An Odious Blackmail

After six years of marriage, Beverly Sinclair discovers that her husband's love and devotion were nothing but lies. She couldn't understand how Evan Gray could be such a good actor. He claimed he loved her more than life itself, but could this really be considered love?

And so, she decided to leave him. She made a call and said, "Chief Bronson, please take me back to the team as soon as possible."

"Bev, Evan will probably lose his mind if you suddenly go missing," James Bronson said, sounding a little surprised. He knew Beverly and Evan had been married for six years. They even had a son together.

Their life was picture-perfect, and Evan loved Beverly more than anyone could imagine.

"He doesn't matter anymore." Beverly tightened her grip on her phone.

"Alright, then. It was a huge loss to the organization when you decided to leave. Give us a month at most to make the arrangements. When the time comes, 'Beverly Sinclair' will disappear from the face of the earth, and 'Cipher' will return to the team," James said.

"Thanks, Chief Bronson."

Beverly put her phone away and looked at a laptop screen, which showed surveillance footage of a man and a woman making love in every corner of the villa.

The sight pierced Beverly's eyes. She and Evan had met and fallen in love ten years ago, going from being students to getting married. She'd never once imagined he would betray her. He'd cheated on her with their son's nanny, Cindy Beech.

In the footage, the colorful wrappers of countless condoms lay scattered across the study floor. A few of them even fell on their marriage certificate, which was stored in the safe.

Beverly's body had suffered permanent damage after giving birth to her and Evan's son, Harold Gray. She'd wanted to try for another, but it had been a challenge to even conceive.

She and Evan had never used another condom since then, but he tore open one after another in the surveillance footage, seemingly insatiable.

How could he do this to her?

Just then, Beverly received a message notification on the laptop. It came from Evan's WhatsApp account, which was logged in on the computer.

"Harry said he'll address Beverly as 'Mom' and me as 'Mommy.' What about you, babe?"

The reply was immediate. "You're my babe too."

Beverly looked at the reply and slumped in her seat, clutching her aching chest. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood. The pain couldn't compare to the agony her heart was in, though.

She forced herself to calm down as she looked through the countless messages Evan and Cindy had sent each other. It turned out Evan had been cheating on her since she'd had Harold! The affair had gone on for five years, yet there had never been a crack in his facade.

The fallen wedding photos, capturing their supposed deep love, were even more jarring than the pile of condoms.

Beverly suddenly thought of Harold. It was parent-child day at the kindergarten, and he was there with Cindy. The thought of Harold addressing Cindy as "Mommy" made Beverly's heart twist painfully.

He was her son!

She grabbed her car keys and headed downstairs. Suddenly, she heard the maids whispering among themselves.

"Oh, my goodness. What is this? What's it doing among Mrs. Gray's clothes?" one asked.

"Look at all the holes in this. Can you even still call it a garment?"

"Shh. It belongs to that person," a maid whispered.

"Throw it into her room."

"God, she's such a slut. Isn't she afraid of retribution for seducing a married man?"

Beverly watched as a maid opened the door to Cindy's bedroom on the first floor and threw a skimpy negligee inside. Then, she and the rest of the maids continued gossiping about Cindy.

"M-Mrs. Gray?" The maids were stunned when they spotted Beverly. They quickly hurried off, pretending that they were busy.

It turned out Beverly was the only one in this whole place who'd been kept in the dark.

Beverly was distraught as she hurried to the kindergarten. There, she saw Cindy and Harold having fun together.

When Harold noticed Beverly standing there with her hands empty, he asked in displeasure, "Mom, where are the mango tarts?"

"I forgot, Harry," she said.

"Go and buy them now, then." Harold got mad. "Cindy's been talking about them for days!"

"It's fine, Harry. I can get them myself if I want to have them," Cindy said considerately.

Beverly suddenly wanted to laugh at herself for being such a fool. In the past, she'd even occasionally rewarded Cindy upon seeing how well she took care of Harold.

Harold looked at Cindy with a fawning expression. "Cindy, didn't you say the food there is delicious and that it's a trendy spot where you have to wait in line for three hours to get the tarts? How can you leave for that long when you have to be with me? I'll make Mom buy it for us."

"We can't make Beverly do that for us," she protested.

"Mom likes doing things for me. She'll be upset if I don't let her," Harold said, sounding proud to have Beverly wrapped around his finger.

His words hurt Beverly, and her gaze turned cold.

Just then, a kindergarten teacher approached them. "We're having a three-legged race next. Each child will pair with one parent for it."

Beverly really wanted to accompany Harold. She said, "Harry, I'll do it with you."

"No, thanks." Harold took the rope from the teacher and focused on tying his and Cindy's legs together. He didn't even spare Beverly a glance as he added, "Cindy's a better fit for this."

"Harry, I'm your mother!" Beverly didn't give up so easily. She stepped forward to grab Harold's hand.

But he shook her off and shouted, "You're so annoying, Mom! Can't you just give up being my mom for a little while? Do it for my sake!"

Beverly felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart. "What did you say?"

She'd almost lost her life giving birth to Harold, and she'd loved and cared for him with all her heart. She'd been there for every day of his life, watching as he grew up.

Meanwhile, Cindy had only cared for him for three months, and yet, he was already so partial toward her.

"Beverly, you're willing to do anything for Harry, right? Anyway, who wouldn't want to have a gymnast as a mother? I'm younger, more energetic, and prettier than you," Cindy said.

"With Cindy on my team, I'm sure we'll win!" Harold exclaimed.

He and Cindy high-fived. Then, she held his hand while giving Beverly a taunting look, making the latter tremble in rage.

"Who do you think you are to be so rude to my wife?" Suddenly, Evan cut in coldly, his voice laced with fury. He approached Beverly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're just Harold's nanny. If I ever catch you talking back to my wife again, you'll be thrown out of the Gray residence! Now, apologize!"

Cindy immediately lowered her head, making her shoulders tremble slightly as if she were terrified. She said meekly, "I'm sorry, Beverly. I won't do it again."

Beverly felt only coldness in her heart as she watched them sing the same tune to deceive her. All she wanted now was Harold. She would take him with her when she left.

However, Harold suddenly screamed, "Daddy, why did you shout at Cindy? She's not wrong—Mom is old and stupid!"

He had no qualms about completely tearing Beverly down just to defend Cindy. Beverly couldn't understand how he'd turned out like this.

She asked shakily, "Do you like her that much? Do you want her as your mother?"

He glared at her and declared frostily, "I do!"

Those words were the straw that broke the camel's back.

Beverly watched as Harold held Cindy's hand tightly and pulled her to the race's starting line. They two snuggled and weaved their way through the course of the race, chatting and laughing.

Beverly's heart shattered at the sight.

Evan said soothingly, "Honey, Harry's still young. We have plenty of time to educate him properly. Don't let this get to you. I'll make time to talk to Mom about sending Cindy off, okay?"

His tender gaze and sweet words were the same as always, but they now seemed like poison being forced into Beverly's system.

Her heart was in agony. Since both Evan and Harold had picked Cindy over her, she no longer wanted them. There was nothing holding her back anymore.

Beverly pushed Evan away and left the kindergarten. She would disappear without a trace in a month, at most. From then on, she would have all the freedom in the world, and there would no longer be any space for them in her life.