Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
For now, Audrey decided to focus on figuring out the mastermind. Was it Cecilia, or perhaps Katie?
Given Cecilia’s death, only Katie among Audrey’s acquaintances seemed capable and motivated enough to hire someone to commit murder. If they could secure a confession from this man, it could definitively let Katie face the music.
“What’s there to thank me for? It’s just a small favor,” Stefan remarked, as he shielded Audrey from the brisk wind and escorted her to the door.
“Go inside now. I’m heading back.”
After watching Audrey enter her villa, Stefan returned to his car and gazed once more at the photo of the man with heterochromia.
He had withheld this individual’s identity earlier. The man, Lorenzo Maxwell, was the youngest son of the Maxwell family leader, highly favored by both his grandfather and his father, and a prominent figure in his own right.
The notion of a Maxwell family scion turning into a bounty hunter would seem far-fetched to most.
However, if it was Lorenzo, it appeared almost certain. Lorenzo had inherited characteristics from his mother, Peran Stevenson, a legendary beauty from Aurora.
Peran, the daughter of a hearse driver for the Maxwell family, had caught Lorenzo’s father’s eye during a visit and quickly became his tenth wife.
In Aurora, where polygamy was both permitted and common, Peran was especially cherished by Lorenzo’s father, although she was known for her unstable and often erratic behaviors.
Peran once cruelly shaved a servant’s head in the dead of night, stripped the servant, and left the servant in the freezing cold just to watch the servant slowly succumb to hypothermia.
Servants in her employ rarely lasted more than three months, their ends more gruesome and bizarre than the last.
Lorenzo’s father, blinded by his affection for Peran, covered up these macabre incidents.
Ultimately, Peran’s lack of restraint led her to a tragic fate. She set herself ablaze one night after childbirth.
Lorenzo’s father, stricken with grief, erected a monument to Peran, inscribing it with, “My Love for Life.”
As Peran’s son, Lorenzo was spoiled from a young age.
By six, Lorenzo displayed his own cruel streak, once pressing a cook’s head against a hot griddle simply because the meal displeased him, searing the skin.
Unlike his mother, Lorenzo didn’t relish swift killings. He derived pleasure from the prolonged torture of his victims, reveling in their suffering like a cat toys with a mouse. Once he marked someone, they rarely escaped his clutches.
Currently, Ardlens was deemed the safest refuge. Aware of the stringent laws in Ambrosia, Lorenzo steered clear of the area, opting instead for Swynborough, according to the latest immigration records.
Stefan studied Lorenzo’s photo on his phone, his expression somber.
If this was indeed Lorenzo, things would get complicated since he was not one to be taken lightly. To oppose Lorenzo would mean antagonizing the entire Maxwell family.
The Cliffords and the Maxwells, both influential on Aurora, had coexisted like oil and water without direct conflict.
Cap?tulo 848:
Provoking Lorenzo for Audrey’s sake could incite severe retaliation from the Maxwell family.
Caught in this dilemma, Stefan weighed his options. If it were only him involved, perhaps he could act differently. But with the Clifford family at stake, and despite his contempt for his family’s brutal manners, he could not risk dragging them into danger through any rash actions.
In the end, Stefan decided against sharing Lorenzo’s photo with his family and securely tucked his phone away. This was not a decision to be made impulsively. He couldn’t risk even informing Erick, lest he inadvertently lead Erick into a trap set up by the Maxwell family.
A carefully thought-out plan was needed.
As Stefan’s car pulled away, Matteo looked at Cornell. “Should we follow him?”
“No need,” Cornell replied.
The way Stefan had spoken to Audrey at the door struck Matteo as a poignant goodbye. He couldn’t fathom Cornell’s actions, watching Audrey so intensely without letting her notice.
This one-sided affection, Matteo realized, had become a painful constant in Cornell’s life. Cornell often observed Audrey from afar, yet act cold and detached during their encounters.
Matteo couldn’t make sense of it. Observing this strained relationship reinforced his belief in the merits of single life.
Audrey’s villa, West Lake Villa, remained warmly lit as always.
Cornell gazed at it for a while before finally instructing to leave.
On the drive back, Matteo answered a call and then reported seriously, “Mr. Clement, they’ve met.”
“Connect it through,” Cornell instructed coldly.
