Chapter 7

Leo hung up the phone, kissed Tara lightly on the cheek, and urged her, “Call your lawyer and drop the lawsuit.”

Tara’s voice was cold. “I’m not dropping it.”

Leo’s expression darkened instantly. He stood up and looked down at her, his tone sharp. “Can you stop being difficult? My company is taking a hit. What good does this do you?”

Tara stood her ground. “Your team and those reporters and bloggers know the laws about privacy and image rights, don’t they? Yet they still broke them. Why? I’m the one who was wronged, but instead of holding them accountable, you’re here trying to cut a deal with me. Why?”

Leo’s icy gaze locked on her, his voice filled with disappointment. “You’re not even recognizable to me anymore. Jealousy really does make people ugly.”

With that, he pushed his chair back with a loud screech, the sound echoing his anger, and stormed upstairs.

Tara watched as the chair scraped against the floor. His frustration was evident.

Whenever it came to Nina, Leo completely lost his composure.

Lowering her gaze, Tara continued drinking her soup, calm and unhurried.

Before long, Leo came back downstairs. He had just showered. His hair was still damp, and he was wearing fresh clothes.

He paused at the doorway of the dining room and turned to look at her.

“I’ll still transfer the 20 million to you. I’m sorry for the inconvenience I’ve caused.” His tone was polite and gentlemanly.

But Tara, ever perceptive, caught the chill and detachment in his voice.

She didn’t care.

Orders from the secondhand marketplace were piling up again. She busied herself packing the items and shipping them off.

For seven days straight, Leo didn’t return home or send any messages.

Then, in the early hours of the eighth day, her phone suddenly rang, waking her.

Groggily, she reached for it. Seeing Leo’s name on the screen, she frowned slightly before answering.

His voice was slurred and indistinct. Clearly, he had been drinking heavily.

“Tara… come… pick me up… take me… home.”

She could hear loud music blaring in the background.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“Maj… Majestic Nightclub, private room 88,” he mumbled.

Tara replied calmly, “Alright.”

She quickly got out of bed, threw on a pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt. After a moment of thought, she picked out a pair of black crystal earrings and put them on before heading out.

She headed downstairs to the garage, where the red luxury car was parked right at the front.

The car hadn’t been officially registered in her name yet, so she hadn’t sold it. Tara opened the driver’s side door and climbed in.

But she immediately noticed something. On the passenger seat lay a black stocking, and on the floor mat was a single silver high heel.

She recognized the shoe. It was the match to the one Nina had left behind in the flowerbed on her birthday.

A wave of disgust washed over her.

Getting out of the car, she searched through Leo’s collection of luxury cars in the garage until she found her car.

At around 2 a.m., she arrived at the underground parking lot of Majestic Nightclub. Just as she parked and stepped out, a middle-aged man emerged from behind a dark pillar, blocking her path.

“Hey, miss! Can I borrow some tissues? I’m in an emergency and didn’t bring any.”

Tara tensed up, wary of the stranger’s approach. She replied curtly, “I don’t have any.”

The man pressed on. “I lost my phone. Can you lend me a few bucks? I need to buy tissues… or get a ride.”

Her voice grew colder. “No.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, she was hit with deafening music and flashing lights that made her head spin.

The scene inside was chaotic. Men and women swayed together, drinking, singing, and exchanging suggestive glances.

Tara didn’t care for this kind of loud, messy atmosphere.

After asking for directions at the front desk, she passed through a soundproof door and entered a quieter hallway.

The corridor was lined with upscale private rooms, their thick doors sealing off the noise, leaving the space eerily silent.

She found room 88 and pressed the doorbell.

The thick soundproof door opened, and an explosion of pounding dance music blasted out.

The light outside was bright, but the room inside was dim, making it hard to see clearly.

Tara stepped inside cautiously.

The door shut abruptly behind her, startling her. She spun around and met Wesley’s leering eyes, filled with sleaze and malice.

At the same time, Wesley raised his hand and sprayed something at her face twice.