Chapter 213: Chapter 213: The Age of Tattling
"Of course that’s it, otherwise do you think I’m the type of person to just watch someone die without helping?"
Jillian Lynch spoke as she cast a pleading look at Rosalind Lynch.
Although Rosalind thought her sister was a fool with no emotional intelligence, when they were out, they were a united front, for better or worse.
So even though she sensed Jillian’s expression was off, Rosalind still bypassed Ashley Shaw to stand by Jillian’s side.
"Miss Shaw, what do you mean by that? How old is my sister? Even if she can swim, how could she save someone three or four times her weight? The right thing to do is to wait by the shore, not jump in and die with your friend, right?"
"You seem to misunderstand; that’s not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?"
Ashley was about to speak when Claudia Jennings walked over with displeasure from a short distance away.
"Enough, Ashley, why are you bullying a child? Isn’t your friend saved already? Besides, Rosalind is right; if you can’t ensure your own safety, it’s not wrong not to jump in and save someone."
Ashley looked up, meeting Claudia’s eyes, and said, "Aunt Jennings, you might have misunderstood. I’m not demanding Jillian jump in to save anyone. I just want to ask, when my friend fell in, did she have no responsibility at all?"
Claudia frowned.
"What responsibility? Are you saying it was Jillian who pushed your friend in?"
Ashley remained expressionless: "That’s something to ask her."
"Are you joking? Jillian is just a kid; how could she do such a thing?"
Ashley found it amusing.
"You think Jillian is too young to push someone into the water. So how come, years ago, you were convinced that someone about her age, me, could have pushed Rosalind into the water?"
Rosalind’s face changed, blurting out: "Ashley Shaw, why bring this up? How long ago was that? Does it matter?"
Claudia’s face didn’t look good either.
"I did wrongfully accuse you back then. Warren showed me the footage not long ago. But still, what’s done is done, and this is now. I believe Jillian wouldn’t do such a thing."
Elder Prescott spoke at this moment.
"Whether it happened or not should be answered by both of them. Claudia, say less, and listen to what they have to say."
Jillian’s guilt peaked, but she seized the moment while Ashley talked with Claudia and everyone’s attention was on Ashley, to glance a warning over to Ariana Grant.
Ariana received Jillian’s warning and lowered her head in silence.
Seeing Ariana’s reaction gave Jillian a bit of relief.
This fat dummy surely wouldn’t dare say anything.
Claudia was still saying, "What’s there to say? Didn’t Jillian’s mom just say something she didn’t like? What’s done is done, she shouldn’t slander a child."
Elder Prescott said expressionlessly: "Ashley was just a child back then too."
Claudia felt like a weight was pressing on her chest.
Everyone kept bringing up the past.
When Ashley had just returned from the countryside back then, she didn’t know Ashley’s nature, so she assumed Ashley had pushed Rosalind into the water.
But now she acknowledged she was wrong, didn’t she?
Bringing it up again was just a slap in her face.
Moreover, weren’t they talking about Jillian now? Why mention Rosalind?
"I..."
"Enough, let them speak for themselves!" Elder Prescott interrupted Claudia’s words before she could continue.
Claudia frowned slightly, feeling Elder Prescott was siding against them.
The Lynch Family were the ones meant to become a family with them in the future, yet Elder Prescott kept siding with an outsider like Ashley Shaw?
Besides, she was sure Jillian wouldn’t do such a thing; it must have been Ashley’s friend slipping into the pool by accident.
Claudia pursed her lips and looked at Jillian.
"Jillian, tell us yourself, did you push anyone?"
Jillian blurted out: "No!"
Claudia, having gotten a response, displayed a "told you so" expression.
She asked Ashley, "Now do you understand? Are you satisfied?"
Claudia was someone pampered from a young age, who hadn’t really faced adversity, a true innocent.
Ashley didn’t bother arguing with her, nor did she care to pursue a meaningless question from a liar.
Instead, she turned directly to Ariana, "Ariana, you tell us. How did you fall in?"
Everyone turned their attention to Ariana.
Jillian took the chance to send a cold, warning look her way again.
Ashley sensed something subtle and instinctively glanced at Jillian.
Jillian quickly averted her gaze, feigning calm as she scratched her ear.
But when people are guilty or embarrassed, they tend to fidget.
That’s exactly what Jillian was doing now, switching between scratching her ear and her head, completely unaware of her small actions betraying her.
Ashley pursed her lips and was about to reassure Ariana to speak the truth when Ariana suddenly raised a hand, her finger pointed directly at Jillian.
Jillian’s shoulder shivered, instinctively trying to dodge Ariana’s pointing direction.
But before she could move, Ariana spoke up: "She’s the one who pushed me in!"
As soon as the words came out, the room fell silent.
Both those who doubted and those who didn’t all turned to look at Jillian.
Jillian’s throat tightened, instinctively shaking her head: "I didn’t..."
But Ashley let out a sigh of relief.
As expected of her Ariana, she didn’t let her down.
If Ariana had admitted to it herself, she really wouldn’t have been able to stand up for her.
"What exactly happened?" she asked.
Ariana recounted everything truthfully: "Out of nowhere, she called me a fatso, a pig, and when I asked her to apologize she refused, mocking how we’re both from poor families, so we lack upbringing. I couldn’t hold back and argued with her. After that, we started fighting, and she pushed me into the pool."
Ashley’s brow furrowed deeply.
She could imagine what had occurred.
Initially, Ariana probably wanted to silently endure for the sake of peace, but because Jillian had insulted her too, Ariana couldn’t bear it any longer.
Otherwise, given Ariana’s character, she wouldn’t start fighting with a child out of nowhere.
She heard Ariana continue to complain: "Moreover, after I fell in, even though she knew I couldn’t swim, she said something like let me drink a few more sips and reflect while in the water before she came to save me."
Ariana laid out her grievances clearly, not withholding a single word.
She was at that age when lodging a complaint was second nature; even a royal inspector passing by wouldn’t escape her notice, let alone swallow the injustice silently just because of a child’s warning look.
This just wasn’t her style of handling things.