Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 88: Guilty as Charged

Her heart sank, and a chill ran through her limbs.

Ethan Lancaster sat in the car, searching through the recordings, but the footage from that time had been completely deleted.

The cameraman bent down and peered at Ethan Lancaster. He was still sitting there, repeating the same motion over and over, as if determined to find that video clip no matter what.

"Fourth Master?"

Ethan Lancaster’s lips were pressed into a thin line, his aura terrifying. After calling out once, the man didn’t dare disturb him again.

Seth Sinclair also got out and walked over to the car. He saw Ethan Lancaster swing his long legs out of the vehicle.

"Who touched the recordings in there?" His gaze landed squarely on Raina Reddington.

Raina didn’t look away. "I did."

Ethan Lancaster shot Seth Sinclair a look. "Go take care of it."

"Yes, sir." Seth Sinclair led the cameraman aside. Ethan Lancaster rested a hand on the open car door. "Great. Just great. You let him into your car. What were you two doing in there? Oh—"

Ethan Lancaster drew out the last word. "No wonder you had to get the car washed. What exactly were you trying to wash away?"

"Did that man get pictures of me?"

Ethan Lancaster walked around the car separating them and came to Raina Reddington’s side. "Want to see how beautiful you look on camera?"

"Sure."

Ethan Lancaster was so furious he could have spit blood. "Fine."

He waved Seth Sinclair over. "Bring the camera here."

"Yes, sir."

But they hadn’t settled on the terms yet. The man clearly refused to let go, clutching the camera tightly, his eyes wary. Seth Sinclair couldn’t stand the sight of him. "You’ll get every cent we promised. The Fourth Master has a short fuse. If you piss him off, you might walk away with neither your life nor your money."

With that, he forcefully snatched the camera away. Seth Sinclair walked up to Ethan Lancaster, who gestured for him to give it directly to Raina Reddington.

She flipped through several photos. Some scenes were either not captured or had been deleted. The few that remained were clearly meant to seal her ’guilt’.

No wonder Ethan Lancaster’s expression was so dark. Raina didn’t even need to look closely to see that the pants Miles Hawthorne was wearing were different in the before and after shots.

"He was injured. I treated the wound for him in the car."

"Is that so? Where was he injured?"

Raina now realized that deleting the dashcam footage was a classic case of a guilty conscience giving itself away. But Miles Hawthorne had been so hurt and still refused to go to the hospital, which meant his injury had to be kept secret.

"If I really wanted to do something with him, would I be so desperate as to do it in a car?"

Ethan Lancaster took the camera back, pulled out his phone, and began taking pictures of the photos on the camera’s screen, one by one. "You can’t be so sure. You seem to have forgotten that Miles Hawthorne blackmailed you with a video before."

"Then go ask the car wash. If the car wasn’t covered in so much blood, I wouldn’t have sent it to be cleaned."

Ethan Lancaster placed the camera on the hood of the car. He strode toward the trunk, where an expandable baton was stored. Seeing this, the cameraman, who was standing nearby, ran over in a few quick steps. "Fourth Master, don’t—"

Ethan Lancaster swung his arm, and the first strike smashed viciously into the camera. The man, blocked by Seth Sinclair’s arm, let out a wretched cry, "My camera! My baby! Fourth Master, have mercy! I promise I’ll delete them!"

Seth Sinclair’s ears were about to go deaf. "What are you yelling about? We’ll include the cost of this in your payment."

"It’s not about the money! My ex-girlfriend gave me that..."

Ethan Lancaster brought the baton down decisively. A few strikes landed on the car’s hood, sending chips of white paint flying. After a few more hits, the camera was completely destroyed.

Ethan Lancaster suddenly raised his hand, pointing the baton at the man. "Are there any backups?"

"No, no, no! Absolutely not."

Ethan Lancaster struck the ruined camera one more time. "You’d better hope not. Otherwise, your head will end up just like it."

The man’s eyes widened in fear, and he didn’t dare make another sound.

Ethan Lancaster turned and looked at Raina Reddington. The light in his eyes was cold, but his emotions were clearly suppressed. "Go upstairs."

Raina glanced back at the man. He had taken her picture today and knew that in person, she was far more beautiful than any still image could capture. But right now, her fierce, intimidating glare made him feel as if he had needles at his back.

’She wasn’t a celebrity, yet her private life was being spied on like this. For their own selfish desires, they disregarded others to such an extent—they were no longer worthy of being called human.’

The driver first took Miles Hawthorne back to his residence. Frederick Lynch also got out of the car. "I’m going to check on Hannah."

Hannah Lynch had rarely gone out since becoming pregnant. Seeing Frederick Lynch, she naturally clung to him and acted spoiled for a bit.

Miles Hawthorne had business to attend to, so he went upstairs first.

Only then did Frederick Lynch have a chance to give his daughter a quiet instruction. "Hannah, in a little while, I want you to discreetly check if Miles’s leg is injured."

"What’s wrong with his leg?"

"That boy pushes himself too hard, insisting on doing everything himself. He wouldn’t say a word even if he’s hurt. If you find an injury on his leg, you must tell me." Frederick Lynch patted the back of Hannah Lynch’s hand. "Don’t let him notice, you understand?"

"Dad, you’re suspicious of Miles again, aren’t you?"

Frederick Lynch glanced around. "Where are the maids I arranged for you? Those two are our people..."

"Don’t worry. I’m the person closest to him. I’ll pay attention."

"Just don’t be too obvious about it, you hear?"

Hannah Lynch agreed. After seeing Frederick Lynch off, she finally went upstairs. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

She pushed open the bedroom door and went in, only to see Miles Hawthorne sitting on the edge of the bed. He had changed into a bathrobe, and with the bandage on his leg unwrapped, the wound was exposed.

"Miles, what happened to you?"

Miles Hawthorne had applied some medicine himself, but it wasn’t a proper solution. ’I have to shake Frederick Lynch’s spies tomorrow and get to a hospital to have it treated properly.’

"Your father said there was a burglar, didn’t he?"

Hannah Lynch sat down beside him, wanting to help. "How did you injure your leg so badly?"

"He said that burglar injured his leg. So, tell me, do you think I might be that burglar?"

Hannah Lynch froze, then hurriedly grabbed the nearby bandages. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Hannah, if I wasn’t with you, I wouldn’t have to be afraid to even go to a hospital for an accidental leg injury. Your father has never trusted me. And you? I’m afraid you don’t either."

"No," Hannah Lynch said, anxiously wrapping the bandage around Miles Hawthorne’s leg. "I trust you. And don’t blame Dad. He’s always been like this. Sometimes he’s even wary of my own mother."

That night, once Hannah Lynch saw that Miles Hawthorne was resting, she tiptoed out to make a phone call.

"Dad, I checked. Miles doesn’t have any injury on his leg. He’s perfectly fine, jumping around and everything."

Hearing this, Frederick Lynch’s heart was finally put at ease.

「The Verdant Garden.」

Raina Reddington walked up the stairs, step by step. When she reached the bedroom door, Ethan Lancaster went in first. Raina took a few steps inside, only to see him turn around, close the door, and lock it from the inside.

She stood under a cluster of lights, her expression faintly uneasy. "What are you doing?"