“I don’t want the money. Give it back to him.” Hesper refused it expressionlessly. Her pride wasn’t something that could be bought with a measly check. Benji was going to say something, but she cut him off. “As for what happened today, I’ll make a police report and let them handle it.”“I’ll drive you home then.” Hesper didn’t reject that. On the way back, Benji told her, “By the way, Mrs. Duval, the people at the hospital said someone drove you there. I believe that person would have seen what happened. If you could get him to be a witness and provide some information, it would help with the investigation.”Hesper’s mind was filled with Matthew’s face, but she didn’t know who he was, so there was no chance that she could get him to be a witness. The man was very well-dressed and was in an extravagant luxury car. He would probably not want to get involved in this. She calmly said, “He was just there at the right time. I don’t think it will be easy to track him down.”Benji d
“Why would you ask that?” Juniper frowned, looking surprised. “Do you suspect that I did it? Or do you think I would be happy about it?”Rickard didn’t reply. Juniper’s reactions seemed normal and her behavior didn't seem odd. He couldn’t find a reason to convince himself that she had anything to do with this. After a few seconds, he spoke. “I was just asking.”Juniper was relieved but she still looked wronged and unhappy about it. Sophia jumped at the opportunity and stood by her side. “What are you doing? You used to care about Juni the most but now you seem to question her a lot. Do you think she wouldn't feel hurt? Or is someone trying to twist the truth?”Rickard knew what she meant and frowned. “What are you trying to say? Hesper made a police report, so the police is getting involved. I'll investigate this too, so no one will be able to twist the truth.”Sophia didn’t talk back after she was called out. Rickard, agitated, loosened his tie then walked to his study. Be
The investigating officer looked at her. “But we’ve investigated this thoroughly, and the suspects were adamant that no one was ordering them around. We looked into their bank cards, phone records, and everything else. There were no suspicious transfers or calls.”Hesper couldn’t put a finger on it, but she knew that the two men were targeting her. “Please look into this again. I don’t want the actual culprits to get away!”The officer hesitantly looked at Rickard, and when he nodded, the officer agreed to avoid wrongly closing the case. “Alright, we’ll investigate further. Can you provide any evidence or witnesses? The person who saved you, for example?”Hesper hesitated, then shook her head. “I don’t know who he is, so I wouldn’t be able to contact him.”Rickard noticed the slight change in her demeanor and his eyes darkened. However, no matter how many times they interrogated the men, they refused to change their statements, so the outcome remained. The police were out o
In the study, the mother and son sat down. Rickard checked the time on his watch. “Go ahead.”Julie spoke. “I know that you’re trying to get Hesper, but have you considered why she didn’t come home? Has she ever done this since you married? Don’t you think that this is out of character?”How could it not be? He never imagined that she would do this, so he didn't notice that she wasn’t home until the helper went to wake her up. Julie scoffed and coldly said, “I’m going to say something that you wouldn’t want to hear. I watched the video too yesterday. She was disoriented and couldn’t even walk properly. Who knows if anything happened after she got into some man’s car?”“Mom!” Rickard cut her off. “What? Am I wrong?” Julie continued. “I don’t want to accuse her of anything, but the truth is right there. If they were both innocent, why did she not cooperate when the police asked to look for the witness? Also, why didn’t she come home?”Rickard’s mind went to the moment when Hesp
When Rickard realized that she hadn't come home, he immediately sent people to search for her and personally went to get her, but what he got in return was her yelling at him. His eyes glazed over. “I haven’t signed the papers yet, Hesper. You’re being too arrogant.”He pushed her away, but because he used too much force, she fell backward into the wet bed. Rickard gave orders with no expression on his face. “Mrs. Duval is disoriented. Bring her to the car!”Two bodyguards walked next to Hesper, one on each side, and dragged her out while ignoring her struggles. “Rickard Duval, you’re crazy!”Hesper was distraught. She was wet from head to toe and was manhandled as if she was a criminal. She anxiously said, “It was just one night. Who actually cares about my safety? What’s the point of doing all this now?”“Of course, there’s a point.” Rickard’s eyes were sharp and cold as he glared at her. “It’s one thing if we care about you or not, another thing to ruin our family’s repu
“If you haven’t done anything to betray me, then what are you afraid of?” Rickard grabbed her by the wrist and subdued her firmly within his arms as cold and stern words escaped between his thin lips. “I’ll never let anyone deceive me or hide something from me, so you have to go through the test whether you like it or not!”“You bastard!” Hesper cursed at him exasperatedly, and the walls of the mental prison that had been used to contain and suppress the grievances within herself finally crumbled at that moment.Her clear eyes welled up gradually and tears blurred her vision. Hesper could only hate herself for not finding out that he was such a person before this.“Rickard Duval, this relationship between me and you cracked a long time ago, and we didn’t file for a divorce only because of your family. If you dare treat me like this, I’ll never forgive you!”Hearing this, the level of Rickard’s anger skyrocketed.‘She just seems to love to bring up the fact that our relationship is
The group of people entered the hospital, and the doctor who attended to them was the one from last night.She was about to leave the department to look for some files, but when she saw Rickard dragging Hesper into the hospital as soon as she opened the door, she was taken aback for a short moment. “Mr. Duval, what’s happening here?”“She got drugged last night. Examine her for any possible injuries.”The doctor was a smart person, so she understood the subtext of the conversation as soon as she heard it.She was there when Hesper was brought in last night, so she knew that Hesper was sober back then. But this was not the time to turn away from this situation, as she had been bribed by Madam Duval.“Mr. Duval, I’ll have to get some tools prepared for the physical examination. If you really want to do this, I’ll go ahead and get it ready.”Rickard looked indifferent. “Okay, just do whatever is necessary.”“Okay, please give me a second.”The doctor grabbed her cell phone, hurrie
A minute later, Hesper’s examination results emerged from the slit in front of the printer.With just one glimpse, the doctor explained to Rickard with a strange expression, “Mr. Duval, we’ve found fluid residual in Mrs. Duval’s vaginal cavity... And the test result shows that it’s not blood nor ordinary vaginal discharge.”Rickard’s expression turned gloomy instantly.‘If it’s not blood nor her vaginal discharge, what else could it be?’“How dare you...”Rickard’s bloodshot eyes were fixed on Hesper, infuriated.After hearing so much argument from her before this, he had started to really think that she was innocent. However, it turned out to only be an excuse for fearing that her filthy doing would be revealed!“Hesper Rivera, you whore!”“This is impossible, there must be a misunderstanding!” Hesper trembled from head to toe.She knew her own body inside out. She clearly remembered that the person who drugged her last night did not succeed, and she had never done anything t