times. "As long as you're okay."

"Why were you downstairs? Didn't I tell you to leave?" William asked coldly.

"You seemed off today, and I was worried. So I sat in the car for a while and fell asleep. When I woke up, I saw the fire upstairs." Jennifer bit her lip.

William's deep eyes bore into Jennifer's, as if trying to uncover the truth from her gaze.

Jennifer's heart raced. She knew that with William's intelligence, if she lied, he would likely see through it.

She bit her lip harder. "Thinking back on it now, I'm still terrified. If something had happened to you, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself."

She spoke while crying, deeply emotional and heartbroken.

William set aside his doubts. There were security cameras outside the mansion. As long as they checked when she entered the house, they could determine the cause of the fire.

He assigned Bob to investigate, and Bob soon had results.

"The footage shows that Ms. Spencer entered the mansion after the fire started. Also, according to the fire department's investigation, it seems the fire was caused by old wiring in the room, which ignited the nearby curtains."

William nodded slightly. "Alright, let's leave it at that."

Jennifer, standing at the door, heard everything and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

At the Cavendish family estate, a servant brought an envelope to the study.

"Nicholas, your mail."

"Leave it there," Nicholas said with a nod.

Once he finished his current task, he opened the envelope.

It was a thick stack of photos. As he looked through them, his expression turned dark.

"Get Elisa in here."

When the servant went to fetch Elisa, Gabrielle happened to be there too. Sensing something was up, she followed along.

As soon as they entered the study, Nicholas erupted in anger, throwing the stack of photos in front of Elisa.

"Take a good look. This is the daughter you raised."

Elisa, confused, picked up the photos. After a quick glance, her expression also turned grim.

"Where did these come from?"

"What? Are you upset that someone exposed your and your daughter's ugly scheme to latch onto wealthy men?" Nicholas, still furious, didn't hold back, scolding her harshly.

Gabrielle, secretly pleased to see Elisa getting scolded, still pretended to defend her.

"Dad, don't get so worked up. It's not worth it. Maybe it's not as bad as it seems."

Gabrielle picked up a few photos and gasped after looking at them.

"How could this happen? Weren't they supposed to be nothing? How are they kissing outside?"

Nicholas was livid.

"When you committed that disgraceful act, I let it slide. But now, you dare to let your daughter get involved with her uncle!"

Elisa, after carefully examining the photos, surprisingly stood up for her daughter.

"Dad, look closely. It's clearly William who initiated the kiss. What does this have to do with my daughter?"

Nicholas, fuming, retorted, "Now you're trying to shift the blame? What are you up to? Don't think we don't know!"

"From the start, you joined our family with ulterior motives. Knowing Raymond had no chance of taking over, you tried to use your daughter."

"Don't accuse us unfairly," Elisa argued. "Besides, the photos' location is easy to find. Check the surveillance footage to see what really happened. Why blame my daughter without proof?"

Nicholas gave her a disdainful look. "If your daughter didn't have a history, no one would suspect her."

Elisa, on the verge of tears, held back.

"Dad, who sent you these photos?"

"What? You want to confront them?" Nicholas scoffed.

"Whoever sent these photos has an agenda. We should find out what happened to avoid wronging an innocent person and letting a guilty one go free," Elisa insisted.

Seeing her determination, Gabrielle narrowed her eyes and pretended to be kind.

"Nicholas is so angry. Just admit any fault for now and discuss the rest later. Why be so harsh?"