Chapter 286
Elara forced out a strained breath. “What benefit would I get from setting up Dawn?”
Harvey’s dark eyes burned with fury. “Maybe you never intended for her to die. She was always causing trouble for you, so perhaps you just wanted to teach her a lesson.”
Elara rolled her eyes with an elegance that only fueled his ge
His voice grew colder. “I know you won’t admit it! And I wouldn’t send you away just based on this recording alone!”
Forced to tilt her head up, her slightly parted lips caught his gaze.
There was a time when she had been gentle and obedient toward him, catering to his every need. But that phase had been short–lived.
After the birth of their children, she had become distant, perfunctory in her attentions, offering only surface–level compliance.
cara, what exactly am I to you?” His voice dripped with resentment. “I gave you a home, luxury cars, allowance of millions to spend as you pleased. And what did you give me in return?
a monthly
“You fed me prepackaged meals, repackaged a couple of dollars worth of take–out into a fancy container and sent it to my office. You were so afraid I’d get sick that you even laced the herbal tea you brewed with stomach medicine.
“As Mrs. Fisher, you certainly did whatever you pleased!”
Elara blinked at him, feigning a brief flicker of surprise.
But Harvey found no trace of panic or shame in her expression. Instead, her clear, dark eyes shimmered with faint
Camusement.
“After we lost our third child, I stopped seeing you as a person. Plus, since I was the one taking care of your meals, I couldn’t exactly poison you to the point of balding,
“I figured I’d just wait a few more years… At least until the old man officially named Beau as the heir..”
Her voice was light, soft as a drifting feather, yet it landed on Harvey’s nerves with the force of a blade, sending pain searing through every inch of his body.
His fingers slid down, tightening around her throat. His laugh came low and dangerous. His lips were a deep crimson, reminiscent of a crazed and insatiable vampire in the dead of night.
A woman too clever was like a poisonous flower–irresistibly alluring, yet the consequences were lethal the moment they were touched.
When he had first decided to marry Elara, Thomas had looked at him with grave concern as he said Elara was not his best choice.
But Harvey had dismissed him. “I don’t care about political alliances–I’d rather marry someone who is easy to control–someone who loves me completely.”
He had always known himself to be cold and ruthless, too detached to ever bow before a woman, let alone waste effort coaxing one.
The daughters of elite families, raised in luxury, might have learned how to navigate the cold realities of power, but their pride was just as delicate.
Chapter 286
+25 BONUS
Compared to a marriage built on mutual calculations, having a woman who adored him unconditionally had seemed like the far more convenient choice.
When Gabriel was on his deathbed, he had been mumbling fragments of Elara’s past. He talked about buying her for 800 bucks from her first foster parents.
He had raised her while scraping by with Finnegan–picking through discarded scraps, collecting recyclables, and doing grueling manual labor in the county.
Later, the stray dog that followed them was taken by city enforcers, and the bridge they had lived under was fenced off with barbed wire.
With nowhere else to go, Gabriel had taken both children back to his village, where he and his wife worked the fields for a living. He had always known that the people from the Jones family were no good.
As Gabriel gripped Harvey’s hand tightly, he had pleaded with him. “She has suffered enough. You must cherish her.”
But Harvey knew all too well that Elara’s hardships were her greatest weakness. When a person had nothing, even the illusion of love was enough to make them fall, helplessly and irrevocably.
Once their passion faded, when the arguments began, he had taken the moral high ground and accused her in a cold and ruthless manner.
“It was your father who forced me to marry you! Uncle Leonard pushed me into this too! If you can’t stand it anymore, let’s get a divorce–but I will never let you take the children!
He knew she would never agree to a divorce. Her childhood had ensured that abandoning her own flesh and blood. was something she would never do.
“I had Niamh released.” The moment Harvey said it, he saw her face darkening.
“You’re not holding her accountable anymore?”
“I paid for those racers‘ helmets that she tampered with. I’ll take responsibility if you want justice for her hiring someone to sabotage Corona.
“She was caught speeding and lost her motorcycle license, so that was the traffic police’s punishment for her. “As for my son’s injury, consider it a lesson. I trust Beau will think twice before doing anything reckless again. He paused, narrowing his sharp, fox–like eyes as he looked down at the woman now under his control.
“I let her out just to make your life miserable. But you won’t see Niamh so soon–starting today, you’re staying here.”
His broad, warm hand cupped her cheek, and his rough fingertips grazed over her soft skin. Strangely, as he touched her, he felt something within himself settle.
Sensing a sigh rising in his throat, his long fingers curled inward, retreating from her face.
“Dawn has been gone for five years. One recording isn’t enough to put you behind bars, so I’ll do it myself. I’ll destroy you!”
His gaze then flicked to her feet.
“Those new shoes suit you well–too bad they won’t stay clean for long.”
He leaned in, breathing in the delicate scent of her skin.
Chapter 286
+25 BONUS
A smirk played on his lips, and his husky voice dripped with malice as he said, “From now on, you won’t be going to the bathroom without my permission.
“You won’t eat properly. And if you can’t hold it in… You can beg me.”
Harvey’s head hovered just above her shoulder. His breath was warm as his words slithered into her car.
Before he could finish his words, Elara already started laughing.
The heavy door slammed open, and a blinding light flooded the room.
