Joanna Sherman froze. Yvonne Sherman glanced at her daughter, then quickly asked, "Is something wrong?"

The moment she finished speaking, she saw Sean Judd’s parents following behind the police officers.

Joanna Sherman’s heart sank. She watched as Mr. Judd pointed at her and said, "Officer, that’s her! That’s Joanna Sherman!"

The officer took out his phone to verify.

Joanna Sherman’s sharp eyes saw that the officer was watching the exact clip Sophia Shaw had shown at the project meeting!

’The Judds actually gave that to the police!’

Chad Jennings followed them out and was startled by the scene.

When he saw the video, he was so furious his mustache was practically bristling.

"Judd, you bastard! How could you do something so low!"

He had already approached the couple because of the video, warning them not to go against Vincent Grant and even pointing them in Sophia Shaw’s direction.

’So why did they still hand over the video?’

The Judds, whose son was facing jail time because of his misdirection, couldn’t care less. Mr. Judd yelled, "The video is the proof! Your daughter isn’t getting away!"

"Your daughter used personal gain to lure my son into committing a crime! She’s the principal offender!"

"What a joke." Yvonne Sherman, much calmer than Chad Jennings, pointed at the video and said, "My daughter was in a bad mood and said some things while she was drunk. That can’t be used as evidence of a crime, can it?"

Joanna Sherman chimed in, "Officer, Sean Judd and I were both very drunk that day. I was just venting. How was I supposed to know he’d take it seriously?"

Chad Jennings immediately snapped to his senses and shouted, "If that’s considered a crime, then there are no good people left in this world! You can’t conduct an investigation like this!"

"We taxpayers fund you to protect us from real harm, not to show up at our door and harass us with useless evidence!"

"What will all the neighbors think when they see the police at our house? What terrible luck!"

He then turned to scold Sean Judd’s parents. "I understand you don’t want your son to go to jail, but you can’t just make baseless accusations."

"We’re not making baseless accusations!" Mr. Judd shouted back.

"The police have already run a blood test on my son. His system contained hallucinogens. That’s why he was so disoriented and went after Sophia Shaw."

"The only person he saw before he went to find Sophia Shaw was you, Joanna Sherman, and the only thing he drank was the glass of water you handed him!"

The thought of his son being so cruelly manipulated made Mr. Judd tremble with anger and resentment.

"It was just a glass of water! What does that prove?" Chad Jennings said dismissively.

Joanna Sherman added coolly, "The water was brought by a waiter. It just passed through my hands. I wouldn’t have had time to tamper with it."

Mr. Judd gave a cold smile. "Miss Sherman, you’re quite good at shifting blame. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that waiter has been selling illegal substances on the side. Someone’s dashcam recorded you giving that waiter money at the back door of the bar."

"That waiter has been arrested, and he confessed that you paid him to drug my son!"

The Judd Family was far more powerful locally than Chad Jennings. Was there anything they couldn’t find out if they were willing to spend the money?

Panic finally appeared on Joanna Sherman’s face!

Still, she stubbornly insisted, "I only gave him money to..."

"Miss Sherman, you can tell it to the station," an officer interrupted.

They were just here to make an arrest, not to listen to family squabbles.

One of the officers walked over and, with a CLICK, snapped the handcuffs onto Joanna Sherman’s wrists.

Looking at his handcuffed daughter, Chad Jennings was struck by a sense of stunning similarity.

A few days ago, at the Shaw Family’s residence, Yancy Shaw had been taken away in the exact same manner.

He had intentionally gone over to watch back then, and had even felt a thrill of excitement.

’How did it become his own daughter’s turn so quickly?’

"Joanna," Yvonne Sherman cried, rushing out and grabbing onto Joanna Sherman.

With things having come to this, she was afraid Joanna would suffer and wanted to give her some last-minute advice.

An officer pushed her hand away. "Don’t interfere with official business!"

Chad Jennings chased after them for a few steps, but knowing he couldn’t stop them, he could only turn back and grab Mr. Judd. "Judd, how could you do this? Didn’t we have an agreement?"

"Why aren’t you going after Sophia Shaw? Why are you fixated on us? Aren’t you afraid..."

"Afraid that Vincent Grant will retaliate?" Mr. Judd twisted his hand and tightened his grip on Chad’s arm, his strength so great it felt like he could crush the bone.

His voice was cold and hard. "Your daughter is capable of something so despicable. She’s insidious and vicious! I’d like to ask that Vincent Grant myself what blind eye he used to fall for a creature like her!"

’There are millions of women in the world, yet he had to fall for such a venomous one.’

Mrs. Judd also despised Chad Jennings and the Shermans.

She had originally thought Sean Judd had just been stupid and committed a crime on his own, but who knew he’d been drugged!

Mrs. Judd wished she could tear these bastards to pieces!

The police showing up at someone’s house was an especially sensitive event.

A crowd had already gathered at the main gate to watch the spectacle.

The police, trying to save Joanna Sherman some face, had allowed her to cover the handcuffs with her clothing.

Mrs. Judd ran up and ripped the cloth away.

The silver handcuffs flashed brightly for all to see.

"Oh, look, she’s in handcuffs."

"This must be a criminal case."

There was a sizable crowd, and everyone was pointing at Joanna Sherman and whispering.

Mrs. Lawson, who often socialized with Yvonne Sherman, walked over and asked, "Yvonne, isn’t your daughter some kind of genius rocket scientist? You’re always saying how pure, noble, and elegant she is. How did she end up in handcuffs?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Oh, right, and I also heard she graduated from a prestigious university, studied under Master Hawthorne, has a Ph.D., and is the chief rocket engineer at Zenith. So sought-after, wasn’t she?"

"To think such an impressive person is actually a criminal."

Yvonne Sherman frequently bragged about her daughter in front of her, always putting her down in the process.

She would always imply that Mrs. Lawson didn’t know how to raise children, that her own daughter could only become an ordinary financial analyst, not even good enough to be a stepping stone for Joanna Sherman.

Mrs. Lawson had been seething with resentment, and she had finally found her chance.

’Yvonne Sherman loves to brag, doesn’t she?’

’Well, I’ll help her brag a little more!’

Hearing her words, the crowd started shaking their heads. "And she graduated from a prestigious university? With such poor character!"

"Isn’t this a disgrace to Master Hawthorne? She’s ruined the reputation he built over half his life! If I were Master Hawthorne, I’d regret ever taking on a student like her until the day I die."

"Is the character of Ph.D. graduates really this low nowadays? Committing criminal offenses and all."

"I wonder if she’s hidden any bodies in the rockets she launched."

"What’s the use of being highly skilled if you’re a criminal?"

"..."

Yvonne Sherman had always loved to flaunt her daughter’s achievements, acting high and mighty, with an attitude that suggested everyone else’s child was garbage compared to hers.

Now, all the praises she once heaped upon her daughter were being thrown right back in her face.

Every point of pride had become a point of ridicule. Yvonne Sherman had lost all her face.

Chad Jennings was also deeply humiliated.

Whenever he went out, he would tell people how incredible Joanna Sherman was, bragging about how his excellent parenting produced such a brilliant daughter.

He would lecture his neighbors at the drop of a hat, calling them stupid and clueless about raising children.

Now, with his own daughter being led away in handcuffs, it was like a resounding SLAP to his face.

He couldn’t even lift his head. All he wanted was to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it!