Vespera left her parents’ house at 6:00 am. Normally, Vernon would be out for his morning jog and Wanda would be preparing breakfast at this time, but today, they hadn’t woken up yet. They had only gone to bed around 2:00 am, after staying up all night waiting for her to come home. She left a note on the fridge before she left.

After sneaking out of the community, she took a cab to Rebecca’s house. When Rebecca opened the door, her eyes were swollen with dark circles. “How can Luke still be considered human? He’s nothing but a bastard! No, calling him a bastard is too good for him!” “And Tina and his mother? They’re worse than bitches!”

After Vespera had called Rebecca earlier and explained everything that happened last night, Rebecca was furious. She was so angry that she almost wanted to go out immediately and tear them apart. Rebecca was filled with rage, but Vespera remained unusually calm.

She stepped inside, changed into her slippers, and asked, “Are there any ingredients in the fridge? I’ll make us some breakfast.” Rebecca looked at her in disbelief. “You still have the energy to make breakfast.”

Vespera took off her coat and gently pushed her agitated friend down onto the couch. “It’s not worth starving ourselves over people like them. We need to eat first so we have the energy to deal with them.” She was about to pull her hand back.

Rebecca pressed her hand down, staring at Vespera’s wrist. There were two deep red marks, clearly from being bound too tightly. Her stomach churned. “How could they still tie your hands in that situation? They didn’t leave you any way—”

Vespera smiled bitterly. “Yeah, they really didn’t leave me any way out.” Rebecca’s anger flared again. “Tina being vicious is one thing, but Luke… how could he do this?” They’d been together for eight years.

Rebecca took a deep breath, her voice choking. “Even if he doesn’t love you anymore, just break up. But does he really have to go this far? You’ve been together for eight years! For someone he’s known less than six months, he can be this cruel to you? I just can’t understand it.”

“For the sake of a new lover, he’ll do anything.”

“But before, he searched for you everywhere, acting like he still cared!”

Vespera scoffed and thought, “Greed?”

“You know he’s going to announce his engagement to Tina tonight?”

“What?”

Rebecca turned to stare at her in shock. “But you’re not even divorced yet! Walt.”

A terrifying thought suddenly crossed her mind. “Does he already know that you had him sign the divorce agreement?”

Vespera pursed her lips. “I’ve considered that possibility.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened. “What if he’s been plotting this from the start? He worked with his mother—one of them kept you calm, while the other pushed you to sign your—”

“Once the divorce agreement and the compensation settlement were in effect, he wouldn’t just be able to divorce you but also get out of paying a single penny. If you didn’t agree, they’d use the video to blackmail you.”

“To protect that video from leaking, you’d have no choice but to swallow your pride and accept. This way, he and Tina can be together without anything holding them back.”

“This man is terrifying.”

Vespera fell into deep thought. “Was it really like that?”

Thinking back on Luke’s actions and what Tina had said last night, there seemed to be a logical inconsistency.

“Becca, I need your help with something,” Vespera said, breaking her train of thought.

Rebecca, her mind ablaze with the desire to tear down the deceitful man and woman, immediately responded, “Just say the word. I’ll do whatever it takes!”

That evening, the hall of the Peninsula Hotel was filled with elegant crystal chandeliers and the soft flow of classical music. High society members moved through the space, clad in fine clothes, exchanging toasts, and weaving through a classic scene of wealth and influence. Tonight’s charity gala was hosted by Ella; she had invited all the prominent figures from Halewick, and the Sowle family had shown their full support, sending the entire family.

With the way these two families were acting, one could tell an important announcement was about to be made. Tina had been holding Luke’s hand since they arrived, occasionally glancing down at her phone. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with those people. “Harry weren’t answering their phones, nor were they sending any updates or videos.” She thought to herself, “What was going on? Had they failed?”

However, that didn’t seem probable. They had already gotten what they wanted; there was no way they could have failed. Besides, if they had failed, Vespera would have come to find her immediately. It seemed possible that they had gone to such extremes that they might have actually caused accidental death, and now they were hiding in fear of the consequences.

Chapter 22

She frowned in frustration. This was getting boring.