Chapter 279 Standing in for Katherine Again
The agent leaned close to Katherine's ear and whispered a series of phrases with caution. Katherine's distraught expression gradually eased, her eyes slowly filling with hope as her spark returned, "Yes! Let's do that!"
At one in the morning, Penny and Sara were asleep together in the chairs at the airport waiting area, while Anna was also nodding off nearby.
However, the sounds of gossiping voices around her were incessant, seemingly discussing Katherine? Giorgio? She couldn't fall asleep at all.
Feeling the urge to pee, she opened her eyes, stood up, and decided to head to the restroom.
Unexpectedly, two tall figures in black appeared before her, "Miss Stefanelli, please come with us."
"Ah? Who are you?" Anna instinctively stepped back in fear, her mind racing to mention that there were patrol officers around!
But the two in black said, "We're here on Katherine's orders. She said young Master Charlie is in grave danger. You won't be returning to Vista Heights; you must come with us immediately."
Charlie!!
At the mention of grave danger, Anna's heart leaped into her throat, and she stood up, "What happened to Charlie? Tell me what happened to him!"
"Just come with us, and you'll know!" one of the men in black firmly grabbed her.
The other one picked up Penny and forced them to leave.
Though the airport crowd was curious, they did not interfere, seeing that Anna wasn’t resisting.
After all, everyone's attention was fixed on the news about Katherine.
What a huge scandal!
Half an hour later.
The minivan stopped in front of a villa.
Anna had never been there and resisted apprehensively, "Who exactly are you? I have an alarm on me, and if you dare touch a hair on me or my daughter, I'm calling the police!"
The men stayed silent with serious expressions as the luxurious villa door clicked open. Inside, the bright lights illuminated a slender figure standing tall.
She said, "Anna, I asked you to come. Please, come inside."
That voice... It was indeed Katherine!
What in the world was going on?
Could something really have happened to Charlie?
Worried, Anna ran inside.
The inside was more opulent than she could have imagined, but she had no mind for that and asked directly, "What's happened to Charlie? Tell me quickly."
Katherine looked at her solemnly, "Charlie is fine. I have an issue."
"Ah?" What issue could she have?
Anna didn't get a chance to react before Katherine, the high and mighty miss of the Stefanelli family, proud as a peacock, suddenly knelt before her. Katherine had actually knelt down!
She looked at Anna with a pitiful expression, "The affair between me and Giuseppe has blown up on social media; we're the subject of nasty headlines all over the internet."
What?
Anna clicked on Twitter in shock, scrolling through the news updates.
A minute later, her response was more level-headed than expected, "In this world, no secret can stay hidden forever. From the day you got entangled with Giuseppe, you should have been prepared for the consequences."
Wow.
Was she mocking her now? Reveling in her downfall?
Katherine felt a surge of anger, the urge to lash out at Anna, but she knew she needed her help. So, she softened her tone instead.
"Yes, you're right, Anna. But I was cornered. I have Charlie, and Giorgio is such a great guy; why would I cheat? It happened by accident at a family party when I got drunk with Giuseppe. After that, he kept asking me out, pursuing me. I went along with it out of fear he’d make the affair public. I told him that after getting married, we should act as if nothing had happened. The video was from before the wedding; I never imagined it would get leaked. Now, everyone online is laughing at me, gossiping. If this scandal is confirmed, given Grandma's character, she'll undoubtedly kick me out. The world ostracizes me with nowhere to turn."
Her words dripped with pain and fear as Anna looked at Katherine, sensing a flicker of sympathy. The once untouchable Stefanelli heiress now seemed equally fearful and vulnerable. But...
"What's the point of telling me all this? I'm not the one you should be pleading with."
"It's you. Listen to me, Anna," Katherine implored, grabbing Anna's hands and looking up at her.
"Step forward, claim it was you in the video. Please help me!"
‘What?!’
‘She wanted me to take the fall, to assume the role of the woman caught in the scandal with Giuseppe.’
‘So this was her scheme!’
Anna scoffed coldly, firmly refusing, "Impossible. Your mess has nothing to do with me. I won't be your scapegoat."
"What about Charlie? Don't you care about him?"
Charlie?
What did any of this have to do with Charlie?
Katherine spoke earnestly, "If this scandal gets pinned on me, I'll have to divorce Giorgio. Charlie would lose his mother and become the butt of everyone’s cruel jokes, living under the stigma of his mother's infidelity. He's already dealing with autism; I fear he couldn't cope with this sort of trauma."
Anna paused. She hadn't considered this angle. It wasn't just Charlie; no child should have to bear such a burden.
"Anna, please. Just help me."
Being single was your reality, and so was it for Giuseppe. Whatever you two were doing together was nobody's business and wouldn't hurt anybody. Once the dust settled, no one would bat an eye, and there would be no consequences for you.
"If you help me with this, I'll allow you to see Charlie as his aunt whenever and wherever you want! And your daughter, I won't give her a hard time, I promise. Plus, you'll get to see your grandmother."
Grandmother!
Anna's whole purpose for coming to Crownhaven was to find her grandmother!
Surprised and slightly alarmed, she looked at Katherine, "Really? I can truly spend time with Charlie and see my grandmother?"
"Mhm, this mansion has been transferred into your name as of half an hour ago. You and Penny can live here together; the kids can go to school together. On weekends, you can even have Charlie over. If your grandmother gets better, you could move her in too, let her enjoy some peace."
All three conditions struck a chord with Anna. She couldn't deny that she was tempted.
First, she really couldn't bear the thought of Charlie being exposed to such negative press.
Second, she desperately needed to be with Charlie.
Third, the dream of seeing her grandmother was something she had longed for all these years.
Lastly, what occurred with Giuseppe didn't seem to matter to her current situation—did it?
Seeing that Anna hadn't accepted the offer yet, Katherine asked pitifully, "Don't you... want to take this opportunity to come forward and reveal the past, to take my place in the Vittorio family?"
"No! I've never thought of it, and it's absolutely not something I would do!" Anna denied it without hesitation.
Bearing Giorgio's child was an unforgivable sin, and deception was an even bigger taboo to him; he would never forgive her or let her live it down. Neither the Vittorio family nor Viviana would accept her.
She wouldn't get involved in that mess.
Finally, her lips, as red as Giorgio's, parted, and she forced the words through clenched teeth, "Fine, I agree."
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