Matteo retrieved a black metal box resembling a radio and connected it to Cornell’s Bluetooth earpiece. Katie’s irritated voice came through clearly. “What do you want?”
At the Glyn family’s villa, Katie was on edge, warily watching the impeccably dressed Henley who had unexpectedly climbed in through the window.
“I have nothing to say to you. Leave, or I’ll call the police,”
Katie warned.
Ignoring her, Henley settled onto the cushioned sofa. “What’s the hurry?”
“Henley!” Katie exclaimed, her expression shifting. “I’m about to marry Cornell and become the legitimate wife of the CEO of the Clement Group. Is it appropriate for you to appear in your future sister-in-law’s room in the middle of the night?”
“Interesting… Henley chuckled derisively. “Are you sure you’re going to become the wife of the CEO of the Clement Group?”
“Absolutely,” Katie responded with certainty. She was confident in her importance to Cornell.
“I heard your father has been unconscious all this time?” Henley suddenly dropped this unsettling news.
Katie’s composure faltered, her eyes widening in shock. “What are you implying?”
Henley’s thumbs met as he clasped his hands together, tapping them rhythmically. “You’re intelligent enough to figure it out, aren’t you?”
Cap?tulo 849:
Despite the icy edge in his stare, Katie held her ground. “I have no idea what you’re suggesting.”
The details of Katie’s father’s condition were not widely known, but it wasn’t surprising that Henley had caught wind of it. However, Katie suspected Henley was just bluffing. She refused to be manipulated.
With calculated indifference, Henley continued, “From what I understand, your father’s prolonged unconsciousness stems from incorrect medication.”
His implication was clear. If Katie persisted in denying any knowledge, it would be pointless.
Yet, Katie remained resolute, replying coolly, “Whatever you think you know, it has nothing to do with me. If you have proof, present.”
The actual perpetrator, Abel, was long dead. Any retribution would have to reach beyond the grave.
Unperturbed, Henley’s demeanor remained light, yet his voice carried a warning. “Katie, drop the act.
Cooperating with me is in your best interest. Believe me. If I didn’t want you to marry Cornell, you wouldn’t have a chance.”
“You?” Katie’s voice dripped with scorn. “Do you really think you have that much strength?”
Katie’s face conveyed her disdain clearly. This wasn’t the first time she had underestimated Henley. For her, only someone of Cornell’s caliber deserved her consideration.
Suddenly, Henley rose swiftly from his seat, grabbed Katie, and pinned her down, his hands around her throat as he shouted, “Want to see my strength now?”
Coughing, Katie flailed her arms desperately, gasping for air. “Let me go… Let go…”
Just when Katie felt she could breathe no more, Henley released her.
He straightened up, adjusted his tie, and took a deep breath, seeming to relish the moment of dominance. How he wished he could just finish her in this way. Yet, he still needed her.
Katie, coughing and gasping, her voice raspy and strained as if her throat was injured, managed to choke out, “I won’t let you get away with this. You broke into my room and attacked me. I’m calling the police!”
“Call the police?” Henley chuckled dismissively. “When they arrive, it’s you they’ll be taking, not me.”
Henley tossed a medical report onto the table and stated icily, “The medication list for your father doesn’t include methotrexate, a banned substance. Mixed with cephalosporins, it’s deadly. And guess what they found in your father’s system?”
Katie’s eyes widened in fear as she glanced at the report. She hadn’t expected Henley to have insiders at the hospital who could access her father’s records. Frustration at her subordinates incompetence boiled within her. They were becoming a liability.
At that moment, Katie sorely missed Abel. Such blunders would have been unthinkable under his watch.
With a smug smirk, Henley pressed, “Care to explain this ‘coincidence’?”
Katie understood Henley had other agendas and wasn’t overly concerned about him going public with his findings. She met his gaze squarely.
“What are you really after?”
Henley’s response was even. “I’m here to reclaim what’s rightfully mine.”
Though Katie doubted Henley’s capabilities, his unpredictability made her cautious. She responded cautiously, “Even if the Clement family has something of yours, Cornell is the rightful heir. It’s his by right.”
Henley’s smile took on a more sinister edge. “Katie, since we are both cut from the same cloth, I’ll let you in on a secret.”
Cap?tulo 850:
He leaned close and whispered something startling into her ear.
Katie’s mouth hung open, shock rendering her speechless. How could that be? If Henley’s revelations were true, then Cornell’s identity…