Chapter 13
It took Lucian a long time to finally come to terms with the truth.
His face burned like he’d just been slapped–hard. And the sting of it was humiliation.
Right then, Mrs. Lewis finished packing her belongings. She stood straight, gave him a respectful bow, and said calmly,
“Mr. Sullivan, I’ve said everything I needed to say. Miss Clarke is not a good woman, and you–well, you’ve wronged a very
good wife. And the worst part is, you never even believed her. You’ll regret this one day.”
“Whatever you choose to do with Miss Clarke from now on, it has nothing to do with me. I only ask, for the sake of all the
years I’ve served your family, that you forgive me for speaking out of turn today. I’ve already informed your mother about
my resignation. Starting today, I won’t be working here anymore. I hope you find a new housekeeper soon.”
With that, she picked up her bags and left for good–without looking back.
She was older now. The only reason she’d stayed this long was because of the history she shared with them–and
because Celeste had always treated her kindly.
But there was no point in staying any longer.
The house fell into silence. The only sound was the faint hum of the surveillance footage still playing in the background-
a cruel echo, mocking him.
Lucian stood frozen, hollowed out, like something vital had been ripped away.
And if Vanessa had lied this time… then had she been lying all along?
Once that seed of doubt took root, it didn’t take long to grow–branching and twisting into something dark and massive.
The air around Lucian turned cold and sharp. He pulled out his phone and dialed Connor.
“Look into Celeste’s whereabouts that day–the one a month ago. After I told you to have someone trash her workspace. I
want every detail of where she went that entire day.”
Connor didn’t ask questions. Just promised to get on it immediately.
While he waited–minutes that dragged on like a lifetime–Lucian’s stomach churned with dread.
If Vanessa had been lying this whole time… what the hell had he done to Celeste?
The thought alone made his chest ache.
The bitterness crawled up his throat, wave after wave.
And then–right on cue–Vanessa sent him a few sad, cutesy emojis.
“Mr. Sullivan, what’s going on with you lately? You haven’t come to see me at all. Did you… did you give up on chasing
me?”
“Because I was just about to… say yes.”
“I know you’re still hung up on Ms. Adams. But you two are divorced now. She’s not coming back, right? Can’t you… try letting her go? And maybe, just maybe… love only me?”
Chapter 13
If it had been before, those messages would’ve worked. Maybe he would’ve gone straight to her, held her, promised her everything she wanted.
But now that he knew she might have been playing him this entire time… every word read fake as hell.
Her affection, her grief–it all felt rehearsed. Manipulated.
Looking back, this entire time she’d kept him on a string. Distant enough to tempt, close enough to lure. Her goal was clear.
She wanted to marry him. That was it. Just for the title, the fortune, and the exclusive devotion of the city’s most powerful
man.
Lucian’s expression darkened as he stared at the phone, fingers hovering above the keyboard for what felt like ages. But he didn’t type a single word.
Then Connor called.
“Mr. Sullivan, I found everything. Surveillance footage, timestamped images–it’s all in your inbox. That day, after your argument, Mrs. Sullivan didn’t go anywhere else. She just went home. She never showed up at the campus, and she definitely didn’t threaten Miss Clarke.”
“In fact, according to Miss Clarke’s roommate, Mrs. Sullivan never sent any threatening messages that day–nothing about deleting your contact information. And just minutes before she came to you crying, Miss Clarke was laughing with her friends, talking about what gifts to get them.”
Lucian didn’t need a neon sign to spell it out anymore. Only an idiot wouldn’t see the truth now. Vanessa was a complete fraud.
