"Whitney!" Violet screamed. She immediately ran toward the house.A firefighter halted her advance. "Miss, this building has been temporarily sealed off. You can't go in there right now.""My house is on fire!" Violet stressed, her voice urgent. "My daughter is still inside!""We've already sent a team in. If you could just …" The firefighter had barely finished when Violet shoved him aside and rushed into the building.The firefighter attempted to catch up to her, but Violet was quicker than he anticipated."Whitney!" she yelled as she raced up the stairs. "Whitney, where are you?"Violet got to the eighth floor in no time. A few firefighters were in the process of extinguishing the fire, and there was no sign of Whitney in the bedroom."Where's my daughter?" The panic that surged within her was unprecedented. "Where is she?""We have checked the scene thoroughly, Miss. There are no casualties despite the damage to the property," one of the firefighters informed her.Violet l
Carl's roaming hands paused at Violet's waist. His grip tightened in a wordless warning.Violet understood him loud and clear.He was demanding her absolute cooperation or risk facing the consequences of her defiance."Carl …" Helen was dumbfounded.Carl was her childhood best friend. Yet, he had never even held her hand before, let alone kissed her.Helen might hold the title of Carl's fiancée, but that had never really amounted to anything beyond their parents' joint wishes.Now, Helen was forced to stand and watch as Carl kissed another woman in front of her. His enjoyment was evident in the way his eyes fluttered shut, as if there was no one he loved more deeply than Violet.Helen sniffed. She blinked before bursting into tears.Violet shook her head exasperatedly. If she cried as easily as Helen did, her tears could fill an entire ocean with all the bullying and exploitation Carl subjected her to daily."I am your fiancée!" Helen wailed. "Don't abandon me, Carl.""He
"How dare she!" Carl's mother, Elsa Hughes, roared. Her expression was icy. "What is it this time? The women around Carl are usually easy enough to get rid of.""Well, this Violet is different," Helen emphasized. "Did you know Carl actually smiled at her? He's never even smiled at me before."Elsa immediately reassured Helen. "Alright, alright. Calm down. When I'm done wrapping up my work here, I'll fly over and help you out over there.""Please hurry, Mrs. Walker!" Helen sobbed. "If you don't, I might be dead by the time you're here."It wasn't until Elsa promised to speed things up that Helen finally hung up.She then wiped away her tears. "Let's see how you can compete with me, Violet!" she snarled at her own reflection.On the other hand, Violet did not waste too much of her time worrying about Helen. Instead, she went down to the dungeons alone. Violet intended to search the area where she'd bumped into the traitor the other day. She had hoped that she might find some cl
Violet's lips curled upward.Helen ducked behind Elsa, avoiding the sharpness in Violet's gaze.With someone on her side, Helen continued her taunts. "I wouldn't be surprised if Whitney, too, turns out to be a fake. Why don't we get rid of her as well while we're at it?"Judging from the murderous glint in Helen's eyes, she would've sent someone to assassinate both Violet and Whitney even if she'd let them go.Elsa tossed the envelope at Violet.Violet opened it and examined the evidence briefly. The sequence of events was intricately linked. Whoever made this certainly made it look convincing enough.Violet couldn't help but imagine her impending fate. After all, with evidence as solid as this one, it was hard to find someone who wouldn't believe it."Mr. Walker performed a DNA test on Whitney before," Ms. Bentley couldn't help but chime in. "Whitney is his biological daughter."Violet couldn't understand why Ms. Bentley would lie so blatantly to Elsa. If her lie were to be ex
"Of course!" the old man promised. "We're going to perform at a psychiatric hospital today. From what I've seen of her, she's perfect for the role of a tree! Let me teach her the basics first."As he spoke, the man led his group of students over to Elsa. He then taught her how to sing and dance."You … What are you doing?" Elsa shouted.As she gradually returned to her senses, she turned to Violet. "Violet Cooper! How dare you lie to me? Do you have a death wish?"Violet was unfazed. "It's not like you're planning to let me walk away alive even if I hadn't lied to you.""Get away from me!" Elsa roared.Despite that, none of them seemed remotely bothered by the iciness on her face. Instead, they remained as enthusiastic as ever.As the group consisted of elderly people, Elsa could not bring herself to meet their advances with violence.She couldn't touch nor harm them. It would only tarnish the reputation of the Walker family.When Violet looked back again from a distance, she
"Leave us for a while," Carl told Reed.Reed helped Violet back to the couch and glanced at her anxiously. Then, he left the room, albeit reluctantly.Violet's arms ached. "Why are you exactly like Whitney?" she protested. "It's just a few pills. They're not even bitter! Would it kill you to swallow them?""Violet." Carl approached her slowly. "Are you a sorceress?"Violet blinked at him. Her reflexes were sluggish due to the alcohol in her body."Why are you calling me that?" she asked, aggrieved. Even the pitch of her voice was raised. "Why are you constantly bullying me?"Carl could not understand what was happening. "If you're not a sorceress that beguiles one's mind, then why …"Why did he always feel so helpless when it came to her?"What did I do wrong now?" Violet pouted. "Was the meal just now too expensive?"Carl placed a hand against her cheek. The warmth emanating from her skin urged him on."There's no need for the pills," he told her before picking up her hand.
Carl raised his arm. Yet, he stopped himself before he could hit her.Violet glared at Carl. She hadn't lost her mind. She just wanted to hit him!These days, her bottom line for Carl's bullying was dropping lower and lower. She had convinced herself it was for Whitney's sake as well as it was for those inexplicable emotions that plagued her relentlessly.It was bad enough that he had taken advantage of her. How dare he say something like this to humiliate her now?Yes, she loved money. But every last cent she had gotten so far was the result of her hard work and her intelligence.Violet suddenly realized that she cared deeply for Carl's opinion of her. In his eyes, was she truly this pathetic?Violet's chest clenched. Carl's words were a knife that dug into her heart and shredded her to pieces.Carl's fists curled as well. The veins on his forearms bulged.None of this was what he'd wanted to say to her. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to voice the actual words in his mind.
Whitney huffed and turned to leave as soon as she overheard Mick and Carl's conversation. She vowed to never be friends with him after this!Mick caught up with her hurriedly. He pulled her back into the nursery. "You've got to let me explain myself first!" he asserted in a low voice.Whitney was understandably upset. "You're a traitor," she pouted."I'm doing this to make your parents talk to each other again, dummy," Mick said.Whitney gazed at him in confusion."Once Carl knows that your mother is the one who made him that cup of coffee, he would definitely seek her out to settle the scores. "And when the time comes, the two of them would have no choice but to talk to one another and be in each other's presence," Mick explained."That actually makes sense." Whitney clapped Mick's shoulder in understanding."I knew you had enough experience in these things all along. I'll thank you properly when Mommy and Daddy make up," she said."And how are you going to do that?" Mick