Chapter 7

I remembered it all too clearly. At the end of the year before the last, my biological mother's condition suddenly worsened. She had already been in a vegetative state, but then multiple organs began to fail all at once. Her life hung by a thread. The specialists said there was a new type of medical device that could completely circulate and replace her blood while simultaneously providing heart and lung support. If it were used in time, there was a slim chance that her condition might be reversed. Coincidentally, Griffin Group was the company that developed the device. At the time, it hadn't been released to the market yet. The only way to get it was through internal channels. I had thought this wouldn't be an issue for Steve. But I never expected the response I got from him the moment I told him over the phone that my mother's condition had worsened. He had said, "Tell the doctors to do everything they can for Leah. Money isn't an issue. I've got something urgent to deal with here. Bye." He didn't even have the patience to let me finish speaking before he ended the call. In this world, money was the thing that came the easiest to Steve. In a way, so was I. As I had been so easy for him to obtain, he no longer cherished me. Back then, I had been plunged into despair. I couldn't understand what other matter could be more important than saving my mother's life. Now I knew. That so-called urgent matter of his was taking Dorothy to an amusement park. When I desperately needed him back in Hevark, he was in the biggest amusement park in Delmont with his mistress and illegitimate daughter. Brandon later managed to get hold of that machine through other means, and my mother survived. Still, the despair of that day and the terror of almost losing her forever were something I would never forget for the rest of my life. I forced myself to suppress the rage and pain threatening to overwhelm me. I grabbed my laptop and immediately began taking screenshots of Isabel's Instagram page. I saved every photo. Everything Isabel used to provoke me today would one day become evidence when I faced Steve in court. Looking at those photos, I suddenly remembered what Steve had said the day before. He had insisted that the photos of him and Isabel had come from our company. How was that possible? I was the editor-in-chief of Septem Entertainment. Every article had to be approved by me before it could be published. Was Steve mistaken, or was there someone in my department acting on their own initiative? Just then, there came a knock on the door. Before I could even say "come in", Steve pushed the door open and walked in. He looked like he had come to interrogate me. He tossed his phone onto the bed in front of me and asked coldly, "How much longer are you planning to keep this up?" I picked up his phone in confusion. Only then did I see that Isabel, who had just made the headlines a couple of days ago, was trending again today. Once again, the photos showed Steve's blurry silhouette. His face still wasn't visible. Someone was clearly targeting him or Isabel by deliberately exposing them online time and again. I looked at him and said steadily, "It wasn't me. Can you believe me just once?" Before he could answer, Dorothy suddenly ran in. She sobbed hysterically, "Daddy! Mommy's leaving the house! Hurry and go stop her! Please don't let her go!" Steve's expression darkened upon hearing that. He scooped Dorothy up in his arms and hurried out of my room. I followed him into the living room, wanting to explain everything. Meanwhile, Steve was stopping Isabel from leaving. Dorothy was clinging to her hand and crying her eyes out, begging Isabel not to go. I stood quietly to the side and watched the three of them. On the internet, people said Isabel was an idol who debuted based on popularity alone. She was nothing more than a pretty face with no acting skills. But actually, her acting was quite good. She cried on cue in a heartrending way. She said tearfully, "Just let me go, Steve. I can't take this anymore. If this goes on, my reputation will be ruined completely!" Before Steve could open his mouth to comfort her, I spoke up listlessly. "You've already brought your illegitimate child into the house. You knowingly became the other woman. Do you really care about your reputation?" "Zara, shut up!" Steve snapped at me sharply. Then, he softened his tone as he turned back to Isabel. "I'll give you an explanation for this. You can't leave. Dorothy can't live without you." Dorothy was genuinely afraid Isabel would leave. Still crying, she said, "Mommy, if you want to go, take Daddy and me with you, okay?" Then, she pointed at me with open disgust. "This lady is so scary. I don't want to be with her." Isabel hugged Dorothy tightly and sobbed, "Sweetie, I don't want to leave you either. But…" I looked calmly at Steve. "No one has to leave. Tomorrow, I'll get a lawyer to come in and list our marital assets. I'll take the portion that belongs to me. That way, I won't have to stay here and scare your precious daughter." I thought I had put Steve in a tight spot. His mistress and daughter both wanted me gone, and I was being reasonable by volunteering to leave. Surely, he would take the hint and go along with it. Unexpectedly, dark emotions seemed to churn in his eyes as he said, "Until this matter is fully cleared up, you're not going anywhere." I felt disappointed, but the one who was even more disappointed was Isabel. Of course, she had never intended to leave for real. After she put on an extended show of feeling hurt and saddened, Steve and Dorothy managed to "persuade" her to stay. ... At dinnertime, Maria knocked softly on my door and said cautiously from outside, "Mrs. Griffin, dinner's ready. Shall I bring it to your room?" I knew she had heard the argument in the living room earlier. She was afraid that if I showed up at the table again, I would only suffer more humiliation. But I couldn't accept being falsely accused. Honestly, I wanted nothing more than to release every single photo and let the world see the face of the male lead clearly. But since I hadn't done that, I wouldn't take the blame for something I didn't do. So, I didn't let Maria bring the food in but went to the dining room myself. Isabel clearly hadn't expected that I would dare to show up at the table. Steve sat at the head of the long table, while Isabel and Dorothy sat on either side of him. I looked at the way they were seated and realized that there was no seat for me. I originally planned to sit opposite Steve at the far end of the table. But if I sat there, I wouldn't be able to reach the dishes. So, I calmly walked over and sat down beside Dorothy. The next second, she shrieked and scrambled away. She ran straight to Isabel as if I were some kind of monster. Isabel cradled Dorothy protectively and said to Steve, "Maybe I should just take Dorothy back to the room to eat." She looked as though she was afraid of me, just like Dorothy. She was deliberately avoiding me. But Steve replied coldly, "The one who should leave isn't you." Then, he shot me a warning look. "Zara, stop those petty tricks and schemes of yours. I've already said they're only staying temporarily. They won't interfere with your life." I smirked without saying a word. Isabel looked at me pleadingly. "Ms. Yaxley, things between Steve and me really aren't what you think. Please stop coming after me, and please don't hurt Dorothy. If photos of her are exposed one day, I can't even imagine the kind of public backlash she would face." At the mention of Dorothy being implicated, Steve's expression grew even colder. He stared daggers at me. I nodded and said, "Children are innocent. That much is true. Whoever is exposing these photos truly is despicable. They have no qualms about using a child for their gain. I'll go to the company tomorrow and investigate thoroughly. I'll get to the bottom of this and give you a satisfactory explanation." Isabel's brow twitched almost imperceptibly at my words. She said softly, "That would be… hard to investigate, wouldn't it? What kind of whistleblower would be foolish enough to use their own phone?" I smiled faintly. "It's fine. I have plenty of methods. I want to see which traitor is working with people outside to stage their own show." The moment my words fell, Isabel's expression tensed up visibly.