Chapter 42
Charlotte hit the floor hard.
Issac hadn’t even processed Charlotte’s demand for divorce when Evelyn’s words hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.
“She’s damaged goods now, Issac!” Evelyn continued with venom dripping from every syllable. “Last night she fucked eight different men, including one with HIV. She’s filthy, she’s ruined–she’s complete trash! You can’t possibly still want her, can you?”
Evelyn’s hateful tirade continued unfiltered.
Blinded by jealousy and desperation, she didn’t even consider that her words were confessing to criminal acts–felonies that carried serious prison time.
Her only focus was making Issac reject Charlotte completely.
The entire ballroom fell into stunned silence.
Eight men in one night? Someone with HIV? Could this be real?
But the obvious question immediately struck everyone: How did Evelyn know these specific details?
Amanda suddenly seemed to realize something. She swayed slightly, her face draining to chalk–white in an instant.
By now, Charlotte had picked herself up from the floor.
She looked at Evelyn with the cold disdain one reserves for something foul on the sidewalk. “I hadn’t even started on you yet, but you’ve already incriminated yourself. Stupid and evil–what a devastating combination.”
She turned to Amanda. “This is your idea of high society breeding? Your perfect daughter–in–law? Someone who’ll drag you into federal prison as her partner in crime?”
Amanda’s throat worked, but no words emerged.
Issac’s eyes turned deadly cold–the calm before a violent storm.
The Grantham family began shifting uncomfortably.
The guests were putting the pieces together: Had Evelyn and Amanda conspired to set Charlotte up?
That would explain her dramatic entrance, the blood dripping from her wrist–clear evidence of being forcibly restrained.
Even the most sexually liberal woman wouldn’t seek out eight men in one night, especially someone carrying a deadly disease. No matter how self–destructive, who would deliberately harm themselves that way?
If Evelyn and Amanda were truly behind this, they were beyond cruel.
11:24
The Moment I Let Go My Uncle: Escaping the Forbidden Past.
36.6%
“Why are you all staring at me? Don’t listen to her bullshit!” Evelyn shrieked, still oblivious to the gravity of her confession. “She’s the slut who couldn’t keep her legs closed! She’s carrying AIDS–stay back before she infects all of you!”
The next moment, Issac’s hand was around her throat.
He dragged her face inches from his, murder blazing in his eyes. “What did you do to her? WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER?!”
His roar echoed through the ballroom, raw with fury and anguish.
Evelyn gasped for air, his grip cutting off her oxygen.
Only now did real fear grip her heart. She clawed frantically at his arm. He looked like… like he might actually kill her!
Her brothers snapped into action, prying Issac’s fingers from her throat and pulling her behind them.
“For God’s sake, Issac, control yourself,” Jayden warned. “My sister was probably just talking nonsense.”
The third Grantham sister, Daniela, stepped forward to defend Evelyn. “Even if something happened, you can’t just accuse Evelyn without evidence! What if Charlotte couldn’t handle being alone, went looking for company, and someone saw her? Maybe Evelyn heard about it. Maybe Charlotte knew she’d be exposed eventually, so she’s playing victim and framing Evelyn!”
Charlotte’s lips curved slightly, but she didn’t immediately respond. She didn’t bother arguing with Daniela.
She knew some people would stick to their scripts no matter what.
Sure enough, hearing her sister’s defense, Evelyn immediately transformed–becoming a wounded innocent.
Tears perfectly timed, she looked utterly heartbroken. “Issac, how could I possibly do something so terrible? My friend just happened to see Charlotte at a hotel, going into a room. By coincidence, before Charlotte arrived, my friend saw several men entering that same room. One of them is notorious for sleeping around and carrying diseases.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” she sniffled, “but she pushed me too far.”
“In love, there’s no such thing as who came first. So what if you’re married? You two have nothing left. What we have is real love–she’s the actual homewrecker! She should just disappear!”
This twisted logic made several guests physically recoil.
Especially the society wives, for whom destroying mistresses was practically a blood sport. Far from sympathizing with Evelyn, they were mentally calculating how they’d destroy someone who tried this with their husbands.
How could anyone be this shameless?
Not wanting to risk the Granthams‘ wrath, they reluctantly held their tongues.
11:24
The Moment I Let Go My Uncle: Escaping the Forbidden Past.
36.8%
Chapter 42
Issac’s face remained carved from stone, not softening one bit. “Are you prepared to stand by everything you just
said?”
He was clearly referring to her denial of setting Charlotte up.
“I swear on my life!” Evelyn declared with absolute conviction. “If I’m lying, may my guts spill out and may I die a horrible death!”
She glanced triumphantly at Charlotte, thinking: You have no proof. If you had evidence, you wouldn’t be standing there silently.
Those men can’t even be reached. After being drugged and assaulted all night, how could you possibly have captured any evidence?
Oh, Charlotte, Charlotte. So what if you can cause a scene? So what if Issac is angry now? Once he calms down, do you think he’ll still want you?
I’m still the winner!
The fact that she would swear such a terrible oath made some guests begin to doubt.
Mrs. Grantham, emboldened, launched into a vicious tirade against Charlotte, hurling every insult imaginable.
Amanda, however, remained conspicuously silent throughout.
Throughout all this, Charlotte stayed perfectly composed. When they finally finished, she walked with elegant steps to the center of the ballroom, fixed her eyes on Evelyn, and repeated slowly, “May your guts spill out and may you die a horrible death.”
She shook her head slightly. “You really don’t fear karma, do you?”
She took out her phone, tapped a few times, and suddenly Evelyn’s voice filled the ballroom.
“Issac doesn’t want to talk to your pathetic ass… By the way, how do you like the studs we arranged for you? Just between us girls, they’re not only into the really fucked–up shit, but one of them has a nice little HIV surprise for you.”
“We’ll give you a shot of something special soon to make you beg for more.”
“By tomorrow, videos of you taking on eight men will be all over the internet. Your mommy, your daddy, all your precious friends–everyone will see what a dirty whore you really are.”
“Oh, and to celebrate, Issac and I are announcing our engagement tomorrow night. You won’t get a penny of his money, and you’ll be nothing but garbage everyone spits on. Even if you go to the police, it won’t help. In this city, our two families can squash you like the insect you are.”
“How does it feel? I stole your man, I stole your job, and now I’m destroying your life. But what can you do? I’ll still live happily ever after with Issac, fucking his brains out every night until we’re old and gray.”
“As for you? There’s nothing you can do but slowly die like the worthless trash you are. Hahaha…”
11:24
The Moment I Let Go My Uncle: Escaping the Forbidden Past.
37.1%
Chapter 42
The malicious, deranged laughter echoed throughout the hall.
The Granthams tried sending someone to grab Charlotte’s phone halfway through the recording, but a young male guest stepped in to block them.
Enough was enough!
When the recording finished, the ballroom fell into stunned silence once again.
Most of the guests were profoundly shocked by Evelyn’s viciousness and shamelessness, their disgust extending to Issac and Amanda as well.
Evelyn’s face had turned ghostly white. Seeing the look in Issac’s eyes–like he wanted to flay her alive–she cowered behind her brothers.
She hadn’t expected Charlotte to record the call.
Now she couldn’t deny anything.
What should she do… Issac would never want her now…
Suddenly, she pointed at Amanda and cried out: “It was all Amanda’s idea! She forced me to do it!”
the Forbidden Past
