Chapter 121: Kill Him?

It was only when people started calling them a good match that Henry realized he was already out of the picture. Why Chase? He was never the one Wendy loved most. What gave him the right to stand beside her? What gave him the right to spend Christmas with Wendy? He, meanwhile, had to hide away in a house somewhere with his daughter, while even Larry got to visit the family. He and Joy were left to spend this Christmas in cold isolation.

All of it made Henry sick to his stomach. His feelings twisted into a jealousy so intense it bordered on madness. He even started thinking about killing Chase. It wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed his mind. Back at the Quinn Residence, the knife he’d used on himself was supposed to frame Chase. But if he’d known Wendy would eventually look back, he would have killed Chase instead. That blade should have been aimed at one of Chase’s vital organs. He couldn’t let Chase live. He couldn’t let Mandy live either. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to hold an important place in Wendy’s heart.

“Well, since Chase is home, I’ll head out. Joy, say goodbye to Wendy.”

Joy still refused to change how she addressed Wendy, sticking to “Pretty Mommy.” Chase didn’t feel like arguing with a child, so he stood beside Wendy with a smile and said goodbye. In return, he got a dramatic eye roll from Joy. The bird’s nest on the floor was from a top-tier brand. Wendy glanced at it once and then kicked it toward the doorway. “Melody’s bringing gifts to Windwell Pharma Group in a few days, too. I wouldn’t dare eat anything Henry gives me.”

How the tables had turned. In the past, all the harsh words had been aimed at Chase; never once at Henry. Chase wrapped his arms around Wendy and carried her back to the living room. For once, neither of them had work to do. They picked the most talked-about movie to watch together.

“Did you see the way Joy and Henry looked at you just now?” Wendy tossed a strawberry into her mouth and glanced sideways at Chase. “That was the first time Henry didn’t even try to hide it. He wants to kill you.”

If even Wendy noticed, then of course Chase did too. He wasn’t worried. “If he’s got the guts, he can try. By the way, I heard you sent something to Shanelle a few days ago. Funny how she’s Joy’s birth mother, but Joy doesn’t seem to feel close to her at all.”

“I heard from Sammy that when Shanelle was in the final stage of her pregnancy, the Hudd family was about to go bankrupt, and her relationship with Henry had already fallen apart. Honestly, I get why Henry hates Shanelle.”

Shanelle symbolized everything humiliating for Henry. His marriage to her, even Joy’s birth, were all signs that Henry had no control over his fate. It was a power play from another member of the Harrison family. So Henry never loved Shanelle; he despised her.

After Joy was born, the Hudd family went completely bankrupt. The death of her parents devastated Shanelle. She didn’t even complete her postpartum recovery, too focused on fighting Henry and trying to…

Shanelle might have been foolish and weak in some ways, but she never backed down. It was in her bones. Once she realized that Henry had taken everything from her and she had no way to make a comeback, she started plotting against him. She struck fast and precisely, not even giving him time to react.

Henry took Joy right after she was born. Shanelle barely got to see her, let alone raise her. Now that Joy was older, it was too late for Shanelle to build a relationship.

“I wonder… if Henry goes down, what’ll happen to Joy? Would she be sent back to Shanelle?”

“Legally, yes. But that depends on what they both want.”

Shanelle sat alone in the empty hotel suite’s living room. The suite was still being paid for by Henry. She could stay there forever as long as she didn’t release those client files. As long as she still had dirt on him, she could stay alive. And as long as she stayed alive, she could get revenge. Shanelle never forgot about her parents’ deaths. Her past feelings for Henry felt like nothing more than a cruel joke. Actually, between her and Henry, it was Henry who faked it better. He made it seem like he had feelings for her. Until one day, a call from another woman came in, and Shanelle finally saw who he really was.

That was why, when she met Wendy and saw the woman Henry had always obsessed over, she couldn’t stop herself from lashing out, but Wendy didn’t care about Henry at all.

Such a lively Christmas, and yet Shanelle was all alone. Teaming up with Wendy was inevitable. She had only one condition—Wendy must never hurt Joy. When it was all over, she wanted to live with her daughter and needed enough financial backing to revive the Hudd family.

Wendy agreed to everything. At its peak, the Hudd family seemed like a modest household to Wendy. That level of funding didn’t even register to her. Now they just had to wait for the day everything fell into place.

On Christmas Day, Gennemont, which had previously banned fireworks, finally allowed them in certain areas. The crackling began outside before they were even fully awake. They had stayed up watching movies until 3 a.m., messed around for a bit afterward, and had only just fallen asleep a couple of hours before.