Chapter 5

Veronica wondered for a while if the person Frank had mentioned could have been someone else with the same name as the billionaire Cade Johnson. She looked at the man hiding in the shadows and realized that she still couldn't see much of him.

She still never got a full, frontal view of his face.

She couldn't stop her hand from trembling and quickly hid it behind her back. She felt her heart beating wildly against her ribcage. In fact, she even felt extremely panicked all of a sudden.

It felt as though her deepest, darkest secret was about to be revealed to the world, and she simply had to get herself out of here as quickly as she could!

"Thank you."

Veronica lowered her voice and then quickly turned and disappeared into the darkness, walking toward the Goodwin residence until she finally saw it from the gate.

There were bright, festive lights everywhere, and music played in every corner of the premises.

Veronica forced herself to calm down before walking into the garden with Anna.

"Mrs. Goodwin! You're back!" one of the maids said. "Wait, why are you hurt? Quick, inform—"

Veronica interrupted her and said, "There's no need for that. I'll head inside by myself."

It wasn't until after Veronica and Anna both disappeared beyond the gates that Derek finally turned to address the man in black seated next to him.

He asked, "Were you worried that Anna might come back empty-handed today, Mr. Johnson, which is why you left Mrs. Goodwin your contact information? Were you already thinking of alternate plans to search for V?"

Cade replied, "Someone is deliberately hiding something about this. I sent someone to speak to Albert a year ago to gather as much information as possible, but it was obvious that he knew nothing about it.

"Still, I believe that someone in there knows the truth."

Cade had been looking for V for three years, and he'd finally managed to trace them to the Goodwins.

If Cade still couldn't get any useful information from his search, he would have to take matters into his own hands next.

He thought about Veronica just now, who, despite looking a little disheveled, still had the radiance on her face and the light in her eyes shining through.

Cade felt something stir in him. "She seems like a stubborn one."

Derek asked, "What did you just say, Mr. Johnson?

Just as he asked the question, the phone began to ring.

"Mr. Johnson! The people who kidnapped you and your sister back then have just made an appearance!"

…

The garden in the Goodwin residence was filled with guests. Almost every prominent figure in Amberdale had attended the event that night. They were all dressed in their best jewels as they swayed lightly along to the music and chatted happily with one another.

Veronica's appearance was so low-profile that nobody even noticed her coming in.

The Goodwin family members were mostly congregated in the main hall, and a number of guests were chatting with them and also praising them for the event. They strode around the hall, pride on their radiant faces, flitting from conversation to conversation with their guests.

After all, the Goodwin family was also going to be considered part of the most elite circle in Amberdale from that day onward.

They were all simply delighted and ecstatic to have finally reached the peak of their social status in the city.

The most radiant and prideful person was none other than the eldest son of the Goodwin family, Henry Goodwin.

He was the CEO of Goodwin Group, after all, dressed smartly and elegantly, and the center of every conversation as he sauntered through the night.

The guests had heard that it was mainly thanks to him that the company had reached its current level.

And with the Goodwins having such a brilliant heir like him taking over the family soon, the guests were quick to give their heartiest congratulations to the family and even give them a few toasts to celebrate.

"Mr. Goodwin is such an accomplished young man! Oh, and this must be the lovely Mrs. Goodwin!

"I've heard that Mrs. Goodwin is also a very smart and talented lady who's drop-dead gorgeous. Now that I'm finally seeing her in person… I mean, she doesn't seem to be quite what I expected her to be," one of the guests said, giving Daphne the once-over.

As soon as his words were spoken, it wasn't just the Goodwins who immediately felt tense and awkward about the situation—even Daphne looked pretty embarrassed herself.

However, Henry kept a straight face and said, "She's just my secretary, Mr. Sloan. This is Ms. Daphne Moore."

Just his secretary?

Nobody was ever going to believe that, especially since Daphne's aggrieved, sorrowful gaze was welling up with tears as she looked at Henry.

Many of the guests began giving them speculative looks.

"I'd heard a while ago that the real Mrs. Goodwin refused to attend any and all events ever since she was revealed as a fraud. I never thought it was real until today."

"Exactly! How could she not show herself at an important event like this, letting her husband show off his secretary instead? The Goodwins are literally humiliating the Shermans at this rate!"

"Say, weren't the Shermans invited too?"

Philip Sherman and his wife, Ruby Parton, were standing just a short distance away. They were smiling awkwardly, though their smiles were threatening to falter anytime soon. Yet, the look in their eyes was cold and thunderous.

Next to them stood Janice Sherman, their real, biological daughter, whom they'd lost 22 years ago.

Philip turned around and began to curse. "That useless piece of shit! What's the point of marrying her into the Goodwins if she can't even get Henry to stay loyal to her?

"How could he bring his secretary instead of her during such an important event like this? Is that little shit trying to embarrass the whole Sherman family or what?"

