He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 279

Quentin nodded vehemently. "I swear to God, if a single word I just said is a lie, may lightning strike me down dead."

Yorath stood up and walked out without looking back.

Quentin sat alone in the freezing interrogation chair, his hands cuffed tightly to the table. His expression morphed into absolute ice, a terrifying malice violently swirling in his eyes.

Yorath walked out of the detention center and slid into the waiting car.

Jevon looked over immediately. "What did he say?"

"He said it wasn't him."

Jevon went silent.

The Fordham brothers shared the same mother. Blood is thicker than water.

No matter how close he was to Yorath, he couldn't insert himself between biological brothers.

Regardless of what the truth actually was, he knew better than to speculate out loud.

"Did we get Dr. Thorne's videos?" Yorath asked.

"He demanded a guarantee that we wouldn't throw him in prison before he handed them over."

"Secure the videos first," Yorath instructed. "Investigate thoroughly to see if he physically harmed Ottilie. If he didn't, we'll keep him around temporarily until we find a new specialist for her."

Jevon nodded. "We have the videos. But if the truth ends up being exactly what Dr. Thorne said, what are you going to do about Quentin? Pulling him out is easy, but if we submit this evidence, he's looking at twenty years minimum. How are you going to explain that to your mother? You know how fragile her health is. She barely survived her leukemia. Are you really willing to risk your own mother's life and destroy your brother's future just for Ottilie?"

Yorath frowned, a sharp headache pulsing at his temples. He stared out the window with icy detachment, remaining completely silent.

Knowing when to back off, Jevon didn't push it, quietly keeping him company for the ride.

Back at the Meridian Villa.

The premiere of Ottilie's *Primal Instinct: The Wilds* was a monumental success.

Its popularity skyrocketed, and within just a few days, it became a national sensation.

Adding to the string of good news, during the sweltering heat of the summer, the entire lotus pond in the backyard bloomed overnight.

As she approached the Octagonal Pavilion, she spotted a maid acting incredibly sketchy, furiously trying to stuff something into her clothes.

As Ottilie stepped closer, the maid jumped in terror. The items she had been hiding spilled out, clattering loudly against the stone path.

It was dozens of unopened bundles of Citronella Incense.

"What are you doing?" Ottilie asked.

The maid practically curled into a ball of panic, stuttering uncontrollably. "Ms. Sewell... I'm just the maid in charge of lighting the incense to keep the mosquitoes away. My name is Winnie Walden."

Ottilie bent down, picked up a few of the fallen bundles, and handed them back to her.

"Why are you stuffing them up your sleeves and into your shirt? Didn't they give you a bag to carry them in?"

Ottilie had genuinely just been wondering if she was uncomfortably hot doing that.

But Winnie violently flinched and dropped straight to her knees in front of Ottilie.

Bursting into tears, she sobbed, "I didn't mean to! My family is terribly sick, and we desperately need the money. I just wanted to sneak a little bit of incense out to sell so I could pay their medical bills. Please, Ms. Sewell, have mercy!"