Free Web NovelChapter 55: Chapter 55: A Tooth for a Tooth
The next moment, Holly Sinclair was pulled away.
"Vivian." Tristan Sterling’s brow furrowed as he bent down to help Vivian Linton up.
"Tristan!"
Vivian Linton threw herself into his arms, sobbing in anguish. "Tristan, Holly Sinclair was going to ruin my face... *sob*..."
Tears streamed down her face, a truly heart-wrenching sight.
"It’s okay, I’m here," Tristan Sterling murmured softly, gently patting Vivian Linton’s trembling shoulder.
"Hah," Holly Sinclair scoffed.
Tristan Sterling shot her a frigid glare. "What crazy stunt are you pulling now?"
’She’s getting more and more audacious.’
’Does she even know what would be waiting for her if she had actually gone through with it?’
’Is she that desperate to end up in jail?!’
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!" Holly Sinclair tossed the glass shard into a nearby trash can, a dazzling smile blooming on her face.
"Nicole Linton has already been punished," Tristan Sterling said, displeased.
’He had already given her an answer. Was she still not satisfied?’
"Just Nicole Linton?" Her scoff was even colder.
Tristan Sterling’s brow furrowed.
Fearing Tristan would grow suspicious from Holly’s words, Vivian Linton quickly turned to Holly and cried plaintively, "Holly, how many times do I have to explain this to you? It was Nicole who was being foolish and hurt you. It really had nothing to do with me..."
Then, she turned to Tristan. "Tristan, Nicole has already been taught a lesson. I never thought Holly would be so unforgiving, that she would even try to hurt me..."
"You saw what just happened. If you hadn’t arrived in time, my face... it would have been... ruined... *sob*..."
She put on an act of being in shock, her sobs a heart-rending mix of sorrow and grievance.
Watching Vivian Linton’s performance, the sneer on Holly Sinclair’s lips only widened.
Stared down by Holly Sinclair’s piercing gaze, Vivian Linton couldn’t help but feel a flicker of unease.
She abruptly changed her tune, tearfully launching into another aggrieved accusation. "Holly, you’ve gone too far! You were the one who maliciously slandered me online, which is what led to me getting hurt in the first place! Nicole only made a mistake because she was trying to stand up for me..."
Every word was crafted to place the blame squarely on Holly Sinclair.
Holly Sinclair laughed in exasperation.
’Still trying to sling mud at me at this point?’
"I maliciously slandered you?"
Holly Sinclair had been waiting for this exact moment. She pulled an investigation report and several photos from her bag, slapping them against Vivian Linton and Tristan Sterling. "Open your damn eyes and take a good look!"
The two of them instinctively caught the papers.
One glance was all it took for the color to drain from Vivian Linton’s face.
The report contained a record of a marriage certificate from the Civil Affairs Bureau and proof that a social media account had been hacked.
The photos were stills from surveillance footage.
In the photos, a woman was shown making a deal with a staff member at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
The woman was bundled up from head to toe, her face obscured.
She could have been Vivian Linton, or she could have been Nicole Linton.
As sisters, they had very similar builds.
"Tristan Sterling, I wasn’t the only one with access to our marriage certificate. The Civil Affairs Bureau keeps records, and if someone pulls the right strings, they can be retrieved. And yes, the social media account that was leaked to the press was mine, but it’s an old account I haven’t used in ages. If someone was determined to hack it, it would be the work of a moment," Holly Sinclair said coldly, looking at Tristan.
Tristan Sterling’s brow was furrowed, his expression as dark as a stormy sea, making it impossible to guess his thoughts.
"Vivian Linton, did you have fun staging this whole drama?"
Holly Sinclair turned back to Vivian Linton, her eyes brimming with scorn.
She had waited two days to come and settle the score with Vivian Linton precisely because she was waiting for this report.
At her words, a flicker of panic flashed in Vivian Linton’s eyes, but she vehemently denied everything. "Staging a drama? I have no idea what you’re talking about! Holly, don’t you dare make such baseless accusations!"
