Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Acacia?” Thaddeus picked up the phone, trying to keep his emotions in check.
“Thad, you gotta come save me now!”
Acacia’s voice was laced with panic and tears. “I’m stuck outside the Abernathy group building, surrounded by reporters, I’m really scared!”
“I’m coming down right away!”
Thaddeus shot up from his chair, grabbing his suit jacket on his way out.
“Mr. Thaddeus, you can’t go!”
Gordon rushed to stop him. “You can send your bodyguards to get Ms. Acacia, if you go yourself you’ll be swarmed by reporters!”
Thaddeus, however, didn’t hesitate. He rushed out, ignoring Gordon’s advice.
Downstairs, the reporters bombarded Acacia with questions:
“Miss Acacia, when’s the big day with Mr. Thaddeus?”
“We heard you and Mr. Thaddeus have known each other since childhood and have feelings for each other, is that true?”
“What’s your take on Mr. Thaddeus’ ex-wife? There are rumors she was meddling in your relationship, is that true?”
The reporters’ questions flew at Acacia like bullets. The bodyguards blocked as many as they could, but the scene was still chaotic.
Acacia, who was playing the victim, was actually laughing inside.
The news of their engagement was leaked by her, and so were the rumors about Thaddeus’ ex-wife being the mistress.
She would not let the woman who dared to take her bracelet and humiliate her get away with it. She would make sure she became thé despised home wrecker!
“Thank you all for your concern. Thad and I will let you know as soon as there’s any news. As for Thad’s ex-wife, Ms. Ilana, I hardly know her. Please stop attacking her, she’s no longer with Thad. Let her live her life in peace.”
Her response only stirred up more frenzy among the reporters and chaos ensued.
Just as Acacia was backing away, a strong figure shielded her. Thaddeus wrapped his arm around her and briskly led her into the building.
“Thad, you’re finally here.” Acacia’s eyes welled up with tears, looking like she was about to cry.
Thaddeus, however, said nothing. He just kept his lips sealed.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and looked around.
He had a feeling that Ilana was nearby, watching everything.
But how could that be possible?
The camera at the entrance of the Abernathy group building moved slightly.
Evadne was in her office, watching everything happening outside the Abernathy building.
She saw Acacia leave with Thaddeus. She saw how Thaddeus was protecting Acacia, how Acacia clung to him.
If she said she didn’t feel a pang in her heart, she would be lying.
“Thaddeus, you’re protecting her like this. Have you ever protected me like that?” Evadne thought to herself, her eyes reddening. “That stormy night two years ago, when I was in so much pain that I was dying, I also called you. I knew you wouldn’t come, but I just hoped you would pick up my call. All I got was the cold sound of your phone being off. To think that I sincerely loved a man like you for three years, only to be a way for you to appease your grandfather and kill time.
It’s not worth it, Thaddeus. You’re the least worthy investment of my life.”
Just then, the Secrecy Bureau had more news.
Cas sius: “Evadne, the chief editor of the Elmsworth Daily, the first newspaper to report the engagement, has been replaced at your ex-husband’s request. It seems this news was released by his girlfriend, not him.”
Evadne blinked, replying. “In their marriage, they share everything, and there’s no distinction between them.”
Arnold: “Well done! Same strategy!”
Arnold: “Evadne, I’ve just found some important news. I’ll tell you privately.”
Elvis: “Just say it here.”
Arnold: “No! This is my own investigation, you guys can’t take advantage of my work. Go investigate yourselves!”
After saying this, Arnold sent a voice message to Evadne.
1/2
11:30
“Evadne, about that Acacia, I found something interesting.”
On the surface, Arnold was a prosecutor who didn’t play by the book. But only the Ashbourne family’s children knew that Arnold was a hacker. Although not as good as Elvis, he was more than capable of dealing with most situations. And his investigative skills were sharp, No criminal ever escaped his grasp.
And Acacia was no exception!
Arnold sent Evadne a few pictures. Surprisingly, they were intimate photos of Acacia wearing revealing clothes with a mixed-race man! In two of the photos, they were even top less, the man’s large hand stroking her!
“Bro, you’re awesome.” Evadne whistled, looking at the photos with satisfaction. “Where did these come from?”
“From Acacia’s social media followers, there are hundreds of them. I’ve been checking them out these past few days. Then I found this guy was suspicious, so I hacked into his account and checked his phone’s photo gallery. This guy’s a fitness trainer, has quite a few followers
too.”
“Bro, you’ve worked hard. I’ll treat you to a big meal tonight!”
“Just a meal without booze? If there’s no booze, I’m not going!”
“Of course there is, you can drink as much as you want!”
“Don’t celebrate too soon, I’ve got something more shocking, even I was surprised.”
With that, Arnold sent over a medical report, followed by several pictures of a woman’s abdomen.
“This is…” Evadne was taken aback.
“Can you believe it? Acacia secretly had a baby abroad. These photos, are of her stretch marks after giving birth.”
Evadne shuddered, then magnified the photos and examined them carefully several times.
“That woman isn’t sick at all, she keeps making excuses to go to the hospital but in reality, she’s going to the plastic surgery department to get rid of her stretch marks from pregnancy. Man, this high-tech era sure makes it easy for these sneaky people. I’ve been dealing with cases for years, heard about DNA paternity tests being rigged, hymen reconstruction, but this is the first time I’ve heard about stretch mark repair! So, Acacia and Thaddeus, they haven’t slept together yet. Otherwise, she would have been exposed a long time ago.”
Evadne let out a sigh of relief, mixed feelings stirred within her as she murmured, “Thank goodness.”
“Goodness, you’re actually saying ‘thank goodness’, that’s awful! Even if they haven’t slept together yet, Thaddeus still cheated! Evadne, your thinking is messed up! Are you saying if you accidentally ate a fly, you’d console yourself at least it was protein?” Arnold, worried that his sister still had feelings for Thaddeus, wished he could run over and wake her up.
Evadne laughed, “Brother, you misunderstood me, I don’t have any feelings for Thaddeus anymore. I just think if he didn’t sleep with Acacia during our marriage, I wouldn’t feel too disgusted.”
“Hmm, but now it’s time for Unfaithful Thaddeus to get his comeuppance!”
Arnold spat out venomously, “He deserves it! He let go of my beautiful, intelligent sister for some average woman!”
‘That’s Thaddeus for you, his affections can’t be measured by money.” Evadne sneered, but her heart was bitter.
After all, Evadne loved him for thirteen years, to let go overnight, she needed time to accept it.
But no matter how hard it was for her, she would never love Thaddeus again.
“Now that woman is pressuring you, why don’t we leak this information and give her a good lesson?” Arnold was itching to take action against Acacia.
“When I was a kid, I had a habit of saving the best for last.”
Evadne half-closed her beautiful eyes and dangerously curled up her red lips. “The most powerful weapon, must be used at the critical moment, that’s when it’s devastating.”
2/2
11:30