Jeremiah looked at the message with a cold expression. He had known beforehand that Daphne had failed. The people he had stationed outside the hotel had been dealt with by Mark’s men, and the media had not gone to the hotel. As Jeremiah put his phone down, he let out a few bad coughs.
“Mr. Jeremiah, should we get the doctor?” a subordinate asked.
Jeremiah shook his head. “It’s fine.” Afterward, he picked up his phone again, navigated to Yvette’s contact information, and stared at it for a long time before closing the page.
At the same time, Yvette, who’d heard from Xavier that everything last night had been orchestrated by Jeremiah, was skeptical. After all, Jeremiah had also sent someone to look for him. If it hadn’t been for the photo he’d shown her, she wouldn’t have found Xavier. “I want to see Daphne,” she said.
“Okay.”
Locked in the dark basement, Daphne was filled with anxiety. She wondered if there was anyone left who could come to her rescue.
…
Suddenly, the basement door was pushed open from the outside, letting in light.
Daphne instinctively shielded her eyes from the intense light. It took a while to adjust her vision. Finally, she saw Yvette. Her eyes widened in shock.
Daphne was in a disheveled state, her hair a mess. Seeing her thrown into this dirty place, Yvette felt no sympathy for her.
The scene now was reminiscent of when they had first met. Yvette had gone to an orphanage with James for charity, and Daphne, dressed in rags, had stood among the other orphans.
“Daphne, long time no see,” Yvette uttered.
The orphan had been in stark
contrast to the young daughter from
the wealthy family. Daphne had thought she had left her old life behind and was no longer Cinderella, but now everything had returned to the beginning. It felt like God was unfair.
M
“Why?” Daphne’s eyes were filled with jealousy and resentment. “Why do you still act so superior?”
Yvette remained calm despite the bitterness in Daphne’s words. “I came here to ask you about last night. Was it really Jeremiah’s plan?”
Daphne’s expression changed slightly. Still, she lied, “Did Xav tell you that?”
Yvette was momentarily surprised.
“Xav is afraid you’ll blame him. The truth is, he got drunk and took me to his room. When he heard you were coming, he tied me up and pretended nothing happened.”
As Daphne spoke, she watched Yvette’s reaction closely. She didn’t want Yvette to feel any better just because she was suffering. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any expressions on Yvette’s face.
Daphne believed Yvette could be easily deceived, but if Xavier had truly brought her back to the hotel drunk, why were there so many people standing guard outside?
Yvette sat down in a chair. “If you tell
me the truth, will have Xavier
release you.” She paused and continued, “Daphne, I know that Xavier never had any relations with you and that your claims of him cooking and giving you medicine when you were sick were all lies.
“You might not know this, but someone like Xavier, who was born with a silver spoon, would never serve others.”
With her past lies exposed, Daphne quietly clenched her fists.
Yvette knew she was right. She used to think Daphne acted differently in front of Xavier, but it was the same as ever.
When Daphne remained silent,
Yvette added, “You were right
before. Our issues were really only
because of one man. Tell me
.n
everything about what happened yesterday, and I promise to let you go.
Daphne’s resolve wavered. She wanted to live…
She didn’t want to die.
QUMS