Chapter 366 The Trap Closes
If someone hadn’t stopped that boat, Samantha would have died.
There was no question about it.
The Knight family had wanted her gone.
They were ruthless enough to eliminate anyone who threatened their interests, and Ethan and Isabella had been no exception.
Samantha had lost the child she was carrying. With the pregnancy gone, there was no longer any legal basis for delaying her incarceration.
Even if she’d been rescued, she would still have faced prison.
She had nowhere to run.
And before that, she’d been subjected to unimaginable physical and psychological torment at the hands of Ethan and Isabella.
She regretted everything.
If only she hadn’t gone looking for Ethan.
At worst, she would have been taken into custody when the time came.
She might have spent years in prison, but at least she wouldn’t have endured this.
She had truly lost her mind.
Now, she just wanted to drag as many people down with her as possible.
One by one.
Anyone she could take with her.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ethan shouted, panic flashing across his face.
Cold sweat broke out along his forehead.
“You’ll say anything to frame me?”
Alex Knight’s expression changed dramatically.
This meeting had been supposed to be about removing Ryan.
How had the entire situation suddenly turned against his own branch of the family?
“This woman is insane!” Isabella rushed forward. “Get her out of here!”
She had already learned that Samantha had somehow been abducted and then recovered.
There was no way she could allow this loose end to remain.
The only way she would be able to sleep peacefully was if Samantha disappeared for good.
But she hadn’t expected Samantha to show up here.
And she certainly hadn’t expected her to come armed with evidence.
Isabella’s face shifted between pale and flushed as she looked toward Ryan.
“Evidence? What recording?”
Edward raised one hand.
“Enough.”
The room immediately fell silent.
Samantha’s eyes were bloodshot.
Although she was barely holding herself upright, she forced herself to speak.
“Check my email.”
She looked directly at Edward.
“I saved everything there. I have proof of exactly how Ethan threatened me and forced me to steal those files.”
She had always been careful.
Back then, she’d been afraid Ethan might eventually throw her under the bus for stealing the company’s secrets.
So she’d kept a backup.
She’d never imagined she’d need it like this.
She couldn’t save herself anymore.
Fine.
Then she’d make sure Ethan and Isabella paid the price too.
Alex slammed his hand against the table.
“Ryan, what exactly are you trying to pull? Did you bring this woman here just to frame Ethan?”
His expression was furious.
“Everyone knows she had a relationship with you—”
Rose nearly laughed.
A relationship?
The entire Knight family had known what was going on.
They had simply chosen to look the other way because it suited them.
Ryan finally looked at Alex.
His expression remained completely detached.
“She says she’s carrying your son’s child.”
Alex’s face stiffened.
Ryan continued calmly.
“She also says your son and his mother forcibly ended the pregnancy.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“So what exactly are you referring to when you call her relationship with me questionable?”
“That’s ridiculous!” Alex exploded.
“She isn’t pregnant!”
He slammed his fist against the table and stood.
Ryan lowered his eyes and idly turned the yoghurt bottle between his fingers.
“Is that so?”
He lifted one hand.
Someone immediately stepped into the room.
A laptop was placed on the table.
The screen lit up.
Then the video began.
The room fell silent.
The footage showed Samantha entering the old Knight estate.
Then making her way to Ethan’s private courtyard.
Then Isabella arriving.
Then the people Isabella summoned.
The events that followed were impossible to misunderstand.
Everyone watched in silence.
Even those who had grown accustomed to the ruthless world of corporate power looked away.
It was brutal.
Rose was completely stunned.
She’d never imagined Samantha had gone through something like this.
Only days earlier, Rose had been furious that Samantha had managed to avoid immediate incarceration because of her pregnancy.
She’d thought Samantha had escaped punishment.
Instead, Samantha had been dragged from one nightmare into another.
They had given her a tiny glimpse of hope—
only to destroy it completely.
Rose couldn’t imagine how utterly hopeless Samantha must have felt.
Edward’s expression remained cold and unreadable.
But his eyes were like ice.
He understood exactly what this meant.
If this scandal became public, the consequences wouldn’t stop with Ethan.
It could drag the entire Knight family into the mud.
Their reputation.
Their leadership.
Their business empire.
Everything.
Isabella broke into a cold sweat.
“How could there be a video like this?”
She turned toward Edward.
“Dad, this is a misunderstanding. I never intended to damage the Knight family’s reputation—”
Ethan stumbled backward.
His face had gone completely white.
He suddenly turned toward Ryan.
“You were spying on me?”
Only then did Ryan give him a sidelong glance.
