CHAPTER 212: CHAPTER 211. THEATRICAL GAME

"W-wha..."

Once the chairman came into the picture, both Lee Hyun and Mina couldn’t find the courage to speak up. They knew enough how useless it was to go against the chairman who was making that kind of expression.

Taking advantage of the silence, Sarah turned her gaze toward the guards. "Why don’t you go and check the kitchen while this girl explains it?"

"Ah..." the guards looked at the chief security, who gave them a nod. "Y-yes, right away!"

While the guards moved on with their search--along with Hajin--Sarah patted Mari’s back, pushing her gently forward. "Why don’t you tell me what happened, girl?"

"Yes, Miss!" Mari nodded, but even though Sarah meant for her to face the chairman, the little lamb still gave her report to Sarah. "So, so--Miss Honey asked me to fetch a shawl for Miss Vivian because it might become colder in the afternoon, but--but!" Mari pointed at the pale couple on the couch. "I saw them, Miss!"

Sarah had to try so hard to control her facial expression in this serious atmosphere. Why should this girl use the same storytelling approach as she usually does when making a report to her?

But, whew--Honey truly trained her well with the way she fished out an excuse using Vivian.

"I didn’t know what they wanted, but they were acting very suspiciously--truly!" Mari continued, taking out her phone from her pocket. "Look, look--I recorded it just in case!"

"Rec--"

Mina clasped her mouth, eyes widened as she watched the accursed girl hand her phone to Sarah. Watching the footage for a while, Sarah arched her brow before taking the phone to the chairman, showing the footage to everyone around.

There, taken cautiously through an open door, was a recording of two people huddling in front of the kitchen shelf. Cleverly, Mari had zoomed in on their arms and, through the gap, it was clear that they were pouring something into Vivian’s nutrient supplement milk--the one she took for her pregnancy.

Not only that, Mari also recorded their conversation afterward, the one where they were planning to blame it on an unlucky house staff.

"What do you think, Chairman?" Sarah asked.

"Seems like good enough evidence for the court," Amber said.

Mina shook her head vehemently. "W-we’re just--"

"Still denying it, huh?" Amber sneered in disgust.

At that moment, the guards had returned from their search in the kitchen. Of course, with evidence.

"We found the bottle. There’s still a residue inside, but it doesn’t have a smell," Hajin said, raising a bottle he carried inside a ziploc bag. "We’ll need to check this in a lab."

"Do it, then. Take the supplement shown in this video, too," the chairman pointed at the guard behind Hajin. "Carry it carefully--Chief Park, go with him. I can’t trust a single person in this household."

"Yes, Mr. Chairman."

"Hyung--"

"Shut up!" the chairman cut his brother sharply, no longer pretending to be calm. "I know everything already, so I don’t need your bullshit."

"I..." the third wife opened her mouth, unable to say anything. Like a goldfish, her mouth kept closing and opening as her gaze fell to the floor; helpless.

The bottle and the supplement powder were brought outside, and Sarah was sure they would have some more reserved for the chairman. Perhaps they were planning to poison Vivian first and make it look as if the chairman fell ill from the shock and lost his life in the aftermath.

Something was still missing from the puzzle, however.

"But...who’s the collaborator?" Sarah tilted her head. "It should be infused in your daily meal, Chairman, so...the chef?"

Sarah glanced at Lee Hyun and Mina, but she couldn’t see any notable reaction.

"The one in charge of Mr. Chairman’s meal is the head housekeeper, Miss!"

Mari came in a clutch and ever so slightly, Sarah saw a twitch at the corner of Lee Hyun’s eyes that made her smile. "Bingo!"

"Chief Kim," the chairman gritted his teeth. "Go get the head housekeeper and bring them here--as quietly as possible."

"Yes, Sir. What should we do with them in the meantime?"

"Keep them here for now. Lock the door and keep guards around the building," the chairman said while turning around, looking at his brother and his wife disdainfully. "For now, I still have guests to attend to."

* * *

"Good job, Mari. Honey thought you well," Sarah patted the girl, who was giggling in response, before wincing in pain as Sarah put salve on the reddened hands.

After locking the conspirators in the annex, they took refuge inside the bedroom suite that used to belong to Sarah when she was still living in the main house. It was left unused but well-maintained, as if the owner of the house still hoped the room would be used one day.

Sarah grumbled inwardly. What an unnecessary hassle.

"Oof--I can’t believe they were trying to frame me, Miss! They were going to send a staff member to the annex and blame them for the substance!" Mari continued her woe, shaking her head in frustration.

