Dark Revenge Of A Jilted Bride: Till Life Do Us Part!-Chapter 111: Answers III

With Herbert dead—a beautiful thing that was—Zane’s only choice to get answers to what possibly happened five years ago was Antonio.

It was an ugly truth, but it was truth nonetheless, and one he could not afford to ignore.

Luckily, they had been able to establish a connection between the two monsters before everything had gone kaboom, and now, if the fates were on his side, that connection would prove useful again. He hoped it would.

His father had no other associates who would be of any use. Whoever had been involved had either been caught and terrorized by the government, or—when proven clean—had washed their hands of anything connected to the Whitmans.

It didn’t matter that he was nothing like his father.

He sighed, impatience weighing on his chest, checking his phone for the umpteenth time. What was taking Shawn so long?

Shawn—one of Athena’s friends—still worked at the CIA and had some level of jurisdiction over the black cells where Antonio had been dumped. A place with no daylight, no mercy, no reprieve, even in death.

Beside him, Sandro sat on one of the lucky couches—one of the few left unbroken in the wake of Zane’s earlier assault on the room.

"Any answer yet?"

Zane shook his head, his foot tapping restlessly against the floor, the sound sharp in the tense silence.

Finally, a minute later, his phone dinged.

He exhaled in relief as his eyes skimmed the message. Access has been granted.

His heart beat a little faster with anticipation as he got to his feet and headed toward the door. When he realized Sandro was following him, he paused, sighed, and turned.

"I would rather go alone..."

Sandro raised a brow. "Why? You’re afraid of what you’ll find out? Don’t want me around?"

Zane rolled his eyes. "I can handle myself. I just need you to put Athena off my trail. Once they’re done questioning the anonymous blogger, she’ll come for me next."

"And you want me to... what exactly?"

Zane pressed his lips together briefly. "Stop her from coming after me. You know how her curiosity drives her. I don’t want any of them seeing Antonio again. That stench shouldn’t be allowed back into our lives. So I’d rather take that path alone."

"And would you tell us what you find out?"

Zane shrugged, casual on the surface, but Sandro wasn’t buying it.

"I don’t trust that," Sandro said flatly. "Depending on what you hear, you might not want to talk to us humans for a year. I’m not taking that risk—Ewan would have my neck. I’m going with you. That way, if you decide to become a hermit, I’ll pass the information along. God knows we need it. Maybe he’ll even tell us something about the attacks we’ve been having recently."

Zane opened his mouth to argue, then shut it when he caught the steel in Sandro’s eyes. Settled then. They were going together.

Still...

"Are you sure Ewan will be okay with you leaving the company?"

Sandro scoffed. "He gave me the go-ahead to look after you. We have capable hands handling things back at the company—including Athena’s. Besides, it’s only for today... hopefully."

Meanwhile, at the Aldo mansion, Sabrina was over the moon.

She cackled helplessly, joy bubbling out of her as she scrolled through the comments from netizens—their theories, their speculations, the memes already spreading like wildfire across social media. It was delicious.

Her two objectives were being fulfilled.

Zane’s company had taken another hit, sinking even further. That would teach him—for sacking her, for throwing her to the hungry lions despite her years of loyalty.

Then there was Gianna.

Sabrina smiled, whistling softly as she twirled around her room. From the silence on Gianna’s end—and from those stupid friends of hers—it was obvious her plan had worked.

Her cousin was in pain.

The only thing Sabrina regretted was not being there to witness it, to savor the moment pain shattered Gianna piece by piece. But her father had warned her to wait, to avoid seeming too eager.

And for all of Gianna’s claims that Zane was merely a friend of a friend during that viral interview—where the one-night stand had been broadcast to the world—this would show everyone she was a liar.

Already, lines were being drawn. Team Gianna. Team Zane.

Team Zane believed Gianna was a gold digger who had brought the consequences of her foolishness upon herself.

Team Gianna... well pity was driving them.

Sabrina loved both teams all the same. Together, they were pushing her objectives closer to fulfillment.

Her thoughts were disrupted when her phone rang.

Her happiness tinkered at the edge of oblivion when she saw the caller ID.

Esme.

What now? Why was that bitch calling?

Her frown deepened as she answered, switching to loudspeaker. "You have a lot of guts calling," she snapped, skipping pleasantries. "After commissioning men to throw tomatoes and pepper at me..."

Silence followed. Then Esme laughed, stoking the fire burning in Sabrina’s chest.

"Oh, forget that," Esme said lightly. "Surely you didn’t think I’d let you go after that stunt you pulled? You should be grateful I didn’t have your head. But that’s beside the point. I’m calling to congratulate you."

Sabrina scowled at the phone, baffled. "On what, exactly?"

"You have my brother’s attention."

Confusion deepened. "What brother?"

A pause stretched on the line. "Well... he found out about our texts."

Sabrina’s eyes slid shut before she could stop herself.

"He knows we were behind the accident," Esme continued. "Almost choked me to death over it, actually. So—"

"You’re happy that I’m about to die by your brother’s hand?" Sabrina’s voice trembled despite her effort to keep it steady. "That’s what you are congratulating me for, right?

"Yes. So congratulations. Or maybe you’ll just lose a hand. Or both." Esme laughed softly. "At least you did that bitch good. I know you were behind the release."

Sabrina scoffed, even as her hands trembled, refusing to be implicated—especially by a traitor like Esme. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Esme’s laughter grated on her frayed nerves.

Sabrina ended the call without another word.

Almost immediately, a knock sounded on her door.

"Rina..."

"Yes, Mom, come in."

But the door opened only a fraction, revealing her mother’s somber face.

"Noah Newman is here."

Sabrina’s heart dropped. What?