Chapter 226: Facing the Punishment!

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Facing the Punishment!

An awkward silence fell over the Sterlings.

Mrs. Sterling opened her mouth, the words lingering on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. In the end, Vivian Lowell simply offered Mrs. Sterling a kind smile before pulling Eleanor Rhodes away.

There was no need to stay and say anything more. The Sterlings had indeed mishandled the situation, but Vivian and Eleanor weren’t going to blame them. After all, nothing in this world was ever a hundred percent certain. However, human intervention could at least reduce the chances of accidents occurring. If the Sterlings had been more careful, or if Vivian and Eleanor had handled Wendy Wynn’s matter themselves from the beginning, perhaps none of this would have happened.

But those were just "ifs." Since the damage was already done, it was best to focus on the aftermath.

On the way back to the pet hospital, Vivian asked about Eleanor’s plans.

"I don’t really have any ideas," Eleanor said helplessly. "Julian’s suggestion isn’t bad, but the profit margin of our pet hospital isn’t very high to begin with. If we do that, we might not have any income left."

To hire experienced doctors and staff with strong senses of responsibility and compassion, Eleanor had never shortchanged her employees when it came to salaries. Furthermore, she paid for all the cat food and litter out of her own pocket. With so many kittens, the monthly expenses were significant. Although some brands had previously offered assistance, it still wasn’t enough. If she hired two more security guards now, the pet hospital wouldn’t make a dime! She would truly be running a "charity," without earning a single cent!

Seeing Eleanor’s distressed expression, Vivian could only offer, "It’s fine, Eleanor. You don’t need to pay me a salary anymore. I’m not at the hospital every day anyway! That way, you can save some money and break even."

Eleanor shook her head and replied seriously, "Absolutely not! Vivian, you’re working for me, so I have to pay you! Besides, your hourly rate for design work is so high! What I pay you is already quite low in comparison. I can’t mistreat you!"

Seeing her earnestness, Vivian was at a loss for words. She simply nodded, deciding to just let Eleanor do whatever she wanted.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past few days, Vivian had visited the pet hospital almost every morning before going to her own company. She helped Eleanor take care of the kittens, feeding them and changing their litter. The pet hospital’s expansion renovations were also fully completed. Eleanor had hired two security guards, who pitched in to help move some of the equipment around.

Eleanor’s next plan was to continue going all out on cat-rescue missions while frequently updating her rescue videos. She wanted to attract more people to adopt the kittens and spread the concept of "adopt, don’t shop"! Vivian thought the plan was excellent, and she made sure to update Eleanor on the case’s progress almost every day.

"Both of them confessed to everything. Just as we suspected, Wendy initially intended to get back together with Henry Sterling and marry him so he would help pay off her debts.

"Later on, when she failed and realized you were an obstacle, she deliberately drove a wedge between the two of you. She found countless excuses to keep Henry around, making you think he still had feelings for her.

"The reason this incident happened was that she realized her attempts to keep him were no longer working. Henry gradually understood his own feelings and refused to continue seeing her.

"Left with no other options, Wendy couldn’t find another lifeline besides Henry. However, Rachel Faulkner appeared. Rachel gave Wendy a sum of money and told her to fake her suicide to blow up public opinion.

"Rachel wanted to use Wendy to get back at me. Rachel also admitted that she used Robert Lowell to kidnap me, and she was the one who tampered with Sharon Galahad’s car.

"Once Sharon tried to drive away to escape, Rachel could cause the car to lose control and kill her.

"That’s essentially the whole story. They’ve confessed to what they needed to, and the next step is for the lawyers to prosecute them according to the law.

"Wendy’s crimes are slightly lighter, but since they still involve intentional injury and the use of illegal firearms, she’ll face around ten to fifteen years in prison.

"Rachel’s crimes, on the other hand, are much more severe. Julian told me he’ll have the lawyers push for the death penalty!"

Rachel’s actions basically amounted to "hiring a hitman." When Julian had come to rescue Vivian from Robert’s clutches, there was a sniper at the scene hired by Rachel! The sniper had secretly assassinated Robert right as he was about to tell the truth!

Rachel had the blood of both Robert and Sharon on her hands. Furthermore, she had intended to harm Vivian, which counted as attempted murder! With all these cases stacked against her, sentencing Rachel to death wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all.