“I suspected you were involved in the leak.”
His voice remained calm.
“I was looking for evidence.”
He paused.
“I didn’t expect to find this.”
Then Ryan turned toward Edward.
“Samantha says there’s an audio recording as well.”
His expression didn’t change.
“Let’s hear it.”
Edward stared at him for several seconds.
Then he raised his hand.
“Find the recording.”
Ethan’s voice immediately rose.
“Grandfather, don’t listen to her—”
“Find it.”
Edward’s tone left no room for argument.
Ethan’s legs seemed to give out beneath him.
He dropped heavily into his chair.
He hadn’t expected Samantha to keep a backup.
He’d thought she’d been completely cornered.
He’d been wrong.
A few minutes later, the recording was found.
The audio began to play.
The room grew quieter with every passing second.
Ethan’s threats.
His demands.
His instructions.
Everything was there.
Isabella’s face became increasingly pale.
Cold sweat ran down her temples.
She looked toward her husband.
Alex’s face was equally grim.
They both understood.
It’s over.
This wasn’t simply an accusation anymore.
It was evidence.
And the evidence pointed directly toward the second branch of the Knight family.
Rose’s hands tightened around the wheelchair handles.
She stared at Samantha.
She had never considered Isabella a particularly kind woman.
But she had never imagined her capable of pushing another human being into such a state.
The final blow against Samantha had come from the very people who’d thought they were protecting themselves.
Edward suddenly slammed his cane against the floor.
“You bastards!”
His furious roar shook the room.
Everyone fell silent.
Isabella stood frozen.
She didn’t even dare cry.
Even Nicholas’s expression shifted.
He looked toward Ryan with complicated emotions.
His son had not only protected the family from an even greater crisis—he had also dealt a devastating blow to the second branch.
The balance of power at headquarters was about to change.
If Ryan survived today’s attack and consolidated his position, the entire company could be reorganized.
Edward looked around the room.
“Turn Samantha over to the police.”
His expression was grim.
“As for the rest of you...”
His gaze swept over Ethan, Isabella and Alex.
“You’ll deal with the consequences yourselves.”
With that, Edward turned and walked out.
The room remained frozen for several seconds.
Everyone knew what would happen next.
Alex’s position was almost certainly finished.
Ethan’s situation was even worse.
Stealing and leaking highly confidential corporate information wasn’t merely an internal violation.
It could constitute a criminal offense.
And with so many senior executives now aware of what had happened, there was no realistic way to bury it.
Then there was Isabella.
Her involvement in what had happened to Samantha would also have to be investigated.
Rose watched the three of them coldly.
If Samantha was taken back into custody, Rose intended to make sure the matter was properly investigated.
Isabella shouldn’t be allowed to walk away after what she’d done.
The three members of the second branch stood there with ashen faces.
None of them had imagined that their carefully constructed plan would collapse this spectacularly.
Samantha looked at them.
For the first time in days, she felt a twisted sense of satisfaction.
Her tormentors were finally suffering.
She began to laugh.
At first it was quiet.
Then louder.
But suddenly, something occurred to her.
Her laughter stopped.
She turned slowly toward Ryan.
Her eyes widened with horror.
“The fact that I was able to get into the old estate so easily...”
Her voice trembled.
“Does that mean...”
Ryan didn’t even look at her.
“Send her into the trap.”
Samantha’s blood ran cold.
Those words were like a knife driven straight through her chest.
The pieces suddenly began falling into place.
The empty security posts.
The open gates.
The lack of resistance.
Everything had been too easy.
Far too easy.
“No...”
She shook her head frantically.
“No, that can’t be.”
She quickly smoothed her disheveled hair and forced a smile onto her face.
But the smile was more frightening than tears.
“Ryan...”
Her voice trembled.
“You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?”
Rose finally understood what Samantha was implying.
Her eyes flicked toward Ryan.
For the briefest moment, even she was surprised.
Then Samantha snapped.
Her eyes filled with hatred.
She suddenly grabbed a fruit knife from the table and lunged toward Rose.
“Rose!”
Ryan’s expression changed instantly.
His eyes turned cold.
He reached out, trying to pull Rose back, but his injured body slowed him down.
Before he could reach her, another figure shot forward.
A swift kick sent Samantha crashing to the floor.
The Knight family’s security team immediately rushed in and restrained her.
Rose stumbled back, her heart pounding.
She hadn’t even had time to react.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
“It’s okay.”
She looked up.
Rowan stood in front of her, looking genuinely worried.
“It’s over now.”
His expression softened.
“Don’t be scared.”