Matthew took his time to study the examination result. 'Stung by the Spina Gleditsiae and needs a local operation?
Is this Erica's doing? Did she try another trick on Phoebe?' "Evidence," he said through gritted teeth.
Phoebe had known that Matthew would ask for proof, and she was ready. At once, she pulled out her phone and sent him the video she had prepared in advance.
The recording was a clip from surveillance footage from a Chinese medicine shop. It showed two people speaking to the shopkeeper. The video had sound, and one of the two newcomers—a young woman—could clearly be heard saying, "Sir, do you sell Spina Gleditsiae here?"
The shopkeeper nodded and asked, "Yes, indeed. How much do you want?"
The woman thought for a moment, and then said, "Five grams would be enough."
As he weighed the Spina Gleditsiae, the shopkeeper shot her a puzzled look. Eventually, he asked, "Young lady, may I ask why do you want to purchase this herb? It's poisonous."
The woman's expression remained unchanged as she replied, "Oh, I know that. It's for the treatment of retained fetal membranes in my cow. I'm going to burn the Spina Gleditsiae to ash, mix it with warm wine, and feed it to the cow."
This was indeed, one of the known uses of the herb. However, one particular detail in the explanation caught the shopkeeper's interest. "Your cow?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't look like a cowherd. How do you know that the Spina Gleditsiae can be used for this purpose?"
"My cousin majored in traditional Chinese medicine," explained the woman. "He told me all about it."
"I see." The shopkeeper carefully wrapped the five grams in paper and told her the price. A brief moment later, he added, "Remember, be very careful with this stuff."
"Of course. Thank you, sir!" The video ended after the woman paid and left the shop along with the person who had entered with her.
The woman in the video was none other than Erica. The man who accompanied her was Hyatt. He was always willing to help Erica with whatever she did.
As for the so-called cousin she mentioned… Of all the people they knew, Sheffield was the only one well-versed in traditional Chinese medicine.
Matthew knew that Sheffield wanted Godwin to learn from him, but the boy was still young and had only grasped the uses of some simple herbs. He certainly couldn't know much about the effects of various kinds of medicine.
So, he eliminated Godwin as the so-called cousin quoted by Erica.
That left him with no doubt that Sheffield had informed Erica about the herb and its uses.
After buying the Spina Gleditsiae, Erica had used the poisonous herbs to prick Phoebe. Unaware of how serious it was, Phoebe hadn't approached a doctor or hospital.
Had the wound been treated earlier, it would have healed, and she wouldn't need surgery. But, the treatment had been delayed until today, when the continued discomfort forced Phoebe to go for an examination at the hospital. Sure enough, the result had shocked her. She hadn't expected that she would need surgery for such a small wound.
Phoebe gritted her teeth and swore that she would sue Erica for intentional injury!
Matthew put down the pen he had been holding and folded his hands before him, doing his best to hide his weariness. Every time his scheming wife did something naughty, she not only left evidence, but also relied on him to deal with the consequences.
It was beyond doubt that Matthew needed to teach her how to be more careful. Otherwise, there would be no end to the headaches she would cause him.
Finally, he raised his eyes and glared at Phoebe. "You and I know the real reason for your miscarriage. Do you know why I haven't gotten rid of you yet?"
Phoebe's face twitched. Then, she stiffened. No matter how many times Matthew brought up the topic, she would refuse to admit the truth. "I don't know what you are implying. I've already said that it was Erica's fault."
'Incorrigible!' Matthew thought as he snorted. He narrowed his eyes, restrained the anger that glinted inside them, and growled at the despicable woman standing before him, "You are foolish to think that I don't believe Erica." After an intentional moment of silence, he continued, "I haven't kicked you out of Y City because you're still useful to me. Did you believe that you could hide the truth by threatening the witness, Trent Wang? If so, then you are wrong! How could I not know what you did?"
Trent Wang was the old man whom Watkins and Erica had gone to see the other day.
Phoebe's confident facade began to crack, and fear rose in her heart. She had been certain that there was no surveillance at the scene of the accident—except for the recorder in the vehicle, which wouldn't be able to pick up what had happened clearly. As long as she refused to admit to her actions, Matthew couldn't do anything.
Now, Phoebe was caught off-guard. She hadn't expected him to figure this out so soon! Otherwise, she would have arranged for that old man to disappear from the world altogether! After all, no one would be suspicious if someone Trent Wang's age were to die of some accident while living by himself.
Matthew pushed his chair back and stood. He refused to take his eyes off Phoebe. "It was you who killed your unborn child, and then you framed Erica for it. And you exposed your lie when you sent people to silence Trent Wang. I might not have found any direct evidence had you not been so stupid!"
It was true. There was no video monitoring at the spot where the accident had happened, and there was no direct evidence on the vehicle recorder. Matthew hadn't been able to investigate the cause of the incident as Phoebe refused to admit to her wickedness. It was fortunate that Phoebe had panicked and threatened the witness. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten any evidence to prove Erica's innocence.
He had believed Erica from the beginning. But at that point, his love and understanding of his wife had led to his unshakeable belief that she was innocent.
Phoebe swallowed nervously before asking, "Why do you trust her so much?" Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, she winced. No matter how hard she tried, she hadn't been able to hide the tremble in her voice.
"Rika is naughty, but she is not malicious by nature. If you provoke her, she will come up with a thousand unpleasant ways to deal with you. The snake and the Spina Gleditsiae incidents were the examples. However, she would never kill anyone, let alone an innocent baby!"
Tessie had made Erica suffered a lot back then. When he sent Tessie to the slum, softhearted Erica had asked him to be merciful.
Even though she put a snake on Phoebe's bed, she had searched the pet market for a non-poisonous one and ensured that its fangs had been treated.
How could such a person kill a baby?
Phoebe remained unmoved and unconvinced. She bit her lower lip, and after a moment of silence, she argued, "What if she were careless? Like she pushed me down by accident?"
"Huh?" the man sneered. "By accident? In my eyes, she is innocent even if she did it on purpose, let alone by accident."
Phoebe clenched her fists. She had been so consumed by rage and envy that she had forgotten about her injury. She winced as her nails dug into her injured palm. Her face paled, and she was forced to release her fist.
Matthew grabbed the examination report on the table and tore the paper from the middle. "If you want to sue her, be quick. Eventually, you will be of no use to me. When that day arrives, you will lose your chance to sue her."
There would be no chance… Phoebe's eyes searched Matthew's face as she asked in a trembling voice, "What do you want to do to me?" "
What do I want?" After throwing the pieces of paper into the trash can, he ruthlessly pronounced, "From the day you killed my friend's unborn child, you were already on your way to the slum. If you behave well before I send you there, maybe I will let Tessie be your company. If you continue to be stubborn and hurt Erica again, I will ensure that it isn't Tessie, but a beast, or something more terrible than a beast who will accompany you."
Phoebe's legs weakened, and her body shook. She grabbed the desk to steady herself but found that she was unable to stand firm.
She finally realized how much a man like Matthew could spoil a woman as long as he loved her.
He spoiled Erica without a care in the world.
Phoebe's envy toward Erica grew by leaps and bounds. There was no doubt left in her mind that Erica was the woman in Matthew's heart.
But Erica was stupid. Even though she was the woman Matthew loved, she was ignorant of it and continued her efforts to find out who he loved.
Matthew ignored Phoebe's pallid complexion, and continued, "Aren't you going to sue her? Please go ahead. I'll play the game with you to the end." It was yet to be seen who would end up in jail.
After saying that, he called Owen through the internal line.
He ordered, "See the guest out!"