The only problem was that both Rachel and Wendy held foreign citizenships. As foreigners, punishing them under Veridian law presented a few complications. Many foreign countries didn’t have the death penalty, only extremely long prison sentences akin to life imprisonment. Even with good behavior, they would never have the chance to get out in their lifetime.

However, in Vivian’s eyes, there was a massive difference between the death penalty and life imprisonment. Life imprisonment meant she would still be alive. Moreover, Rachel’s days in prison wouldn’t be that bad. Her basic daily needs would be met, and she’d have access to physical exercise and occasional holiday activities! That was way too comfortable!

After doing so many evil things, why should Rachel get to enjoy "free room and board" and even free healthcare in prison for the rest of her life? It was completely unfair! Rachel needed to know that her wicked deeds would lead to her death. Making her feel true fear was the only real form of torment and retribution.

This was Julian’s thought as well.

"It’s true that she’s my sister. We grew up together, and I do have some affection for her. But... she ultimately chose to harm others and even hurt Grandmother," Julian had told her. "She did these things out of pure selfishness. I won’t cover for her under any circumstances."

Julian’s words sounded a bit heartless, but Vivian knew his decision was beyond reproach. Doing this was the only right choice! She just didn’t know how the judge would rule in the end.

Upon hearing all this, Eleanor remained quite calm. She even asked, "So, Vivian, do you have any familiar lawyers on your end? My family has pretty broad connections. If you need me to introduce a lawyer to you, I can ask my mom!"

"No need, Eleanor," Vivian replied. "Julian is being very serious and responsible about all this. The two of us just need to follow the progress and stay updated. There’s no need to worry so much!"

Hearing this, Eleanor felt much more at ease. "That’s good! Vivian, it’s getting late, and I have to perform surgery on a kitten. I’m going to get busy."

"Mmhmm!" Vivian nodded in agreement. Seeing that she had pretty much finished her tasks at the pet hospital, she headed back to her company.

By the time Vivian arrived at the office, it was already nine o’clock. Since there was a morning meeting scheduled, she headed straight to the conference room.

Most of the staff had already arrived. Finn was currently distributing the catalogs needed for the meeting. The catalogs contained magazines previously published by a brand they were recently collaborating with, featuring works from their past collections. This brand was highly renowned internationally! Vivian had actively initiated this collaboration, but several other design firms had sent out invitations as well. She needed to draft a proposal first to compete with them! This morning’s meeting was dedicated to brainstorming a suitable plan.

However, to her surprise, Vivian found a bouquet of flowers resting on her seat as soon as she entered the room. They were lilies. White and fragrant, their scent filled the conference room, giving off a refreshing and uplifting aroma.

"Whose flowers are these?" Vivian asked, feeling puzzled.

As soon as she asked, Finn leaned in with a bright smile. "They’re yours, of course, Boss! Vance Wyatt brought them down specifically for you.

"He said that when President Faulkner was coming to the office today, he passed by the flower shop downstairs just as it opened. The shop owner was tending to the flowers.

"These lilies still had dewdrops on them and looked exceptionally fresh, so he decided to buy them for you. You weren’t here yet when Vance arrived, so he just left them in the conference room.

"It’s such a huge bouquet! The rest of us were so envious when we saw it! Oh, right, Vance also asked me to pass on a message: President Faulkner is coming to take you out for lunch today!

"He wanted you to think about what you’d like to eat whenever you have some free time this morning.

"President Faulkner said you can have whatever you want!"

Finn spoke with great enthusiasm. By the time she finished, Vivian could practically see the pink, shipping-obsessed bubbles floating in her eyes!

Vivian’s cheeks couldn’t help but flush. There were quite a few people in the office, yet Finn was broadcasting these things so openly. Julian had been getting more and more high-profile lately too, as if he was eager to pull her along into flaunting their affection.

"Alright, I got it." Faced with Finn’s eager gaze, Vivian could only offer a perfunctory response. Picking up the flowers from her desk, she decided it was best to carry them back to her private office first.

All the way back to her office, Vivian felt as if she were walking through a trail of fragrance with the bouquet in her arms. The flowers Julian bought smelled truly wonderful. The faint, elegant scent was refreshing, driving away all of her morning fatigue.

What should they have for lunch?

Vivian’s mind briefly flashed with the image of Julian pushing open her office door and smiling at her when he came to pick her up for meals. So gentle, filling her with a sense of joy.