Chapter 165: Going Upstairs for a Meal

Vivian Sullivan did have depression, but it wasn’t severe. With Amanda Vance still in her life, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her. In fact, she was already preparing for a divorce.

However, she was afraid her condition would affect her chances of winning custody of Amanda Vance. A judge would never award a child to a mother with a mental illness. So, she decided to seek treatment, never suspecting that the doctor had already been bought off by Holly Vance and Sarah Sullivan.

After that, as one might expect, Vivian Sullivan’s condition worsened by the day, escalating into severe depression and causing hallucinations.

This was also consistent with her autopsy report.

No one would suspect a thing if a woman with severe depression jumped to her death.

Not even Amanda Vance.

She only ever regretted not waking up in time that day. If she had, she could have stopped her.

Little did she know that even if she had stopped her that night, she wouldn’t have been able to prevent it the next night, or the night after that...

"Bastards!" Amanda Vance suddenly slammed her hand on the table. A police officer was about to console her when he saw a crack form in the table’s surface. His expression froze.

Samuel Ford noticed it too. He took out a credit card, handed it to her, and pulled her hand back. "They will be punished."

But her mother was never coming back.

A flash of anguish crossed her eyes. Amanda Vance gritted her teeth. "Is the evidence conclusive?"

The officer nodded. "The chain of evidence is solid. It’s enough for a conviction."

"Will it be the death penalty?" she pressed.

This time, the officer couldn’t give a definite answer. He wasn’t sure how the court would rule. It could be a life sentence.

’A long life of torment wouldn’t be so bad,’ Amanda thought, ’but I don’t want them to live a single day longer. I just want them to die now and atone for what they did to my mother.’

"What if we add major financial crimes to the list?" Samuel Ford said suddenly.

Amanda Vance turned to look at him.

He said, "I discovered that after Victor Ford left the hospital, he injected a large amount of capital into the Vance Group. The money is from a questionable source, and I suspect it’s money laundering."

Victor Ford was his second uncle.

The amount was large enough to be considered a major felony.

Combined with what Amanda Vance had previously uncovered, which included fraud with particularly malicious intent, this was no trivial matter.

"You can present this evidence to the judge and hire a top-notch lawyer. That would make the death penalty a strong possibility."

The death penalty wasn’t common in their country, but people who chose to become police officers tended to have a stronger sense of justice than most. They especially detested criminals. Unintentional acts were one thing, but premeditated crimes like this were the most detestable of all. They shouldn’t be pardoned lightly; the sentence should be as severe as possible.

In cases like this, where criminals had not only broken the law but also taken a life, they wished they could just drag the perpetrators out and have them shot.

That was why the officer was offering his own suggestions.

’A good lawyer?’ she thought. ’That’s the one thing we’re not short on.’

By the time they finished giving their statements and left the police station, the sky had already begun to darken.

Amanda Vance turned to Samuel Ford and said with genuine gratitude, "Thank you, President Ford."

’If it weren’t for him, those two would have gotten away with it for a few more years.’

’More importantly, I would never have been able to avenge my mother.’

She was truly grateful to him.

"You’re welcome. I just stumbled upon it by chance," Samuel Ford said modestly. His own motives for investigating the Vance Family weren’t entirely pure, after all.

"To be honest, I’ve known about this for some time. But back then, it was just a suspicion without enough evidence, so I didn’t tell you. I hope you’re not upset."

Amanda Vance shook her head. "How could I be upset? You’ve been a huge help, President Ford. By the way, you just mentioned that Victor Ford invested in the Vance Group?"

’I did find records of a capital injection into the Vance Group, but I never expected he would be the one behind it.’

’Why would he help Holly Vance?’

For some reason, Amanda Vance suddenly recalled the way Mr. Ford had treated her. It was very likely because Victor had told the old man something about Samuel.

’It seems Victor Ford has some connection to the Vance Family.’

’But why had she never known? Even in her own investigation into the past, his name had never once surfaced.’

Samuel Ford nodded. "Yes, it was him. But he disappeared after that day, and I haven’t been able to find him yet. Amanda," he said, his tone turning serious, "you need to be careful for a while."

’From the look of things,’ Samuel thought, ’Victor Ford has some strange connection to the Vance Family, and it doesn’t seem like a friendly one. The money appeared to save the Vance Group, but it was actually just a way to pin a huge problem on them.’

’Too bad that idiot Holly Vance is still grateful to him, completely oblivious to the fact that he’s being used.’

’And that means Amanda could be in danger.’

Amanda, however, wasn’t afraid of this. In fact, she almost wished he would come for her. ’That way I can get all the answers at once.’

"Amanda." Samuel Ford’s voice grew stern. When she looked over, it softened again. "Don’t let your guard down."

’He’s involved in too much,’ Samuel thought. ’The results of my investigation were already shocking enough. I never imagined that my own uncle—a man I thought only knew how to indulge himself—was secretly involved in so many shady dealings. What he’s done is several times more vicious than anything Holly Vance has attempted.’

"He’s not as simple as he appears."

"Mhm." Meeting his worried gaze, Amanda watched him for a moment before slowly nodding. "I know. I’ll be careful."

"Good." He let out a small sigh of relief. A sudden silence fell between them. After a moment, Samuel was the first to break it. "It’s getting late. Let me take you home."

"Okay."

They had arrived in a police car, so Amanda was about to hail a taxi when a car pulled up in front of them.

Samuel Ford opened the car door, holding his hand protectively over the top of the frame. "Get in."

Her gaze swept over his hand. Amanda pressed her lips together and got in, only then realizing that the driver was Rocco.

Seeing her, Rocco looked ashamed. "I’m sorry, Dr. Vance. I couldn’t stop those two today."

’Sir had instructed them to stop anyone from disturbing Dr. Vance, but they had still let her get hurt. They were useless.’

"It’s all right," Amanda said gently, not seeming to mind. "It’s not your fault, so don’t blame yourself. They were determined to hurt me. Even if you had stopped them at the hospital, they would have found another opportunity. Besides, a confrontation between us was bound to happen sooner or later. It was unavoidable."

Not that she had ever wanted to avoid it.

She had never been afraid of Holly Vance and Sarah Sullivan.

All they ever did was rehash the same old things to attack her, and she had long since grown used to it.

Seeing the faint, indifferent smile on her face, Samuel Ford shot Rocco a look, and Rocco immediately fell silent.

When he dropped her off at her apartment building, Amanda said suddenly, "President Ford, thank you so much again for today. It’s getting late... why don’t you come up and have dinner with me?"

Samuel Ford looked at her. Her expression was guileless; she was genuinely just inviting him to dinner as thanks.

Samuel Ford nodded. "Alright."

As he got out of the car, Amanda turned to look at Rocco. "Do you want to come up?"

’Yes!’ he thought. ’I haven’t eaten all day, either!’

He was just about to nod when Samuel Ford shot him a frosty glance. Rocco instantly changed his tune. "No, thanks. I’m not hungry."

Just then, his stomach let out a loud RUMBLE. He clutched it in embarrassment, and while enduring his boss’s murderous glare—one that threatened to slice him into ribbons—he feigned composure and added, "I’m on a diet."

"..."

Amanda glanced at the man beside her. His eyes were slightly downcast, and in the lamplight, he had a strange air of gentleness and docility.

’Docile? Hah. As if I’m blind.’