Chapter 8

"Vicky, come with me," said Tyler.

Vicky brought Cece to another room and instructed her, "Stay here for a bit. I'll be right back."

Just as Vicky was about to leave, Cece grabbed onto her sleeves. "I'm sorry, Vicky."

Cece was not stupid. She knew Hector came from a noteworthy background. Even if she was the victim in the case, to those guests, she was wrong for fighting back.

Vicky looked back at Cece who was unsettled with her eyes brimming with tears. "It's alright," Vicky assured her. "It's not your fault."

She continued comforting Cece for a while before leaving with Tyler.

-

In another room, Vicky told Tyler what had happened in detail before finally saying, "Cece didn't do anything wrong. Sasha orchestrated this whole thing."

Tyler gazed at Vicky aloofly. "Are you telling me the one who hurt Hector Larson is Sasha?"

"Without Sasha, Cece would not get molested or hurt Hector Larson," Vicky explained.

Tyler raised his eyes and flatly asked, "How do you know it was Sasha?"

The question unsettled Vicky.

"Those people came to the room too quickly, like they knew where to go as soon as it happened. That means someone must have deliberately lured them there. This is the first time Cece attending a party with me, and she had never offended anyone before. The only thing that happened was that she had quarreled with Sasha when we just arrived. Coincidentally, Sasha was among those who came to the scene, too—"

"So these are just your assumptions?" interjected Tyler before she could finish.

Vicky's heart sank. She looked at the handsome man and uttered, "You don't believe what I said, and… you're going to defend that woman again, aren't you?"

As if thinking of something, she smiled lightly, yet her eyes cold.

"Tyler, do you really have to? I get it if it's Sheila, but are you really going to protect Sasha, the brainless and wicked woman? If she could plot against Cece today, she could also use a more despicable method to go against other people. She does have a good brother-in-law to clean up the mess for her, after all."

It was impossible for Tyler to miss the sarcasm in her tone. His gaze grew serious, and so did his tone as he spoke, "Vicky, nothing good comes out if you provoke me now."

Vicky stared at him as she retorted, "If I don't provoke you, are you willing to let the actual culprit be held responsible for the crime she committed?"

Tyler answered calmly, "The law doesn't recognize speculation but evidence."

Vicky wordlessly stared at the man's indifferent expression as the man disappointed her to the core.

How could she forget? When Sasha pushed her into the swimming pool, he did not side with her, either. Why would he help her since it was Cece in trouble? Even if she went to search for evidence, he would wipe them away before she could find them.

The atmosphere gradually became tense. Just then, loud footsteps were heard coming toward the door before knocks ensued.

Vicky went to open the door, revealing a waitress standing outside with a terrible expression.

She reported, "Ms. Shaw, Miss Lynn has been taken away by the police for aggravated assault."

Vicky balled her hands tightly.

At that moment, Senior Hart's old butler came to them. This serious matter had reached the elder's ears after all.

The old butler said, "Sir, Missus, Senior Hart is asking for both of you."

Thus, they went to look for Senior Hart.

When Senior Hart saw Vicky, he could barely mask his disgust as he knocked his walking stick to the floor. "Vicky Shaw! Wasn't it enough that you caused big trouble in the past? Offending the Larson family now… Are you only going to stop when my family is in ruins?!"

Vicky tried to explain, "Grandpa, it's not what you think—"

"Does the Hart family owe you anything?!" he roared. "You… Ahem, ahem!"

Senior Hart started coughing violently, possibly due to his rage. Vicky wanted to go closer, but she stopped when she saw the Senior Hart vicious stare at her.

-

It was late when they left Senior Hart's place. The night was chilly, and darkness had encompassed the earth.

Vicky felt her head hurting badly, and she was dizzy as well.

Her mind was in a mess, and the way Senior Hart looked at her haunted her incessantly.

It was not just a hateful look… It looked more like he was looking at his enemy.

"What did Grandpa’s words mean?" Vicky's question sounded in the quiet night.

Tyler came to a halt for a short moment. "What do you refer to exactly?"

Vicky looked up at him. "Did I cause big trouble for your family before?"

Upon hearing what she asked, he sneered. "Don't you find it weird? No one else other than your assistant came to take care of you when you were in the car crash, not even your family or friends."

Startled, she hesitantly asked, "Why?"

He lowered his head to look at her. His words were ruthless, mean, and harsh.

"That's because you did whatever you wanted just because you're my wife. You disgust people, and no one dares to do anything to you because of your status as my wife. However, you offended too many people. You implicated your friends and caused them to suffer.

"As a result, no one likes you, and no one wants to be friends with you."

A thought crossed his mind, and his expression darkened even more. The way he looked at her was… crueler than before. "Vicky Shaw, you deserve it for ending up like this."

With that, he left indifferently, leaving Vicky rooted to the spot. She felt excruciating pain in her heart.

'So I'm that detestable…' she thought.

-

The next day, Vickey went to bail out Cece with a lawyer. However, she was met with terrible news.

"I'm sorry, but Miss Lynn's case is special. She's not allowed to be bailed out."

"Special case?" Vicky was baffled. "It was just self-defense…"

"Currently, there is no evidence to prove it was self-defense," interjected the other party. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid you need to leave, Ms. Shaw."

Vicky took a deep breath and called Tyler.