I tore off the mask and washed my face, staring into Richard’s eyes, searching desperately for a flicker of compassion for me.
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.