Chapter 1173: Chapter 1173

Chapter 1173:

He wouldn’t have been dragged into this humiliating debacle if she hadn’t involved that vagrant.

To Melany, his accusations were dripping with irony. It confirmed exactly what she had expected. Once things went south, Hoyt wouldn’t hesitate to lay the blame squarely on her.

But Melany wasn’t about to let him get away with it this time. “If you hadn’t been so greedy, insisting on going in to take a look, you wouldn’t have ended up locked in the lounge!”

Melany defended herself according to what that recording had played. “You all heard the recording — Hoyt was the one harassing me and coercing me into those actions. I’m just a pregnant woman; I couldn’t possibly stand up to him. If I truly meant to hurt Allison, why would I have informed Mr. Lloyd about this beforehand?”

Melany turned to Allison, her face painted with a carefully crafted look of grievance.

“Allison, I admit I disliked you and let myself be misled into making bad choices, but please believe me — I deeply regret it. If I didn’t feel remorse, I wouldn’t have gone to Mr. Lloyd. I know it’s unacceptable that I set you up, but I had no choice. If Hoyt hadn’t threatened me, I would’ve confessed everything long ago.”

Melany’s eyes brimmed with tears, her performance of remorse in full swing.

She made it seem like her misdeeds weren’t her own, but the inevitable result of coercion.

As Melany continued, she remained confident that Hoyt wouldn’t dare reveal the truth about their relationship. Even though Hoyt held some leverage, she knew that exposing the truth would only make Brook utterly disgusted with him. After all, Brook had always thrived on his sense of control and authority.

Hoyt wouldn’t risk going against his father.

“So you’re claiming you had your reasons, and that somehow erases the damage you’ve done?” Allison locked eyes with her.

Lаtєѕt chɑptєrs іn g𝑎lnοvєls.𝑐ο𝗺

“And let’s not forget — the recording clearly shows you didn’t seem coerced at all. In fact, your voice sounded full of smugness. You seemed disturbingly adept at shifting blame onto others. Was it because you’d already planned your escape route and rehearsed these excuses in case things fell apart?”

Every word Allison spoke hit Melany right where it hurt.

Her already guilty conscience wavered further, and she nervously clenched her hands into fists. “Allison, you’ve got it all wrong.”

But Melany’s weak defense did little to sway anyone.

The murmurs of the surrounding crowd began to grow.

“That’s right! Melany was so domineering in that recording — it’s clear she despised Ms. Clarke so much!”

“I can’t believe she went so far as to ask a vagrant to rape Allison. A sob story doesn’t excuse that kind of malice.”

“You’re right. So what if she had her struggles? Everyone has problems, but that doesn’t make wrongdoing acceptable.”

The crowd’s cutting words felt like hammer blows to Melany, leaving her trembling from head to toe.

For the first time, her actions and true intentions were laid bare before such a large audience. And to make matters worse, many of them were influential figures!

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