Chapter 1268 Poor Woman
If she’s still in jail, how did Cynthia know all that? Something’s off. “Did you visit Melody in jail?” Sonia narrowed her eyes. Cynthia shook her head. “No. I didn’t even go out for months, so how was I supposed to visit her? Besides, we aren’t even friends, to begin with. She thinks she’s too good to be my friend, and I’m not going to talk to someone who looks down on my family. I only happened to meet her by chance when I was out shopping a few days ago.”
“Wait, you saw her when you were shopping?” The look on Sonia’s face changed. “She wasn’t in jail?” Cynthia nodded in affirmative. “Yeah, she has been released.”
“Impossible.” Sonia didn’t believe it. A frown creased her forehead. “She was sentenced to years of jail time. How did she get out of it?”
“But that was the truth.” Cynthia looked at her timidly. “I was surprised to see her, too. The public doesn’t know she got slammed behind bars, but the upper society does. I even asked her how she got out, but she said nothing. She only asked me if Tina had come to see me. I was bewildered by her question at that time. I mean, Tina was dead, so how could she come to see me? Unless she became a ghost. That was exactly what I said to Melody, but guess what she told me? Tina’s still alive. And she even said part of that was thanks to her.”
Cynthia carefully studied the changes in Sonia’s expression. However, other than seeing her face was rather dark, Cynthia couldn’t discern what she was thinking at the moment. Quickly, she added, “Melody told me Tina wanted to see her when she was in the asylum. She even used Peter as an excuse to make Melody talk to her. I’m pretty sure you know how Melody is when it comes to love. She might not care about anyone, but she’s head over heels for Peter. Peter doesn’t like her and wants to divorce her with all his heart, but he can’t do anything about it since the Stryder Family isn’t one to be messed with. As long as Melody doesn’t want to get a divorce, he can’t break up with her.”
Sonia nodded in acknowledgment. “I know.”
The marriage of Peter and Melody was a joke for the upper society, just like her marriage with Toby. She had heard a lot of rumors regarding Melody and Peter’s relationship.
“Peter and Melody have been living separately throughout these years. He slept around with a lot of women just so Melody would get a divorce, but she still won’t give up on him. She’s deeply in love with him, after all.”
Cynthia stole a glance at Sonia and lowered her voice to a whisper as she continued, “It was not until the incident that happened a few months ago that everything changed. She meddled with another town’s administration, and you found evidence of it. You joined forces with the Colemans and tripped the Stryders.
“Most of the Stryders who were involved with politics were subjected to investigations. They might not have fallen yet, but they certainly were in decline. Peter seized the chance to divorce Melody. But even so, she still loves him very much. She wanted him to take her back, and Tina used that.”
“She promised Melody she could help her to get back with Peter and requested a meetup, didn’t she?” Sonia inquired.
Cynthia nodded. “Exactly. Melody told me that Tina said she had dirt on Peter and asked Melody to meet up with her. Then, she promised if Melody helped her in faking her death, she would hand the evidence to her. Then, Melody could use that to force Peter into remarrying her.”
“I see.” Sonia’s eyes twinkled, and her lips pursed.
So, that’s what happened, huh? Back when they realized the body wasn’t Tina’s, they kept investigating and realized Melody helped fake Tina’s death. They had arrested Melody right then. She claimed that Tina threatened her, but they never found out what Tina’s threat was, as Melody wouldn’t talk about it. Now that Sonia knew the truth, she knew why Melody wouldn’t talk. Evidence of Peter’s crimes. If she came clean, she’d have to watch her lover languish in prison. No way she’d do it. Not when she loves him so much.
“Melody believed her and promised to help Tina right away. Tina asked Melody to pick a girl about her age and size, and then the girl would be forced to commit suicide in her stead. Melody spent almost a week trying to find the girl that fit Tina’s bill. The girl was a patient in another asylum. Melody got her out of the asylum and switched her with Tina. Tina was taken away while that woman stayed back at the asylum. Melody and her family’s power might be in decline, but she still had some connections. It wasn’t hard for her to fool all the asylum staff and take Tina away. More importantly, one of the officers who supervised Tina was Melody’s admirer. He bought them enough time to escape by causing distractions for the other cops.”
Sonia knew the last part. Once Melody was caught, she sold out the officer who assisted her, and he was arrested. Not only did he lose his job, but he also embarrassed his family. He was slammed behind bars. Once an ally of justice, now a prisoner. All for a dream that would never be fulfilled.
Was it worth it? Sonia didn’t pity the officer at all. He was a grown-up. He had to take responsibility for his actions. He must know the consequences of helping a criminal more than anyone, but he did it anyway. That can only mean one thing: Melody was more important than his job. Sonia saw no need to pity someone like that.
The one she pitied was the woman who died in Tina’s place. She was a patient who had a mental illness. She saw the world differently from most people. Probably didn’t even know how or why she died. Melody took her to the building and made her kill herself. All for Tina’s plan. Everyone has the right to live, even insane people. Yet, Tina and Melody took an innocent life all for their plan. They’re nothing but demons. I can’t believe Melody got out of jail before she got incarcerated.
“Miss Reed?” Cynthia was a little scared when she saw the angry look on Sonia’s face. What’s wrong? What is she getting so mad about?
Sonia balled her fists and took a few deep breaths. Only then did her fury calm down slightly. Icily, she asked, “Does that woman’s family know? Do they know what Melody did to their daughter?”
Oh, the mad lady. Scorn filled Cynthia’s eyes. “Yes, of course. If they didn’t, they’d have been out for Melody’s blood for what she did to their daughter. I know what you’re trying to say. I asked the same questions, and Melody told me what she did. Initially, they didn’t want to hand over the woman to Melody since the woman was part of their family. But then, Melody gave them a hundred and fifty grand, and they finally complied. That woman’s family used to love her, but their patience ran out halfway through her treatment. It had been years since she succumbed to her madness, and eventually, her family’s sorrow turned into resentment, and then…”
