bChapter /bb186 /b

Ste sent the videos she’d dug up of Anna and the doctor to Andrew’s phone, one after another.

“Check out what your precious daughter has been up to.” After saying that, Ste ignored him and just walked away.

Andrew didn’t buy Ste’s story. He figured she was just trying to stir up trouble, ming them for her kidnapping and now out for revenge, trying to tear the family apart.

But in the end, he still ended up tapping open those videos. When he saw Anna gettingid with a doctor he’d met plenty of times, his hands started shaking..

In the videos, Anna was shameless, saying some seriously nasty things and moaning in a way that was downright explicit. It was nothing like her usual innocent act.

The doctor said, “Your parents have no idea their precious daughter is actually this wild, huh?”

Anna said, “Don’t you like it?”

The doctor said, “Of course I do. You’re way hotter than my wife. Every time youe over, it feels like I’m in heaven.”

Anna said, “Same here. Since I’m giving you a good time, you have to keep the secret for me.”

The doctor said, “Don’t worry, I will.”

Andrew kept watching those videos. There were just so many of them. It was like he was looking at apletely different person, not the Anna he thought he knew.

Andrew thought, ‘No, this has to be fake. It must all be doctored.‘

He stumbled and went to Anna. Monroe was there, too. Monroe looked at him and called out, “Mr. Hayes.”

Andrew still had enough sense not to say anything in front of Monroe. He just stared at Anna and said with a pale face, “Come with me. I need to talk to you.”

Monroe was a bit worried. He asked, “Mr. Hayes, did something happen?”

“This doesn’t concern you,” Andrew replied curtly.

Monroe nced over at Anna. Anna gave him a reassuring look and then followed Andrew out.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Anna asked.

Andrew handed her his phone, his hands trembling. “Tell me, are these videos real?” he asked.

Anna had no idea what was happening. She took the phone and stared at the videos. Then she froze in shock. She asked, “Dad, how did you

get these videos?”

“Just answer me, are they real or not?” Andrew demanded, his voice tight with anger.

“No, they’re not real. They’re doctored. I have no idea who’s trying to set me up, Dad. How could I possibly do something like that?” Anna

insisted.

Anna was always good at putting on an act, and this time she was especially convincing, doing her best not to let Andrew see through her.

“Alright, if you say they’re not real, I’ll believe you, Andrew said, choosing to trust her.

Andrew took the phone back, ready to delete the videos. But he knew there was a bigger problem. Ste got a ton more of these on her end. bIf /bshe ever leaked them, Anna would be doomed,

“Dad, what’s going on?” Anna asked,

Andrew looked at her and said, “It seems we really ste keep breathing more.i” /i

Anna’s eyes flickered for a moment, but then she acted as if nothing had happened at all and said, “Dad, what are you going to do? I heard Jordan’s been out of town on a business triptely. If we’re going to make a move, now’s the perfect time.”

“Jordan’s on a business trip?” Andrew asked, surprised.

hrust to hear that from Monroe earlier. “Yeah,”

she

A smile crept onto Andrew’s face, and then he burst outughing. ‘That’s this far to set you up, she has no one to me but herself.”

sit, then! I wasn’t nning to do anything to her, but since she’s gone

Anna’s eyes narrowed. She knew Ste was involved in this somehow. Ste had demonstrated her talent withputers more than once.

But Anna never expected that the doctor had secretly recorded those videos without her knowing. She thought, ‘Guess that doctor needs to be taken care of, too.

“Dad, what are you nning to do?” Anna asked, testing the waters.

“Let me make a proper n for this,” Andrew said. Then he turned and walked away.

Anna smirked. She’d wanted Ste dead for ages. If she hadn‘

I pulled some tricks back then, the family would’ve noticed Ste right away and never paid any attention to her. But Ste was just too lucky and managed to survive until now.

Anna knew what Ste was capable of. If she didn’t act soon, Ste would dig up the truth about her grandma and Emily and pin it all on her. Then she’d be done for.

Anna thought, ‘Letting Andrew do the dirty work is perfect. No one will ever suspect me. As for that doctor…‘ She dialed the doctor’s number

and asked him out to meet.

Ste got a call from the hospital. They told her Max had finally woken up. He still couldn’t get out of bed yet, but at least he was conscious

and aware now.

As soon as Ste found out they’d taken Max to the hospital, she called over and told them to update her immediately if there was any change in his condition. She really hadn’t expected Max to be this resilient–he actually woke up in the end.

When Ste went out to meet a client, she unexpectedly ran into Monroe again. For some reason, she kept running into him more and more these days.

Ste just ignored himpletely, chatting away with her client as if he weren’t even there. Monroe kept ncing over at her, and even he didn’t know why he’d notice Ste all the time.

Monroe thought, ‘She’s looking more and more beautiful, almostpletely recovered now. But if one looks closely, there’s still something a bit off about the way she walks.‘

That day, out of curiosity, Monroe looked into what Ste had been through these past three years. What he found made his blood run cold. He wondered, ‘How could anyone survive something so awful?‘

18.03 Satb, /b9 Aug

Maybe that was why, seeing Ste again, he found it harder to me her for the things she’d done before. He even realized that Ste wasn’t the kind of person to bully anyone. She just kept getting caught up in these endless battles with Anna.

Monroe thought, ‘Come to think of it, Anna and Andrew have been acting suspicioustely, constantly sneaking around together. I don’t know what they’re plotting.

Just then, Monroe’s phone rang. It was his little sister calling. “Wow, Monroe, you and Anna really know how to keep things spicy–going to a hotel in the daytime?” she teased.

“What are you talking about? I’m meeting with a client right now,” Monroe said, sounding confused.

“Seriously? I just saw Anna walk into a hotel. You’re not there with her?” his

sister asked.

Monroe’s eyes narrowed. “Which hotel?”

“The Phoenix Hotel!” his sister replied.

Monroe didn’t say a word.

His sister seemed to get the hint. “Hey, Anna’s not cheating

ion /i

you,

is she?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. She’s not like that. Maybe she’s just meeting up with a friend,” Jordan replied.

“Come on, Monroe, you’re totally whipped. I don’t trust her one bit.” With that, his sister hung up, clearly having better things to do.

Monroe was getting more and more on edge. Something just felt off. He said goodbye to the client and left early, unable to shake the uneasy feeling.

Ste happened to overhear Monroe’s phone call just now. It sounded like it had something to do with Anna. So she found an excuse to say goodbye to her client and quietly slipped away to tail Monroe.

Ste watched as Monroe walked into the Phoenix Hotel, a bit taken aback. She wondered, ‘Why did hee here at this time?‘

Just then, Ste’s phone rang. It was Jordan calling.

b3/3 /b

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