Jake clicked on the file, and a video began to play.
The video was displayed on the LED screen. It showed the desktop of a computer.
The wallpaper of the said computer was a photo of Vivian.
It was a screen recording.
Seeing the video, Vivian shot up from her chair. Her face twisted in a fit of panic as knots formed in her stomach.
Someone had remotely accessed and controlled her computer and unlocked her encrypted folders, which were full of recordings from the bug she planted in the necklace. Jake proceeded to play the recordings, and Jessica's recorded voice filled the room.
Her voice echoed in Vivian's ears, tightening the knots in her stomach.
"How could it be? Vivi, your computer..." Julie was too shocked to speak a complete sentence.
Howard's face darkened.
He thought, 'If there are so many important things in that computer, then she should've fortified its security system.
What an irresponsible girl.'
"Surprised?" Chester kept an eerily calm expression, making him look way older than he really was. "Uncle John hacked into your computer, recorded this, and copied all the sound recordings."
'John? He did this?'
Vivian's lips trembled, and her knees threatened to buckle.
She had never expected that John would do something like this to her. This meant that he really had known everything she had done.
She thought, 'He was not testing me when we were out wedding dress shopping. He was giving me a chance.
How could this be?'
"Uncle John is so awesome." Dora missed the point per usual and only praised John while Jessica seethed in a corner and was about to go mad with rage.
Admiration apparent in his voice, Chester said, "Aunt Nina is an international hacker, so Uncle John taught himself hacker skills to keep up with her."
"I knew Uncle John loved Aunt Nina the most. How could he marry..." Before Dora could finish her sentence, her mother pulled her aside and warned, "Be quiet, Dora. Stay out of this. Let them deal with it."
"And deal with it, we shall." Jessica stomped toward Vivian. "What do you have to say for yourself, Vivian?"
"What? No. It's not me. I didn't do any of this." Vivian took a few steps back to stand beside her father, shook her head, and started crying. "I really don't know what's going on. You've got to believe me. I don't know why these things are in my computer. Please."
"Bah! The truth is right before our eyes. Why won't you just admit it?" Jessica angrily pointed at Vivian. "I've always treated you like a sister. I've always rooted for you and John. I almost completely lost my brother trying to get him to marry you, and this is how you repay me? By planting a bug in my necklace? How could you be so horrible, Vivian?"
Jessica felt the back of her eyes burn with every word she screamed at the woman she thought was her best friend.
Vivian cowered further behind her father. She had never felt so cornered and humiliated in her entire life.
"Ms. Shi." Howard would never allow anyone to bully his wife and daughter publicly.
He reached out his hand to stop Jessica who was a little shorter than him. He stood there and towered over her like a big tree. "Even though my daughter did something wrong, it's our responsibility as her parents to discipline her. Let us speak to our daughter and make this right."
"Make this right?" Jessica scoffed. "Your daughter installed a bug in my necklace and invaded my privacy. How could anything make that right? People say that Vivian is the best among the ladies of the city. She is dignified, elegant, talented, and beautiful, but she just uses her talent to monitor my life without my permission. How is that dignified and elegant? Your daughter's just as malicious as a snake and as poisonous as a scorpion."
Taking a deep, long breath, Jessica whipped her head at Vivian once again and said, "Why would you do this, Vivian? What were you trying to accomplish? And what other bad things have you been up to?"
Vivian lowered her eyes and sobbed quietly. Outsiders might see her as the victim in this situation and that Jessica was being unnecessarily mean to her.
Unfortunately, only the Shi family and the Ye family were present. They knew exactly who was in the wrong.
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