Chapter 7 One Week's Time

At The York Villa.

Laura lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mom, why did Aria have to frame and insult me like that?" Laura sobbed uncontrollably.

"Laura, she knows that we're alone and helpless, so she bullies us without restraint!" Ruth held Laura tightly.

They wiped their tears together, looking like they are the real victims.

Aria's father, Ian York, stepped forward, his face grim as he looked at Aria, his eyes full of anger.

"Look at what you've done!" Ian scolded Aria angrily.

"What does this have to do with me?" Aria said, clearly annoyed.

"If it weren't for you suggesting everyone go find Laura, how could this have blown up so much? Now you've disgraced our family!" Ian glared at Aria disapprovingly.

"It was Laura who did it, how can you blame me!" Aria stubbornly lifted her head.

She looked directly at Ian, her eyes full of grievance and unwillingness.

Clearly, it was Laura who did wrong, so why was Ian blaming her without distinguishing right from wrong?

"You're still arguing? Laura is a good child, how could she do such a thing? You must be jealous of her and deliberately framed her."

Ian wouldn't listen to any explanation, firmly insisting it was Aria's fault, his attitude unyielding.

"I didn't!" Aria retorted loudly.

"There's no need to say more. To make up for your mistake, you must promise to create a song to help Laura win the Dream Awards." Ian paused for a moment and then continued. "Also, you must give Laura your 5% share of the company as compensation." Ian's tone was icy, leaving no room for negotiation.

Listening to Ian's words, Aria felt a chill rise from her heart, quickly spreading throughout her body, making her shiver slightly.

It was upsetting that the Russell Group had been renamed the York Group, but she never anticipated Ian's greedy attempt to claim the 30% share that originally belonged to her mother's inheritance.

How could his cold behavior not make her heartbroken?

But Aria knew well that at this moment in the York family, she was isolated and helpless.

All the supporters of the former Russell Group had been driven away, and none of the current senior executives of the board supported her.

She only held 30% of the York Group's share, without any decision-making power.

If she completely fell out with Ian now, she would only put herself in an even more difficult and dire situation.

Thinking of this, Aria took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger and grievance in her heart.

Aria looked at Ian, her eyes returning to that seemingly weak look. "Dad, I really don't know. I can swear, I absolutely didn't frame her."

Seeing Ian unmoved, Aria continued, "Isn't there surveillance outside the lounge? Just check the surveillance footage, and everything will be clear. If it turns out to be me, I'm willing to give all my shares to Laura as an apology."

Aria's concession made Ian's expression soften. He looked at Laura, asking for her opinion.

But Laura, already feeling guilty, turned pale and very nervous at the mention of checking the surveillance.

She knew very well that if the surveillance was checked, all her misdeeds would be exposed.

"No need to check, Aria already said it wasn't her, it must be someone else deliberately causing trouble behind the scenes." Laura said anxiously.

"Someone must be trying to sow discord between us sisters. Even if we check the surveillance, we might not find anything useful." Laura quickly lifted her head from Ruth's embrace, her voice choked with sobs.

But her actions clearly showed she was trying to cover up her guilt.

"Laura, for your own innocence, we must find out the truth." Aria glanced at Laura.

If they wanted an explanation, then they could go ahead and see who was truly malicious and unscrupulous.

"Aria, are you trying to drive me to death? I'm already so upset about this, what more do you want!" Laura screamed, her voice hoarse.

Aria wanted to say more, but Ian raised his hand to interrupt. "Alright, since Laura doesn't want to stick with your fault, let's drop this matter."

After speaking, Ian got up and left.

Aria's eyes were full of coldness. Noticing that it was unfavorable to Laura, he righteously said not to pursue it. How ridiculous.

After the argument, Aria returned to her room, collapsing on the bed, physically and mentally exhausted.

Her eyes were empty and confused, having recently experienced betrayal by her once close fiancé and stepsister, and quitting her job.

For a moment, she didn't know what to do with her future.

Just then, her phone rang. It was a message from Lewis.

Aria gently opened the message, her eyes scanning the content on the screen, and she couldn't help but widen her eyes.

What was presented were pieces of evidence of crimes committed by the York family, one of which shocked her so much that she couldn't recover for a long time.

It turned out her grandfather's seizure wasn't caused by her, but by Ian and Ruth's deliberate scheme.

Such malicious behavior was simply outrageous.

They even shamelessly deceived her, claiming that her grandfather fell into a coma and being treated in the ICU was because of her.

To this day, she didn't dare to visit her grandfather.

Aria tightly gripped her phone, her fingers turning slightly white from the force.

She hated this family to the core. For the sake of profit, they would stop at nothing. They were capable of committing any evil deed, showing absolutely no moral boundaries.

But she had no power to fight back.

The York family and the York Group were almost entirely controlled by Ian. She had been deceived by Billy and Laura, thinking they were the kindest people to her, thus giving them profitable projects and the best songs without considering herself.

Now, it was difficult to avenge her grandfather and take back what belonged to her.

Just then, another message from Lewis came through.

[Tomorrow, go to Brett for treatment for your facial injury. You have one week to handle your engagement matter. After that, register for marriage immediately.]

Aria looked at the message, first stunned, then a strange emotion surged in her heart.

She felt that Lewis's control was a bit too strong.

It was clearly his nephew's marriage, why was he in such a hurry? As if he was the one getting married.

But on second thought, he gave her a week, which happened to be the time she planned to break off the engagement.

With Lewis's power, he could have forcefully intervened to break the engagement, but he chose to respect her and let her handle it herself.

This brought a warm feeling to her heart.

On the other side, after returning to her room, the more Laura thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, so she picked up the phone and called Billy.

"Billy, you must believe me, I was framed by Aria." As soon as the call connected, Laura started crying.

"Fine." Billy's voice was weak.

He didn't want to discuss the topic that would remind him of Laura lying naked with another man.

Laura was very perceptive, and that was the reason Billy was hopelessly in love with her.

She coaxed Billy to calm down and believe her again.

Only then did Laura cry and complain, "Aria must be jealous of me, so she tried to embarrass me. You can't ignore me because of this."

"Laura, of course, I believe you. But the urgent thing now is to keep Aria on our side. There's a singer competition in a few days, and we need her help." Billy comforted her softly.

Hearing this, Laura stopped crying and said coquettishly, "Billy, you're right. Then call Aria quickly and make sure she agrees to help me."