Just then, a maid's polite voice drifted in from outside. "Mr. Evans, you're back!" she said.
Jed burst into the living room hall like a thunderclap. Fury ate away at him. He flung an envelope with crushing strength. It smacked Millie square in the face.
"You cursed wretch!" he bellowed. "See what you've caused! You nearly destroyed us all!"
The force knocked Millie's head to one side. Her hair fell into disarray. A scratch opened up on her cheek and started to bleed.
Millie watched the envelope drop to the floor. Her face went white as a sheet.
It was the very envelope she had mailed out just a short time before! It held the photos inside.
Eliza's curiosity got the better of her. She bent down and grabbed the envelope. She pulled out the pictures and looked them over. Her eyes went wide with disbelief. "Good lord!" she cried. "What in heaven's name is this?!"
The woman in the picture was Millie!
The pictures also revealed a man's back.
His face was hidden, but his trim, muscular frame was easy to make out. What grabbed attention most was the black wolf tattoo on his back. Even in the picture, it appeared to radiate a menacing air.
These were several explicit photos. They showed Millie in bed with another man!
Jed's rage knew no bounds. "She's gone completely mad!" he roared. "It's bad enough she doesn't know her place from one day to the next. But now she actually attempted to deliver these disgraceful pictures to the Elliott household! If Aiden caught sight of these pictures, how could he possibly want to wed her? If I didn't have connections who intercepted this mail, our family would be completely ruined!"
Eliza finally grasped the source of Millie's earlier boldness. So this was her game plan!
"Dad, thank goodness you stopped it in time," Eliza cut in. "What would this family do without you?" She looked at Millie with pure glee.
Linda was privately amazed too. She moved forward without delay. She rubbed Jed's back and acted the role of the loyal wife. "Jed, don't lose your temper," she urged. "It's not worth damaging your health over a wretch like her."
Jed looked at Millie's face. Revulsion filled his expression.
"At first, having Millie marry into the Elliott household was just a stopgap measure," he declared. "As long as she went along without a fuss, I could swiftly find a way to help her escape Aiden's grasp. But now it appears there's no need for that! She's so thankless. She almost caused the collapse of the Evans family."
Linda's eyes burned with satisfaction. She had been annoyed by Millie for years. Now that they could get rid of her without trouble, it was surely heaven's work.
She didn't waste time. She shouted commands at the servants. "You there!" she commanded. "Lock Millie up right away! In three days, even if we have to tie her with ropes, we'll force her into the wedding! This match between us and the Elliotts absolutely must not be permitted to fall apart because of her any longer!"
Millie felt complete hopelessness sweep over her. She never imagined that in spite of all her struggles, she still couldn't dodge the fate of wedding Aiden.
Was everything really going to play out just as they wanted? Didn't she even have one last chance to fight back?
Right then, the butler came rushing in. He was in a panic. "It's terrible, Mr. Evans!" he cried out. "A group of men in black have forced their way onto the grounds! Our people can't hold them back."
Jed's face changed when he heard this. "What?" he demanded. "Who dares to break into our place? Call the police! Call them right now!"
But before the butler could make the call, a band of men in black swept in. They entered like a tornado. They encircled everyone who was present.
"Who is Millie Evans?" one of them asked. "We are sent by the Elliott family. Come with us immediately!"