Planning to kill someone was already bad enough, but they also wanted to blame someone else? Wicked! So wicked!

"They already planned to blame one of the guests anyway," Hajin said, carrying a tray of warm drinks for Sarah to have--for Mari to calm down.

Which was very well needed; not because the girl was shocked, but because she kept cursing Mina and Lee Hyun. That was fine and all in front of Sarah, but it would be bad if she did it in front of the others.

Even in front of the person who almost became a victim.

"Mari!" Vivian barged into the room while clutching her front, rushing toward the girl who immediately pretended to be timid. She held Mari’s face and hugged the girl briefly. "Oh, Mari--you good girl!"

The little lamb grinned and raised her thumbs awkwardly. Vivian ruffled her hair, which was still messy, before turning toward Sarah.

"Sarah, did you...?"

"They were sneaking around suspiciously, so I got someone to tail them," Sarah said while closing the first-aid box. "I have to admit, I didn’t think of this outcome. I was expecting the proof of their affairs more than anything."

"But this is better, right?" Vivian smirked, taking a seat on the couch. "With this, that woman will be gone from this house, right?"

"Unless the chairman is stupid," Sarah shrugged.

"Sarah," Vivian called out in a whiny tone. "He’s sick, you know. You shouldn’t push him away too much. He was trying to fix his attitude--"

"Vivian," Sarah interjected coldly, prompting Vivian to press her lips together. Once again, she was reminded why she got nervous around her lover’s daughter. "There is no glue that can fix a child’s broken heart once it has been hacked into a million pieces."

Vivian sighed, but what could she do? She had heard what Sarah had to go through from the other house staff, and she had to admit that Lee Hyuk had done nothing to lessen the pain the girl experienced.

"How poetic," the door opened again, showing the smirk on Amber’s face as she leaned against the frame. "I thought you were only here to show your face?"

"With this kind of show going on?" Sarah spread her arms. "Might as well watch her get thrown to the street first."

"H-how..." from the open door, Ruby was staring inside the room with shaking fists. "How could you say that?!"

Sarah tilted her head, wondering if the girl was following Amber earlier. Or...was she on a detour to reach her own bedroom? At this point, she must have already heard what happened, so it was weird that she was still going around instead of staying in her room.

"Dear sister," Sarah smiled sweetly, the kind that did not reach her eyes. "I suggest you find a way to survive first."

Ruby bit her trembling lips before slamming the door shut and running away in frustration. Amber, who almost got slammed by the frame, brushed her shoulder while shaking her head.

"Poor girl," Sarah said, without a trace of sincerity.

"You..."

Amber looked at Sarah with narrowed eyes, but her criticism died in her tongue before she could even open her mouth. She was about to tell Sarah to lower her bullying, but she remembered that Ruby--and herself--used to bully Sarah a lot in the past. Not just verbally, but physically, taking advantage of the fact that Sarah was alone without any support in the house.

Thinking back, they had done much, much worse than just a mockery piece of advice.

"What?" Sarah tilted her head.

"Nothing, just..." Amber sighed. Did they even have the right to feel wrong if Sarah cursed them? At least, Amber felt like she couldn’t be so shameless. "Can’t say I don’t understand her feelings," she shrugged.

"Hmm," Sarah nodded. "How’s the situation outside?"

Unlike Sarah, who was isolating herself, Amber returned to the party, talking to the clueless guests. The chairman made a quick round before telling the guests that he was a bit tired, which was a cue for them to start leaving.

Amber explained that the last guests had left just a while ago, and the security personnel were cleaning up all the food in the kitchen and the pantry--both in the main house and the annex.

Lee Hyun and Mina said they hadn’t mixed the poison in any of the food lately, but who would believe their words at this point?

"And they’re still in the annex?" Sarah asked.

"I think they’ll be brought here after dinner."

"Ah, the hour of judgment," Sarah leaned back and crossed her arms, chuckling.

Amber looked at the nonchalant, casual smile on her half-sister’s face. It was the smile of someone who thought they had nothing to do with what happened and was just there to have fun.

"You see everything as a game, don’t you?" Amber narrowed her eyes.

"Game?" Sarah curled her eyes. "No, Amber. This is a theatrical show."

Amber scoffed and shook her head while walking toward the door. She opened the door and glanced at Sarah before leaving the room. "Don’t forget our deal."

Sarah blinked, suddenly remembering that she had promised to ’support’ Amber once Mina was gone from the house.

"Hmm..." Sarah pursed her lips; her annoyance toward the prosecutor increased. "This has become complicated."