Chapter 17
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“You’re just a kid. What the hell do you think you look like?” Audrey grabbed Riley’s shirt and wiped the lipstick clean off her mouth, smearing it all over her face.
Riley retorted, “Let go of me. Audrey, you bitch!”
“Oh, still acting tough, huh?” Audrey slapped Riley across the face and scolded, “You have no manners at all. How the hell did your family teach you?”
Riley had been coddled her whole life. She was never even scolded, let alone slapped. Getting hit for the first time sent her into a blind rage.
“How dare you hit me? Uncle Clayton is gonna make you pay for this.” Riley started flailing and kicking wildly, but her strength was nothing against Audrey.
The building wasn’t very populated yet, and on this floor, there were just Audrey and Calvin. No one came out no matter how loud Riley screamed
and cursed.
She hadn’t expected Audrey to fight back, let alone hit her. Her whole body ached, and when she finally collapsed on the floor out of strength, she whimpered, “Stop, please stop.”
Audrey shook out her hand and looked down at Riley from above. “Apologize.”
Riley still couldn’t give in. “Why should-”
Audrey cut her off. “If I hear one more word outta your mouth about my parents, I’ll rip it clean off.”
Riley covered her face, her tears and snot mixing with smeared lipstick. She looked like a total mess–angry, humiliated, and shaken to her core.
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She shot back, “You hit me. Uncle Clayton’s not gonna let this slide. I’m gonna tell him, and he’ll ruin you.”
“Oh, yeah? Let’s see who’s gonna be ruined first.” Audrey turned around and walked inside. When she came back, she was holding a kitchen knife.
Riley let out a yelp and scrambled for the elevator. She thought in terror, ‘Damn! She’s seriously crazy.
The two girls who were there for tutoring also stepped out to see what the commotion was.
“Jessica, call the cops. She’s nuts. She tried to kill me,” Riley screamed, her voice cracking. “Audrey, you’re so dead. Uncle Clayton’s gonna have you locked up. Jessica, hurry up and call the cops.”
Jessica just looked at Riley with complete contempt. “Are you nuts? You barged into our teacher’s house, and you are calling her nuts?”
“What did you say?” Riley froze.
Her mind raced. ‘Teacher? Who is her teacher?‘
“Riley, you came here yelling and threatening Ms. Henderson. She only grabbed the knife to protect herself,” Elise chimed in.
Now, Riley was completely confused about the situation.
Jessica and Elise weren’t just smart, but they both came from powerful families. They didn’t suck up to people or run in cliques. Even the teachers treated them with kid gloves.
Riley’s grandfather worked for the government too, so she had assumed she was on their level. Thus, she tried to buddy up with them on the first day of school. However, they completely ignored her.
She even cried to her grandfather, hoping he’d back her up. But he just told her to watch herself and not stir up trouble with them.
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To Riley’s surprise, the two girls she couldn’t even make a connection with were calling Audrey, some nobody orphan from a small town, their teacher. What was more, they were even defending Audrey. Riley couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
She stammered, “You… You guys…”
Just then, the elevator arrived. Riley turned and tried to flee, but Audrey grabbed her hair and yanked her back.
Riley shouted, “AHHHH! Somebody help! She’s gonna kill me!”
“Apologize,” Audrey said coldly. “To my parents. Right now.”
Riley opened her mouth to curse again, but she froze the moment she felt the cold blade press against her cheek. Her feet immediately turned like jelly, and she sobbed, “I’m sorry. I apologize.”
As the elevator doors closed, Audrey let go of Riley but still stared at her with cold gazes. She slowly raised the knife again.
Riley collapsed to her knees, bowing her head low. She’d never been so humiliated in her life or forced to apologize to a powerless orphan like Audrey.
That day ended on a sour note at Clayton’s place. On the way home, Lillian told Riley not to worry, and Audrey wasn’t going anywhere. With her background, landing someone from Ironhaven was already hitting the jackpot.