Ruby looked incredibly disappointed as well. "What is Veronica thinking? She didn't even bother maintaining her family's reputation with the Goodwins anymore!

"We shouldn't have come tonight in the first place!"

Janice watched as her parents spoke horribly of Veronica behind her back. Then, she crossed her arms and said nonchalantly, "Isn't it because we abandoned her first? And since nobody cared about her anymore, naturally, the Goodwins wouldn't think much about her either. They're only opportunists anyway."

Philip and Ruby were both struck speechless because of what Janice had said.

They stared at her in disbelief. Yet, Janice pretended as though nothing had just happened as she lifted a glass of champagne and flitted off somewhere else.

However, the news of Henry bringing his secretary as his female companion didn't cause much of a stir. After all, since the Shermans could put up with it, the other guests would simply enjoy the show.

Meanwhile, Mabel glared angrily at Daphne and muttered, "I bet that bitch is finally going to make a name for herself amongst the elites after today!

"Mom! How could you agree to let Henry bring her along as his companion? Didn't you hate her the most back then? That bitch has already taken five million dollars from you, promising to never return to Amberdale! But look! She still came back! She's such a greedy bitch!

"Why won't you expose her and reveal her true colors to Henry instead?"

Even though Veronica wasn't there that night, Mabel thought that she should have been the one catching everyone's eyes next to Henry. But alas, her attention had all been stolen by Daphne instead.

Lily was shocked. She quickly scanned her surroundings and pulled Mabel to the side. After making sure that nobody would be able to eavesdrop on them, Lily finally said, "Are you dumb? Things are no longer the same as they used to be!

"Your brother is getting more and more powerful now. Why should I even try going against him?

"Also, Henry is already sure that Veronica was the one who forced Daphne out of the country back then. Why should I bother clearing up that misunderstanding for them?

"I also think that it's good that Daphne is back now."

Mabel quietly asked, "Mom, is it because you're planning to use Daphne… to ruin Henry's marriage?"

She then made a slicing motion across her neck.

Lily smiled elegantly and said, "I am only going to give them a little shove in the right direction. I'm not going to get my hands dirty.

"Soon, Veronica will be out of the picture, and I'll find a more suitable candidate to be Henry's wife.

"I'll make sure that she is worthy of the title, be it from her looks, her academic background, or everything else. I'll make sure she's better than Veronica in every aspect!

"As for Daphne, I've gotten rid of her once in the past, which means that I can get rid of her again. Women like her are the least of my concern!"

Lily looked very hopeful and confident. Yet, Mabel couldn't help but say, "Mom, I think it's impossible to find someone better than Veronica…"

Lily immediately glared at her and chided, "What do you know anyway? Let me warn you that you are not to step on Henry's tail tonight. Do you understand me?

"I'll get more people to take photos of Henry and Daphne being intimate with each other before sending them all to Veronica. I heard she had a threatened miscarriage and is now staying at the hospital.

"It would be even better if she could just lose the baby altogether! That would completely take care of everything I have in mind!"

Lily and Mabel then returned to the event and continued mingling with the other guests. They never noticed that a dark, suspicious figure had just swiftly walked past them.

Soon, it was time to dance. Henry held Daphne in his arms in the middle of the dance floor as they led the first dance of the night.

Even with everyone's eyes on him, Henry looked at Daphne in his arms with a sweet, loving, and tender gaze. They couldn't take their eyes off each other, and it felt as though everyone else had melted away, leaving only the two of them on the floor.

The look he gave her was so deep and meaningful that everyone noticed it immediately.

"I never knew that Mr. Goodwin was such a romantic person."

"But the looks they give each other can't be pure. Does anyone still remember that fake heiress from the Shermans? His actual wife, the real Mrs. Goodwin?"

"Aw, look at them! They're perfect together. You can't deny that they do look good together."

Suddenly, a scream from the garden pierced the air.

"It's Mrs. Goodwin!"

"Oh no! She's bleeding everywhere!"

"Mrs. Goodwin is hurt!"

"Well, Mr. Goodwin is still dancing with his secretary inside the hall…"

Henry could only hear bits and pieces of the guests' exclamations. He felt his heart drop to his stomach.

"What happened?" he asked, stopping mid-dance and asking a maid next to them.

Someone then rushed into the hall and screamed in terror. "Mr. Goodwin! It's Mrs. Goodwin! She's hurt! There's a lot of blood… So much blood everywhere!"

Henry's face paled at once. He quickly let go of Daphne and immediately rushed out the door.

Daphne bit on her lower lip indignantly before running out after him. The other guests followed suit.

There was drama and trouble afoot, and they were all here for it!

Everyone was ecstatic, especially Lily. She was simply delighted.

Blood? Did that mean that Veronica finally had a miscarriage?

