Filed to story: Billionaire Bride’s Revenge (Vera & Howard)
Vera let out a bitter laugh, her anger barely contained.
“The one who strikes first is always the first to cry foul,” she thought.
Suddenly, a roar erupted from behind her.
“How dare you come here!”
Delmar was seething, glaring at Vera with undisguised hatred in his eyes. His shout caught the attention of the reporters at the ward door, and the scene from downstairs replayed.
Surrounded by reporters, Vera was jostled by microphones and cameras.
“Miss Montgomery, can you give a formal response to this event? After what happened, your actions might leave her in a vegetative state.”
“Due to your revenge, you nearly took someone’s life. Don’t you feel any guilt?”
“Miss Montgomery, the public has been following this story closely. Please, share your response.”
Vera’s eyes were filled with disgust. To her, the reporters were nothing but pests scrambling for a scoop. Annoyed, she grabbed a microphone from one of them and turned to face the cameras.
“I will respond to this matter, but not today. If you harass me again, don’t blame me for being rude.” After speaking, she handed the microphone back. As she turned to leave, Delmar grabbed her wrist in fury.
His eyes blazed with rage. “Do you think a few words will end this? No way! Return my healthy daughter to me!”
Vera looked at him coldly.
“Let go.”
Gritting his teeth, Delmar yanked Vera into the ward. He pointed at Tricia, who was connected to a respirator, and hissed, “If it weren’t for you, my daughter wouldn’t be in this condition. If anything happens to her, I’ll take you down with me-even if it costs me my life.”
Ignoring him, Vera observed Tricia closely. She lay on the bed, pale and lifeless. Her right wrist was wrapped in thick gauze, while her left hand was connected to an IV drip. The nearby equipment displayed her vital signs.
If it weren’t for the faint signs of life, she could have been mistaken for a corpse.
Vera realized the tragic truth-Tricia had indeed slit her wrist. However, she was certain that Tricia, someone who would never recklessly endanger her life, must have been coerced into doing so. And she was obviously prepared. That’s why Tricia had been saved in time after cutting her wrist.
Delmor blamed her hysterically. “See? Because of you, you turned my daughter into this!”
He tightened his grip on her wrist, his intentions deadly serious. “You owe me an explanation today, or you’re not going anywhere.”
Coldness spread across Vera’s face as she forcefully removed Delmor’s hand. Surveying the scene with an icy gaze, she remained poised despite the circumstances.
“She set a trap to insult me, aiming to ruin my reputation. Was it wrong for me to demand an open apology from her?” Her tranquility was such that it seemed as though she were addressing either Delmor or the gathered media.
Her question left the crowd speechless, having almost forgotten that Tricia was the one who had initially caused the incident. “She couldn’t withstand the public’s scrutiny and chose to end her life by slashing her wrist. Now, you’ve shifted all the blame to me. What have I done wrong? Why should I be vilified and suffer because of her actions? Your hypocrisy disgusts me.”
Her remarks cast a profound silence over the room. Delmor, enraged, widened his eyes but found himself speechless. The cyberbullying had been the work of faceless online users; Tricia’s decision to end her life was her own, and Vera was in no way accountable.
After a tense silence, Delmor finally spoke. “No compensation is enough for my daughter’s life.”
Vera responded firmly. “She made her choice. There’s no one else to hold responsible.”
Eventually, she approached him, her tone softening with compassion. “You should understand your daughter better. She would never choose suicide lightly. Consider whether she acted on her own or was manipulated. You should investigate.”
At that moment, Delmor seemed to grasp something, his expression turning to anger.
Then, a soft voice from the doorway challenged Vera. “Don’t you think you’ve taken this too far?”
Lily appeared at the door, followed by Howard. Their sudden entrance caught the attention of the reporters, who eagerly pointed their cameras at them. The two daughters of the Montgomery family were now here, confronted with a volatile situation.
The reporters expected this story to trend for at least three days.
With a look of sadness and disappointment, Lily approached and said, “Tricia might not wake up because of you. How can you stand there so self-righteously without feeling any guilt? Have you forgotten the values you were taught? Mom would be disappointed if she saw you now.”
Vera snorted, clearly unable to hide her disgust. From the beginning, Lily had been recycling the same tactics, which bored Vera immensely.
Lily seemed unfazed by the repetitiveness, but Vera was thoroughly disgusted.
Howard then stepped forward and addressed Vera. “Vera, I never thought you’d be so selfish. Apologize to the Guerrero family now and ask for their forgiveness. Tricia is their only child. If something happens to her, how do you expect her parents to carry on?”
Vera pressed her lips together tightly, refusing even to glance at Howard. “Who do you think you are to speak to me like that?”
Howard’s anger intensified. He had never encountered someone as ungrateful as Vera. He believed the quickest way out for her was an apology. While the public’s attention might shift quickly, if the situation continued like this, it could destroy her life. He was baffled by Vera’s stubbornness at such a pivotal moment.
A brief smile flickered in Lily’s eyes before she masked it swiftly. She maintained a look of concern and sighed softly.
“Vera, consider the Guerrero family’s plight. How do you think they feel, seeing their daughter harmed by your actions? Apologize. You will start to make amends for your mistake.”
Vera’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Lily. She was adept at manipulation. An apology from Vera would imply guilt. Even solid future evidence wouldn’t sway public opinion anymore.
Lily clearly underestimated Vera, thinking she had no solutions, didn’t she?
Lily’s heart skipped a beat under Vera’s icy stare, momentarily feeling exposed.
Unable to sway Vera, Lily approached Delmar. She spoke softly, “Mr. Guerrero, I know you’re both angry and upset. Since Vera refuses to apologize, I will do so on her behalf. She may not acknowledge me as her sister, but I must make amends for her actions. If you’re angry, direct it at me. I just hope you will forgive her.” Her demeanor suggested a strained relationship between her and Vera, casting herself in a calm, dignified light.
Delmar looked at Lily, his emotions mixed, while Vera’s earlier words echoed in his mind. Indeed, Tricia was too spoiled to even consider suicide. If there was manipulation involved, Lily was likely at the center of it.
Delmar remained silent, filling the room with an uneasy quiet.
Lily’s smile persisted, almost turning rigid as she wondered about the old man’s inaction. She was expected to accept her apology, which would implicate Vera.
Vera observed Lily’s shifting expressions and remarked scornfully, “I severed ties with the Montgomery family long ago. Stop your charade here. You think you’ve deceived everyone and left no traces behind, huh?”
Lily’s face twitched, frustration evident. Damn it! She pondered if Vera possessed any proof. Seeing Vera’s oblivious error, Howard grew furious.
“Vera, Lily’s advice is for your benefit. Use your head!”
Vera shot him a frosty look, but before she could respond, a relaxed voice interrupted from the doorway. “How lively!”
Everyone turned as a voice called out, and their gaze shifted toward the door. Vera turned as well and spotted Victor.
His attire had changed to a dark shirt, casually unbuttoned at the collar. Despite his recent surgery to remove a bullet, his demeanor remained unruffled and detached. No one would guess the ordeal he had just undergone.
Uncertainty clouded Vera’s expression. She pondered Victor’s reasons for appearing.
A shadow crossed Howard’s face as he spotted Victor. “Mr. Adams,” Howard acknowledged him.