Chapter 427 The Evidence

Chapter 427: Chapter 427 The Evidence

Today couldn’t have been a worse—or more convenient—time for Victoria to push the issue.

With the entire Taylor family gathered together, she was clearly hoping Grace would step in and demand that Ryan take responsibility for Alicia.

Grace’s excitement over finally gaining a great-granddaughter had evaporated.

Her expression hardened.

“Enough.”

Victoria fell silent.

Grace looked directly at her.

“Don’t think I don’t understand what you’re trying to do. You want to use this situation to push Alicia toward Ryan and secure her place with the Knight family.”

Victoria’s face went pale.

Grace continued before she could interrupt.

“Let’s be very clear. Ryan is Rose’s ex-husband. The Taylor family will not pretend otherwise, and we certainly won’t encourage one daughter to pursue the man who was married to the other.”

Her voice became colder.

“If you want to make arrangements for Alicia, that’s your business. But don’t expect this family to help you turn this into some kind of marriage negotiation.”

Victoria’s lips parted.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m only worried about Alicia. The rumors are already hurting her.”

Grace gave her a long look.

She had lived long enough to recognize manipulation when she saw it.

Victoria had spent years trying to secure her position through the right people, the right connections, and the right marriage alliances.

Grace wasn’t about to let her use the Taylor family to accomplish that now.

Alicia bit her lip.

“Grandma...”

Her eyes were already filling with tears.

“I know you’re only saying this because you don’t want Rose to be hurt.”

Grace frowned.

Alicia lowered her gaze.

“If my reputation suffers because of this, that’s okay. Rose’s feelings are more important.”

Grace’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you saying there actually was something between you and Ryan?”

Alicia’s mouth opened.

No answer came.

She twisted her fingers together and glanced toward Ryan.

He hadn’t moved.

He hadn’t defended himself.

He hadn’t defended her, either.

That silence said more than words could have.

Victoria immediately wiped at the corner of her eye.

“Rose.”

She turned toward her.

“Alicia is young. She doesn’t know how to handle this kind of attention. People are already talking about her, and she can’t keep living under that kind of scrutiny.”

She reached toward Rose.

“Can you please help us find a way to resolve this? Something that protects Alicia without making you uncomfortable?”

James immediately stood.

“As her mother, why are you asking Rose to clean up a mess Alicia created?”

Victoria’s expression changed.

Rose looked at her coldly.

“You want me to find a solution?”

Her voice was quiet.

“Fine.”

She looked directly at Alicia.

“Who forced you to go into that room alone with Ryan?”

Alicia’s face stiffened.

“Who forced you to take off your clothes?”

Victoria’s eyes widened.

Rose didn’t stop.

“Who made you throw yourself at him?”

“Rose—”

“I didn’t do any of those things to you.”

Her expression remained icy.

“So tell me exactly what explanation you want from me.”

Victoria stared at her.

“Why are you being so cruel?”

Alicia whispered, “Rose, I’m sorry...”

“Enough.”

Grace’s palm came down hard against the table.

Everyone fell silent.

She looked at Ryan.

“Mr. Knight. Are you going to say something?”

Ryan finally raised his eyes.

Alicia looked at him through tear-filled eyes.

Rose was visibly furious.

The entire afternoon had been supposed to be about Ariel.

Instead, they had somehow turned it into another argument over Alicia.

Ryan remained silent for another moment.

Then he looked at Victoria.

“I used to believe the Taylor family would never raise someone who behaved like this.”

Victoria stiffened.

“But now I understand.”

His voice was flat.

“Children learn from the people around them.”

The insult landed immediately.

Victoria’s face froze.

Alicia stared at him.

“Mr. Knight, what exactly are you implying?”

Even Derick’s expression darkened.

He clearly wasn’t pleased with what Ryan had said about his family.

But before he could respond, Ryan reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a small recording device.

“I think we’re wasting a lot of time arguing about what happened.”

James’s eyes narrowed.

Ryan continued.

“I tend to keep records when a situation could become complicated later.”

He held up the device.

