Chapter 18
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Matilda sighed to herself, ‘What’s the point of all this? Better to let sleeping dogs lie–I don’t want to take my anger out on innocent Dr. Saunders.’
Allen tucked the test results under his arm and looked at her, still a little startled.
“Sorry about that, Dr. Saunders. I didn’t know you were still here,” Matilda said with an apologetic tone.
Allen clasped his hands behind his back and gave her a warm smile. His gaze drifted casually over her outfit- blouse, vintage jeans, high heels–simple, elegant, and striking.
“Job hunting?” he asked.
Matilda nodded, a bitter smile tugging at her lips but not reaching her eyes. Clearly, things weren’t going well.
Allen squeezed the folder in his hands, thoughtful, then dropped the subject. “Want to grab lunch together?”
Matilda wanted to check on Tessa first, so she politely turned him down.
Allen didn’t push. He just watched her leave.
It wasn’t until Jude’s long fingers waved in front of his face that Allen snapped back into his usual serious look. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Come on, I’m not the one with time to kill, Dr. Saunders. You just spent almost an hour on that emergency consult and made Mr. Goodwin cover your shift,” Jude said.
Allen ignored him, his eyes still fixed on the exit.
Jude followed his gaze. “She’s pretty cold toward you.”
Allen shot back, “She has her warm moments.”
But that was something he couldn’t share with anyone.
Jude gave him a funny look. “So she’s hot and cold, huh?”
Allen didn’t bother arguing. He changed the subject instead. “I need to make a call.”
His voice on the phone turned stern and to the point. “I need you to handle two things-”
When he hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket, he was back to his usual gentle, agreeable self.
Jude hadn’t left yet. They were high school classmates and relatives, so they didn’t sugarcoat things with each
other.
“I get the first thing you asked for–having someone follow her in case she needs help. But the second thing? Throwing billions of dollars into an industry you’ve never touched before?” Jude said.
9:17 Mon, Oct 13
Chapter 18
Allen raised an eyebrow, his tone lazy and amused. “Just buying her a toy to play with.”
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Matilda walked out of the emergency building and called Tessa.
Tessa picked up right away and wanted to meet her for lunch.
Matilda figured Ruth must have left the villa. Brandon and Zack knew she wouldn’t abandon Tessa, so they probably had Ruth leave on purpose. They were two scheming bastards working hand in hand.
Matilda and Tessa met at Vansen Restaurant.
Tessa had put on makeup and chosen clothes that brightened her up, but the deep shadows under her eyes. betrayed what she’d been through the past three days.
Matilda’s heart ached for her. But neither of them brought up the suffering or the compromises. Instead, they finished their meal with laughter, as if nothing had happened.
Then Tessa leaned close and whispered, “At that Serenity Group dinner, did you really strip Shelby naked?”
She found it hard to believe. Shelby had ruined the only dress Matilda’s mother had left her–Tessa could imagine Matilda killing Shelby for that.
But stripping Shelby completely and letting men photograph her? She was certain Matilda wasn’t that low.
Matilda answered honestly, “I really regret not stripping her all the way. I left her with pasties and underwear.”
Tessa smiled knowingly, like she’d expected that, but her face quickly fell. “But Matilda, I heard people say Shelby was stripped bare and photographed by a bunch of men.”
Matilda’s lashes trembled. That wasn’t what she’d planned. She only wanted Shelby to feel the constant fear of someone barging in, to torment her mentally.
She had even bribed a waitress to guard the room and stop every man except Brandon from going in.
There was no way Shelby had been stripped bare and photographed by strangers.
Matilda couldn’t help but think of the mocking smile Shelby had given her at the hospital.
“Tessa, I need to go.” With that, Matilda called the waiter over to pay.
Outside the restaurant, she thought about hiring a private investigator, but she didn’t know a single one personally. Cassandra used to handle that for her.
Just as she was at a loss, a man in a cap with a camera hanging from his neck walked past.
Their eyes met. Matilda studied him, and he studied her. Neither looked away, both silently sizing the other
- up.
Seeing no one around, the man asked quietly, “Need help with cheating cases, finding people or objects,
9:17 Mon, Oct 13
Chapter 18
:
tailing someone, business investigations, or collecting legal evidence?”
Matilda’s eyes lit up.
*****
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The investigator was quick. In less than an hour, he tracked down the waitress from the Serenity Group private dinner.
Matilda brought her to Saints International Hospital. Shelby was asleep, and Brandon refused to let Matilda into the room. If they had business, they could talk in the V–ward rest area.
The waitress grew visibly nervous when she saw Brandon’s cold, stern face.
“I wouldn’t dare lie,” she said. “Ms. Warren gave me 6 thousand dollars to guard the door and not let any men in except you. But after a couple of minutes, Ms. Webster cracked the door open and said if I did what she wanted, she’d give me 30 thousand dollars.”
Brandon’s brows knitted into a hard line.
“She told me to take away her remaining clothes and toss them with the dress, then spread word that there was a surprise waiting in the men’s lounge. If men showed up, I wasn’t supposed to stop them,” the waitress added.
Brandon’s gaze turned sharp and cold as he looked at her. His voice was like ice. “Did she tell you to make this up? How much did she pay you?” He jabbed a finger toward Matilda.
Matilda suddenly laughed. “Brandon, your blind favoritism is disgusting.”
Brandon looked at her in disbelief.
Matilda’s eyes were filled with contempt and disappointment. Her tone was flat but cutting. “If you love her that much, then go to hell with her.”
After Matilda walked out, Brandon’s face was hard as stone. When he went back inside, Shelby was awake- and crying.
