Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 98: Find Her

Damien was too prideful, stopping would cause more trouble, and letting him speak out of anger would reveal more of his thoughts. Thus, Alaric signaled his men not to stop Damien, who stormed behind him.

Damien pushed the door and entered Alaric’s office, which was on the ground floor. He growled, "What did you tell her?"

Alaric chose silence as he opened his laptop and sat down.

Damien recalled the times, "You think I don’t see it? First, the hospital. Then lunch. Then the Laurent mansion? You’ve been circling her like a vulture, Alaric." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Alaric realized Damien was suspicious of them, especially Aveline. More than Aveline’s plan, he wanted her to be safe. So he began.

Alaric leaned back in his leather seat, his lips curled into a sinister smile. He snickered, "Damien Ashford, I created those coincidences."

"What?" Damien’s mind reeled, struggling to process the casual admission. This couldn’t be right. The meetings, the encounters, they had felt natural, inevitable.

He gritted his teeth, "Alaric..." He slammed his fist on the table out of pure rage, the sound echoing through the office like a gunshot.

Alaric continued, "You ran back to Obsidian, panicked about losing a ring which was in your pocket. I was curious. ’Why was he lying to me?’" He paused, looking at Damien’s reaction, "I can’t let you use Obsidian for illegal reasons. And guess what I found out?" He asked.

’The ring.’ Damien’s chest tightened as the memory flashed through his mind. A bitter taste filled his mouth when he realized Alaric had found out about his marriage while looking into his activities.

"You didn’t marry just anybody, Damien. You went out of your league." Alaric laughed, "You married the daughter of Henry Laurent."

Damien’s breathing became shallow as the walls of his carefully constructed world began to crack. His body shook, but he controlled himself to hear everything, though every fiber of his being screamed to act, to defend, to destroy the threat sitting across from him.

"I wanted you to panic. I gave her the stage, then I invited your lover." Alaric hissed as if he was disappointed, "There was no drama." Then he shrugged, "I had to create one at your villa."

The realization crashed over him like a tsunami. Every event, every coincidence, every moment had all been orchestrated.

Damien’s face contorted with a mixture of disbelief and fury. His hands trembled, not from fear, but from the sheer force of his suppressed rage.

"Why would I meet your wife?" Alaric asked, sounding innocent, "To create an image. Because the day I tell your little secret, she should believe me. You know which day?" He probed.

’No.’ The single word echoed in Damien’s mind as the pieces clicked into place. His throat went dry, and for a moment, he forgot how to breathe. This wasn’t just about humiliation or business rivalry, this was systematic destruction.

His eyes widened as Alaric’s sly smile brightened, each curve of those lips twisting the knife deeper.

"On the day she will have to sign agreements for her land."

The words hit Damien like a physical blow, each syllable hammering another nail into the coffin of his control.

"Alaric," Damien growled like a mad dog. "Stay away from her. My life is none of your damn business."

Alaric merely snickered without responding.

Just then, two cars drove into the NexGuard driveway. Alaric suddenly stood up and adjusted his cuffs. "Don’t ruin my image."

Damien identified the white Maserati and ground his teeth; he had asked her to stop meeting Alaric. Why the fuck was she here?

Before Alaric could take a second step, he rushed out to drag her away. He arrived at the entrance where a team welcomed Aveline, Mike Wilson, and her three-member team.

Aveline smiled, naturally looking at Damien. She walked past everyone and stood in front of Damien. "You are here." Her eyes curled in delight.

Alaric interjected, "I invited Damien to surprise you, Ms. Laurent." He sounded gentle.

Damien glared at Alaric but also noticed the smile die down on Aveline’s face as she clutched his sleeves.

She greeted, "CEO Lancaster." Her voice was cold and professional. And she immediately ignored Alaric, her voice softening, "Damien, if you are free, come with me for the final demo."

Damien could see the clear difference in how she was treating them. So he wrapped his arm around Aveline’s shoulder, glaring at Alaric as he walked with her.

A flicker of disgust appeared in her eyes when he held her shoulder, but she swallowed it hard. When her eyes met Alaric’s, she raised her brow, quietly asking about her act.

Alaric resisted smiling when he met her eyes, though he was itching to break Damien’s arm.

Damien sat through a boring demo for more than forty minutes just to realize Alaric wasn’t meant to attend the meeting at all.

Then Aveline approved the changes they had requested for Vantex, and the manager took them to Alaric’s room for final payment and to sign the papers.

Aveline grimaced, "I don’t have to come here anymore."

Damien breathed a sigh of relief hearing her. He was relieved to know she was listening to him and didn’t like meeting Alaric either.

’I should stop doubting her when she always tells me the truth.’ Damien chose to trust her, to avoid complications.

And just like that, Aveline dropped off his suspicion list.

The manager guided them to take their seats in front of Alaric. "I’ll get coffee."

"No, thank you. Get me the papers, I’ll sign first." Aveline interrupted.

Alaric observed Damien, who was much more relaxed compared to an hour ago. Anyway, he triggered Damien, "Ms. Laurent, how about a celebration lunch?" He sounded like a flirt.

Damien narrowed his eyes, ready to snap at Alaric, but the doors burst open.

Damien’s secretary rushed into the room without knocking. He got everyone’s attention, but his eyes stayed on Damien, unable to say it.

Damien saw the panic and realized something had happened. What could be another problem?

"Give me a minute." He whispered to Aveline and went out of the office with his secretary.

Damien’s secretary whispered hurriedly, "You should check this." He extended his mobile.

Damien took it, and his eyes narrowed on the screen. The cover of the video was Vivienne with the caption, ’I Never Thought I’d Say This.’

He quickly played the video.

Setting the camera, Vivienne appeared on screen and sat in a soft-lit room. Her mascara was lightly smudged. She wiped a tear, then chuckled awkwardly.

She started speaking softly, "I never thought one day I’d sit here like a storyteller and talk about my experiences to the world." She laughed awkwardly.

Inhaling deeply, her voice turned gentler and sincere, "But I decided to do this... because maybe someone out there needs to hear it. Maybe it’ll help you choose your path wisely. Or at least... see through people’s masks before it’s too late."

She looked down, giving a small pause, "I fell for someone. Someone who made me feel like I mattered. He took care of me, supported me through my career... but he hardly had time for me."

She tried to smile, but it faltered. "I began to feel... possessive. Not of him. But of a woman. One woman in particular. She had everything. Wealth, presence, connections. There are plenty of women richer than me, but somehow... I only envied her."

She wiped another tear that rolled down her cheek and steadied her voice, "It wasn’t a coincidence." Her eyes filled up, her voice cracked, "He orchestrated everything."

A beat passed. She stared directly into the camera, then flashed an awkward smile, "I’m already over the time limit, so... I’ll continue in the next part."

The video ended.

For a moment, Damien stood frozen, his mind refusing to process what he had just witnessed. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not when everything was so delicately balanced.

"Find her." He said through gritted teeth to his secretary, his voice barely controlled, each word dripping with deadly intent.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m