Caroline’s POV:William stood stock still with a mixture of shock and anger scrawled over his face. He must have overheard Laden speaking, but from the confusion that flitted over his expression, he clearly hadn’t heard everything. I scrambled to find anything that would calm him down and get him to leave. This was a private conversation between Laden and I, and William was the unwelcome eavesdropper. As I struggled to string together the right words, William came forward and seized his friend by the collar. Laden’s eyes were blown wide with shock and betrayal. “Hey!” he shouted, tugging uselessly at William’s arms. “What are you doing, man? Get off of me!”William was too filled with emotion to listen to reason. “You were the one who sent the test results, Laden,” he growled. “Why were they different? What do you mean by ‘serious illness’?”The doctor’s frantic gaze filled with confusion. “What are you even talking about? Let me see the report. You must be overreacting or something
Caroline’s POV:I stared at William disbelievingly, his words ringing in my ears. They were said with such vitriol that one would think I was his worst enemy.William’s behavior was as to be expected: a kind and generous man one second, but when he doesn’t get what he wants, he explodes in a ball of rage. He fought tooth and nail to keep me in his apartment for a week, only to selfishly turn his back on his own sense of hospitality. I felt burned by his cruelty. This man had callously betrayed our marriage for a dishonest woman. He never trusted me even for a second, even though I was endlessly faithful to him for nearly two years. Even today, the thought of hurting him made me sick, and yet he falsely accused me of stringing him along just for sympathy.William rescinding my stay in cold blood was just another spit in the face in a long line of insults. After so much of his hellish behavior, I was numb to his actions now.“You’re acting like that’s some sort of punishment,” I coldly
Caroline’s POV:The horrific sight of my father being wheeled into the operating room had fear gripping my heart. My father must have been terribly injured in some sort of accident to require surgery, but how? “Dad?” I worriedly called, hurriedly following them into the operating room to demand answers. I was swiftly halted by one of the nurses, who slipped in front of me with a raised hand. “Whoa there, ma’am. This is for medical staff only. We’re going to have to ask you to wait out here.”Tears sprung in my eyes at being so coldly denied. Why couldn’t they understand that I needed to see him? “What happened? What’s wrong with my father?” I pleaded for answers, my voice trembling. “Please, tell me. He’s the only family I have left.”Donning a look of sympathy, she endeavored to answer, but was cut off when one of the doctors frantically called her name. Her sigh was strained as she threw me a condoling look. “Listen, I can’t answer all your questions right now, but your father has
William’s POV:Ever since my nasty argument with Sophia, she outright refused to contact me for several days. Was she actually angry with me? I wanted to go and be with my darling, but dealing with Caroline’s illness and her stubbornness had made that difficult.A pleasant surprise overtook me when Sophia called me while I was with Caroline. Hearing the pain in her voice as the lamented missing George sent a sting of sympathy in my gut. Despite the irritation I felt with Caroline still in the room, I tried my best to speak gently to my love.My heart ached for her, but something didn’t feel right about my girlfriend. She’d mysteriously disappeared for several days without a drop of explanation, and she hadn’t even taken little George with her. Instead, she coldly dropped him off at my parents’ house without even telling me, running off to some unknown location. Now she was pleading for him back?Her strange behavior bothered me, and I’d tirelessly tried to contact Sophia for some sort
Caroline’s POV:My gaze, steeped in suspicion, remained locked on William’s Caller ID. Was it really William who tried to kill my father? If so, what could I even do? He was rich and powerful and got everything he wanted with just a snap of his fingers. In the eyes of the media, I was just a pathetic ex-wife.If William really was capable of coldly murdering my father, why did he choose today of all days? He fully knew I was eager to see my dad as soon as possible. Maybe this brutal attempt on my dad’s life was retribution for the “lies” he claimed I was feeding him. It seemed unreal to blame my ex-husband for my father’s frighteningly close death, but it was the only logical explanation that appeared in my mind. William was the only suspect who knew the secret of my father’s private location, after all.I couldn’t stand my own swirling thoughts anymore. I needed answers or else I would have another breakdown. Without a second thought, I hurriedly punched in William’s number.After t
William’s POV:When I was told that Thomas West had nearly died under my care, I felt an anger rise from my sunken stomach. Who would dare do it on my own grounds? Did they even know who I was? No one dared to cross me and got away with it.I had no choice but to punish my assistant. He obviously failed to choose the right people to watch Caroline’s vegetative father, and I abhorred such grand mistakes. Sloppy work like that didn’t deserve to be rewarded, so I dropped the bonus I was planning on giving James at the end of the month. Following that note to myself, I called the sanatorium with my hands clenched in frustration. The moment someone picked up, I demanded, “There better be a good explanation for what happened.”The worker on the other end fumbled and stuttered his answer. “We’re deeply sorry, sir. The surveillance system we used seems to have been hacked into. We can’t get a clear picture of the culprit’s face.”A growl in frustration slipped between clenched teeth. Why wer
Caroline’s POV:While I was thrilled to finally have my dad back in my care, I was tragically stuck with the question of who had tried to hurt him in the first place. The obvious answer was William, but during our heated encounters, he seemed just as clueless as I was at times. At this point, I could do nothing but clear him of the charge. If not him, then who? Everything was such a mess and I was so tired of this wild goose chase.In the end, not a single person popped in my mind who I thought could take my father’s life. If I wanted to solve this perplexing mystery, I was going to need some more help from a friend.Picking up my phone, I found Martin’s number and hovered my thumb over the call button, hesitating. He was the only soul I could think of who could save me in my time of need, but when I actually thought about pleading for him to help, I felt guilty.It was selfish of me to keep coming back to him again and again for help. The only thing he had ever asked for in return w
Caroline’s POV:In an instant, the clues added up before my eyes. The strange texts, the false medical reports, the doctor recommended by Sophia, the attempted murder of my father, the strange man in the video — it all linked together and led back to Sophia. I now had the culprit, but how was I supposed to approach her about it? The only way to save my dad’s life was to confront her directly. Thankfully Martin’s friend was easily able to dig up her phone number, and once it was in my grasp, I made a call to the witch who was tormenting my life.When Sophia answered the phone, she sounded sickly sweet as always. “This is Mrs. Anderson! How can I help you?”I almost gagged at the title. She wanted to be married to William so badly, didn’t she? It would almost be pathetic if she wasn’t so dangerous. “Hello, Sophia.”Immediately, Sophia changed her tune. “Oh. It’s you,” she sneered. “What do you want?”“I know you’re the one who tried to kill my father,” I said outright, not beating arou