Verity's POV

“And here I was, worrying about how hard he’s working on his cases—turns out caring too much is a crime now!”

Back then, I used to think Monty avoided coming to his parents’ place because he wanted to protect me.

But now that I know the truth, I can’t even bring myself to feel anything.

The real reason he stayed away was simple—he didn’t want to be around Sylvie under the pretense of being her brother-in-law.

He didn’t want me to bring up the murder case around his relatives and embarrass her.

Everyone kept praising how well Sylvie was taking care of herself—how anybody couldn’t even tell she was pregnant.

I was left forgotten at the doorway.

As the cold wind swept past, Monty finally showed up, late as always, and pulled me into his arms.

He gently patted my forehead like I was something to cherish.

“Why are you just standing out here? Did Mom and Dad scold you again?”

The moment my mother-in-law saw her son walk in, her tone softened.

“Scold the Raleighs’ little princess? How could I dare? Your wife’s something special. Go on, take her upstairs to rest.”

Right on cue, Sylvie chimed in with a fake show of concern.

“Mom, I’ve already arranged a dinner from the hotel. It’ll be delivered later, so you don’t have to stress yourself out. Please rest. Don’t worry about all this.”

Monty’s relatives eagerly jumped in, all compliments and flattery for Sylvie’s thoughtfulness.

No one even looked in my direction anymore, and Monty just nudged me into the bedroom to rest.

I turned back to my mother-in-law to explain that I wasn’t feeling well—that I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.

The Griffiths never liked me to begin with. They couldn’t be bothered to waste time talking about me.

They just surrounded the gifts Sylvie brought, throwing around praises for how lucky my mother-in-law was for having such a “dutiful” daughter-in-law.

Laughter and cheerful voices drifted in through the cracks of the door, pressing down on me until I couldn’t breathe.

Just when I was about to step out for some air, Sylvie suddenly showed up in front of me.

She looked at my pale face and smiled smugly.

“Hey, old classmate. Long time no see.

“What? It’s been five years and you don’t recognize me?

“Actually, I should thank you. If you hadn’t brought me to your home, I never would’ve found my enemy.”

My fists clenched, and I stared coldly at her.

“Enemy? What the hell are you talking about? What did my parents ever do to deserve being butchered like that?!”

She dropped the act right in front of me. Her eyes turned sharp and full of hate.

“What did they do wrong? You should be asking what they did right! If it weren’t for them, my dad’s company wouldn’t have gone bankrupt! He wouldn’t have jumped off that building! You destroyed everything I had—and now that I’ve taken everything from you, you can’t handle it?

“What, seeing the person who killed your parents walking around fine and free—that hurts, doesn’t it?

“You know what? I should also thank your ex and your husband. Without them, I wouldn’t be living this happy life.

“Oh, your dad, right before he died, was still crying out for you, you know. I even recorded a video of him begging on his knees. Wanna see it? Go ahead—beg me first.”

The image of my parents’ brutal deaths flashed through my mind.

I couldn’t help my eyes turning red with rage.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped this bitch hard across the face.

The force was so hard that the slap echoed through the room.

But instead of getting angry, Sylvie just smiled.

She let herself fall with the force of the hit, straight to the floor.

Before I could even react, Monty came rushing in and hit me square in the chest.

I collapsed to the ground, gasping in humiliation.

Meanwhile, he cradled Sylvie in his arms, glaring at me like I was a monster.

“Verity, what the hell are you doing? Are you insane?

“Sylvie’s pregnant—how could you hit her?”

The rest of the Griffiths rushed in when they heard the commotion.

Their eyes practically stabbed into me.

Sylvie—that devil—weakly leaned on my husband’s shoulder and sobbed pitifully.

“I’m sorry, Monty… I just wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding from five years ago… I didn’t think she’d suddenly hit me…”

Verity's POV

“Forget it. Five years ago, when Wiley broke off the engagement, we were in the wrong. Everything that happened today is just a misunderstanding. Don’t blame Verity.”

A sharp pain started to spread beneath me, making me break into a cold sweat.

“Misunderstanding? How dare you even say that?! Monty, what the hell happened five years ago? Don’t I deserve an explanation?”

There was a flicker of panic in Monty’s eyes.

But he still forced himself to speak.

“I’ve been investigating the case. I’ve already told you, it has nothing to do with Sylvie. Why do you keep blaming her? I’m a cop. Don’t you trust me?

“Things aren’t clear yet. What gives you the right to hurt Sylvie? Verity, apologize to Sylvie!”

Lavinia’s face turned cold as she stormed up to me and slapped me hard across the face.

“Bitch! You’re still trying to frame Sylvie?! Everyone knows how good my son is at investigating! He said it has nothing to do with her—how dare you lay a hand on her, huh?!

“You’re nothing but an orphan! Don’t you know your place?!

“Good lord! If it weren’t for my son saving you, you’d still be out there selling your body to pay off debts! They say all businesspeople are crooked, and your parents’ death? I guess that’s just karma for their greedy hearts!

“Monty, don’t worry about her. Take Sylvie to the hospital. She’s still pregnant, you know.”

Monty didn’t look at me again as he picked up Sylvie and left the villa.

Five years of love evaporated at that moment.

Pain flooded beneath me as I started to bleed, and my in-laws kicked me out of their villa that same night.

I was taken to the emergency room by strangers, but my baby… didn’t make it.

In the middle of the night, Monty sent me a message, full of humility.

[Verity, don’t think too much about what happened tonight. I know you didn’t mean it. Sylvie is my sister-in-law, and I can’t explain this to Wiley if you hurt her. Once she’s out of danger, I’ll personally apologize. How about we go to your favorite restaurant? Don’t be mad. It’s bad for the baby. Mom was just upset and said some things they didn’t mean.]

‘Oh, wow, he remembers we have a baby.’

I forced a smile, bitter and mocking.

[Yeah, I’ll wait for you.]

[Thanks for understanding, babe.]

That night, Sylvie posted an update from the hospital.

The photo showed a man leaning by the bed, his face full of worry, though he tried to hide it as he slept.

The next morning, I checked out of the hospital, grabbed my suitcase, and headed straight for the airport.

On the way there, Monty sent me the location of the restaurant.

[Babe, I’ve got a surprise for you. I’ll pick you up soon. Wait for me.]

I opened Sylvie’s Insta Story to see her update from two minutes ago.

In the video, the man was carefully feeding her creamy pumpkin soup.

The tenderness in his eyes… That was something I had never seen before.

I clicked the like button and then deleted all their contact details.

When I boarded the plane, I sent a signed report to the Chief about everything that happened, using Monty’s phone records.

I also sent him the signed divorce papers.

Monty’s POV

At the restaurant, I was busy setting up, petals scattered all over the floor. I kept glancing at my phone, but still, no messages came through.

To be honest, I was starting to feel this rising sense of unease.

Just as I reached for my phone to make a call, the door burst open. Someone in uniform rushed in, pale as a ghost.

“Bad news, Detective Sergeant. You need to get back to the department right now. The Raleighs’ case just got reported, and the Chief’s looking for you everywhere! And, uh, your wife… something’s happened to her!”