SWNOVELS Chapter 88: You Can't Always Doubt Me
Chloe was already in the living room waiting bright and early.
She figured if she was going to convince anyone, she might as well lay all her cards on the table. Sure enough, Liam was the first to show up downstairs.
"Liam," she didn't call him "Honey" this time, "we need to talk."
"Spit it out." Liam stood away from her, casually drinking his water, barely giving her a glance. Chloe was seething inside, but remembering last night's sweetness made her cheeks turn red. "The dinner last night was drugged, and we all fell for it."
"What?" Liam stopped mid-sip, giving her a sharp look.
"It's true," Chloe said simply. "If you don't believe me, go check."
And she added, "Even you couldn't resist it, so how could Charlotte?"
"What are you trying to say?" There was a hint of threat in Liam's eyes.
"I'm just saying, don't let her fool you. Maybe the person with you last night wasn't her."
Liam wasn't convinced, mainly because he didn't trust Chloe.
But then, in the middle of the day, he was suddenly summoned home from work by Kenneth, only to find that Pamela had returned.
"How's it going? Settling in okay?" Liam asked her casually.
With everything that had happened, Pamela was notably less imposing. She realized that the Parker family was no longer under her brother's rule but Liam's.
"Not great. I'm not used to a lot of things here."
Pamela ranted on, and Liam realized his grandpa wanted him home for lunch as a way to make him go easy on Pamela, maybe even to bring her back home from the nursing facility. But he acted as if he couldn't tell.
The whole mess was really not about Pamela. If she hadn't bothered Kenneth, if Kenneth hadn't meddled, Liam would've just docked her allowance a bit to stop her from harassing Charlotte again. Now, Liam suspected Kenneth was playing sick. If he caved, Grandpa's grip on him would only get tighter.
The lunch was tense, filled mostly with Pamela's string of complaints.
It wasn't until Pamela stopped talking about moving back into the Parker family house and casually mentioned seeing Charlotte at the Blackwood family's vacation house last night, that Liam's attention piqued.
"I don't know what she was up to, leaving so late at night. It was past 1 AM when she came out. Liam, you know you and the Blackwood kid don't get along. Watch out, Charlotte might tell Vincent something that could trip you up." It sounded like typical elder advice, but Liam stayed quiet for a long time afterward.
He hadn't completely lost his memory of the previous night; it was just fuzzy.
If Charlotte really left Vincent only after 1 AM as Pamela claimed, she wouldn't have been back until at least 2 AM.
That meant the person with him last night couldn't have been Charlotte.
If Chloe's not spinning a yarn, and there really were drugs in last night's dinner, what's the deal with Charlotte?
She was right there with Vincent when the drug supposedly kicked in - what was up with that?
And why did she act like she's been by his side the whole time as soon as she got back?
Even though he didn't really think Charlotte would do such a thing, the seed of doubt had been planted.
Outta nowhere, Henry rings Charlotte up and tells her to swing by the office.
She can't make heads or tails of why Liam would call her in.
When she gets there, Charlotte's gobsmacked to see that her face still gets her past the turnstile. Guess this means Liam still hasn't given the thumbs up to her quitting. She hits the 24th floor and bumps into Sophia.
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Sophia's got this whole mix of feelings seeing Charlotte again. The last time they crossed paths, Sophia figured Charlotte was all good except for not coming from some swanky family.
But look at her now - Charlotte's pretty much a Beaumont and shacking up with the Parkers.
Sophia's counting her lucky stars she didn't pick a fight with Charlotte.
"Is my walking paper not through yet?" Charlotte asks.
"Nope, everything about your coming and going is Mr. Parker's call. If he doesn't give the nod, who's gonna rush it?"
Sophia sneaks a look at the big boss's office and lowers her voice, "Mr. Parker came back from lunch with the Parkers all cranky. When I dropped off some papers, I caught something about 'Pamela' and 'Vincent'. Don't know if that rings any bells for you."
Charlotte stiffens but plays it cool quickly.
She's piecing together why Liam's got her here today.
Before heading into the lion's den, Charlotte checks the map for Vincent's villa from last night.
Sure enough, the villa complex was built for elderly rest and included a large nursing center.
It looked like the Parker family's Pamela was staying at that nursing center.
So, Pamela must've spotted Charlotte leaving Vincent's villa last night.
And blabbed to Liam, which got him connecting dots in all sorts of wrong ways.
She knocked and entered, finding Liam with a cold expression, his gaze icy and distant, sending chills as Charlotte approached him.
He didn't speak, just watched Charlotte walk in and stop in front of him.
"You're doubting me, aren't you?"
Liam remained silent.
Charlotte sighed, "You can't always doubt me."
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She stepped forward, trying to take his hand, but he deliberately avoided her.
Liam's rejection was clear; he kicked back from his desk, putting a safe distance between them.
At this point, being timid would only lose her the upper hand.
Charlotte stepped forward again, facing Liam as he leaned back on his desk.
"Oh, you've always wondered what's the deal between me and Vincent, right? Here's the scoop, Vincent's little brother and my sis were a couple. Then, tragedy struck - Annie drowned in the lake, and it hit Vincent's bro so hard, he ended up taking his own life."
"Vincent was boiling mad and had no way to let it out. He just wanted to get some justice for Annie, help her rest easy, and the same for his brother."
"Me and Vincent, it's just a cooperation."
Liam tried to butt in, but Charlotte was quick to silence him with a finger to her lips.
"I filled you in about meeting up with him last night, and you were on board with it."
"Given the way you're grilling me right now, I'm betting you've caught wind of what went down last night."
Charlotte whipped out her phone, tapped on a video she'd saved, and handed it over to Liam.
Going after revenge is like walking on a high wire, a single slip makes you fall.
She might not have covered her tracks perfectly, but she was careful enough. No way she'd leave a glaring piece of evidence behind.
Liam didn't want to watch, but Charlotte was having none of it and pressed the phone into his hands.
The video began to play, starting with Charlotte sensing danger and telling Vincent to back off.
As time ticked away, the sounds of Charlotte's pain from the bathroom began to fade.
The video was coming to a close.