But I found none.
“I want you and Natalie Brooks dead!” I screamed, my throat filling with blood.
“Absurd! Claire, you’re no young girl anymore—must you still compete with Natalie? You’re irrational! Keep this up, and someone else will take your place as Mrs. Carter.”
Meeting the murderous glint in his eyes, I gritted my teeth.
“You’re right. I’ll keep fighting. Let’s see how many blows Natalie can withstand.”
The door slammed shut with a deafening bang, as thunder ripped across the night sky.
A storm that had been brewing for days finally broke, pouring down with the heavy darkness.
Richard raced into his black Maybach. Judging by the route, he was headed to the love nest he had built for Natalie—
the very place he had hidden from me for half a year.
Facing him on the stage earlier, I had declared it:
I wanted Richard and Natalie to die together.
“Dean Carter, do you have any explanation for this video? Is Miss Brooks the Masked Queen—or just one of them?”
Reporters clamored, their questions filling the air.
The audience was stunned into silence, while the hosts scrambled to cut the hacked video feed.
Richard’s bodyguards swarmed around me, waiting until he had safely escorted Natalie away before they brought me to the tearoom.
“Claire Dawson, I warned you. I have plenty of ways to make you suffer…”
Meeting his furious eyes, I flung scalding tea at him.
With a hiss, the hot liquid stained his pale blue shirt.
He dabbed his face with a handkerchief.
“If it helps you vent, pour the whole pot. As long as you make it clear this has nothing to do with Natalie, you can take it out on me however you like.”
For a fleeting second, I glimpsed the sincerity he once showed me. My heart clenched, as though pierced by a needle.
“What is there to explain? Isn’t it the truth?”
“Claire, Natalie’s only in her twenties. She doesn’t deserve to be dragged down by scandal—she has a bright future ahead of her.”
His earnest defense made me laugh coldly.
“Richard, don’t tell me you’ve bought into her act. You really don’t know? She’s had nearly a dozen abortions. Do you truly think she’s some innocent little angel?”
“Shut up, Claire! How can an OB-GYN be this cruel? No wonder you don’t have children.”
My last shred of restraint snapped. I hurled the boiling tea at his face.
Even as his skin reddened from the burn, Richard still refused to release me.
“Claire, calm down, will you? You know Natalie has incredible medical talent. The director of the X-Plus Research Program is arriving soon to evaluate the hospital. Once three billion dollars in funding lands, your old dream can finally be realized. The regret of the past will be made whole again.”
“Don’t you see? Natalie is so much like the woman you used to be. What happened, Claire? You’ve become bitter, lifeless, jealous.”
His incredulous accusation made me clench the scar on my palm until it throbbed.
“Richard, have I changed—or have you simply grown insatiable?”
“You dare talk to me about dreams? Fine. Since you mentioned it, then publicly reveal the truth about Patient No. 23’s malpractice. Handle it fairly, and I’ll sit down and talk with you.”
Like a snake struck at its vital spot, Richard flew into a rage.
“The truth? You dare demand the truth? If not for your recklessness—insisting on performing surgery for a measly benefit—Natalie wouldn’t have been implicated, and Patient 23’s family wouldn’t have been torn apart.”
