The door was violently kicked open as Maxwell burst in, a cold wind accompanying his entrance.
His gaze immediately locked onto the tearful Olivia. He rushed between the two women, roughly pushing Jessica away.
“Jessica! What are you doing?!” His voice contained suppressed fury.
Caught off guard by the push, Jessica stumbled backward, her head hitting the sharp corner of the table. Warm blood slowly trickled down her neck.
“Maxwell…” she called softly, her voice trembling with disbelief.
But Maxwell didn’t even spare her a glance.
All his attention was on Olivia in his arms. Seeing her tear–stained face, his brow furrowed with concern.
“Mr. Reed…” Olivia suddenly pushed him away forcefully, stumbling backward with her arms wrapped around herself in a
self–protective gesture. “We… we should keep our distance from now on… Please stop pursuing me…”
With that, she was about to run toward the door, her slender shoulders trembling, looking like a frightened deer.
“Stop!” Maxwell grabbed her wrist. “You’re not leaving.”
He turned to Jessica, his eyes frighteningly cold. “Still daring to bully Olivia? It seems the previous punishments haven’t taught you a
lesson.”
“Security! Take her to the isolation room downstairs! NOW!”
Jessica stared at him in disbelief. “What did you say?”
“I said,” Maxwell repeated each word deliberately, his voice devoid of warmth, “lock her in the isolation room.”
Jessica felt her entire body go cold, suddenly remembering that rainy night years ago-
She had been locked in a dark storeroom by jealous colleagues after receiving praise for her work.
Cowering in the corner, trembling with claustrophobia, it was Maxwell who kicked down the door and carried her out.
“Don’t be afraid,” his voice had been impossibly gentle then. “I’m here. No one can hurt you while I’m around.”
But now, it was Maxwell himself pushing her into that same darkness.
As the bodyguards dragged her toward the isolation room, Jessica desperately clutched the doorframe. “Maxwell! You know I’m
terrified of the dark!”
Maxwell paused for a moment, but quickly replied coldly: “This time, no one will come to rescue you.”
Inside the isolation room, darkness engulfed Jessica like a tide.
She curled up in the corner, frantically pounding on the iron door. “Let me out! Maxwell! Let me out!”
No one responded.
Her breathing grew increasingly rapid, hallucinations beginning to appear before her eyes, as if she had returned to that night locked in the storage room.
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His ‘Harmless‘ 10–Year Fling? My Secret Divorce Papers Say Goodbye Forever!
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Except this time, there would be no one coming to save her.
After what felt like an eternity, the door finally opened, the light so blinding she couldn’t open her eyes.
“Have you learned your lesson?” Maxwell stood in the doorway, his expression indiscernible in the backlight.
Jessica rose shakily, her voice too hoarse to speak.
She walked straight past him, her gaze as vacant as a walking corpse.
In the following days, Jessica never left the house again.
She mechanically packed her belongings, deleting Olivia’s taunting messages without even looking at them. Her phone showed more than a dozen missed calls from Maxwell, but she didn’t return any of them.
Until the hospital called-
“Miss Reid, your grandma has suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. The situation is critical. Please come to the hospital immediately!”
Her fingers instantly went cold, nearly dropping the phone.
In the hospital corridor, the sharp smell of disinfectant mingled with the chaotic sounds of people.
Jessica stumbled as she ran, but froze abruptly at the corner-
Maxwell was holding Olivia, gently comforting her: “Don’t be afraid, it’s not your fault.”
Olivia leaned against his chest, her eyes red as if she’d just been crying.
“You two…” Jessica’s voice shook. “Why are you here?”
Maxwell looked up, his brow slightly furrowed. “Olivia twisted her ankle, so I brought her to the hospital.”
He paused. “We didn’t expect to run into your grandma.”
Jessica felt her entire body grow cold. “What did… you do in front of my grandma?”
“We didn’t do anything,” Maxwell’s tone was even. “She saw me holding Olivia and might have misunderstood. She got emotional
and then…”
“Misunderstood?” Jessica almost laughed aloud. “Maxwell, you were embracing in front of her, and now you’re saying my grandma misunderstood?”
“Jessica!” Maxwell’s face darkened. “I’ve already found the best doctors. Your grandma will be fine.”
Just then, the light above the operating room went out.
The doctor pushed open the door, removed his mask, and shook his head heavily: “I’m sorry, we did our best… The elderly passed peacefully. Her last words were that she hoped you would live a happy and fulfilling life…”
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His ‘Harmless‘ 10–Year Fling? My Secret Divorce Papers Say Goodbye Forever!
