Trouble in Paradise (Arianna and Nicholas)

Douglas entered and saw me rubbing my temples with my eyes closed. He asked with concern, "Ms. Jones, are you okay?"

I opened my eyes and forced a smile. "I'm fine. Get the car ready to head to Jay Caldwell & Co. and call Yasmine. We need to have a meeting."

"Ms. Warren already called to say she's waiting for you. The car is ready. We can leave now."

Without further hesitation, I took the lead and walked out. Once Frances's matter was settled, it would be time for me to leave too. Everything needed to be done quickly.

The journey was short. As soon as I entered Yasmine's office, I saw her grinning at me. Seeing her in such high spirits lightened my gloomy mood.

"What made you so happy? Share the joy!"

Yasmine playfully winked at me. "Take a look. Frances's testimony is full of loopholes. It doesn't hold up at all. It's just a bunch of nonsense!"

She had no personal grudge against Frances, but because of me, she hated them even more than I did.

She said harshly, "Does she really think she can save Claudia with this trash? Ari, let me tell you, I just need to make a slight move, and Claudia is finished this time!" I paused, the smile fading from my face.

Douglas glanced at me with concern. When he saw that all I had handed Nicholas was Frances's testimony, he understood the choice I had made.

Yasmine was unaware of our secret investigation into the witnesses of the hospital. Seeing the awkward atmosphere, she was even more puzzled.

"This is good news, isn't it? Claudia has been meddling in your marriage with Nicholas for so long, I've hated her for ages. What's wrong with you two? Aren't you happy?"

I silently flipped through Frances' testimony. It was annotated by Yasmine, with all the doubtful points highlighted. But I already knew them all.

With Neal's connection, I had gotten

my hands on the testimony first. I

had gone over it countless times-i not hundreds, then at least dozens. I even knew when Frances had

broken down in tears as she spoke.

Yasmine's expression turned serious. "Ari, what are you thinking? You're not planning to let Claudia off the hook, are you?"

I forced a laugh and tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "That's why we're such good friends. You can guess exactly what I'm thinking."

Yasmine jumped to her feet. Her

wheeled office chair rolled away as

if to escape the tension. She said angrily, "You're not thinking of letting Claudia off for Nicholas's sake are you? Ari, are you out of your mind?

swne

"We're not talking about personal feelings here. Do you remember that you're a lawyer? Are you going to throw away your professional ethics for Nicholas?

"We should not let any criminal get

away, nor should we wrong any

a

good person. Frances may not be good person, but the person who did

wrong should receive the

punishment they deserve, not

protection!

"Ariana, you told me you couldn't handle this case personally and have entrusted it to me to handle. Well, I don't care what you think, I won't let Claudia get away with this!"

I didn't respond. I calmly put the document annotated by Yasmine into my bag and took a revised testimony from Douglas.

"I've already fixed the loopholes in this one. The police will have Frances record a new statement based on my version. Check it for me, would you?

"I've been under a lot of stress lately, and I'm worried I might've missed something. I want to completely clear Claudia from this matter."

Yasmine stared at me in disbelief. "Do you think becoming the president of Jones Corporation gives you the right to abuse your power? How are you any different from Nicholas back then?

"Do you know what went through my mind when I was locked up? I despised people like them! Ariana, how did you end up like this?"

I heard every word Yasmine said. I understood every sentence. But did I really have a choice?

"If Claudia is gone, Nicholas could die at any time. Yasmine, what do you expect me to do? Just sit and watch him jump off a building?"