NovelEnglishChapter 258 He pushed his wheelchair forward with frantic urgency, desperate to catch up to Claire. The wheels traced sharp arcs across the floor, screeching with every turn.
"Claire, stop! Don't walk away-tellwhat you meant-" His voice cracked as he shouted after her, but Claire either couldn't hear him or simply didn't care.
Within moments, Claire and Jeffry climbed into the car. Jeffry started the engine, and the car sped off from the hospital parking lot.
Vincent watched the car disappear down the road, his body slumping helplessly in the chair, eyes hollow and lost.
He kept whispering, "No, it can't be," but deep down, he already knew the cruel truth.
He'd cto the hospital for a follow-up on his leg injury, but now, all he could think about were Claire's words. Any concern for his own condition was gone without a trace.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtRight now, there was only one thing on his mind: he had to see Vanessa-he needed to get to the bottom of this.
Vanessa, the heiress of the Linwood family from Cresthaven, had recently stunned high society at a gala in Aberdeen. She'd been caught red-handed stealing an embroidered masterpiece worth two million dollars, and was taken away by police in front of the entire gathering.
Everyone at the gala saw it happen, and by that night, the scandal was splashed across every major news outlet. Vincent had seen the headlines too. That's how he knew Vanessa was being held at the detention center.
Inside, the lighting was dim and oppressive, thick with tension.
Vincent and Vanessa sat face to face, separated by a cold steel barrier. He could hardly reconcile the woman before him with the proud, swan-like Vanessa he used to know.
Her hair had been shaved off, and the exposed scalp was marked by angry scabs and scars that would never heal, stark against the patchy stubble growing back. The effect was almost comical-like a botched attempt at a buzz cut gone horribly wrong.
The effortless pride and aloofness that once radiated from her was gone. Now, she looked like a peacock stripped of its feathers-pathetic and defeated.
But when Vanessa saw Vincent, her eyes lit up. Hope flickered surely, this renowned lawyer would help her out of this nightmare.
Yet as she took in the sight of Vincent-rumpled, exhausted, slouched in his wheelchair-her hope died as quickly as it had come. Still, after all these days, he was the first person to visit her. Even realizing how hard things must be for him, she forced herself to look pitiful, her voice trembling as she pleaded, "Vincent, please help me." Once, when Vanessa was as radiant and pristine as a daffodil, her vulnerability melted hearts.
But now, with her awkward buzz cut, sallow skin, and haggard face, she was a shell of her former self. Her pitiful act rang hollow.
Vincent felt nothing-not a flicker of sympathy.
He gripped the bars tightly, staring her down. "Vanessa, tellthe truth. Who really paid for my education all those years ago?" Vanessa faltered, not expecting that question. Her eyes darted away, but she quickly regained composure and lied smoothly, "Of course it was me." "Stop pretending!" Vincent roared. "Claire toldshe was the one who helped me. Did you lie to me? Why would you do that?" His gaze was so fierce, it seemed to burn right through her.
So, he'd finally figured it out.
Vanessa's heart skipped a beat as she took in the raw anger on Vincent's face, realizing she couldn't keep up the act any longer.
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Suddenly, she let out a sharp, almost hysterical laugh, her eyes wild with a twisted satisfaction. "Five убите "Five years, and you're only just now putting it together? God, you're slow."
"That's right! Claire was the one who paid for you back then. Think about it-she gave you every ent shehad, went hungry, wore rags, while you used her money to buy designer labels and play the big shot at school. Hilarious, isn't it?" The memory of Claire's suffering sent Vanessa into another fit of laughter.
"You know what? Every tI watched you buygifts with Claire's money, trying so hard to impress me, I could hardly contain my delight."
"That stupid girl-she thought she could ever measure up to me? She was abandoned by her own family, e her brother even her childhood friend. She deserved it! Why should she have been born a rich girl, when I..." Her voice broke, eyes flashing with bitter resentment.
...when I was just the daughter of a chauffeur and a nurse.
Stealing Claire's life, watching her struggle to survive while I rose in her place- that was the only thrill Vanessa had left.
Listening to Vanessa's crazed, venomous confession, Vincent felt as if a knife had plunged into his chest. The pain twisted his face; he gritted his teeth and roared, "VANESSA!"
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