Chapter 52 Once She's Dealt With, Another Thirty Million for You

These days, Vincent was beside himself with anxiety, and Camila had noticed his oddly distracted behavior. Despite her repeated questioning, Vincent remained tight-lipped, even losing his temper at her on one occasion.

After work one day, Camila's patience finally wore thin. She demanded the truth.

On the brink of collapse, Vincent lost all composure as his mother pressed him further, finally erupting, "I'm ruined!"

Startled by his outburst, Camila panicked, "What happened?"

"I got entangled with Daniel again."

Camila was in utter dismay, "How careless can you be? Didn't I tell you to cut ties with him? Didn't we already pay him off last time? Why are you still in contact?"

While studying abroad, Vincent's private life had beens a mess, which she knew all too well. She had covered for him repeatedly, cleaning up his messes without Jonah's knowledge.

If Jonah, with his temper, ever found out, he would probably disown Vincent or worse.

She had hoped that Vincent's infatuation with Aaron meant he would finally get his act together. Yet, to her dismay, he had slipped back into the company of disreputable characters.
Seething with anger, she rose from the sofa.

“Mom…” Vincent clutched at the hem of her dress, now desperate and breaking down. He had no choice but to turn to his mother and confide in her about what happened that fateful night.

Camila’s face turned pale, the world around her seemed to spin as she felt a wave of dizziness and sank back onto the sofa.

As she came to her senses, she grasped Vincent's hand urgently. "Did they find the person?"

Vincent's voice choked with tears as he shook his head. "No, Daniel chased after her but only saw it was a woman. He couldn’t catch up."

Camila trembled with fury, and in a moment of rage, she slapped Vincent across the face, "I told you to behave yourself, to be more prudent! If the Quinns get wind of this, it'll be more than just a broken engagement!"

Vincent, hand covering his slapped cheek, started crying hysterically, “Oh, now you care about what I do? Where were you all this time?”

After striking Vincent, Camila’s anger subsided and she regained her composure. "Did you check the surveillance?"

"I didn’t dare to. It’s the Quinn's property. If I go poking around, someone might recognize me." It wasn’t that Vincent hadn’t thought about it; he was just too afraid to take the risk.

He’d been in agony these past few days, dreading the moment the Quinn family would find out. He even had dinner at the Quinn’s the previous evening and everything seemed normal, like they hadn’t caught on yet.

Perhaps the woman who saw him was just a random bystander, not as malicious as he'd feared.

But Camila, wiser and more experienced, stepped in. "I'll find somebody to retrieve the footage. Wait here."

Camila contacted the wife of the Vice Chairman of the Titan Infrastructure Group. They were acquainted within social circles for elite ladies, where the woman had often lavished praise on her, bragging about how Camila’s daughter would marry into the Quinn family.

Now, reaching out for help, Camila claimed she had lost a precious pearl necklace and did not want to cause an uproar, asking merely for the hallway footage. The woman readily agreed and, with a single phone call, sent over the surveillance video.

Camila and Vincent watched the footage together. However, according to the time Vincent had mentioned, the only people who appeared in the corridor were the cleaning lady and Vincent himself, masked and wearing sunglasses, along with Daniel.

“How can that be?” Vincent stood up from the sofa, pointing at the computer screen, “Daniel clearly saw a woman. How can there be nobody?”

Something didn’t add up, and Camila felt uneasy. “Maybe he panicked and thought he saw something that wasn't there?”

At the suggestion of a hallucination, Vincent's face drained of color.

Camila caught the shift in her expression. "What else are you hiding from me?"
Vincent couldn't keep it inside any longer. "He was high that day, forced me to dabble too."

Camila, burning with rage, instinctively raised her hand to strike, but Vincent protested loudly, "What's the use of hitting me now? Even if he hallucinated and saw something wrong, explain this!"

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a rose-shaped diamond brooch.

"I found it on the floor of my room. It wasn't there when I first arrived; it must have fallen off that person."

Camila took the brooch, observing closely. "This looks like a woman's piece, seems pretty expensive. Housekeeping staff couldn't afford this."

Vincent was beside herself with panic. "Mom, I can't take it anymore. That person's like a ticking time bomb. What if she saw something? What if she has evidence? Is she going to destroy me?"

Camila's heart was also pounding, but she managed to stay composed. "Don't panic. Losing our cool now would spell disaster. If they had any real evidence, they wouldn't have waited till now to show it. Chances are, they've got nothing solid against us."

Yet Vincent was still terrified. She was losing sleep, every phone ring spiked her fear that it might be someone from the Quinn family. She avoided the internet, scared of trending with her name on it.

The next day at work, she was distracted. Her secretary had asked for a half-day off, so she headed to the break room with her cup, overhearing people talking.

These days, her paranoia had her ears pricking up at every murmur.

So she paused outside the door.

Eleanor's laughter rang out, "Your dress is beautiful. It would look great with a brooch."

Her colleague, Gal, agreed eagerly, "I thought so too! Hey, what happened to the brooch you wore a few days ago? It was stunning."

Eleanor's hand brushed her chest subconsciously, her eyes catching a glimpse of a skirt swaying outside the break room then returned, "I must have lost it."

"I loved that rose design. I've been meaning to ask where you got it."

"It was a gift from a relative who passed away. I don't know where he bought it."

Outside, Vincent turned, her back against the wall, fingers whitening around her cup, her face tense, teeth clenched.

The rose brooch...

She hurried back to her office, pulled out the brooch, and clutched it tightly in her hand before returning to the break room.

Eleanor was gone, but Gal was there scrubbing a kiwifruit.

Vincent adorned her chest with the brooch and walked in, smiling and greeting her colleague: "Washing some fruit?"

"Director Thompson." Gal offered her a piece of fruit, which Vincent accepted with a "Thanks."

Gal's gaze lingered on her chest, "Oh, Ms.Thompson, your brooch…"
Vincent's heart raced as he feigned confusion, "What's going on? It's a new purchase, do you like it?"
"It's gorgeous," came the reply, with a look of awe, "Eleanor has one just like it. It's stunning, Ms.Thompson. Could you tell me where you got it from? I promise I won't wear it at work. Uh, Ms. Thompson?"
Vincent's expression darkened. He left the break room and returned to his office to grab his cellphone.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes, bloodshot from days of restlessness, were filled with venomous resolve.
She couldn't bear the constant fear anymore – not now, not ever.
The phone connected and she said with chilling venom, "I've found her. Take care of her for me, and I'll transfer another thirty million to you."
Fleeing the Embrace of My Obsessed Husband
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