Chapter 463 William and Hayden （64）
Meanwhile, although William had ruled out Hayden and Jasper as suspects, he couldn't shake the image of Hayden lying naked in Jasper's arms, a reality he had witnessed. Furthermore, what he had overheard during the phone call to Hayden after leaving the airport was convincingly incriminating.
William didn't want to accuse without solid evidence, despite suspecting Michelle. He devised a plan to pull surveillance footage from various locations to track Michelle's movements.
If the timelines aligned, nearly all doubt would vanish, pointing to Michelle as the mastermind behind the entire scheme. However, despite his efforts, he couldn't find Michelle's figure in any of the surveillance footage from their apartment complex to the college's women's dormitory, which she might have passed through.
He also tried to feel out Michelle's new roommate.
"Michelle might not have come back, or when she did, I wouldn't know," her new roommate confessed, admitting she had slept soundly that night and only saw Michelle in the dorm around noon the next day.
"William, why are you suddenly asking about Michelle's whereabouts? Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Michelle's new roommate asked with a playful smile, eyeing William.
Men like William were usually out of reach, but now he had taken the initiative to ask her out for coffee and engage in conversation, which meant she was an open book to him.
"No, we're just having a casual chat, and you haven't said anything wrong," William answered with a handsome and gentle smile.
William didn't hesitate to use his charm when needed.
"Oh, right. When I saw Michelle the next afternoon, she reeked of alcohol, and she was wearing the same clothes as the day before," the new roommate recalled, frowning. "For someone who cares so much about appearances, it was odd to see her in the same outfit for two days straight, especially with such a strong smell of alcohol on her and her makeup smeared."
"Really?" William's piercing gaze narrowed as he quickly grasped the situation. "What did you say to her at the time?"
Michelle's new roommate shook her head, "We hardly ever talk, so we didn't say anything to each other."
"Alright, I understand. Thank you!" William nodded and smiled, his mind racing toward a conclusion.
...
The DNA sample Jasper had sent for testing came back the next day.
The results showed that the two samples did not match.
William chuckled at the results because he had found out that Michelle had rushed back to her dorm before Jasper arrived to collect the samples.
"Damn! Michelle is sly; I didn't see that coming. She's way more cunning than any of those manipulative women on TV shows," Jasper fumed after hearing what William had learned, irritated with himself for not realizing how deceptive she was.
"I'm going to confront her!" Jasper declared, ready to seek out Michelle.
But William stopped him.
"There's no need to look for more evidence now; it's clear that she's framing you and Hayden," William smirked. "If you go after her now, she might just turn the tables, making the innocent seem guilty and the guilty seem innocent."
"How come we're just letting her off the hook like that?" Jasper fumed.
Right now, they needed more solid evidence, and even if they did have some, it wasn't certain they could land Michelle in jail.
"Don't tell me you're okay with letting her slide?" William countered, not directly answering him.
"Of course not."
William smirked. "Well then, that's settled. Let's teach her a lesson first."
Glancing at William, Jasper's eyes flickered with understanding. He nodded and said, "I can handle that. I'll make the arrangements."
...
Two days later, Michelle was working overtime during her Internship. After leaving at about eight p.m., she walked through a deserted stretch of street and was suddenly mugged.
She attempted to pursue the thief, but not only was she unable to recover her stolen bag, but she was also attacked, severely beaten, and left with a broken arm and leg. Fortunately, a passerby discovered her and took her to the hospital.
Even though she filed a police report, the attack happened in an area without surveillance cameras. Moreover, Michelle couldn't describe the assailants' appearances, so the police had no leads to pursue. The case ended up going nowhere.
Cluelessly about what had happened, Hayden visited Michelle in the hospital the following day.
Seeing her with a broken arm and leg, her face swollen, and bruises all over, unable to move on the hospital bed, Hayden was furious. "Those robbers are way too brazen. It's one thing to rob, but to beat someone to this extent... Michelle, if the police can't handle this, I will."
Michelle wasn't stupid. She had carefully considered it during the night. Her bag contained nothing valuable besides her identification and a cell phone.
The fact that multiple people had robbed her and intentionally covered her head to beat her, not with the intent to kill her but to inflict severe injuries by breaking her arms and legs and nearly disfiguring her face, seemed inexplicable.
Unless, of course, it was all orchestrated.
Considering William and Jasper's interest in the situation over the last few days, she suspected they were onto her, and she dared not make a fuss.
After all, if Jasper and William wanted to get rid of her abroad, it wouldn't be difficult.
This incident served as a clear warning.
Trying to muster a smile, she stopped Hayden, "Let the police handle this. Don't get involved. I don't want to cause you any trouble."
"Michelle, you're in this shape, and you are still..."
"Look, Hayden, I know you want to stand up for me, but I really don't want to drag anyone into this mess. Please don't get involved, okay?" Before Hayden could finish venting her anger, Michelle reached out to take her hand, pleading with a look that said, "I don't want to cause you any trouble."
Seeing Michelle like this, Hayden could only sigh and give up. After a short conversation and a reminder for her to rest well, she left Michelle's hospital room.
Hayden had been at the hospital visiting Michelle when William, having completed his business, came to collect her.
