***
The servants in the Sterling's house found that their young master Sterling hadn't come for a long time. Each time old Sterling called him and asked him to come for dinner, he refused.
Since Miss Schultz moved in, Mr. Sterling had been coming over a lot, and sometimes he would come on his own without old Sterling's call. Everyone could see that Mr. Sterling come here for Miss Schultz, and because of Miss Schultz, it seemed like the relationship between young Sterling and his father had become much better. However, the atmosphere suddenly changed. They didn't know what happened, but everything fell into its original condition. Mr. Sterling never came to the house these days, and his relationship with his father froze up again.
Savannah ate and slept on time as usual. It seemed that she held no hard feelings; she played computer and watched TV every day; occasionally, she went for a walk in the garden in Emma's company and visited the doctor as required.
Garwood called old Sterling several times to report the progress of Valerie's case. Valerie had recovered in the prison hospital and was sent to the court for a criminal trial.
Malicious injury, as well as attempted murder, made Valerie unpardonable. What's more, she paid Mike to kill the blood of the Sterling family, which was extremely inexcusable. At last, Valerie received twenty years of a prison sentence.
Valerie had divorced Devin, but she had been old Sterling's granddaughter-in-law anyway; under pressure from the Sterling family, the case was kept as low-key as possible, and the press played the case down too.
But even so, it was a huge blow to the Schultzs.
Savannah, as the party concerned, should have shown up in the court when Mike's case came to trial. However, old Sterling feared that the baby inside her might be affected, so Savannah's testimony showed in the court instead of herself.
On the day of the trial, Dalton and Norah both fainted after the jury delivered its verdict. The couple had had very high expectations for their daughter. After she married a rich family as they expected and pregnant with a baby cherished by George Sterling, the Schultzs almost believed that they would have the luck to live a rich life in their remaining years. But what they had to face now was being laughed at and ridiculed by people, and their daughter had no chance to change the situation anymore.
Dalton had a bad illness after Valerie was sent to prison, and he had to hand over the Schultz factory to the older workers.
Dalton also called her not long after that. He cried on the phone before he mentioned the purpose of the call.
"Savannah, your cousin should not have been given such a heavy sentence… We spent some money and begged the judge. Normally he could shorten the prison sentence if Valerie behaves well in prison, but Mr. Sterling put pressure on the judge, and no one dares to shorten her sentence. Savannah, can you help your cousin and ask Dylan for help? Twenty years! Twenty years in prison will ruin your cousin's whole life! Valerie's so beautiful and excellent, and we've placed great hope on her… We'd better die if she has to stay in prison for twenty years..."
Savannah knew her uncle would call her. They remembered they still had a niece only when they needed her.
She heaved a little sigh as her uncle wept over the phone. In fact, she had not spoken to Dylan for a long time, and even if they hadn't had a quarrel, Savannah still didn't want to help Valerie.
She was not Virgin Mary, and she wouldn't forgive Valerie for all she had done.
Valerie had only herself to blame.
Savannah bit her lip. Had it not been for her luck, she might have been killed in the fire with the baby in her together, and Olivia might never wake up.
Three lives... Valerie nearly killed three people! Wasn't that reasonable for her to spend twenty years in prison?
There should be a day of reckoning for what she had done!
After a pause, Savannah took a breath and said, "I'm sorry, uncle."
Dalton broke down and cried even more bitterly when his niece refused to help. Then the phone was wrenched from his hand by Norah, "Savannah, for the sake of your only family, help Valerie, please... I know Valerie went too far this time, and her behavior almost hurt you and your friend, but she had gotten the retribution. She had been driven out of the house by the Sterling family and divorced with Devin, and she even lost her uterus for bleeding heavily! Isn't that enough? Do us a favor, please! Valerie's always your cousin, and you are all named Schultz. We're a family, and we should support each other... As long as Dylan asks for a favor and you plead with the judge, your cousin will certainly be freed in years!"
Every time Norah asked for help, she would say they were a family, and she had raised her. But they adopted her not out of family affection, but for her father's legacy and the factory! She had paid after all these years.
At the moment, Norah's words only made her sick.
The only family… support each other… all named Schultz...
Oh...
After they adopted her, they took away her father's legacy and asked her to give up her studies, saying that they didn't have enough money. When their dear daughter enjoyed her new clothes in her college, did they take her as their family?
In order to get more money from Devin and make a connection with the Sterling family, they did not let her break up with Devin. Did they remember they were a family?
Dalton never scolded Valerie after she took her fiancé away, and they were even happier that their daughter married into the Sterling family instead of her. Did they still know they were a family at that time?
Not to speak of Norah's daily sarcasm.
Now they wanted her, the victim, to help their daughter, the murderer?
Oh, dear uncle and aunt, could you be more ridiculous?
Savannah smiled ironically. She said no more and ended the conversation.
After hanging up the phone, Savannah turned on her laptop. She found Olivia online and told her about her uncle's phone call.
Olivia left the hospital a few days ago, and the doctor advised her to have more rest before she came back to work.
Olivia knew Savannah was out of sorts. She thought for a while and said, "babe, why don't we go out for a walk?"