Chapter 3

Liam didn't look up. He just clenched his fingers until his knuckles were white. He insisted, "I still don't believe it."

"She's Evelyn Vance, a flashy, arrogant, money-grubbing woman."

He wasn't arguing with me, it seemed more like he was desperately trying to deceive himself.

I figured anyone would need time to process this. But Evelyn didn't have that kind of time!

Just then, a ringing phone shattered the silence. It was my boyfriend, Julian Moore.

I answered immediately. His agitated, urgent voice came through the line. "Athena, I found him!"

"I just got off the plane. Time is tight, so I'll wait for you at the airport. If he's willing, once you see this guy, we can fly straight to New Zealand!"

I responded a couple of times. I didn't give Liam any more time to absorb anything. I practically half-dragged, half-pulled him into the car.

The ride was silent. Julian was waiting at the airport entrance. As soon as we arrived, he led us to a quiet VIP room.

Two burly bodyguards stood on either side. Between them, a man was being watched. He looked terrified and haggard, his frame so thin and gaunt he was almost hunched over.

Liam's pupils contracted sharply. His breath caught. He would never forget that face. It was clearly Evelyn's husband!

Julian stepped forward and shoved a folder of documents into Liam's hands. "This man is no wealthy businessman."

"He's just a broke gambler with massive debts, completely at his wit's end. Evelyn found him back then simply because he looked a little like that rarely-seen Chinese-American tycoon."

"He's an illegal immigrant. He did time before for impersonation. Evelyn probably noticed him because of that. As for those intimate photos you received..."

Julian paused, seeming to suppress his anger. He kicked the trembling man hard and barked, "You tell him!"

The man was so scared he shuddered and dropped to his knees, shouting, "I'll talk! Don't hit me, I'll tell you everything!"

"Miss Vance paid me herself, hired me to put on an act. Once we were done, we were square. I was desperate for cash, so I agreed. I'm not her husband, I'm just a con man who needed money. Please, don't come after me!"

"Since you've brought me back to the US, just let me go. Overseas is no place for a human being, I..."

Julian kicked him again, cutting him off. "Stop trying to change the subject! Talk about Chloe Hayes!"

At the mention of the name "Chloe Hayes," Liam's reaction changed drastically. The man immediately started spilling everything obediently. "Yes, yes, it was all Chloe Hayes!"

"Those disgusting photos? It was Miss Hayes who found me and paid some woman from the red-light district to pose for them.”

“They used some tech to make it look like Miss Vance's face. She told me to send you a couple whenever I got the chance."

"She said... the harsher the words to make you angry, the better. All those words I used to call her... I was forced!"

After the man finished, he looked up, trembling. Seeing Liam's face turn ashen and his eyes grow even more terrifying, the man thought he still wasn't going to be let off and was completely frightened.

He started bowing down, hitting his head on the floor, and wailing, "Please! Chloe Hayes is ruthless. She wants to kill me to keep me quiet!”

“If nothing had happened to Miss Vance these past years, and I hadn't been so good at hiding, I'd be a corpse in a storm drain somewhere overseas by now!"

"Save me, I really don't want to die!"

His noise was grating on my nerves. I raised my hand, signaling for a bodyguard to gag him and hand him over to the police.

Then, I turned to the silent Liam, urging him, "Do you believe it now? Can you come with me?"

Julian also glanced at his watch and added, "I booked flights to New Zealand in advance. We take off in five hours."

"Let's go, someone will meet us at the door to take us to Terminal 2."

But Liam, without a second thought, refused. "No!"

"Right here!"