LOGINScarlett “Do you have any idea what this is?” I asked, shoving my phone screen in the judge's face. After getting Aurelia's message, I drove off to the court to see the judge who had ruled Aurelia's case with Adrian, barging into his office without a care in the world. The judge's gaze dropped low to my phone screen with an unbothered look on his face. “That's a message.” “A threatening message made by the criminal you released,” I corrected. “I don't know if you were present in court when we ruled on Miss Aurelia's case, but she was granted bail,” he said, shoving a bill in my face. “And as you can see, that bail was paid today, so there's no reason why the offender shouldn't be released according to the law. Her only offense was feeding expired drugs to a child, and according to my knowledge, Miss Aurelia's license has been revoked to avoid history repeating itself, so scram.” “Where is Aurelia now, Judge Sam?” Adrian asked.The scowl on Sam's face deepened. “How the hell am I
ScarlettAs Nana drove back home, my gaze drifted off towards her.“Are you trying to bore a hole in my head, child?” she asked, eyes fixed on the road.“I was just wondering how you managed to fix everything so quickly.”Nana chuckled. “That's the Hartley power. If you're thankful, hurry up and give me my great-grandchild.”My insides churned at those words, suddenly remembering the pregnancy test result I had taken a few weeks back.Nana cleared her throat, pulling me out from my thoughts. “You look lost in thought over there. Is there something on your mind?”“No, there isn't,” I lied, turning up the volume of the radio.Nana turned the radio off completely. “Don't shut me out, Scarlett. Tell me what's on your mind, child!”I exhaled deeply. “You know how my fertility test from the hospital came out fine?”“Go on.”“What if despite that I'm still not able to…” My words choked up.Grandma Hartley pulled the car over to the side of the road. “If something like that happens, then it's
AdrianI hated the fact that I was tied down to a wheelchair in my own house with Grandpa Hartley while Nana and my wife were out there doing God-knows-what.“It looks like it's Cedric's turn to fall,” Grandpa Hartley drawls out slowly, his eyes fixed on the TV screen as his voice pulls me out of my thoughts.“What did you say?”He nudged his head at the TV. Following his gaze, I listened closely to the news about Cedric and the illegal methods he used to strike deals with his clients.“Well, what do you know, Gramps? Nothing ever stays a secret forever.”For the first time all day, Grandpa Hartley's gaze tore away from the screen.“If you knew the truth about Benjamin, why didn't you say anything earlier?” he asked.Because it wasn't my place to speak. Honestly, at that time, I thought doing so would make the family suspicious if Chase, who didn't have any backbone to stand up for himself, suddenly changed.The Hartley family had enough resources to carry out a private investigation.
Ethan“Breaking news: A recently released article by popular reporter Reed disclosed that Cedric Denver has been running a club downtown where he makes young girls sleep with influential men in the industry as a bargain to strike company deals,” a female reporter announced on the TV. “The police have rushed down to the club and rescued the girls who were found at the scene. As for the businessmen, they were taken into custody, but the man, Cedric Denver, was nowhere to be found—”I reached out for the TV remote and turned it off.The scowl on Nathan's face deepened. “Hey, I was watching that.”I snorted derisively. “Why? So it can be continuously rubbed in our faces how that psycho you cut a deal with ditched us?”Nathan rolled his eyes dramatically. “Cedric didn't do that. He's just laying low for a while because the cops are on his tail. Give the man a break, Ethan. His company is on the verge of going under; you should know how that feels more than anyone else.”Crossing over to th
TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDEScarlett“This is the main reason why Hale has been assisting Cedric for years,” Nana said, holding out a photo towards me.In the picture was a disturbing image of a girl being intimate with a man who looked seven years older than her.I narrowed my gaze. “Isn't this Tom Grazier? The chairman of Grazier Automobile?”Nana nodded. “It is. And that girl you're seeing right there is Hale's first daughter.”The photo slipped out of my hands. “Is this what I think it is?”“Cedric owns a private club just like Adrian. The only difference is that Cedric's is a prostitution club. Here, he brings girls to sleep with men in power as a means of cutting deals with them.”“Men like Tom Grazier.”“This was the method Cedric used in making Denver Corp one of the top three biggest companies in the country.”This man was truly rotten to the core and needed to be stopped by all means necessary.“Did none of the girls ever speak up?” I asked, staring at more of the similar photo
ScarlettAfter three days, Adrian was discharged from the hospital in a wheelchair. Only then did we inform Nana about Adrian's condition. Immediately, she visited our home with Grandpa Hartley, who had been slowly recovering from his stroke, although he was still receiving speech therapy.“Adrian, who did this to you?” Nana asked in tears, dumping the grocery bags in her hands onto the table without a care as she stared at her beloved son stuck in a wheelchair.“I got involved in a little accident, Grandma, but I'm fine now.”“And you didn't tell me about this until now?” Her gaze drifted off to me. “Even you, too, Scarlett?”My throat bobbed. “I...”“Don't blame Scarlett, Grandma,” Adrian cut in. “I was the one who told her not to inform you. There was so much going on with Grandpa that I didn't want to startle you. I'm sorry.”Crossing the room, Nana wrapped her arms around me. “I'm sorry for taking out my anger on you.”Pulling back, she added, “I heard your family's house got bur
Scarlett“You're not your husband's legal wife, Mrs. Scarlett,” the doctor informs me. “So we cannot authorize the use of Mr. Ethan’s medical insurance for your treatment.”My heart plummeted. What?“Doctor, there seems to be a mis–” I broke off, coughing into the blood-stained handkerchief clutche
ScarlettAfter finalizing the inheritance, I stepped out of the villa with Mr. Hale walking beside me.“We'll arrange the blind date as soon as possible,” he said. “Does tomorrow evening work for you?”“Perfectly.”“The location will be sent to you shortly.”As Mr. Hale’s car pulled away, I turned
Scarlett“Mrs. Scarlett, I've reviewed the documents,” Lawyer Leonard said over the phone. “If you're certain you want to proceed with the inheritance agreement, we can finalize everything today.”“I’m certain,” I replied, staring at my reflection in the vanity mirror. I looked younger, healthier,
ScarlettWe immediately headed out. Durian stood in the middle of the room, his board game overturned at his feet, pieces scattered everywhere. The TV remote lay broken on the floor nearby. Aurelia stood beside him.“What happened here?” I asked, my voice calm, which seemed to agitate them more.Au







