She Outshines Them All (Athena and Matthew)

Chapter 42

Andrew soaked in the envious stares from the crowd, a touch of mugness in his tone. "My mom usually keeps this diamond ring in her bedroom, completely out of reach for most people. "But three days before Athena went back to the Donovan family, the ring suddenly disappeared. We searched everywhere and couldn't find it.

"Then, the night before Athena left, our housekeeper was packing her clothes and found the ring in the pocket of one of her jackets. Our maid can vouch for this."

He looked around the room. I should also mention that Athena's room was right across from my parents' bedroom. She often saw them using the code to open their bedroom door, so she must have known how to get in." Hearing Andrew's seemingly logical explanation, paired with the knowledge of the Donovan family's financial struggles, many in the room started to believe him. Their looks toward Athena and her family grew increasingly contemptuous. "No wonder the Kennedy family was so eager to send her packing. Who'd want to keep someone like that around to cause trouble

"Imagine going from being the sole heir of a billion-dollar empire to just another kid in a poor family-anyone would have a hard time with that. No surprise she'd try to steal her adoptive mother's diamond ring out of spite... "Even after falling into poverty, she still has the nerve to show up at an elite party. How desperate is she to cling to her old

connections

"Enough!" Arthur, unable to hold back any longer, slammed the table so hard it startled everyone.

ΠΙΟ

You

His face was stone-cold as he glared at Andrew, "You're accusing Athena of stealing the ring based solely on what your mom and your maid said. The ring is in your hands now, yet you have no real evidence that Athena took it and your mom are family, and your maid works for you. It's entirely reasonable to suspect that you could have told her to lie and frame Athena!" The crowd murmured in agreement, thinking that Arthur had a point.

Andrew shot back angrily. The Kennedy family is worth billions. Do you really think we'd falsely accuse Athena over a single diamond ring?"

Arthur retorted, "With how twisted your family is, why wouldn't you try to frame Athena?

"If Athena really stole the ring, why didn't she take it with her when she left? Why would she be foolish enough to leave it in her own room!

"And another thing-why was your maid going through Athena's clothes so thoroughly, checking every pocket like she was searching for something specific? Does that sound normal to you?

"Finally, if you truly thought Athena stole the ring when you found it in her clothes, why didn't you confront her about it right then and there?"

He sneered, pressing his point. "It's been days since this happened. You didn't say anything then, but now, in front of all these people, you're bringing it up just to smear Athena's reputation? That's beyond low!"

approval rippled through

convincing, much more so

smiled, impressed by Arthur's strong defense. 09:08 Thu, Oct 10 BB

Π

Andrew was so furious at Arthur's rebuttal that he nearly choked on his words. "My parents, didn't say anything at the time because they wanted to spare Athena some dignity as

it up now because I realized she hasn't shown any remorse, Instead, she's been

Athena had already stood up. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Dad, Mom,

smile never wavered. "Mr.

your accusations, what you've said constitutes slander. I can take legal action

scare me." Andrew stammered, clearly unsettled by her calm mention of legal action. "We

Oh really?"

directly at Regina. "Mrs. Kennedy, do you

uneasy. "You did steal the ring. I'm not falsely accusing you. If anyone's taking this to court,

house. On the day the ring went missing, the footage would show who

unease ran through the crowd as they began to look at Regina with growing

we checked, and the cameras weren't working that day," Regina stammered. "Maybe you're the one

them!"

remained composed. "Mrs. Kennedy, accusing me of tampering with the cameras without any evidence is also slander. I'm recording this conversation,

She wanted to lash out but, fearing it would be caught on

"You, Mr. Isaac, the housekeeper, and your biological children all have access to your bedroom. They're just as

any time at the Kennedy family during the day. When I returned at night, you were all home-there's security footage to prove this. I can't even think

well-hidden spot. How long would it take me to find it

herself at a loss for

crowd

nodded, seeing

even know you owned a

"You expect us to take your word