Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 383 - 364: Settling the Incident

There was a video attached under the text introduction on Weibo.

In the blurred video screen, a man’s face appeared vague, with a triangular play button in the center. Simply pressing it would reveal the Sinclair Family’s attitude.

Sienna Thornton hesitated to click it.

The Sinclair Family’s attitude was too crucial in this matter, which had received widespread public sympathy.

It could be said that this video from the Sinclair Family would determine whether Sienna Thornton could return to Brimfield.

She dried her hair while observing Simon Forrester’s expression.

Simon Forrester gestured at the phone in her hand with his chin: "Open it and take a look."

She thought the video must be good news; otherwise, Simon Forrester wouldn’t dare let her watch it.

She clicked to open it.

The background of the video was a spacious office, with a man sitting behind a desk wearing gold-rimmed glasses, appearing cultured and young.

The man introduced himself as Colin Sinclair, the father of last month’s "Western Suburb Case" victim, Nina Sinclair. His expression was one of grief and sorrow as he spoke to the camera—

"My beloved daughter, last month, got into an argument with Lawyer Thornton at ’Cognitas Law’ and took away the gift the Forrester Family gave Lawyer Thornton, a priceless string of eighteen beads. Because the weather was cold, my daughter wore gloves, so her fingerprints were not on the beads, only Lawyer Thornton’s. My daughter parked halfway, examining the beads carefully while wearing gloves, and called a friend about their value. Due to running the heater in a closed car with no air circulation for a long time, my daughter later suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, lost consciousness, and the beads fell into the car. At the time, the police suspected Lawyer Thornton, whose fingerprints were on the beads, as the murderer. However, after investigation, Lawyer Thornton was cleared of suspicion, and it was confirmed that my daughter died from an accident in the car; this incident is unrelated to Lawyer Thornton.

After Lawyer Thornton was cleared of suspicion, various posts appeared online slandering her endlessly. Unable to watch any longer, I am issuing this statement.

Online posts claimed my daughter was once engaged to a certain Forrester, heir of the Forrester Group, and that it was due to Lawyer Thornton’s interference that my daughter lost her fiancé, leading to the incident. This is not true. My daughter was never engaged to a certain Forrester. Because my wife has known certain Forrester’s parents for many years, there was indeed an idea to introduce my daughter to a certain Forrester, but since neither of the two children was interested, my daughter and a certain Forrester never had any relationship, let alone an engagement. As I know, a certain Forrester and Lawyer Thornton have been together for years, and Lawyer Thornton has never been a third party.

The above statement represents the Sinclair Family’s position and attitude. We hope online users will stop maliciously speculating about Lawyer Thornton and a certain Forrester. Lawyer Thornton is innocent and has no fault in this matter. Please let it go and allow my daughter to rest in peace. Thank you!"

After saying these words, Colin Sinclair removed his glasses and wiped his tears, appearing in much pain.

This Weibo post was sent out this morning. As of now, 12 hours later, it has been reposted millions of times. Many influential users have commented below, not only comforting Colin Sinclair but also calling on online users to apologize to Sienna Thornton.

Sienna Thornton turned to her phone to check Weibo, discovering that she suddenly gained more than a million followers from the few hundred she originally had. Her last Weibo post received tens of thousands of comments, mostly apologies and words of encouragement from online users.

Sienna Thornton looked back at Simon Forrester’s phone, stunned: "Is he really Nina’s father?"

"Yes."

"How is that possible?" Sienna Thornton was incredulous, "How could the Sinclair Family issue such a statement?"

Simon Forrester sneered: "Human nature."

"What exactly is going on?"

Simon Forrester sat sideways, taking the towel from Sienna Thornton’s hand, helping her dry her hair while explaining what happened this week—

"Actually, the day after you left the police station, Grandpa went to see the Sinclair Family. Regarding Nina’s accident, besides apologizing, he offered compensation to them. At that time, Old Master Sinclair had agreed not to pursue the matter further, but Colin Sinclair did not agree. He’s the one who hired people to slander you online. But he did these things not out of grief for his lost daughter, but entirely to raise the compensation."

Sienna Thornton: "Raise the compensation? He extorted Grandpa?"

Simon Forrester nodded: "Colin Sinclair had two goals: one was to pressure you and thus put pressure on the Forrester Family to increase the compensation; the other was to create an image of a pitiful father who lost his only child, gaining public sympathy to pave the way for what was to come."

Sienna Thornton was surprised: "What’s coming next?"

"In addition to his daughter Nina from his legitimate marriage, Colin Sinclair had a son with the headmistress of a high-end private kindergarten under the Sinclair Family. As the Sinclair Family is still controlled by Old Master Sinclair and Nina’s two uncles, Colin Sinclair has no say in the group or the family. Now that his daughter is gone, he used the pressure on you to extort a hefty compensation from the Forrester Family."

Sienna Thornton was so shocked that she couldn’t speak.

Simon Forrester continued, "The reason the negotiation stalled was that Colin Sinclair demanded ten percent of the Forrester Group’s shares. Grandpa didn’t agree, so the talks were at an impasse, and he continued smearing you online. Last week, when I returned, my people happened to uncover his illegitimate son, and I used that to negotiate with him. To protect his illegitimate son, he released this statement."

Sienna Thornton knew that someone intending to profit from his daughter’s death wouldn’t block his financial road just to keep an illegitimate son hidden. She asked, "How much did you end up paying?"

Simon Forrester didn’t answer immediately, and the room fell silent.

Sienna Thornton elbowed the man sitting behind her: "Come on, how much did you pay?"

Simon Forrester quietly said, "A hundred..."

"A hundred?" Sienna Thornton was shocked, suddenly turning around with wide eyes, "You really gave it?"

Simon Forrester explained, "My parents gave the money. Wasn’t it their actions that caused this in the first place? If they hadn’t raised the Sinclair Family’s hopes, what did Nina’s accident have to do with us?"

Upon hearing that Zane Forrester and his wife would take responsibility, the frustration in Sienna Thornton’s heart dissipated a lot. After calming down, she asked, "You didn’t give any company shares, right?"

"Of course not."

"That’s good then."

Sienna Thornton had a good night’s sleep that night. Since being taken by the police, it had been almost a month, and she hadn’t slept so soundly in a long time.

.

On New Year’s Eve morning, Felix Raines called Melinda Linton to ask about her health and whether she’d be returning for the New Year.

Melinda Linton had the speakerphone on, and Sienna Thornton, sitting beside her, heard her tell Felix Raines that she had been hospitalized again a few days ago and needed to stay in bed, so she couldn’t return for the New Year.

With Felix Raines’ temperament, he would surely start cursing again. Sienna Thornton was ready to curse back if he started speaking offensively, but surprisingly, Felix Raines was very understanding, telling Melinda to take care of herself and saying that he would return to Raines Village to worship their ancestors.

Sienna Thornton was puzzled by Felix Raines’ change of attitude when she suddenly heard him say on the other end of the line, "Melinda, thank my son-in-law for me. I received the cigarettes, liquor, and red envelopes he sent! Tell him and Annie to visit their old home when they have time!"

Sienna Thornton: "..."

She ran to the balcony and found Simon Forrester hanging Spring Festival couplets and window decorations: "Did you send things and money to Felix Raines?"