Chapter 187
Audrey seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, Just as Valerie’s hand was about to touch her, she darepped and dodged outofika wa
“Aight”. Valerie’s eyes went wide with shock ash holy kept moving forward with the momentum. She couldn’t stop herself hom lungh crucial moment, her hand went off course and caught the edge of Audiny’s clothing instead..
The hug made Audrey stumble, and she missed her footing on the steps. “Watch nutt A gentleman quickly grabbed Audrey’s arms to steady her
Audrey caught her breath and quickly thanked him. “Thank you so much?
Valerie wasn’t as lucky as Audrey. She tumbled down several steps before crashing into another man’s back, which finally stopped her fall. She couldn’t gether balance back and ended up sitting hard on the steps
“Audrey, why did you push me? I’m carrying Clayton’s baby. You two are already divorced. Why are you trying to hurt our child?” Valeria clutched her stomach, tears streaming down her face.
Everyone leaving the auction hall turned to stare at the scene unfolding
Audrey didn’t take the bait. Instead, she pulled out her phone and called the police. “Someone just tried to kill me.”
Valerie looked completely stunned.
The police arrived within five minutes. The helpful gentleman testified on Audrey’s behalf, and the officers pulled up the security footage from the auction hall. The video clearly showed that Valerie had provoked Audrey first, then deliberately tried to push her from behind.
Valerie claimed she had stomach pain and insisted she needed medical attention first. Since the police knew she was pregnant, they had no choice but to take her to the hospital and call her family to handle the paperwork.
Clayton’s health was too poor for him to drive to Haldenwick alone, and Carson was tied up with surgery while all his former friends were avoiding him completely. After calling around everywhere, he finally reached out to his former assistant Carter.
Carter drove him to Haldenwick Hospital but didn’t go into the room with him.
The moment Valerie saw Clayton, she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears. “What took you so long? That bitch Audrey totally screwed me
over
Valerie didn’t say a single word asking how Clayton was doing. She just cried about how wronged she felt.
Clayton took a deep breath and pulled her away from him. “Tell me the truth. What exactly happened?”
Valerie sobbed as she gave him a half true version of events, then finally clutched her stomach and said, “Thank goodness the baby’s okay, or I’d never forgive Audrey”
Clayton nearly passed out from anger. Here he was drowning in lawsuits while Valerie wouldn’t lift a finger to help, and she had the nerve to go buy emeralds and participate in some ridiculous auction.
“What the hell is wrong with her? Clayton thought.
When Valene saw his face darkening, she grabbed his hand and shook it. “I was just trying to make some extra money. You gave my mom that 300 thousand dollars as a wedding gift, sot needed an excuse to get it back
“If the emerald brooch had sold, the extra money could’ve gone toward your legal fees.
“You know that after my hand got injured, I couldn’t paint anymore. I don’t have any other way to make money. All the other pieces sold for good prices, but nobody wanted my brooch. There’s definitely something fishy going on here. Audrey must have sabotaged me somehow.”
“Audrey doesn’t have that kind of power, Clayton said, barely having the energy to argue back.
1/3
Mon:9.
Chapter 187
“Don’t underestimate her. If she hadn‘ i said those things to provoker m2, 1 never would ha
en show up to an auction? She definitely had something to do with this.
Clayton didn’t want to keep arguing with her his head was pounding. He told Vaterie to jest and went outside to meet with the waiting paso
What the police told him painted a completely different picture. The more Clayton listened, the more alarmed he became. He pressed his hand agridet his stomach as cold turat broke out across his back.
“The victim wants to press charges against your wile for assault. We have both physical evidence and witnesses. Being pregnant and emotionally unstable isn’t an excuse for hurting someone,” the officer said seriously.
He continued, “This seems to involve some personal issues between them. You could try talking to Ms, Winifred and see if she’d be willing to drop the charges. This could go either way–big or small”
Clayton was a lawyer himself. Nobody understood better than he did what kind of punishment Valerie would face if Audrey decided to pursue this to the full extent of the law.
The officer noticed how pale he looked and gestured for him to sit down. “Are you feeling alright? Should we get a doctor to check you out?”
Clayton’s nose suddenly started stinging with tears. Even a complete stranger could see he wasn’t feeling well, showing concern for him and suggesting he see a doctor.
Meanwhile, Valerie, his own wife, hadn’t said a single word of concern about him.
When the officer saw Clayton’s eyes getting red, he couldn’t help but sigh and offer a few comforting words before briefing his replacement and heading
out
“Mr. Patel” Carter handed him a bottle of water. “I didn’t bring any cups, but you should drink something.”
Clayton took the bottle and unconsciously gripped it so hard the plastic nearly caved in.
Carter gently took it back from him and twisted off the cap.
Clayton was doubled over with stomach pain. He tilted his head back and chugged half the bottle, then slumped against the wall, completely drained.
“Mr. Patel,” Carter said quietly. “This isn’t really my place to say, but Ms. Patterson was wrong to do this to you.”
At the law firm, everyone except Jade thought Clayton was getting raw deal and didn’t approve of his relationship with Valerie. Even though they were legally married, people still called her “Ms. Patterson”
Clayton let out a bitter laugh. “I know.”
Inside the hospital room, Valerie was crying on the phone to Cheryl, cursing out Audrey with language too vile to repeat.
Clayton had Carter help him back to the car, then called Lillian. It took forever for her to pick up.
Lillian used the excuse of going for a walk to take Clayton’s call. “What do you want? Make it quick.”
“Mom, can you lend me some money?” Compensating Audrey to get her forgiveness was the only solution Clayton could think of. If this really went to court, Samson Legal would definitely get involved
“No.” Lillian refused flat out. “I told you before, from now on, you handle your own problems. The medical bills I paid for Valerie? I borrowed that mone from Alexa, and you need to pay me back soon.”
Mom-
“at there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up,” Lillian cut him off.
Chapter 187
“Mom, I can’t let Vally go to prison. The kid needs a mother,” Clayton commed his face y
one hand, hiding the bitter tears streaming down his cheek
Lillian didn’t hang up, but she went quiet. She could hear Clayton’s uncontrollable sobbing. Her motherly heart softened, and che sighed, “What did the
do this time?”
“Audrey almost got pushed down the stairs by her. Now, Audrey wants to sue her for assault
“That little bit—” Lillian caught herself before finishing the curse. Instead, she turned her anger on Clayton with a harsh scolding
“People always say you should only bite off what you can chew,” Lillian snorted. “You can’t even handle one woman, but you went and got yourself am Now they’re tearing each other apart, and our whole Patel family is paying the price.
“if you hadn’t messed with Valerie in the first place, Audrey never would have reported your father. Your brother got transferred to that dead–end job because of you too.
“And then you encouraged Valerie to keep provoking her–are you trying to kill me? Like I don’t have enough shit to deal with right now
Clayton’s muffled sobs gradually stopped. He lifted his head, tears still streaming down his face, and choked out, “I know I screwed up. Tregret. everything, but Vally is carrying my baby!”
“She’s your wife and it’s your kid. Either you deal with this mess or let her go to prison. Just stop making my life hell.” Lillian hung up the phone,
The dial tone buzzed in Clayton’s ear like someone had just ripped out his oxygen tube. His chest felt tight and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t catch his breath.
Carter sat on the car hood texting, completely unaware that Clayton was rolling his eyes back inside the vehicle.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
