Chapter 8%
*I’ve already said everything before, but you refused to listen. Now, my personal information has been exposed. I’m leaving the country. Everything I did was at your request, not my own will. The recording speaks for itself; people will judge accordingly. The favor I owed you has been repaid. Goodbye.”
With that, he rose to his feet and strode out, not sparing my father another glance.
Before boarding his flight, he made one final move: a blog post distancing himself from the scandal. Since the recording revealed how he had repeatedly advised my father to reconsider, the netizens spared him from the worst of their wrath.
Meanwhile, my father had no such escape. His phone buzzed relentlessly, subsidiary companies flooding him with desperate calls. Panic seeped into his every breath, but before he could process his next move, Scarlett burst in.
“Dad! What do we do now? Reporters were swarming my company’s entrance, asking if I was Scarlett! I barely got away; I had to use my new ID just to escape!”
“You cannot let my real identity be exposed!”
A flicker of doubt crossed Dad’s eyes as he studied Scarlett’s selfishness.
‘The butler said your sister left last night. I had someone look into it; they confirmed she’s already out of the country.”
“While we search for her, you need to step forward. Admit you were young and reckless back then, that you hurt her out of immaturity. This is the best way to settle things.”
“You already have the letter of forgiveness. You won’t go to prison.“>
Scarlett shook her head frantically, her voice laced with panic.
“No! Dad, have you forgotten? Elijah never actually registered the marriage with her! If that comes out, I could still end up in jail. I won’t do it!”
Dad’s expression turned cold.
“Then what’s your solution?”
“I’ll leave the country again, just like before. You can tell everyone Azalea is mentally unstable and making things up. Say the audio was fabricated, that she edited the chat records!“}
Her words sent a wave of fury through the room.
Dad’s face hardened, Elijah’s hands curled into fists and Mom trembled with rage.
“So you plan to run again? Leave us to deal with the aftermath?”
“Do you even understand? Voice recordings can be authenticated! It’s not as simple as calling them fake!“}
“And those chat records!” Elijah snapped, his voice filled with frustration. “Because of them, I’ve been dragged through the mud! People are even accusing me of bigamy and threatening legal action!“}
Before Scarlett could bolt, Elijah stepped in front of her, his eyes burning with resentment.
“We covered for you five years ago. This time, you’re facing the consequences with us!“>
“You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Elijah’s voice dripped with frustration. “Sending those messages, flaunting those photos, what, did you enjoy taunting her that much?”
Scarlett’s face twisted in panic as she turned to Mom and Dad, silently pleading for support. But Mom only clutched her chest, letting out a heavy sigh.
“Scarlett, have we spoiled you too much over the years?” Her voice was weary, laced with disappointment. “You knew you had to keep a low profile when you came back, yet you still left so much evidence in Azalea’s hands. Worse, you provoked her directly. Do you realize that if not for you, your father and I wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess?“}
“You are far too reckless.”
Scarlett opened her mouth to argue, but before she could get a word out, her phone buzzed.
She glanced at the screen and her face turned ashen.
“Azalea actually hired a lawyer and sent me a legal notice?!” Her voice rose in disbelief. “She knows the evidence isn’t strong enough, yet she’s still going through with this just to spite me?!”
Her grip tightened around the phone as her gaze swept across the room, dark and venomous.
“Who told her my current name?!“}
The silence was suffocating.”
She shot a glare at the three people before her, suspicion creeping into her expression.
What she failed to realize was that her name had never been a secret. The real estate company Dad opened for her had its legal representative listed as Colette Huxley. Since she had taken Mom’s surname, it hadn’t been hard for Azalea to put two and two together.
Still, her fury blinded her to reason.“]
Mom, Dad and Elijah stared at her, stunned. For the first time in over twenty years, she was looking at them with sheer malice, her face twisted into something unrecognizable.
“You suspect us?”
Dad pointed a trembling finger at her, his disbelief quickly morphing into rage.
