3
“She left the country because the Prescott family was on the verge of bankruptcy,” I cut in, my voice danger ously calm. “She was afraid Carter would drag her down with him. But what did she just say? That I took advantage of her being gone to steal him? Please. She’s the one who dumped him when he was broke and came crawling back the second his family made a comeback.”
“And the kidnapping a year ago? It was Claire who called me, who asked me to meet her at that location The police themselves said the kidnappers never asked for a ransom. So what was their goal? Who were they working for? And let’s not forget the most important fact: there was no poison in Claire’s system. She’s the one who drank the single dose of antidote. She wanted me dead!”
A cold realization washed over me, and I voiced it out loud. “Or maybe it was Carter’s idea. He wanted to get rid of me. The old me wouldn’t agree to a divorce, and I was the only thing standing between him and Clai
re…”
“Ava, what the hell are you talking about?!”
Carter’s voice, sharp and lethal, cut through the air from behind me.
I spun around to face him. “Is it so impossible?” I challenged, looking him straight in the eye. “Either you dic it, or she did. How else do you explain me being the only one who was poisoned?”
“The kidnapper said he brought two glasses of water,” Carter explained, his brow furrowed. “He claimed Clai re knocked hers over when he wasn’t looking, pretending she drank it…”
“Are you kidding me?” I spat. “You actually believe that bullshit?”
He scowled. “What has gotten into you?”
“What’s gotten into me? I’m defending myself. Shouldn’t I? You claim to be my husband, yet you cheated or me with my sister and had a child with her while I was in a coma. One of you is a home-wrecker, the other is a scumbag. Do you really expect me to be polite?”
My relentless questions finally made his face turn thunderous.
‘I was never in love with you,” he seethed. “If you hadn’t been in a coma, we would have been divorced long
ago. Claire and I are the ones who are meant to be.”
‘Oh, a real love story,” I mocked. “I suppose she was the one by your side when your family almost went ban-
krupt. She was the one who pulled you out of your depression. She was the one who pawned her jewelry to pay your grandmother’s hospital bills…”
For the first time, a flicker of guilt crossed Carter’s face. “I admit, I owe you, Ava. Whatever you want as co-
mpensation, I’ll give it to you.”
He wasn’t a complete monster. He knew what I’d done for him. He just cared more about the ghost of his
1/9
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“Of course I want compensation,” I said coolly. “Company shares, the house, your savings. I want half.”
Carter nodded. “Done. But-”
“Oh, Carter, my stomach hurts,” Claire suddenly wailed, clutching her abdomen. “It hurts so much…”
I rolled my eyes. “Same old tricks. I know you’re good at playing the victim, but did you have to pull this stunt the second he agreed to give me my share? Once we’re divorced, everything he has will be yours. Are you really that desperate over the little bit I’m getting? So tacky.”
Maya emerged from the room, phone in hand, having already called the police. She heard my last comment and burst out laughing.
“Girl, if I’d known that not loving Carter would make you this sharp, I would have pushed you off a cliff years ago. Look at you now! Confident, powerful… this is the Ava I always knew you could be.”
Carter did not look pleased to hear this. His expression was dark and stormy.
B
I shrugged. “If I had to guess, I’d say I fell for Carter because I was starved for affection. My parents never liked me. Claire was always the sick, fragile one who might die at any moment, so they had to hover ove her. Leo was always getting into trouble, so they had to bail him out. I was the one who never caused them any problems, so eventually, they just stopped paying attention to me at all. I was so desperate for someone
to love me that when Carter showed up…”
Maya lunged forward, clapping a hand over my mouth. “Don’t! Don’t think about it! What if you remember everything? It’ll be a disaster! You can’t go back to loving him, Ava. He doesn’t deserve it.”
