My Neighbor Jessalyn(4)

Maverick continued, "Yves didn't just happen to climb his way up to the second-in-command position. Over a decade ago, when Yves was in his early twenties, he started an affair with Mrs. Cooper. Later, she maneuvered Phoenix into promoting Yves. Phoenix has had his share of affairs with other women, and he's not interested in his wife anymore. So, Yves has been hooking up with Mrs. Cooper for over a decade."

It was a bombshell secret, and I exclaimed, "He even dares to mess with the boss's wife. What a shameless man!"

Maverick spat on the ground in disgust. "Damn it, I can't take him down myself, but Phoenix could destroy him."

"Then let's tell Phoenix about this," I suggested.

Maverick nodded. "But we need to find evidence of Yves' affair with Mrs. Cooper first. They've been discreet, and it won't be easy to catch them in the act. Plus, without evidence, no one will believe us."

I thought for a moment and said, "Finding evidence is one thing, but once we have it, we need to make a big deal out of it. We must force Phoenix to take action against Yves, even if it means putting aside loyalty to his wife and brother. We need to make sure he decisively punishes Yves and sends him straight to hell."

"As long as we find the evidence, I'll gather some people and make a big scene. The key is to make Phoenix catch them in the act," Maverick replied.

I nodded in agreement.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction and thought, "The wicked will always have someone to punish them. Yves, finally we have found someone who can deal with you. Let's see how long you can continue to be so arrogant!"

That night, we began to tail Yves.

Maverick gave me a photo of Mrs. Cooper, and to my surprise, she appeared to be excessively overweight. Afterward, Maverick procured a vehicle, and we took turns surveilling Yves for twelve hours straight, from his workplace to every gambling den and clubhouse in town, without missing a single one.

During this period, we observed that Yves was in contact with several women, but Mrs. Cooper had never been seen, and this caused us great concern.

On Wednesday afternoon, I noticed Yves driving alone to an apartment building, and I instinctively sensed that something was amiss.

The apartment was filled with various private businesses, such as cosmetic clinics, nail salons, and massage parlors, with a constant stream of people entering and leaving.

I watched vigilantly for quite some time until a very obese woman appeared, appearing to be in her forties or fifties, dressed in expensive but bulky clothing, and sporting an exaggerated appearance, carrying a Louis Vuitton bag, and entered the apartment.

I recognized her at a glance. It was Mrs. Cooper!

I immediately got out of the car and followed her into the apartment. Seeing that the elevator stopped on the seventh floor, I went straight up the stairs, but when I arrived on the seventh floor, there was no one in the corridor.

I had no choice but to retreat back into the stairwell and waited for over three hours. During this period, several doors opened, but it was not them who came out. Until 5:30 p.m., a door in the middle section opened. It was Mrs. Cooper who came out!

She quickly turned into the elevator and went down. Ten minutes later, Yves also came out of the room and went downstairs.

I quickly ran to the door and wrote down the number, 713.

It seemed that they had rented this apartment for a long time, specifically for their affair.

Thinking about Mrs. Cooper's bulky appearance, I couldn't help but imagine the unsightly scene of them in bed. Yves taking the lead was too risky.

Suddenly, I understood why they chose this place for their affair. Mrs. Cooper could easily pretend to come here for beauty treatments.

I contacted Maverick on WhatsApp, and he advised me not to startle him but to continue monitoring him.

Over the next few weeks, we found that Yves and Mrs. Cooper came again twice, each at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday. I could not help but think, "These two are quite predictable."

Maverick sneered, "Phoenix has cholecystitis. Every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, he will go for laser therapy regularly."

I see, they really know how to seize an opportunity.

Maverick added, "We have to find a way to lure Phoenix here and make it looks like he met them by 'coincidence'. Otherwise, he will definitely be afraid of his family's reputation being damaged and keep a low profile."

I pondered, "I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work."

I briefly told Maverick about it and he thought it was worth a shot.

The next morning, Maverick went to the office and intentionally said that he had been feeling muscle aches and back pain. He wanted to go for laser therapy with Phoenix in the afternoon to have the doctor examine him, and Phoenix agreed.

I had several dozen flyers printed out for "Peking Nature's Rx Medicine Experts Tour".

In the afternoon, I dressed up as a summer worker and went to the clinic where Phoenix was going for laser therapy.

