Chapter 348: Threads of Suspicion
“Let’s go home,” Sierra said softly. She didn’t want to stay in the hospital any longer.
“Okay. Let’s go home,” Johnathan replied without hesitation. He quickly handled her discharge and brought her back.
For the next two days, Sierra stayed home recovering. She was especially grateful that Dickson was off traveling with his classmates—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to hide her injuries. Dickson had finished his SATs recently and gone on a trip with friends. He’d called a few days ago saying he’d be gone a bit longer. Back then, she thought he was taking too long; now, she hoped he’d stay away a few more days. She didn’t even know if her bruises would be healed by the time he came back.
During those quiet days at home, Sierra began to notice something strange about Johnathan. He had arranged everything down to the last detail. The moment she moved, he was at her side, asking what she needed. At first, she thought he was just shaken, that it would wear off in a few days. But instead, it only intensified.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and decided to talk to him.
“Mr. Yaeger,” she said, watching him closely, “are you still blaming yourself?”
Johnathan didn’t answer. These past few days, he hadn’t slept at all. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Sierra covered in blood, lying on the ground.
“It’s over now, Sierra. I failed to protect you,” he said, his voice rough. The anger, the fear, the guilt—it had all been festering inside him.
“I’m a person, not something you can keep on a leash,” Sierra said. “Accidents happen. Stop blaming yourself.”
“But if it weren’t for me, none of this would’ve happened,” Johnathan shot back.
Sierra raised a brow. “Then maybe we should break up?”
The moment the words left her lips, he grabbed her in a tight embrace. “Don’t even think about it.”
Sierra couldn’t help but laugh. She gently patted his back, her voice low and comforting. “It’s over. Let it go. What we need to do now is figure out who’s behind this. Only then can we really move on.”
Until the person responsible was found, it could happen again. Her calm words finally began to steady Johnathan. Seeing her strength, he realized he couldn’t stay buried in guilt forever.
Once he’d calmed down, Sierra said, “Let’s go over what happened that night again. Maybe we missed something.” She hated reliving it, but she wasn’t the kind of person who backed down. Even if the memories made her heart race, she’d rather face them than avoid them.
She walked through the entire night in detail, letting Johnathan listen for anything she might’ve overlooked. When she mentioned eating something and taking a few sips of water—right before Quinn came to call her outside—Johnathan’s eyes flickered.
“When did you ask Quinn to come get me?” he asked.
“Right after I started feeling off,” Sierra thought back. It was around eight p.m. They had arrived at Maddox’s estate at about seven. She’d eaten around 7:10, and not long after that, Quinn came for her. She remembered it clearly—she’d received a message on her phone right as Quinn arrived, and she’d glanced at the time. They didn’t wander long in the garden before they found a bench and sat down. That would’ve been around eight.
“Did you choose that spot, or did Quinn?” Johnathan asked again.
Realizing his questions kept circling back to Quinn, Sierra looked at him and replied, “Neither of us, really. We were just walking and saw a quiet spot to rest.” Even if she sometimes felt jealous of Quinn, she wouldn’t falsely accuse someone—especially not over something like this.
“Why are you focusing on Quinn?” Sierra finally asked. “Did she do something wrong?”
“She’s staying with the Wynn family,” Johnathan said quietly. He hadn’t noticed anything off about Quinn. But the fact that she lived with the Wynn family—that was the problem.
Sierra frowned. “So you think someone from the Wynn family did this? But what would they gain?”
Sierra was silent. What could she say to that? Sometimes, she had to admit—Shane was right. Johnathan and he really were the same kind of man.