"I knew you wouldn’t admit it. But that’s fine..."
Holly Sinclair looked down and smiled. It was a radiant, captivating smile, and her soft, sweet voice sounded utterly harmless. "Whether you admit it or not doesn’t stop me from slapping you."
She looked up, her gaze as sharp as a blade.
SLAP!
She raised her hand and struck Vivian Linton hard across the face.
Vivian Linton’s face was already swollen from the previous slaps.
This slap made her ears ring and her vision swim.
She nearly fainted.
"Holly Sinclair!"
Tristan Sterling roared in anger, grabbing Holly Sinclair’s wrist. "You dare lay a hand on her right in front of me?!"
"I did. So what?"
Holly Sinclair smiled at him, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
Tristan Sterling’s face was as dark as iron, his eyes stormy and unsettling, exuding an oppressive aura that made it hard to breathe.
The smile on her lips was pure sarcasm as she spoke, each word sharp and clear. "Who the hell does Vivian Linton think she is? Having me locked up without a shred of evidence, and then thinking she can wash her hands of it all just by saying her sister did it?"
The man’s brow knitted, his gaze falling on her arm.
The dark purple bruises there had not yet completely faded.
An image of her covered in bruises flashed through his mind...
"This is what she owes me!"
Holly Sinclair viciously shook off his hand, hatred flaring in her eyes as she ground her teeth.
Tristan Sterling pressed his lips together, silent.
He didn’t object.
Seeing that Tristan was actually going along with Holly’s reasoning, Vivian Linton’s heart filled with a venomous hatred.
Fresh tears immediately began to fall as she shook her head, choking back sobs. "Tristan, I didn’t... You know I’m not a vicious person. I risked my own life to save you when you were in such danger. How could I possibly try to hurt someone? I swear, it really wasn’t me..."
"I believe you," Tristan Sterling said.
’Someone willing to risk their life to save another can’t be a bad person.’
"Hah."
Upon hearing this, Holly Sinclair couldn’t suppress a cold laugh. freewebnσvel.cøm
She turned and walked away.
...
「At a restaurant.」
"Brandon, thank you."
Holly Sinclair raised a glass of wine, toasting Brandon Sterling.
"Is there any need for such formalities between us?" Brandon Sterling said with a helpless smile.
Still, he raised his own glass and clinked it against hers.
Holly Sinclair downed the drink in one gulp. "I still have to thank you," she said sincerely. "If you hadn’t helped me, I don’t know how much longer I would have had to take the fall for this."
The documents and photos she had thrown in Tristan and Vivian’s faces had come from the investigation Brandon helped her with.
"In that case, this meal’s on you," Brandon said.
"Deal!" Holly Sinclair nodded emphatically.
That was exactly what she’d been thinking.
With both of the Linton Sisters punished, she was in a good mood.
She couldn’t help but have a few extra drinks.
Several drinks later.
"You and Tristan..."
Brandon hesitated for a long time before he finally couldn’t hold back the question any longer.
"We’re divorcing," Holly Sinclair said, concise and not hiding anything.
"Because of Vivian Linton?"
"The feelings between them are mutual."
"But I thought you were deeply in love with Tristan."
"That was my past foolishness."
Holly Sinclair gave a bitter smile. The next moment, she shook her head hard, as if trying to cast something from her thoughts.
’People who don’t belong in my head should be completely erased.’
Then she raised her glass. "Brandon, let’s not talk about this. Let’s just drink." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"Alright," Brandon agreed with an indulgent nod.
...
Holly Sinclair was a little drunk.
Brandon walked her to the entrance of her apartment building.
She politely declined Brandon’s offer to see her upstairs, insisting she was fine on her own.
Brandon left.
Then, she made her unsteady way toward the elevator.
She failed to notice the pair of cold, predatory eyes staring daggers at her from a black luxury car parked not far away, burning with rage...