At 5:30 p.m., Maverick walked out with a man in his fifties. I knew that was Phoenix. I quickly approached him and handed him a flyer, lying that the experts from Nature's Rx, a well-known professional medical team, were touring various places during the summer and offering laser therapy when necessary.

Phoenix took the flyer and the words "Specializing in cholecystitis, pancreatitis, and other illnesses" caught his eye. He was interested. Maverick also took a flyer and said, "I've heard of these experts. They're quite famous lately."

Phoenix didn't say anything. I was a little nervous and said, "Yes, but to be honest, the expert is only here for half a month, and there are already many appointments. The earliest available appointment would be next Wednesday afternoon."

Phoenix nodded but didn't say anything and left.

Maverick quickly followed him and drove after him. Half an hour later, he texted me on WhatsApp: [He agreed.]

I was overjoyed. The address I left was exactly the apartment where Yves and Phoenix were having an affair, room 713.

Everything was ready, and all we needed to do then was to wait for that day to come.

One week finally passed, and the next day would be Wednesday.

In fact, I was quite nervous. I was afraid that something would go wrong or Phoenix would catch Yves in the act but have a change of heart and let him go. "Will Yves realize what is happening and retaliate against me and Jessalyn? I haven't seen Jessalyn in almost half a month. What if she's been tortured by Yves and they've reconciled? Would everything I've done be meaningless then?" I thought anxiously.

However, just that night, something happened which gave me a definite answer.

It was 10:30 p.m. when I heard a commotion in the hallway. Listening carefully, I realized it was Jessalyn's voice!

I quickly opened the door and ran down the stairs from the hallway. Jessalyn's door was wide open, and Yves was pulling her leg with one hand and whipping her with a belt in the other. She was struggling to get away, and her silk nightgown was almost torn to shreds. When she saw me, she cried out, "Chris, go call for help and save me!"

I was furious and ready to fight against Yves, but I was still no match for him. He kicked me away while a tattooed man ran out of Jessalyn's house and started beating me up.

Yves cursed as hit Jessalyn, "I'm your husband, and if I want to sleep with you, you have to let me!"

Jessalyn shouted, "Yves, just kill me! I won't let you touch me again!"

Yves was furious, and I was shouting, but the neighbors around us did not seem to care.

I was going to pull Jessalyn away, and she tried to grab my hand, but Yves kicked me again and said, "I'll beat you to death if you keep meddling! Beat him to death!"

The tattooed man mercilessly punched and kicked me. I watched in pain as Jessalyn was pulled back into her home by Yves, her chest covered in scratches but still calling out my name as the door closed.

The tattooed man continued to beat me for a long time until he got tired and dragged me into the stairwell.

I was in excruciating pain and filled with anger. I didn't fear anything anymore. I was determined to fight Yves to the end and make him pay!

Later, I crawled back home in agony, spending the whole night in grief and anger.

The next day, as the sun rose, I kept repeating in my mind that Yves' doomsday was coming.

In the afternoon, I went down to the apartment building early while rubbing my swollen and painful body, to wait for him.

Around 2 o'clock, Yves arrived, and half an hour later, Mrs. Cooper also entered the apartment building.

I texted Maverick: [They've both arrived. Hurry up and bring Phoenix over.]

Then I went upstairs and stood in the stairwell, keeping an eye on both the corridor and the parking lot.

Half an hour later, Maverick drove Phoenix's Mercedes-Benz G-Class over. I saw that there were three men with Phoenix, including Maverick, who were probably all gangsters.

They entered the building and soon arrived on the 7th floor in front of room 713.

From a distance, I saw that Maverick deliberately blocked the peephole with his body and knocked on the door, but the door didn't open.

Maverick deliberately said in a loud voice, "Is there a doctor from Nature's Rx here?"

There was a response from inside, but I couldn't hear it. However, Maverick heard it and intentionally yelled, "We made an appointment, open the door quickly!"

This tone was meant to provoke Yves inside, who was used to being arrogant and didn't believe anyone dared to act recklessly in front of him. It only took two seconds for the door to open.

I saw Maverick deliberately act stunned and shouted loudly, "Yves? Mrs. Cooper?"

From behind him, Phoenix also saw the scene inside, and I felt the atmosphere was becoming extremely oppressive.

