Chapter 390 Making Clara Lose Her Cool
"Elizabeth!" Clara's voice rang out from the other end, dripping with smug satisfaction.
Elizabeth remained silent.
She hadn't paid close attention to Clara's phone number earlier, but she was certain it wasn't Clara's usual one. Hearing Clara's voice, Elizabeth immediately brought the phone closer to examine the number. It was new, and strangely shorter than domestic numbers by two or three digits.
What was going on?
"Where are you right now?" Elizabeth asked, her sharp mind already piecing things together.
"I think you've already figured it out—I'm abroad!" Clara announced triumphantly.
Elizabeth's silence stretched between them.
"Elizabeth, I know your husband Alexander has incredible power. In this country, if he wants someone dead by midnight, they won't see dawn. But I'm overseas now—I'm beyond his reach. What can you possibly do to me?" Clara's voice bubbled with malicious glee, each word a deliberate provocation.
Elizabeth truly hadn't seen this coming.
Her mind went blank, leaving her speechless and stunned into silence.
Sensing Elizabeth's shock, Clara's tone grew even more arrogant, "Elizabeth, you told me yesterday that your cousin Remy is dead. I believe you. I can feel how much you despise me—and my father. That hatred practically radiates off you. Now that you know we've made it out of the country safely, does it make your blood boil even more?"
She continued, "Tell me, are you about to explode from rage? Maybe keep a handkerchief close—you might need it to wipe the blood off your lips."
Elizabeth remained silent.
To claim she felt no hatred, no fury, would be impossible.
Even without Clara's deliberate taunts, Elizabeth could already taste the metallic sweetness rising in her throat.
She had returned with plans to first arrange her father's burial, then confront the Guise family and make them pay for their crimes. She would never forgive them. But now Clara was telling her they had all fled the country?
Elizabeth forced herself to swallow the bitter taste in her throat, her voice eerily calm and cold, "When did you leave?"
Clara's laughter was absolutely maniacal, "Let me tell you something, Elizabeth—I've discovered that matching wits with you has made me quite cunning myself. The very night you and Alexander hosted that family dinner at the Windsor Manor, we had already decided to run."
She added, "Because I know your husband well enough. I knew he would never let me go. So while you three were out having your family fun the next day, we seized our chance and escaped. Pretty successful, wouldn't you say?"
Elizabeth sneered, "You're really something."
She suddenly remembered that Sunday—three days ago—while she was shopping with Julia and Harper, taking Alice around the mall, she had received a strange call. She had said "hello" several times, but no one had responded. At the time, she'd assumed it was a wrong number.
Now Elizabeth suddenly understood, "That day, when you were planning your escape, you called me?"
"Exactly! I did call you. How about that!" Clara admitted without shame.
"You stayed silent because you wanted to hear where our family was. If there was noise in the background, you'd know we were out, giving you the perfect opportunity to slip away?" Elizabeth reasoned.
"You really are clever! But what good does being smart do you now? It's too late!"
Elizabeth fell silent again.
"Elizabeth," Clara suddenly called her name with false sweetness.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied with measured calm.
"Fortune's wheel keeps turning, you know. Think about it—those eight years you spent in my house, your life was miserable, always at the mercy of others' charity. Then you landed in prison. But after you got out, you met Alexander, and now he dotes on you like you're the center of his world. Seems like your luck finally changed, didn't it?
"As for me? At your company, at your estate, I was humiliated over and over, and Alexander nearly killed me.
"But I made it out. I survived when no one thought I would. So tell me—doesn't that mean fortune's finally smiling on me?"
Elizabeth's laugh was cold as ice. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that maybe your husband will become my husband someday."
"I think I know where you are now," Elizabeth said matter-of-factly.
"What? Did your husband tell you where I am?" Clara demanded.
"No." Elizabeth's voice grew steadier, "My husband has been too busy these past few days to fill me in, but I've figured it out myself. You're on Star Island, aren't you? You and your parents fled to Star Island."
"You little bitch! Still sharp as ever! You actually guessed it!" Clara snarled.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Clara went quiet.
"There's a saying: revenge is a dish best served cold. I suppose it won't be too hard for you to escape to Star Island from here. But getting off Star Island? Now that's a different story, isn't it? That makes things much easier for me. Someday, I'll just come to Star Island and catch you like a rat in a trap." Elizabeth remarked lightly, her tone full of playful mockery.
"That depends on whether you have what it takes!"
"I don't, but my husband certainly does," Elizabeth replied, her tone growing lighter.
Though hatred burned in her heart—fury at Clara's family for their silent escape—Elizabeth understood the importance of staying calm.
With disdain and airy confidence, she spoke into the phone, "Clara, I'll grant you that fortune can change hands, but have you considered this? During my six years in exile, you saw Alexander constantly. You had six whole years and a powerful grandfather backing you, yet you still couldn't marry Alexander.
"Do you really think that even if you somehow defeated me, Alexander would marry you?
"And even if—in some impossible scenario—my husband did marry you, he'd never touch you. You'd spend your entire life as a widow in all but name. Wouldn't that be a living death?"
"Why won't you just die!" Clara exploded, her voice trembling with rage.
Elizabeth's laughter was rich with satisfaction, "My husband treats me so wonderfully at night—my life is absolutely delicious. Why on earth would I want to die? Goodbye!"
With that, Elizabeth immediately hung up.
But her mood was far from good.
She wanted revenge.
She needed to capture Oliver and demand answers face-to-face—how could he be so ruthlessly cruel? What had happened to her mother?
But now Oliver and his entire family had escaped.
They had actually escaped!
Tears streaming down her face, Elizabeth walked out of Alexander's room and collided directly with him.
"What's wrong?" His voice carried the low, husky rasp of early morning, radiating pure masculine appeal.
Elizabeth looked up at her husband through tear-blurred eyes.
"Bad dream?" he asked gently.
Elizabeth shook her head.
"Thinking about your mother again?" he pressed.
She shook her head once more, unsure how to explain everything to Alexander. But he simply pulled her into his embrace, his voice warm and reassuring, "I have a surprise for you. Would you like to know what it is?"
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