A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 468

Edith trotted to her daughters hurriedly and stopped right between, her eyes darting sternly between the two of them silently.

"Okay! The two of you need to sit down and work things out! Sit down, now! I am not allowing any of you to leave this house until we get to the bottom of this!"

She had just gotten the whole story and was shocked to find the truth of what was happening between her daughters. Her expression clearly stated that she had realized she had been a bad mother and that none of them had bothered to talk to her about it.

Cloris had had a problem with Cassandra ever since she came back from abroad, and Edith used to think Cloris hated Cassandra because of her relationship with Rufus, but only now did she understand the case. She had never imagined that the sisters had gotten into such a mess.

Cloris sighed, giving a disgruntled, sharp look in Cassandra's direction.

"Mother, I have nothing to say. It happened so long ago and I had no evidence whatsoever. It's not like she would simply admit it," she said with an impatient snort. One could sense how she just wanted to get this over with.

Seeing the halfhearted look on Cloris's face, Edith glowered at her.

"I said sit down! Don't you dare leave!" she spoke in a low voice through her teeth.

Edith seldom talked to Cloris in this way, so the shock was evident on her face. Reluctantly, Cloris sat down on the sofa.

"Cassandra, sit down. You too, Rufus, but don't say anything. This is strictly a family matter, and I want both my daughters to give me an explanation for this mess!"

Edith wore a tough look. Frankly, she couldn't believe she didn't try to figure out the reason for the tension between them earlier.

Under their mother's strict order, Cassandra and Cloris sat down, but as far away from each other as possible. Edith sat in the middle. She looked from one to the other, her eyebrows pressed together.

"Cloris, you go first! Tell me what exactly happened that night, spare no detail."

She decided to listen to Cloris's side of the story first.

Cloris hesitated for a while and cast a glance at Rufus. What she was about to say required courage and could cause a glitch in her reputation. She couldn't utter a single word in his presence.

Rufus immediately got what was on her mind.

"I'm gonna go for a smoke," he said, trying to sound casual.

He then left the room without any hesitation.

Cloris told them what had happened that night from the beginning to the end, occasionally glaring at Cassandra furiously. Although, it had been a while since it happened, she still felt terrified at its memory.

"I know it was her after what he said, even though he didn't say a lot,"

Cloris said resentfully with her eyes fixed on Cassandra, as if she could swallow her alive.

"Did you see him again later?" Cassandra asked.

She was lost deeply in thoughts, wondering why Arthur was involved here at all. It wasn't as easy as Cloris thought.

"He was taken away by the police. Why would I take the trouble and see him again?"

Cloris blurted out as if it was the stupidest question Cassandra could have asked.

"If you called the police, you would have had to go to the police station to give your statement as a victim. Isn't that common sense?" Cassandra explained.

A new thought struck her like a silver dagger. She let out a sneer. The whole matter was suddenly as clear to her as water. This had to be another scheme made by Arthur. But why did he keep plotting against her again and again?

Cloris was dumbstruck. She felt like she had missed out on an important detail, but she remembered the rest of it clearly.

"Maybe... because the captain knew Arthur and wanted to protect me, he refused to take me to the station..." Cloris said rightfully, defending Arthur.

She was afraid something would get him in trouble and ruin his reputation in front of Edith.

It seemed like Cloris and Cassandra were about to start fighting again. To control the situation, Edith banged the table loudly.

"If he really was taken away by the police, there might be a record. I have an acquaintance at the police station too, and I can ask him to look into it. But Cloris, what were you thinking when you decided not to tell me about this? I'm your mother and it's my duty to look after you and protect you. You made a terrible mistake, my dear!"

Edith looked at Cloris with tender affection, thinking about how she herself had been a bad mother to them. Her own daughter didn't come to her for help even when she was at the verge of being raped.

"Do you really think it would've made a difference had I told you? Truth of the matter is that she also is your daughter and I didn't have any evidence to prove I was right," Cloris argued.