Free Web NovelChapter 24: Chapter 24: Turns Out I’m the Unlucky One?
The Donovan family wholeheartedly agreed and couldn’t help but want to give Arabella a big thumbs-up.
After just a brief listen, they felt like they needed to find some pomelo leaves to wash away the bad luck.
Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, in particular, finally understood why Arabella had been so nervous when she first saw Claire Bishop at their home. Getting involved with someone like that would have put their family through the wringer, even if it didn’t destroy them completely.
’Oops, I got sidetracked. Just thinking about how my big brother and second brother were harmed by those two... things... makes my stomach ache with anger.’
Justin Donovan: "..." ’No kidding. My head is buzzing too.’
Hector Donovan: "???" ’Wait, talk about Big Brother all you want, but what does this have to do with me?’ freewebnøvel.com
’To put it nicely, this Jacobs guy is the type to get revenge over the smallest slight. To put it bluntly, he’s just petty. It didn’t matter if what Claire Bishop said was true or not; the fact was that the Donovan family took her in, so he had to retaliate. He’s all about repaying kindness with hatred.’
The Donovan Family: "..." ’Seriously, those two are unbelievable. One’s a monster, the other is scum. We wish them a lifetime together; they should be locked up and never let out to harm anyone else.’
’Second Brother was just unlucky. At the time, Jacobs’ primary target for revenge was Big Brother; everyone else was collateral damage. But since he happened to get into trouble right then, didn’t he walk right into the line of fire?’
Compared to Justin Donovan, who had navigated the business world for years, Hector Donovan, who was stuck in the messy fishbowl of the entertainment industry, was a much easier target. Plus, Hector had foolishly handed them the knife himself. It wouldn’t be Jacobs’ style not to take the opportunity to stab him with it.
And so, with Jacobs pulling strings behind the scenes, Hector Donovan, who had already been framed by Jacqueline Jennings, became the target of public condemnation.
At the time, the rest of the Donovan family were either tied up or had their own problems to deal with, so no one was in a position to help.
The only person who could have explained the situation was stuck at the police station, so all he could do was let them twist the truth and slander him as they pleased.
By the time Hector got out and the Donovan family was finally free to act, it was already too late.
Hector Donovan: ...
’I was laughing at my big brother this whole time, only to find out that I’m the real unlucky one?!’
The most heart-wrenching part was that as soon as Mrs. Donovan learned about this, she immediately created a "Gossip Central" group chat for the whole family and preemptively changed her sons’ nicknames to: Unlucky Soul No. 1 and Unlucky Soul No. 2.
Mr. Donovan and Eloise Donovan immediately followed suit, each sending a "dying of laughter" sticker.
Justin Donovan: "..."
Hector Donovan: "..."
’That’s enough. Your laughter is so loud it’s bothering us.’
Jokes aside, everyone was genuinely scared in hindsight.
If it weren’t for Arabella, even if they’d had suspicions about the child in Claire Bishop’s belly, they would have certainly given her a place to stay for the sake of her deceased parents.
But just as their Serena had said, taking her in would have landed them on some pervert’s revenge list.
Who would have thought that kindness could become a sin one day? It was truly impossible to guard against.
Thinking of this, everyone, just like Arabella at that moment, breathed a sigh of relief.
’Everything’s fine now. Mom and Dad correctly distinguished right from wrong and didn’t believe Claire Bishop’s attempt to frame Big Brother. Big Brother wasn’t fooled by her innocent "white lotus" act, either. Everyone’s involvement with her ended that morning. I wonder which poor soul that jinx has moved on to curse now.’
In Arabella’s view, a "dodder flower" like Claire Bishop couldn’t possibly survive on her own.
Since the path to Justin Donovan was blocked, she would definitely find another sucker.
This was a result of the butterfly effect. Arabella didn’t know the details, but that didn’t mean no one else did.
Mr. Donovan knew that ever since the near-disaster that day, his eldest son had assigned someone to keep an eye on Claire Bishop. Now, with his curiosity piqued by Arabella, he immediately pinged his eldest son in the group chat, asking for an explanation.
Seeing this, Mrs. Donovan and Eloise also started flooding the chat with praise, begging Justin to hurry up and post an update to satisfy their curiosity.
Justin Donovan: "..." ’You were just laughing at me, and now you remember my good qualities?’ freewёbnoνel.com
Grumbling aside, Justin ultimately gave in to their wishes and posted what he had recently found out in the group chat.
Just as Arabella had predicted, having lost a "blue-chip prospect" like Justin Donovan, Claire Bishop had to temporarily rely on Ethan Ford to get by.
But Justin had already traced her back to Ethan, so how could he possibly let her live a comfortable life?
Before long, Ethan Ford was fired for malpractice.
Claire Bishop had already looked down on his meager income as a contract doctor. Seeing that he had now lost his job, she couldn’t restrain herself. That very night, she packed her bags, fled, and hooked up with a real estate manager surnamed Dou.
Justin had been debating whether to continue making trouble for Claire Bishop, but he found there was no need for him to lift a finger. The man surnamed Dou was already swamped with problems and couldn’t even fend for himself.
Justin hadn’t thought much of it before, but after hearing Arabella’s analysis, he felt it was highly likely that the aforementioned Jacobs had made a move.
Justin posted this speculation in the group chat, immediately sparking a heated discussion.
Everyone unanimously agreed that their Serena was right after all. Claire Bishop was a walking disaster; whoever got involved with her was doomed!
After reviewing the plot and confirming that the sole threat behind Hector’s tragedy had been nipped in the bud, Arabella’s anxious heart could finally, completely rest.
She let out a light sigh, stretched, and looked around, only for her eyes to suddenly fly wide open.
’Huh? Is it my imagination? Why did I just see Second Brother’s forehead flash for a second?’
Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, who were drinking water, nearly sprayed it in each other’s faces. After managing to swallow, they immediately whipped their heads around to look at Hector’s face, but they saw nothing.
Mr. and Mrs. Donovan were greatly disappointed. They had just thought their second son had undergone a genetic mutation and grown a third eye!
Hector didn’t need to think to know what his two unreliable parents were thinking, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
Just as he was hesitating, wondering if he should reach up and touch his forehead to see if something was really wrong, a phone call stopped his foolish impulse.
"What did you say? Jacqueline Jennings was arrested? When did this happen?"
"Jacqueline Jennings was arrested?" Mr. and Mrs. Donovan also looked astonished.
Although they desperately wanted to see that vicious woman put away, the police had their own procedures. They couldn’t just arrest someone immediately, even with suspicion.
The family had already prepared for a long haul, expecting to be stuck here for a week or two battling it out. And now... she was arrested?
"You want to come up and see me? Okay, I’ll wait for you upstairs."
Ten minutes later, two people knocked on the door of Hector’s hotel room.
"Grant, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
Grant pointed awkwardly at Sheldon Webb beside him and chuckled. "I came with him."
"...When did you two get so close?"
But that wasn’t the point. The point was...
"How did you know Jacqueline Jennings was arrested? Is the information confirmed?"
It was Grant who answered. "A friend of mine who works in the news media told me. It’s absolutely true. He filmed it himself."