Henry shoved the crowd aside and found Veronica sitting on a chair, her lips as white as a sheet, and her face streaked with some blood that hadn't been cleaned up.

When Henry appeared, she looked up at him and gave him a very frail, weak look. "Henry…"

She then got up and fell straight into his arms, unable even to stand up straight.

"I-I heard that there was a very important event tonight… I wanted to come back to be with you and surprise you… But I got into an accident on the way…

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so careless…"

Henry felt his throat tighten. He stared at Veronica, all dirty and disheveled, and somehow felt panicked and flustered about her.

He wanted to yell at her, but he just couldn't find the words to say. Finally, he managed to croak, "'Are you hurt?"

He saw that the cut on her head had been dressed, but he was even more concerned about his and Daphne's baby inside her womb.

Still, there were too many people present. He couldn't possibly ask her about it now.

Henry picked Veronica up bridal-style and was shocked. He wondered why Veronica was so light.

Veronica seemed to notice his concern and patted her belly with everyone watching. "Don't worry, Henry. I only have a few superficial cuts. Our baby is fine."

The crowd descended into a wave of murmurs. They immediately felt sorry for Veronica.

They never thought that she, the fake Sherman heiress, could be so loyal and devoted to Henry. Even in her sorry state, she was still concerned about him and comforting him in return.

Moreover, she was pregnant. How could the Goodwins possibly leave her alone somewhere else?

On top of that, Henry had even let his secretary accompany him for the entire evening of such an important event, while he nearly lost his wife and unborn baby in an accident.

They thought that there was something obviously wrong with the Goodwins.

The guests began giving the Goodwins weird looks and silently sentenced Daphne to death with their unfriendly gazes.

Albert's expression dropped at once. He hurriedly came out and addressed Veronica to try to smooth things over. "Silly girl! You're supposed to be at the hospital! Why did you come all the way here?

"You could have also asked the driver to give you a ride instead!

"Henry, hurry up and take her inside. Then have Dr. Turner give her a thorough check-up!"

Henry quickly left with Veronica in his arms.

Daphne watched them leave with reddened eyes, feeling like her heart was being sliced into strips. She dug her long nails into her palm until it began to bleed.

Then, she inwardly cursed at Veronica. It had been such a perfect night, but it was now ruined, thanks to her!

Meanwhile, Lily was extremely disappointed. Someone congratulated her on becoming a grandmother-to-be, and she could only force a smile in return.

Philip, Ruby, and Janice exchanged looks.

Ruby asked, "Should we also go and check on her?"

…

Henry brought Veronica into the room.

"You won't get angry at me, will you, Henry?" Veronica asked, seeing the dark look on his face. She pretended to be very nervous and frightened as she asked a question she already knew the answer to.

She had ruined the event and also interrupted his first dance with his first love. Naturally, Henry had to be mad at her!

However, Henry had never seen Veronica so meek, frail, and clingy with him before. He suddenly felt a little guilty for bringing Daphne with him that night instead. "It's fine as long as you and our baby are safe," he said.

Veronica feathered her stomach and said, "Don't worry. I would give up my life to protect our baby."

Another flash of emotion appeared in Henry's eyes.

He was just about to take a closer look at the cut on Veronica's forehead when his phone suddenly chimed.

Henry took a quick look at his phone and immediately stood. He said, "Dr. Turner will be here soon. I'll be back in a while."

He then rushed out of the room, leaving Veronica behind. As soon as he left, though, Veronica got out of bed and went over to the window. She looked down.

She knew that it had to be Daphne who had called him away. This was the exact moment that she had been waiting for.

The Goodwin family doctor, James Turner, soon arrived. He cleaned Veronica's wound and gave her a few stitches. And, to minimize any impact on her pregnancy, he only dabbed some numbing cream on the wound to relieve the pain.

Yet, it didn't help much because the dosage was just too low.

Veronica was in so much pain that she couldn't stop trembling all over. She gripped the bedsheets so hard that they came off and went askew.

Still, she didn't make a single sound.

After he was done, James sighed heavily and said, "You're very strong, Mrs. Goodwin. Still, just to be safe, I think you should go to the hospital tomorrow for a proper examination."

Veronica nodded and said, "Thanks. I understand."

She then asked Kelly Brown, a maid who had come to take care of her, to see James out. After that, she changed into a pure white dress.

Her waist-length hair draped over her shoulders, and a large bandage still covered her head. Her lips were pale and chalky. Coupled with her beautiful, mesmerizing face, it was enough to draw more pitiful looks her way.

She was just pretending to be frail and weak, after all. It wasn't too hard to learn how.

None of these really mattered anyway, as long as she could successfully get a divorce.

Veronica was just about to head out when Kelly suddenly returned. She said, "Mrs. Goodwin, Mr. and Mrs. Sherman are here to see you."