Chapter 10
Elijah kicked the bedroom door open, but the room was completely empty.
He sneered. He had let his anger get the better of him and forgotten that Avery was away on her trip. Pulling out his phone, he dialed a number and said coldly, “Bring Mrs. Tarver back to
me.”
Days went by, and still there was no sign of Avery. No matter how hard they searched, they couldn’t find a single clue to where she had gone.
Elijah stood in the bedroom, wearing a dark expression. The furniture was all still in place, but some of Avery’s personal belongings were gone. He tore through the house until he finally found her suitcase hidden under the bed. Inside, he saw everything she had taken from the house.
Staring at the clothes in the suitcase, Elijah felt a sharp, crushing pain in his chest. It was hard to even breathe. Avery had left so suddenly, taking nothing with her. She hadn’t left a trace of attachment to the house or to him.
Just then, his phone rang. “Mr. Tarver, we’ve found the rat,” the person on the other end said.
Elijah’s dark expression finally eased slightly. Since someone had the nerve to provoke him, he wouldn’t mind getting his revenge. He grabbed his car keys and headed out to a remote
area.
At an old, deserted factory outside of town, the culprit hung from the ceiling with a sack over his head.
After a few lashes from the whip, he spilled everything he knew. “Lara was the one who ordered all of this. She promised that if I handed over the company’s secrets, I’d be set for life. I saw how close you were to Ms. Womack and figured she might be the next Mrs. Tarver. I thought she wouldn’t harm the company, so I gave her the files.”
Elijah’s expression darkened, and his blood ran cold. “How could it be her? Even at death’s door, you’re still lying?”
The man trembled as he said, “Mr. Tarver, please believe me, I have proof.”
When the evidence was laid out before him, Elijah had no choice but to face the harsh truth.
The woman he had loved since childhood, the one he cherished more than anyone in the world, had betrayed him.
Soon, Dominic placed a stack of files in Elijah’s hands.
Elijah’s temples throbbed as he held the files, feeling as if he were holding his own death
Chapter 10
sentence. He closed his eyes for a long moment, drew in a deep breath, and finally opened
them.
The first page showed that as soon as Lara returned to the country, she contacted a rival company and struck a deal. After that, she had been steadily selling Tarver Group’s confidential files to them.
Elijah’s chest tightened, and his veins bulged with rising anger.
He forced himself to keep reading.
Avery’s name immediately caught his eye. The files showed how Lara had spent the past six months carefully setting Avery up, dragging her from one nightmare to the next.
She had locked Avery in dressing rooms, stolen her concert performances, and left her open to attacks from enraged fans.
She had cut her own hand and blamed Avery, ruining Avery’s ability to play the cello.
She had deliberately cut the bungee cord, causing Avery to crash into rocks.
The more Elijah read, the more it felt as if invisible hands were squeezing his chest.
He struggled to breathe, forcing himself to go through the files page by page.
On the last page, it said that Lara had framed Avery at the Tarver residence.
The files slipped from his hands and scattered across the floor. Elijah sank to his knees, clutching his chest in pain.
What had he done all these days?
He had been blind, repeatedly protecting Lara while she hurt Avery.
Only because Lara had once saved his life, he had committed so many unforgivable acts against his own wife.
Thinking of Lara, the woman who had once saved him, his heart skipped a beat. His mind was full of questions he couldn’t answer.
Could this cruel woman really be the girl who saved him 15 years ago?
Elijah didn’t dare think about it any further.
If she wasn’t the same girl, how could he ever face himself?
…
Lara groaned and clutched her head as she woke, realizing she was in an unfamiliar factory.
Her drowsiness vanished instantly, replaced by a rush of panic. “Release me! I’m Mr. Tarver’s
Chapter 10
woman. I dare anyone to try and lay a hand on me!” she shouted, struggling violently.
Elijah suddenly stepped forward, exuding complete control and authority.
He stopped and lowered his gaze, looking at Lara with a chilling intensity, as if she were already a dying woman. “Why did you betray me? Did I ever treat you badly?”
Lara froze. She lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze. “Eli, what are you talking about?”
Elijah let out a cold laugh and slammed a stack of files toward her face. “Explain yourself. What is all this?”
Lara trembled as she glanced at the files on the floor. Everything she had done over the past six months was clearly documented. She had sold company secrets, manipulated stock, and
even framed Avery.
Seeing no way out, Lara gave up trying to hide her feelings. She wiped her tears, sat on the floor, and laughed.
“Now that you know the truth, what can you do about it? I want you to feel what it’s like to lose everything!”
Elijah frowned, feeling that the woman before him was now completely unrecognizable.” Why?” he asked.
Lara sneered. “Why? Why don’t you ask your beloved father? I ended up like this because of
him!”
Lara lifted her head and stared Elijah straight in the eyes. “The Womack family was ruined overnight. My parents either died or were left broken. It was all your father’s doing, to keep us apart. I’ve spent all these years away from you, gathering my strength to come back for revenge. I’m going to make everyone you love suffer. I’m going to make you feel what it’s like to be completely betrayed and abandoned!”
Elijah felt his temples pulse. He clenched his fists. “Did you save a boy ten years ago?” he asked.
Lara’s eyes were wild with madness. “Save you? If I had met you ten years ago, I would have killed you without mercy,”
Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing echoed through the empty factory.
Elijah’s heart suddenly trembled uncontrollably, as if some hidden truth was about to be
revealed.
“Mr. Tarver, I found a file and a banner about the boy who fell into the water ten years ago in the trash at the villa. It was signed by Mrs. Tarver. I’ve already returned them to your bedroom.
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Chapter 11
