Chapter 3

Watching Viola's frantic fury, I found the whole scene absurd.

"Then what do you want me to do?" I asked coldly. "Tie her up, drug her, and then hire someone to destroy her life?"

Viola was stunned for a second, but quickly retorted, "If it works, why not? Esther, people who want success can't be too concerned about the details. Josephine doesn't look innocent anyway. She definitely seduced Charles."

"Enough," I snapped, jumping to my feet, unable to take it anymore. "Mom, can you be realistic for once? You think you're helping me, but you almost ruined my life."

"Ruined you? Esther, how can you be so ungrateful? I've cleared the path for you and spent so much money. And now that you're finally independent, you turn around and blame me, huh?" she snapped.

"Cleared the path?" I laughed bitterly. "You tied a future business shark to my bed and made him hate me. Is that what you call paving my way?"

"You don't get it," Viola screamed. "He may hate you now, but once he goes back to the Evans family, he'll realize we're the only ones who can help him. He'll have everything he wants, and he'll thank us."

Looking at her, completely losing control, I felt helpless for the first time.

That was when I finally understood why the Crawford family collapsed in the novel. It wasn't because Charles was too strong; it was because we were rotten from the very start.

"Mom, stop." I slumped down, worn out. "We can't win against Charles. There's still time to walk away."

"Walk away?" Viola scoffed like I'd told the biggest joke. "Esther, are you crazy? Think about how many people we've offended because of him. It's far too late to walk away now.

"From the moment you took him to bed, you were tied to him for life. I'm going to get someone to take care of Josephine."

"Don't you dare." I grabbed her hand, my gaze turning cold. "If you touch her, I'll jump right now."

Viola was stunned by the resolve in my eyes. "Are you threatening me over some outsider?"

"She's not an outsider." I met her gaze steadily. "She's everything to Charles. If you touch her, he'll destroy the Crawford family to avenge her."

Viola and I argued fiercely and ended things badly.

I knew I couldn't rely on her anymore.

In this family, the only person who could save me was myself.

Meanwhile, things weren't going well for Charles either. The day after ripping up the check, the cruise manager fired him for offending a VIP.

Dragging his suitcase, he stood at the dock, watching the car I had sent to monitor him drive away. His eyes turned cold and unreadable.

He took out his phone and made a call. "Hey, it's me. I need you to dig up everything on Esther Crawford. I want her full background, from the day she was born."

*****

Days slipped by in an eerie calm. I stopped messing with Charles, and he seemed to have disappeared from my world entirely.

During that period, I sold off most of my property and stocks and moved the money into secure overseas accounts.

Only after finishing everything did I finally breathe easier. I felt one step closer to survival.

To celebrate, I invited my friend, Tiffany, to relax at a newly opened members-only nightclub.

However, as soon as we reached the entrance, I caught sight of a familiar figure, Charles.

He wore a sharply tailored black suit, his hair styled to perfection. He stood at the entrance of the club, as if waiting for someone.

It had only been a month since I'd last seen him, but he felt completely different.

Before, he had been like a diamond in the rough. Now he was starting to shine. It was the calm authority and quiet pressure that belonged to someone accustomed to power.

I instinctively tried to duck out of sight, but it was too late.

He'd already seen me and was heading straight for me.

"Hi, Ms. Crawford," he said, giving a slight nod, his tone distant and polite. "It's been a while."

Tiffany stared at him wide-eyed and nudged me. "Esther, who is he? He's so hot. Is he your new sugar baby?"

I felt unbearably awkward.

"I don't know him," I said coldly, grabbing Tiffany and trying to walk around him.

"Esther," he called out, stopping me in my tracks.

I paused, turning back with an impatient look. "What?"

He didn't say a word. He only stared at me.

Behind him, a black Rolls-Royce pulled up, and out stepped a spry old man.

When he saw Charles, he rushed over, grabbing his hand, tears streaming down his face. "Charles, my dear grandson. I finally found you."

My mind went blank.

It was Mason Evans. He found Charles five months earlier than he was supposed to.

Everything had gone off script.

After Charles reunited with Mason, his eyes landed on me again, filled with curiosity, judgment, and a hint of interest he didn't seem to notice.

"Grandpa, let me introduce you," he said, suddenly reaching out to me with the poise of a true aristocrat. "This is Ms. Crawford, an old acquaintance of mine."

He lingered on the words "old acquaintance", giving them deliberate weight.

I stared at the hand he extended toward me, completely at a loss.

Should I shake Charles' hand or not?

If I shook his hand, I'd basically be linked to the future heir of the Evans family, and everything I'd done so far would be pointless. However, refusing would be disrespectful to Mason, and that would cause problems.

When I was stressing over it, a group of people walked out of the club. At the front was my nemesis, Stephen Watson, the heir of the Watson family.