As Clara scrolled,her phone buzzed violently with incoming calls,an onslaught of unfamiliar numbers and vile messages.
She frowned,but before she could react,another call came through.
She answered in silence.
Adrian’s furious roar blasted into her ear:
“Clara Winter,you vicious woman!Was it you?Did you sell this to the press?I can’t believe I ever misjudged you.You pretended to be kind and generous,but inside you’re rotten!You just can’t stand to see me and Vanessa happy,can you?You won’t rest until you destroy us?”
Clara felt her chest ache with a thousand tiny stabs—yet quickly it numbed.
Her voice was calm.“It wasn’t me.I haven’t done anything.”
“Who else could it be?Vanessa told me—it has to be you,jealous and spiteful!”Adrian’s voice dripped with contempt.“Do you realize Vanessa’s being doxxed,harassed online,she can hardly survive?If anything happens to her,I’ll never forgive you.”
Clara almost laughed at the absurdity.
Adrian raged on,panting:
“Where the hell have you been these past days?You had no money on you.I sent people to comb every cheap motel,every bridge,even the shelters.Nowhere.Tell me—where are you?”
Clara pressed her pale lips tight,saying nothing.
Her silence infuriated him.
His tone turned vile,dripping with humiliation:
“Say something!Cat got your tongue?Or is it because you’ve already found yourself a lover?Huh?Another man picked you up,didn’t he?No wonder you’re so bold now.”
From the background came Vanessa’s mocking voice,crystal clear:
“Adrian,do you even need to ask?Of course she did.I told you—she’s no saint.Plays the innocent little angel,but she’s rotten inside.”
“With my years in nightclubs,I know her type.Some rich man must have scooped her up already.Looks pure,but she’s dirty to the bone.Otherwise,where could she possibly be hiding with nothing to her name?”
“Shut up!”
Clara’s voice cracked out before she could stop herself, raw with fury.
She cut them off,hung up,and blocked the number.
Jonathan had been standing quietly a few steps away, watching. He couldn't catch every word, but he knew enough from Clara’s expression and the fragments she’d spoken. A storm passed behind his eyes, but he swallowed it down and offered only a measured hand and a glass of warm water.
“Not worth your anger,” he said quietly. “Don’t let him steal what little strength you have left.”