Maverick deliberately cursed, "Yves, what the hell are you doing?"

I saw from a distance that Maverick pulled Yves out. Yves was naked from the waist up, wrapped in a bath towel as if he had just taken a shower. Phoenix was impatient and rushed into the room. I heard a loud "bang" sound followed by Mrs. Cooper's scream.

When he saw this, Maverick immediately postured, "Yves, you're such a fool. I'll kill you for Phoenix today!"

The other two men were even more eager to show off and beat Yves. The sound of glasses breaking and furniture being smashed came from inside the room, and Phoenix was obviously furious!

In an instant, everything was in chaos. Yves didn't dare to fight back, and was crawling in the corridor with his head in his arms, as he shouted, "Phoenix, it's a misunderstanding! It's not what it looks like!"

But no one listened. Maverick called for backup on the phone, and the other two continued to beat Yves, which soon alarmed the residents of the apartment building. Several doors were opened. Everyone looked for a while and quickly realized that this was a trap to catch an adulterer and took out their phones to record the scene.

Yves was beaten so hard that his head was bleeding. Phoenix hurried out of the room. He grabbed Yves, kicked and stomped on him, untied his belt, and fiercely whipped him. Yves begged for mercy, "Phoenix, please let me go, I was wrong!"

Phoenix was seething with anger as he pummeled Yves without saying a word.

Onlookers gathered and joined in, making the entire hallway chaotic. Within a few minutes, two or three waves of people came up from the elevator, almost all of them with tattoos. They all surrounded Yves and beat him up, causing chaos in the entire apartment building and turning it into a battlefield!

Soon, Yves was beaten to a pulp by Phoenix, and I summoned up the courage to mix into the crowd and get close to him. I kicked him in the face, and he recognized me and cursed, "It's you..."

But Phoenix, in his rage, heard him speak and threatened, "Go ahead. Whoever lays a hand on him today, I'll pay!"

Now it was even worse. Those onlookers, who were bold enough, rushed forward to join in the fight, and Yves screamed like a slaughtered pig, feeling like he was on the verge of death. He kept pleading for mercy, but the more he begged, the more excited everyone became.

In the midst of this chaos, I knew my goal had been achieved.

Someone called 911, and before long, the ambulance arrived to take Yves away. He had been beaten so badly that he was unrecognizable, and the entire neighborhood had gathered to watch him being taken away. He was almost naked, covered in blood, and agony.

The incident became the talk of the town that night, and word spread quickly. People started to talk about how Phoenix's children might be Yves'.

I knew that Yves was screwed. A person like Phoenix wouldn't let this slide. He had lost so much face that he would surely make Yves suffer the worst punishment imaginable.

I also knew that Jessalyn's ordeal was finally over.

Yves would never have any power again, and Jessalyn could divorce him without any worries.

As expected, all of this became a reality in the following two weeks.

However, I didn't expect Phoenix to be so ruthless. According to the neighbors, Yves had his tendons and ligaments severed, making him disabled for life. Phoenix had even made a public statement, saying that Yves would have to spend the rest of his life hauling goods on a handcart in the business and trade city.

It seemed a bit harsh to me, but considering what Yves had done to Jessalyn, I thought he deserved it.

However, I never contacted Jessalyn again. I don't know why, but I was a little afraid. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to control myself and might do something impulsive.

A week before school started, I returned to Peking.

Half a month into the semester, on a Saturday afternoon, my WhatsApp buzzed. It was Jessalyn.

She said that she had completed the divorce cooling-off period, received her divorce certificate, and was now waiting for me at the gate of my school.

Unable to suppress my impulse, I grabbed my phone and rushed outside. When I arrived at the gate, I saw Jessalyn from afar. She was wearing a beige professional suit and sunglasses and was leaning against her white BMW 3 Series with a charming demeanor.

I ran over, mustered my courage, and hugged her.

Then I got in the car. She said she wanted to take me for a drive in a quiet place.

In the car, Jessalyn said, "I'm finally free, but I don't know how to live my life from now on."

I asked her, "Remember that day when you drank red wine and asked me to call you Jessie? Does that still count?"

She smiled and didn't say anything.

I asked again, "You said that you liked me that day. Was it true?"

Her face turned red, she turned her head to look at me, and her eyes were filled with a charming and alluring expression.