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"I'm staying in his apartment right now."

That word came like a tidal wave that hit Chloe right in her core. The hand holding the phone started to tremble, and Chloe's face got paler as she had already assumed the worst might have happened.

Dorothea already knew the identity of Vernon as her benefactor, and there was definitely a mole around her.

But Chloe still tried to play it off, hoping that Dorothea was just bluffing to catch her off guard and accidentally spilled Vernon's identity by herself.

"W--What do you mean by apartment, D--Dorothea?" Chloe acted calmly, but she kept stuttering out of nervousness. "He-- um... I don't think he... has an apartment...."

"You're not really good at lying, Chloe," Dorothea said bluntly, and Chloe muttered 'sorry' out of reflex.

Chloe gasped when she realized what she had just said. It was inevitable for her to mutter that word because she was so used to apologizing for everything and taking the blame. It became a muscle memory for her.

Dorothea had a smile as she heard Chloe's reaction. She was glad that Chloe didn't seem to fake her reaction. Thus, at least Dorothea could assume that Chloe wasn't as manipulative as Shailene said.

Still, her nervousness didn't answer anything regarding her involvement with Vincent and Vernon.

"I don't want to beat around the bush, Chloe," Dorothea said. Her voice sounded very exhausted as if she was already devoid of her will to live. "I'm staying on floor 11, room 1112. I will be waiting for you. This might be the last time I meet you, Chloe. So please, come here and talk to me."

"Wait, Dorothea--"

Beep

--

Chloe's mouth gaped open as she had to swallow lots of her words back into her throat. She tried to give another call to Dorothea, but she stopped answering any of Chloe's calls.

All she did was send a text.

--

Dorothea:

1112, the door will be unlocked, and you can come in.

If you trust me as much as I want to trust you, please come and meet me. I need to talk to you.

Don't tell him that I'm here. I'm afraid he'll kick me out as soon as he knows...

--

"Oh, this is-- no way--" Chloe felt her legs getting weaker, and she dropped herself onto her bed. She tried to take many deep breaths as she felt herself suffocating out of fear.

"Is she really here? In the Phoenix Tower? On the eleventh floor?!"

"No, h--how could she know about this? What will happen to Vernon?!" Chloe's mind was plagued by fear right now. She was so scared that Dorothea might've told Vincent about this already, and Vernon would be done for.

"I--I can't let that happen, no," Chloe shook her head vehemently. Vernon's safety was her priority, and she would do everything to keep him safe.

Even if that meant she had to die under Vincent's hand.

Chloe gulped. She read the text again and finally made her decision.

It was a swift decision that wasn't very wise or smart, but she knew she had to do it.

She had to meet Dorothea and face her alone.

Chloe tried to muster the courage, "You should act normal, Chloe. Vernon will be getting ready for work soon, so you have to act normal."

Chloe knew that she could always hide under Vernon's arm. If she told him right now about Dorothea, he'd definitely kick her out.

But that was what scared Chloe the most.

What if Dorothea got so angry and vengeful after getting kicked and humiliated by her second son that she decided to tell Vincent everything, including Vernon's identity.

"Soi have to be careful. This is for his own wellbeing."

**

Chloe tried to act normal while watching Vernon and Mackie eating a simple pancake breakfast that Vernon had cooked just now. They were eating in silence, but Vernon checked on Mackie and Chloe a few times by glancing at them, ensuring that everything was alright and his food was good.

It was always a relief for him whenever he saw Chloe and Mackie smile because it showed harmony in their new small family. That was the blessing he had always wanted his whole life.

A happy family.

However, he started noticing something was off because Chloe seemed to gradually get more nervous each time Vernon glanced at her.

As if she had done something terrible and tried not to get discovered.

Vernon doubted that she was cheating on him. That'd be the last thing on his mind. But he wondered if Chloe continued contacting Dorothea after their fight yesterday.

His rage started building again. As always, Dorothea was like a thorn in his heart. As long as Dorothea was still around Chloe's life, he would never feel truly safe.

'That bitch needs to die, seriously,' Vernon thought. 'She must've influenced Chloe's weak mind again.'

Vernon was about to open his mouth and start interrogating- probably with some shouting along the way as well, but then he realized that Mackie was right by his side. So he had to hold it until he finished his work in the office.

"I'll have a few important meetings today, so I'll be home late," Vernon said as he put on his socks with Chloe standing by his side with his briefcase. "You're still recovering, don't go out for now, and don't do anything unnecessary, okay?"

"O--Okay," Chloe nodded obediently. "I--I will sit still and watch TV all day, is that good enough?"

"I'm serious, Chloe," Vernon sighed. "I'm doing this for you, for us. Please don't do anything stupid or risky. I don't want to lose you."

Vernon got up and grabbed the briefcase from Chloe's hand, "Bear with me for a while, Chloe. I might get a little overbearing for now, but you know why I did this," he said while glancing at Chloe's right hand that was wrapped in a cast. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know, "I promise not to do anything to hurt you, to hurt us, Vernon..." Chloe nodded, then lowered her head out of shame.