Winnie took Josiah to her office in Garland Group.She waved her hand and dismissed the few employees who were still working overtime.Josiah took the initiative to lighten up the atmosphere when he noticed that she was still sporting a grim face.âYou must have gone to the mall to eat just now. Are you still hungry? Should I order takeout?âWinnie shot him a look. âThereâs no need for that. Letâs get right to business. Frankly, I also have some things I would like to ask you. Do you want to start first, or should I?ââWait! How can we get down to business with an empty stomach? What do you want to eat?
Do you like spicy food?â Josiah asked with a smile.She tapped the table in front of her twice and said after a moment of silence, âI told you thereâs no need for that. Canât we get right to business now?âJosiah stilled for a few seconds before adjusting his glasses with a smile. âOkay, Ms. Garland. I will listen to you today.âWinnie realized she was being unreasonable after seeing Josiahâs reaction.Heâs just concerned about whether I had eaten or not.She scratched the back of her head awkwardly and lowered her voice. âIâm sorry for my bad attitude. Letâs talk about business first since Iâm not hungry yet.
I will treat you to supper if youâre still up for it later.âJosiahâs smile remained. âOkay! I understand how youâre feeling right now. In fact, we all know how close you are to your grandmother since you once relied solely on each other. I know you have your own judgment since youâre willing to sit down and talk about this with me.âWinnie leaned on her chair helplessly and hummed in response. âCan you tell me when did you guys start suspecting my granny? Just tell me everything objectively. You donât have to worry about my relationship with my granny.âJosiah nodded. âOkay. Actually, the issue arose when a fire broke out in the Fairchild residence. At that time, everyone thought that Zyon was the one who started the fire, and so did Xavier and me. However, someone later discovered wine bottles near the fire, which served as an accelerant for the fire. Itâs not plausible that Zyon was the arsonist, as it was unrealistic to think he ran around the Fairchild residence himself and injured Nate while carrying three to five wine bottles with him. Your granny had the stench of alcohol on her that night, and the room she stayed in had broken wine bottles in it. Donât you think this is too much of a coincidence? Afterward, Zyon escaped. He most likely escaped from the courtyard your granny resided. Although your granny claimed she hadnât seen him, that may not necessarily be true because the surveillance cameras werenât functional during that time. Your grannyâs behavior raised suspicions, but we werenât sure why she was acting this way until we learned about a woman named Young Lady. She most likely had a relationship with Old Mr. Fairchild and even gave birth to his child. Everything will make sense if Young Lady is really your granny, Jacinta. Stuart must definitely be her son, and Zyon is her biological grandson. Hence, she must have loathed Old Mr. Fairchild, who abandoned her, and Xavier, who Old Mr. Fairchild favored. Thus, she voluntarily became a hostage to help Zyon escape and helped him unconditionally. All of this is merely conjecture, and Xavier didnât want to let you know we were investigating your granny because you wonât be able to accept it.â Winnie nodded. âI understand Xavierâs intentions. As for what you have just said, I have never given them any thought before.
However, these are clearly written in the documents, and your reasoning makes perfect sense. Indeed, I found it hard to accept when I first saw all this.ââMhm. I knew you wouldnât be unreasonable. Xavier genuinely cares about you. He didnât dare bother you after you told him you didnât want to talk to him.
He could only ask me about how youâre doing.âAs Josiah spoke, he passed his phone to Winnie.Xavier had just sent a message to Josiah: Is she feeling better?Although words didnât carry emotions, Winnie could still feel the warmth and concern conveyed from Xavierâs text message.She returned the phone to Josiah and muttered, âIâll give him a call.ââOkay, I will head out to buy some food since Iâm hungry.
What about you?âWinnie nodded. âI want to eat something simple.âJosiah made an âokayâ gesture.
âGot it.âAs soon as Josiah left, Winnie dialed Xavierâs number with her own phone.Xavier had been staring at his phone, so when Winnieâs call came, he answered it in a flash.âWhatâs wrong, Winnie?ââNothing. Iâm just not in a good mood.â Winnieâs voice sounded despondent as she clutched her phone.Xavier immediately apologized, âIâm really sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?âWinnie stifled a sob. âWhy are you sorry when you donât even know why Iâm not in a good mood?ââI know. Itâs because what I did.ââI was only upset about that for a moment.â Winnie paused, and her voice sounded tearful. âNow Iâm more terrified that what you discovered is true. Actually, I remember some details about the fire at the Fairchild residence when I was talking to Josiah just now. I remember my granny washing off the wine stain on her clothes and her asking me about the surveillance cameras in the residence. I also remember how Zyon called my granny his grandmother before he died in Manchernius. There are other minor things too⦠Xavier, this is what Iâm most worried about right now.âXavier was taken aback when he heard the choked-up voice of the woman he loved.So, sheâs not in a good mood because of this. But sheâs on the verge of crying all because of me. Iâm the one who caused her to be upset. I feel so bad for her.After mulling it over for a while, Xavier made a swift decision.He stated in a serious tone, âIâm here for you, Winnie. Iâll face everything with you, no matter what happens. If this upsets you, then weâll stop looking into it. Just let everything be.ââWhat are you talking about?ââI said letâs stop the investigation. Letâs leave it as it is. We can act as if nothing happened. I just want you to be happy.ââCan you really stop investigating this matter?ââYes. At first, I wanted to find out the truth, but Iâve come to a realization just now that youâre more important to me than the truth. You can destroy those documents now.ââReally? Iâm in my office right now, and if I put these documents in the shredder, all the evidence will be gone for good.ââOkay. Go ahead.âWinnie walked over to the shredder with the documents in hand and prepared to put them in.However, Xavier didnât hear the noise of paper shredding on the other end of the line.He was puzzled.
âWinnie?âWinnieâs eyes were red as she walked away from the shredder with the documents that were still intact.She thought for a moment and uttered, âEveryone deserves to know the truth, and that is far more important than my happiness.â