A sudden pressure tightened around her neck, and Jeannette’s cheeks flushed red. A cold shiver ran down her spine. She’d promised not to provoke Blanche, yet here she was, badmouthing her again.
But this was a once–in–a–lifetime opportunity–she would not let it slip away.
Jeannette wound her arms around Eddy’s neck, her eyes sultry, her voice as soft as velvet. “Professor Reese’s lab is full of experts. That night, Hugo Black was there he’s their computer whiz. Who’s to say he didn’t tamper with the evidence?”
Just then, her phone rang. It was the tech department at the office.
“Mr. Simmons, I’m sorry it took three days to restore the hotel’s security footage. Someone spliced the video–almost untraceably. I had a hacker friend help me spot the flaw. I’ll send it right over.”
Hearing the voice from the phone, Jeannette clung to it like a lifeline, pressing her case. “Eddy, I swear on my life–I’m telling the truth.”
Eddy opened the video and played it on his phone.
As he watched people dash out of the lounge one after another, his expression darkened with every passing second. Meanwhile, a triumphant smile curled on Jeannette’s lips.
Feeling Eddy release his grip from her neck, she leaned in, her lips brushing against his, her voice honeyed. “Eddy, what do you think Blanche and Professor Reese were doing together in that cramped lounge? She even lost the bracelet you gave her–her favorite one, no less.”
A storm clouded Eddy’s eyes. He shoved Jeannette aside and strode out of the study.
Jeannette tumbled to the floor, clutching her neck, coughing from the pain. She watched his angry silhouette disappear down the hallway, but inside, she felt a rush of satisfaction.
No matter how much Eddy doted on Blanche, even he couldn’t tolerate her flirting. with another man.
This time, Jeannette thought, victory was hers.
Eddy stood in the hallway. Across the courtyard, he could see into the kitchen
1/3
where Blanche was doting on Terrell and Healy,
Healy, ever the mischief–maker, was whining that Terrell’s slice of cake was bigger than his. Blanche kept dividing and re–dividing the pieces, exasperated but smiling nonetheless.
She hadn’t smiled like that in ages–not since she’d left the hospital.
Just then, Felipa came into the kitchen and pulled a tiny laptop from her bag.
Blanche took the computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard with the confidence of a maestro leading a symphony. It was nothing like the Blanche he remembered, who could barely figure out a spreadsheet.
A cool determination flickered in her eyes. Her brow was furrowed in fierce. concentration.
Eddy frowned, his hand tightening around the bracelet in his palm.
The video had proven Jeannette was telling the truth–she and Fernando really had
been in the lounge’s kitchenette that night. That meant Blanche must have
overheard everything between him and Jeannette–she knew about their relationship.
But why hadn’t she reacted at all?
Not only that since her return, she hadn’t once asked about what he’d said to his mother that night. Surely, she must have heard.
“Eddy.”
Ingrid appeared by his side.
Since their last bitter argument and Kelvin’s engagement, this
appearance at a social gathering.
Eddy glanced at her, his eyes still fixed on Blanche.
was Ingrid’s first
Blanche was wholly absorbed in the laptop. Even when Healy smeared cake across Terrell’s face and the two boys launched into a frosting fight, she didn’t notice–she just let them go wild.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Eddy, Ingrid spoke. “There’s something I wasn’t going to tell you. I didn’t want you to think I was trying to sabotage your relationship.”
“Then don’t,” Eddy replied coolly, not bothering to look at her.
21:
Ingrid bristled at his words but managed to compose herself. “If I keep quiet, your
might regret it more than you can imagine.”
