Rafael had gotten the gossip from someone working in the Supreme Court. He had been discussing matters with everyone, and during a break, he and Matthew went inside for some refreshment. As they talked outside, the topic came up.
Dous had been in office for five years and was looking to advance. He had heard that Malcolm had a mistress, who had since been sent to a convent, but not before she had given birth to a daughter.
This led Dous to believe that Malcolm was a man of indulgent tastes, and he decided to offer his daughter as a concubine to Malcolm. When Malcolm refused, Dous, ever the schemer, assumed Malcolm''s wife had disallowed the arrangement. Dous devised a n to send his daughter to Malcolm while his wife was absent, hoping to force the issue.
He learned through various means that Malcolm, whenever he had time off, would go with his wife to visit temples or take walks in the countryside. Dous bribed the gatekeeper to find out their ns. Once he learned they would visit the hot springs after their trip to the temple, he secretly sent his daughter there in advance.
But things went wrong. Although Malcolm had booked the hot springs, his wife Marjorie became ill and he stayed behind to take care of her. Meanwhile, Dous had already drugged his daughter and sent her to wait at the hot springs. Somewhere along the way, a lecherous man snuck in and vited Karen. Afterward, the man disappeared without a trace.
Later, Dous learned that Malcolm had never even gone to the hot springs. However, Karen had lost her purity and Dous couldn''t find out who had done it. He had sacrificed everything and gotten nothing in return.
To make things worse, the rumor about Karen losing her innocence somehow spread. Fearing it would harm his career, Dous imed it was his daughter who had acted improperly and had an affair, so he secretly dealt with her to preserve his reputation. When Carissa heard this, she mmed her fist onto the table, the dishes rattling with a loud crash. "So, you''re saying Dous tried to use his daughter to further his career? When that failed, he wanted to have her killed?!"
Violet was seething with anger. "What I''ve found out is almost the same, but with more details. Dous tricked his daughter into going to the temple first. When he took her away, he had someone drug her and sent her to the hot springs. And this isn''t the first time he''s done something like this-he did it before with his sister, and she died."
"This is outrageous! We need to report it to the authorities!" Carissa eximed in fury.
It was rare to see Carissa angry to this extent, but Rafael couldn''t help but remind her. "Unless Ms. Whitley
P
Violet was trembling with rage, her voice shaking.
"How could a father be so vile? To use his own daughter''s suffering for personal gain his career, his
future-without any regard for her life? And even if the man who
vited her was Malcolm, there
were still dozens of other people involved in this. Even if she had be Malcolm''s concubine, her life would have been destroyed. To think such a thing could happen in the world of officials... It''s beyond horrifying."
Carissa''s heart sank, and she finally understood why Karen would rather die than remain in her family. To her, that ce had be a hell on earth. "Is there nothing we can do?" Carissa asked Rafael, her voice tinged with helplessness.
Rafael''s eyes held deep pity, not just for Karen, but also for herte aunt. However, the situation was difficult to handle. If they pursued it
1.n
seriously, it would definitely hurt
Karen, who was already determined
to die.
"I''ve heard he has other daughters," Rafael said with a shake of his head. "Since Ms. Whitley failed, the next victim most likely will be one of the others."
"Those other daughters-none of them acknowledged Karen as their sister," Violet spat angrily. "We don''t have to care about them."
"They didn''t deny her of their own will," Carissa said. "They were forced to do so. You can tell just by looking at the situation."