Clayton picked up the phone and said in a cool tone, “Speak.”
Taken aback by his tone, Valerie froze for a moment and forgot to
respond.
Clayton glanced at the caller ID, which read “Vally“, and softened his tone. “What’s going on? Why are you still up at this hour?”
“Clay…” Valerie suddenly burst into tears. “My hand… It’s completely ruined. Clay, what should I do?”
Clayton rubbed his temples, stood up, and asked, “Where are you? I’m coming now.”
He stepped out of his office, ready to rush to Valerie’s place. Seeing his colleagues still working hard, trying to clear up the mess the netizens had dumped on the firm, he hesitated.
He knew he shouldn’t leave to deal with personal matters at this critical moment, but Valerie was crying on the phone and sounded heartbreaking.
Her emotions were unstable, and that could seriously affect Luna’s situation. Plus, she said someone was intentionally getting revenge on her. She had no one else to rely on, and he couldn’t just leave her alone.
“Mr. Patel, here’s the autopsy report and the files for Alan Watson’s case. As of now…” Emilia walked toward Clayton and said.
Clayton cut her off, looking at the others. “Guys, thanks for your hard work. There’s an emergency with Vally. I’ll check her out now.”
After speaking, he stepped into the elevator. The moment he left, Jade slammed the files down on her desk, muttering, “Mr. Patel isn’t rushing, so why the hell should I?”
Emilia furrowed her brows, and only she sat back down to continue
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reading. After all, she thought the firm’s reputation could affect their performance.
+20)
Clayton drove to Valerie’s place. When he arrived, Valerie cried out and rushed into his arms. “Clay, you send Luna and me out of here. I shouldn’t have come back with you. We don’t deserve a complete family.”
“Don’t say that, okay? You deserve the best,” Clayton said while pulling her hand up to check.
Valerie’s left pinky and ring fingers were brutally broken. The doctor had already straightened them, but her fingers were still swollen.
“Who did this to you?” Clayton’s voice turned ice cold.
Valerie shook her head through her tears. No matter how many times he asked, she still refused to answer.
She leaned into Clayton’s arms, and for a moment, he instinctively pushed her away. But seeing her hand, he didn’t resist.
“Stop crying, alright? You will scare Luna,” Clayton said in a soft tone, patting her back. “Tell me what happened.”
Valerie had initially planned to frame Audrey. The last time she accused Audrey of cutting her wrist with a knife, and Audrey ended up in Ashwood Mental Hospital for a month.
This time, Valerie intended to make it look like Audrey pushed her down the stairs. She figured Clayton would be so angry that he might even agree to divorce her.
What surprised her was that as soon as she entered the neighborhood, someone threw a black bag over her head and beat her senseless. Before they left, they broke her fingers.
“Did you call the cops?” Clayton asked with a cold face.
Valerie shook her head. “Clay, I’m a single mom. I just got back to
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Ironhaven, and I don’t have enemies here. You should take us away. Luna doesn’t deserve you as her guardian. We can’t take Audrey’s future child’s place.”
Valerie’s words clearly showed that Audrey didn’t want Clayton to be Luna’s guardian, so she had someone get revenge on Valerie.
Clayton’s mind flashed to something Audrey had said, “I’ve got plenty of ways to make Valerie’s life miserable”
Clayton’s anger flared, and he thought bitterly, ‘How vicious can she be? I made it clear to her that Vally’s hand was for painting. The previous cut wasn’t that bad, and with some rehab, she could probably pick up a brush again.
‘But this time, she broke Vally’s fingers. All this over a damn guardian spot? I told her straight up that I’d just be Luna’s father in name, and our marriage wouldn’t be affected. Why can’t she just let go of Vally?‘
“Don’t call the cops.“.Valerie grabbed Clayton’s shirt, her eyes filled with desperation. “Please, don’t call the cops. I don’t blame Audrey. I truly don’t. I don’t deserve everything. Someone like me doesn’t deserve to be Luna’s
mother.”
Clayton felt his anger flare up inside, his eyes as cold as ice.
Valerie quietly nudged Luna, and Luna instinctively grabbed Clayton’s sleeve.
Clayton’s murderous intent slowly faded, and he looked down at Luna with a gentle gaze. “There, there. Little Luna, I’ll make sure your mom gets justice.”
Valerie asked with sobs, “Clayton, can you stay with me? My hand hurts so much.”
Thinking that Valerie couldn’t take care of Luna with her hand, Clayton agreed to stay. He spent the night on the couch in the living room.
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D
The next morning, he rushed back to the office and found several people had fallen asleep at their desks.
*****
After some knocks on the door, a voice rang out. “Audrey, are you home? It’s Calvin.”
Audrey replied, “Yeah, just a sec.”
Audrey went out for a jog around the neighborhood early in the morning. She heard about a fight that happened last night and was thinking of installing a camera by her door. As soon as she got home, Calvin knocked on her door.
Audrey opened the door and asked, “Can I help you?”
Calvin replied, “I called my nephew last night to ask about his tutoring, and he said a few of his classmates wanted tutoring too. Do you have time for them?”
Audrey said, “Sure. What grade are they in? What subjects?”
Calvin asked, “What do you teach?”
“Middle school stuff, like writing, reading, math. High school stuff is fine
too.”
“Middle
leave.
l writing.”
ed something was off. She rubbed her ear and replied, “I have
3 p.m. to 5 p.m. I’m free for the rest of the time.”
I’ll have them come by later.” Calvin then nodded and turned to
Audrey leaned against the doorframe, lost in her thoughts. ‘Did I tell him my name? Well, I might have, but I don’t remember.’
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At 10 a.m., Calvin came back with two girls. They were polite, and Audrey could tell they had some foundation.
Audrey asked, “Aren’t their parents coming to talk?”
“No need. Their parents trust me, and I trust you. The fees will be the same as your usual rates,” Calvin said with a smile.
Audrey took the two girls into her house. She only had one chair in the living room, and Calvin quickly brought over two more chairs from his side.
The two girls introduced themselves as Jessica Bell and Elise Butler, both eighth graders from Valebrook Middle School.
Audrey asked, “Wait, are you guys classmates with Ivan Gomez?”
“Ivan?” Jessica said, a little surprised. “He’s a famous slacker in our grade. Does he have you tutor him too?”
“Yep, I tutor him in math,” Audrey said with a smile.
The two girls were chatty, and Audrey found it easy to teach them. They were in the middle of the lesson when someone knocked loudly on the
door.
20
“Audrey, get out here.” Riley’s voice sounded. She dressed up way too mature for her age. She even wore bright red lipstick that didn’t suit her at all. Her mouth opened and closed like a huge maw.
She visited Luna earlier and heard that Valerie was hurt by Audrey again. Furious, she rushed to demand justice.
She shouted, “You already hurt Vally once, and you even broke her fingers? You’re such a nasty woman. You don’t deserve Uncle Clayton. Get out and apologize to Vally, or Uncle Clayton will have no mercy and will send you‘ straight to Ashwood.”
Audrey opened the door and leaned against it. Meeting Riley’s eyes, she
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snapped, “Who’s barking at my door?”
20
“How dare you?” Riley screeched, “Audrey, you’re a jinx. Your parents died because you brought them back luck, and now you’re trying to curse Vally too… Ahhhh!”
Before Riley could finish her words, Audrey yanked on her hair and shoved her backward to slam her against the wall.
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“Audrey, get out here.” Riley’s voice sounded. She dre
