Chapter 449
Victoria didn’t dare lower her silk scarf until she spotted Ms. Turner. Even then, she only let it slip just enough to reveal her crimson lips.
“There’s no need to be nervous,” Victoria said quietly. “This is Evermore City. No one knows who you are here.”
The woman glanced at her, the tension in her shoulders easing just a fraction. She pulled off her sunglasses, dug into her purse, and handed Victoria a thick stack of photographs.
“Ms. Turner, I had a private investigator tail him. Thank God someone warned me, or everything would have gone down the drain.”
Victoria barely glanced at the photos, uninterested in seeing the sordid scenes they contained.
Across from her sat Simms’ current girlfriend—the one carrying his child.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” the woman murmured. “I don’t even want to keep this baby, but you need me to make it look like someone forced me to lose it.”
She looked at Victoria, fear flickering in her eyes. “You mean… let Yulia catch me? No way. She’d kill me for real. I’ve heard she’s already hired a hitman to take me out. Ms. Turner, I just wanted to earn some money-not lose my life for it.”
Victoria’s tone was calm and reassuring. “Someone’s watching out for you. Trust me, all I need is for you to drive a wedge between Simms and Yulia. This is a civilized country-she’ll only run into con artists, not assassins.”
Yulia had spent nearly two million trying to put a price on this woman’s head, but Victoria had already made arrangements. The coward who took the money was long gone-no one was actually going to kill for Yulia.
“Is that true?” the woman whispered.
Victoria let her eyes drift shut for a moment. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Once it’s all over, I’ll make sure you’re paid well enough to start fresh-anywhere you like.”
She fished a check from her bag and pressed it into the woman’s hand. “There’s a hundred thousand here. Hold onto it. When the job’s done, you’ll get the remaining two hundred thousand. Your ticket home to Starfall City is already booked. After tonight, we never have to see each other again.”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears when she saw the numbers on the check.
“Thank you, Ms. Turner. Thank you.”
Victoria watched her leave, the tightness in her own lips finally relaxing.
For money, some people would sell their souls. Others would kill without a second thought. Money was the root of all evil, and human nature, when stripped bare, was uglier than she cared to admit.
Simms wasn’t her father. The Turner family had given him every opportunity, but he’d never once considered repaying their kindness. Instead, he schemed day and night to take what wasn’t his.
Victoria wouldn’t tolerate it.
She wouldn’t rest until Simms and Yulia had lost everything.
Once the meeting was over, she sent Yasmine a text.
“Everything is proceeding as planned.”
There was another reason she kept Yasmine in Starfall City-Yasmine was her eyes and her right hand there.
Victoria knew Simms had grown
ruthless over the years. If she’d
stayed in Starfall City, with his cunning and suspicion, it wouldn’t have taken him long to suspect her involvement.
Now, with two infants to protect, Victoria couldn’t afford a single misstep. She wouldn’t give anyone the chance to harm her.
Yasmine replied quickly.
“Understood.”
Starfall City
It didn’t take Yulia long to find the house where Simms was hiding out with his new lover.
She’d expected he’d at least try to cover his tracks-maybe rent a small apartment for his affair. But no, Simms had gone all out, buying a whole villa-bigger, grander than the one he’d shared with her and their
son. sŵnovel
What’s more, Yulia had come looking for Simms’ mistress only to come face-to-
face with Simms himself, just as he returned home.
His face went ice-cold the moment he saw her.
“What are you doing here?”
Yulia looked at the man she’d stood by for over twenty years, and felt her heart finally break for good.
“I’m here to negotiate,” she said.