“Alicia keeps suggesting there was something inappropriate between us. If I didn’t have evidence proving otherwise, I suppose I’d have no choice but to accept everyone’s version of events.”

James immediately took the recorder from him.

“Let’s see it.”

He connected it to the nearby screen.

The video began.

The room went silent.

Alicia appeared on-screen entering the private room.

Her voice came through clearly.

Every word.

Every suggestion.

Every attempt to get closer to Ryan.

There was no secret affair.

No romantic encounter.

No misunderstanding.

There was only Alicia trying to create one.

At one point, she even stumbled over the hem of her dress while moving toward Ryan.

He simply stepped aside.

She nearly fell.

The footage continued.

No one spoke.

Grace’s face became colder with every passing second.

Derick stared at the screen as though he couldn’t recognize the young woman standing in front of him.

His daughter.

The girl he’d always believed was sweet, sheltered, and incapable of deliberately hurting anyone.

This was not the daughter he thought he knew.

Alicia stood frozen.

All the color drained from her face.

She looked at Ryan in disbelief.

“You...”

Her voice barely came out.

“You recorded me?”

Ryan didn’t answer.

Alicia looked at the screen again.

He hadn’t just recorded the conversation.

He had recorded everything.

Rose watched the footage in silence.

She had never seen what happened inside that room.

Now she was seeing it from Ryan’s perspective, almost like watching a scene in a movie.

And there was no ambiguity.

Alicia had gone there with an agenda.

She had deliberately tried to make Ryan look guilty.

Grace’s expression hardened.

“This is what you’ve been calling an injustice?”

Alicia’s lips trembled.

Grace shook her head.

“I gave you the benefit of the doubt.”

Her voice was full of disappointment.

“But you walked into that room yourself. You pursued him. And now you’ve allowed everyone to believe you were the victim.”

Alicia’s eyes filled with tears.

Victoria immediately stepped in.

“Rose, you have to understand. Alicia only did it because she was worried about you.”

Rose slowly turned toward her.

Victoria continued quickly.

“She thought you still had feelings for Ryan. She thought she could talk to him and help the two of you resolve things.”

Rose stared at her.

Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.

“That’s your explanation?”

Victoria hesitated.

Rose nodded slowly.

“So Alicia was just being incredibly thoughtful.”

Her smile disappeared.

“She cared so much about me that she went behind my back, cornered my ex-husband, and tried to make herself look like his victim.”

Alicia’s face crumpled.

“Rose, I never meant—”

“You wanted him.”

Rose’s voice was quiet.

“Just admit it.”

Alicia froze.

“You wanted Ryan, and you wanted everyone else to believe he was responsible for what happened.”

Victoria’s face tightened.

Rose looked between them.

“And now you’re asking me to help make sure you get a happy ending out of it?”

She gave a short, humorless laugh.

“That takes some nerve.”

Derick finally spoke.

“Alicia.”

His voice was stern.

“Is this true?”

Alicia looked at him.

“Dad...”

“You knew what you were doing?”

She couldn’t answer.

Derick’s face fell.

He had spent years believing Alicia was innocent and uncomplicated.

Now he felt humiliated.

His gaze shifted toward Victoria.

Victoria shook her head quickly.

“Derick, I didn’t know she’d do something like this.”

Ryan looked at him.

“I suppose that’s another example of how children learn from the people raising them.”

Derick’s expression changed.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then his eyes slowly moved toward Victoria.

She noticed.

Her heart began to pound.

“It isn’t that simple,” she said hurriedly. “Alicia has never dated anyone. She’s inexperienced. She doesn’t understand how complicated these situations can become.”

Ryan’s expression didn’t change.

“That’s what you’re calling it?”

Victoria swallowed.

“A misunderstanding.”

Ryan gave a quiet, humorless smile.

“This was a misunderstanding?”

His eyes were cold.

“Maybe this time.”

He paused.

“But what about the night Rose was kidnapped?”

The room went dead silent.

Rose’s expression changed.

Grace looked sharply at Ryan.

James straightened.

And Victoria—

For the first time, genuine fear flashed across her face.