Chapter 781

The commotion startled the nearby diners, who immediately began whispering and glancing over. Ivy Windsor, visibly shaken by the scene, shot to her feet. "Get up. If you don’t, I’m leaving right now."

"Mom, please…" Rosetta looked up at her, eyes pleading, but Ivy wouldn’t give her the chance. Without hesitation, she spun around and strode away.

"Ivy! Ivy!" Rosetta scrambled up and chased after her, grabbing her arm. "I won’t do it again, just wait–let me finish."

Ivy yanked her arm free, struggling to keep her temper in check as she turned around. "I don’t accept your apology, and I’m not helping you. Whatever trouble you’re in, find someone else."

She knew exactly what Rosetta was after–trying to smooth things over, probably to ask for another favor. Ivy shouldn’t have come up here to listen to her ramble in the first place.

But just as she turned to leave, Rosetta blurted out, "Ivy, someone’s out to get you! I came here to warn you!"

Ivy froze mid-step, hesitating, but she didn’t look back.

Rosetta hurried forward and clutched her arm, her expression deadly serious. "I mean it. Someone wants to hurt you–he’s out for revenge, for Emma."

"For Emma Windsor?" Ivy frowned, her mind racing to the Windsor family’s villa that had burned down, and Baillie Windsor’s car accident just a few days ago.

Seeing the look on Ivy’s face, Rosetta realized she’d put the pieces together and confirmed her suspicions. "We have a good idea who set the fire at the villa. Baillie spoke to the police yesterday, but we don’t know if they’ll catch him. And Baillie’s car crash–the one that caused Flora to lose the baby–that was him, too!"

The more Ivy heard, the more confused she became. Who could possibly be behind all this?

Rosetta guided her back to their table, forcing her to sit, and lowered her voice. "The police say he’s skilled at evading surveillance. They might not catch him any time soon. If he realizes we’re onto him, he’ll only accelerate his plans for revenge."

Ivy pressed, "You keep going on–who is it?"

"It’s Hawley. He grew up in the orphanage with Emma. They were close friends."

The name made Ivy’s expression shift instantly.

She knew exactly who this was.

Back when she’d first returned after being abducted, Emma had tried to frame her more than once. There was the time the brakes failed on her barely-new Maserati–she’d nearly died in a wreck on the highway. The investigation traced the sabotage back to this same Hawley.

After helping Emma, Hawley had vanished, gone to ground. Ivy never expected him to resurface.

"Hawley and Emma were like family at the orphanage–they were inseparable. Even after we adopted Emma, they kept in touch, though Emma hid it well. She knew we didn’t want her hanging around with those kids from her past."

Ivy’s mind whirled with questions. "So how did you even find out about him?"

If what Rosetta said was true and Hawley wanted revenge for Emma, Ivy was surely on his list. After all, she was the one most directly responsible for Emma’s fate.

"Hawley left the orphanage after middle school–took on all sorts of odd jobs, even served two years in the military. When he got out, he wanted to start a business and asked Emma for money. They got close again. I think he always had feelings for her, but Emma never felt the same. Then Emma started seeing Micah, and Hawley was furious–he showed up at our house, demanding answers. That’s how we found out about him."