Chapter 2243 Preparations
Francesca suddenly remembered something. “If you put it that way, does that mean Hazel was only a pawn of theirs?” William nodded solemnly. “She must have been innocent. If it was only for love, she didn’t need to sacrifice her father’s life.
If I’m not mistaken, she had always been a pawn, and the previous scandals might not have been her intention at all. The first lady instigated Gerard to help further her cause.
Her purpose was to use Hazel as a diversion and have everybody think that Hazel created all the chaos just to marry into the Lindberg family, to mask the fact that the actual mastermind had been the first lady. In any case, judging by how things turned out, it’s obvious that the one who was behind all this benefited the most.”
So that’s what happened. Francesca suddenly recalled something Hazel had once said to her.
“Actually, it’s good to be a doctor who’s free and easy. There’s really no need to get involved in such a complicated political battle…” Those were her exact words.
Perhaps Hazel had known from the start how deep the waters were. She had warned me often to distance myself, yet I didn’t heed her advice.
“Hazel is clever. Danrique wouldn’t have valued her highly otherwise.” William seemed to have seen through Francesca’s thoughts. “However, even if she had seen through many things beforehand, there’s no avoiding the fact that she’s hostile toward you. Her father is dead, after all. Her hatred for you will only deepen. Even if she finds out that someone else was behind it, she still wouldn’t forgive you.”
Francesca fell silent at those words. Layla frowned. “It looks like we’re caught between a rock and a hard place. Our only hope is that Danrique returns unharmed before they capture Francesca.”
William was pessimistic. “I don’t think things are that simple. As the first lady is behind this, it wouldn’t be long before somebody comes after Francesca. They would have nothing to fear since the Lindberg family doesn’t have anyone at the helm right now.”
“Seriously?” Layla’s eyes widened with terror. She was about to say something when Sloan hurried in to report, “Ms. Felch, news about Gerard being poisoned to death is all over the headlines now. Everyone all around the world knows about this. The police have issued an ultimatum: If you don’t turn yourself in, they’ll barge in here.”
“This is unbelievable! They only dare to do this because someone has their backs!” Layla yelled, incensed.
Francesca, on the contrary, was unusually calm. “It’s on the news? What news?”
Sloan handed Francesca the tablet. “Every major media outlet around the world has been spreading the word. Your name is censored, but they identified the offender as Mr. Lindberg’s fiancée.”
Francesca took a look. Sure enough, the news did not mention her alter-ego, Francesco. They only reported Danrique’s complete disappearance and that his fiancée, someone given the alias Ms. F, had poisoned Gerald Atkinson, a member of one of the three great families.
Danrique rarely appeared in public, much less in the press. Despite that, due to the prestige of his identity, news pertaining to him tended to spread like wildfire.
This time, especially, it spread across the globe in the blink of an eye.
Danrique’s legendary fiancée, Ms. F, had become known as a mysterious and vicious woman whose true identity the media all over the globe was trying to deduce.
Some inferred that she had poisoned Hazel’s father because she was engaged in a fight of jealousy with Hazel. Others believed that her motive was linked to Danrique’s disappearance.
In any event, public opinion on the matter was influential.
Many emphasized that nobody was above the law and that murder was the most heinous crime of all. They called for the truth to be unearthed at all costs so the murderer could be severely punished.
Some had even created polls online. Hundreds of millions of netizens voted in favor of punishing Francesca severely.
Layla was livid. “Everything has clearly been premeditated. It had only been six hours since the meeting. His death couldn’t have made the news that quickly, nor would it have caused a large public outrage in such a short time!”
