Chapter 4
I got Andy's checkup results while waiting for my flight at the airport.
The doctor said he was just a bit on the weak side, nothing to really worry about.
I finally breathed easy, ditched my SIM card, and boarded the plane to my hometown, Southport.
When I got back to my parents' house and saw Andy sleeping peacefully in his crib, I felt completely at ease, and a deep warmth filled my heart.
My parents hurried over and glanced past me, searching for someone.
"Sweetie, didn't Charles come back with you?" my mom asked.
I shook my head and said calmly, "We're divorced."
My dad didn't seem surprised at all. He just patted my shoulder.
"Go with what feels right to you," he said.
All those bottled-up feelings burst out, and my eyes turned red.
I swore to myself that in this life, I'd protect the ones I loved, no matter what.
After that, I quickly met up with Jackson to kick off our new partnership.
One night, while I was working late, I got a video from an unknown number.
In the video, Charles was on top of Winona, his eyes glazed over.
And right next to them was Andy, lying in his crib.
They actually did that right in front of Andy. Rage and heartbreak surged up inside me; all the emotions I'd finally managed to calm down came rushing back.
After a moment's hesitation, I cleaned up the video a little and forwarded it to a journalist right away.
Then I shared my marital status online.
I'd made sure my family was safe now. The tragedy from my previous life wouldn't ever happen again.
Charles and Winona had to pay for the awful things they did in court.
Soon, Jackson burst into my office, sweating bullets.
He asked, "Evelyn, have you seen this video?"
I grabbed his phone and saw the video I'd sent to the journalist was already going viral online.
News about Charles cheating with his assistant and ditching a major investor was blowing up on the trending list.
Under the post, a bunch of gossipers were dropping all kinds of hot takes.
One commented: [I always thought Evelyn was the side chick, but turns out Winona was the real one.]
Another commented: [Evelyn must've really loved Charles to keep quiet and endure all that for so many years.]
The hottest post online right now was a leaked office video.
In the footage, Charles slammed everything off the table in a fit of rage.
Winona stood there, silent and afraid.
Charles fixed his burning gaze on Winona and yelled, "Do you even realize what you've done?"
"Didn't you say you deleted all those videos? How did they end up online?"
Winona, looking scared, nervously clutched the hem of her shirt and whispered, "I'm sorry, Charles. I just couldn't delete them. I liked those videos too much.
"My phone must've gotten a virus or something, and someone with bad intentions found them."
Charles slumped onto the couch, rubbing his temples in frustration.
After three years working for Charles, I knew what was going through Charles's mind right now.
Getting exposed wasn't even the worst part for him.
What really ate at him was the thought that his partners might see all this scandal and just walk away from the deal.
In the video, Charles suddenly looked like he'd remembered something. He scrambled for his phone, dialing again and again, but nobody ever picked up.
That's classic Charles: he only ever came crawling to me when he had nowhere else to turn.
Too bad for him, I'd already burned every bridge to my past. There was no way he'd ever track me down now.
I didn't bother watching the rest of the video. I was sure karma would catch up with him soon enough.
I handed the phone back to Jackson, keeping my tone cool and collected.
I said, "Relax. None of this drama is going to mess with our deal."
Just as I expected, ever since the scandal broke, Jensen Group's stock tanked.
Meanwhile, my new project with Jackson was the talk of the town. Everyone wanted in.
Some folks were just curious, trying to snoop into my personal life, but ended up getting obsessed with the project instead.
Others were just pitying me.
But without exception, every single person was calling me a genius.
The new project was rocky at first, and I was pulling overtime constantly, hardly saw Andy at all.
I could only play with Andy and see his smile after those long nights at the office.
Then one day, in his sweet baby voice, Andy suddenly called out, "Mommy."
Time stopped. I was completely swept away by a joy I'd never felt before.
Nothing in my life ever made me feel so lucky. In that instant, I knew I'd made the right choice this time around.
At last, I'd managed to protect Andy and my family, so we could finally start over together.
I kept throwing myself into work and made sure to carve out more time for Andy.
As for Charles and Winona, I made a point not to ask about what was going on with them.
Just when I thought I'd finally escaped from them for good, they suddenly appeared right in front of me again.
That weekend, I pushed work aside and stayed home to spend time with Andy.
But right then, the doorbell rang.
I opened the door and saw someone I knew all too well.
It was Charles. Somehow, he'd managed to find my parents' place.