The divorce and separation Audrey talked about were just her ways to get Clayton’s attention.
She’d lost her job, had no stable income, and Ironhaven wasn’t cheap to live in. She’d cling to Clayton like a parasite. Even the so–called attack on Valerie–Lillian insisted it was jealousy because Audrey cared too much about Clayton.
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It was just Lillian’s words that gave Riley the guts to storm into Audrey’s place to yell and threaten. What she didn’t expect was to be humiliated
like that.
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Riley thought bitterly, ‘She’s really not scared Uncle Clayton will dump her for real?‘
“I’m gonna count to three.” Audrey’s voice was ice.
Riley shook all over, and she spoke up, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have insulted your parents.”
Audrey reminded her. “That’s all?”
Riley added, “I s–shouldn’t have been d–disrespectful to you.”
Audrey stepped back and gave the knife a little flick. “Scram. Come barking at my door again, and you will see my real wrath.”
Riley didn’t even wait for the elevator. She bolted down the stairwell and rushed downstairs.
Audrey turned around and spotted Calvin standing at his door, looking like he’d just watched a thriller.
“Is that girl… your husband’s niece? You really think, after this, you and him…” Calvin didn’t finish. He tried to say after this, they probably couldn’t be together anymore.
Audrey hid the knife behind her back and flashed an awkward grin. “I just tried to scare her. I’m not actually violent, but if someone comes at me like that, I don’t care who they are. I’m not backing down.”
She glanced at the two girls behind her and thought, ‘First day of tutoring, and they already got front–row seats to a knife show. Bet they’re scared stiff.’
To her surprise, Jessica looped her arm around Audrey’s. Her eyes lit up as she said, “Ms. Henderson, you are so cool.”
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Audrey could only reply with a smile.
*****
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Back at Patel Manor, Lillian was tearing open a box of cigarettes someone had gifted her. The pack was stuffed with cash, and it was heavy.
John was in his campaign and didn’t want anything shady around him, but Lillian could never resist such temptations. Each time someone gave her some gifts, she’d always accept them. Of course, she did all those behind John’s back.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. Lillian stuffed the box into a cabinet and turned around, only to see wild–looking Riley stumble in.
“Grandma.” Riley burst into tears and ran straight into her arms. “Audrey sent someone to beat up Vally. She even broke Vally’s fingers. I went to confront her and ended up getting hit. She even tried to slash me with a
knife. If I hadn’t run fast…”
Lillian’s sweet face darkened in a second. She cupped Riley’s cheeks, examining the red marks with growing fury. “This is the woman Clayton insisted on marrying, even after I warned him. Who gave her the right to
do this?”
“Grandma, make Uncle Clayton divorce her. Give Vally that house. Send that bitch to prison,” Riley cried, practically screaming.
Lillian gently brushed Riley’s hair back, her eyes cold and ruthless. “An orphan from some no–name town dares go against our Patel family? After the divorce, she won’t even be good enough for a beggar. Don’t worry, baby, Grandma’s got this.”
Lillian didn’t have a job, but her parents and husband were officials. Women her age all envied her, kissed up to her, and lined up trying to marry their daughters into her family.
She’d promised not to meddle in Clayton’s marriage, but now? Since
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Audrey hit Riley, even just to give Riley’s parents an explanation, Clayton
had to divorce her.
**
20
Meanwhile, Clayton sneezed in his office. He reached for a tissue and saw the divorce papers tucked under the box.
They’d signed a prenup, and their finances were separate. Audrey paid for the new house herself, so legally, it belonged to Audrey only. There was no mess to sort out, just a few pages of clean break. At the bottom, Audrey’s signature was already there.
Ever since finding out the truth about Ashwood Mental Hospital, guilt had been eating Clayton alive.
He’d thought about apologizing to Audrey, but the whole Ashwood scandal had blown up, dragging his firm right into the headlines. He just hadn’t had the time to face her yet.
