Chapter 13
Veronica raised her hand and slapped Linda twice across the face. David and Linda were both stunned. They didn’t see that coming at all. They couldn’t figure out why David had been the one to strike but Linda ended up being the one slapped.
Veronica chuckled, “You’re my father. I can’t lay hands on you. But I certainly have the right to teach the homewrecker who seduced my mother’s husband a lesson.”
“Veronica.” David and Linda both roared. They lunged at her together,
Veronica easily dodged and let them crash into each other. Without paying attention to the wailing mess behind her, she calmly headed upstairs.
At her bedroom door, she looked back. “Oh, and next time, don’t be so quick to raise a hand to me. Otherwise…
Her eyes swept across Linda, Chloe, and Grace, then she gave them a meaningful smile.
At night, Veronica slept like a baby, while no one else in the Weston family got a wink of sleep.
Linda cried and cursed in their room nonstop. David tried to console her for hours with no success. Frustrated, he didn’t dare go confront Veronica, afraid she really might lay hands on Linda or their daughters
David thought, ‘Now I get it. This daughter of mine who came from that poor village is unreasonable, rude, and stupid strong. Trying to fight her head–on won’t work. Maybe it’s time for a different tactic. Should I freeze her out?”
While he was still scheming about how to deal with Veronica, Linda was already yelling about calling the police. David couldn’t calm her down, so he nodded and said they’d go to the police station in the morning.
Not long after sunrise, Veronica yawned as she stepped over the wrecked front gate of Weston Villa and left.
By the time David rushed to the police station to file a report, Veronica was already on an international flight to Vellas. When the police followed David back to the villa, she was long gone.
They stared at the neatly disassembled front gate and Linda’s badly swollen face and didn’t know what to say,
Even Mason over at Weston Manor was alarmed by the situation.
Naturally, he blew up when he found out. He was furious that David had dared to lock Veronica out of the house.
As for her tearing down the gate and hitting Linda, Mason believed Linda had it coming and didn’t think Veronica had gone too far at all
Right now, Mason’s only concern was that his precious granddaughter might have gotten hurt and gone into hiding. Her phone had been off the whole time, and he was deeply worried.
Veronica had no idea what was going on back
flight that lasted dozens of hours, her plane touched down right on time.
“Hey, Ronie. Long time no see. A familiar female voice rang out.
Veronica smiled, “Bella”
Isabel Gorman linked arms with her, her tone warm. “The race isn’t until tomorrow. Wanna hit the hotel first or go have some fun?”
Veronica replied, “Either’s fine.”
“Then let’s go surfing. Wanna celebrate our win in advance?” Isabel asked.
She had known Veronica for years, and their relationship was a unique blend of mentorship and friendship. Even though there was an age gap between them, they got along like a house on fire because of their shared interests.
For tomorrow’s race,
two of them would be a team. Veronica had only come to Oakrella because Isabel had invited her.
Besides racing together, they had also partnered in several businesses and made a ton of money.
Veronica said. “I’m confident, but let’s celebrate after we win.
Chapter 13
Isabel replied. “Deal. I’ll plan something for tomorrow night.
“Okay” Veronica nodded.
The two of them left the airport smiling and hopped into Isabel’s RV. Veronica skimmed through the documents she had on the rally race while listening to Isabel giving orders to someone on the other end of a business call.
“Alright. I got it. If they won’t keep their word, then forget that plot of land. And tell them not to come crawling back to us for business,” Isabel snapped before hanging up.
Veronica looked up from the papers. “Did something go wrong?”
“Yeah,” Isabel sighed. She went on to briefly explain how a piece of land they had been eyeing gor snatched up at the last minute. Veronica frowned slightly as she picked out a few key terms from Isabel’s words.
The ones who cut in on the Gorman family’s deal were the Harrington family from Northware back in their home country.
Veronica thought, The Harrington family? Raymond?”
Isabel said, “Seriously, what is wrong with Raymond? The market back home is already huge enough for him to make a fortune, so why’s he still greedy enough to stick his hands into Oakrella? Can’t he leave us smaller families a way to survive?”
Veronica didn’t know what to say. She thought, Well, there goes the guessing. It really is Raymond
Thinking about those random people he had sent to work for her for no reason, Veronica started to get a headache. She had a feeling there would be a lot more trouble coming her way.
The RV dropped Veronica off at the hotel, and Isabel left to take care of some business. Veronica soaked in a hot bath, then went to sleep to fight off the jet lag.
Meanwhile, in the presidential suite conference room on the top floor of the same hotel, Raymond was in the middle of a video meeting. The phone on the table buzzed. He glanced at the screen, paused the meeting, and answered, “What is it?”
Alicia said, “Mr. Harrington, Ms. Weston is missing”
On the other end of the line, Alicia gave him every detail she had uncovered. She told him what had happened to Veronica at Weston Villa and that Veronica had bought a ticket to Vellas.
Raymond’s first thought was that Veronica had been bullied, and she flew here to complain to him about it.
“I got it. I’ll have someone look into it. He hung up and immediately gave the order.
The person in charge moved fast. Just as Raymond finished his video meeting, the subordinate had already tracked down Veronica’s whereabouts.
“She’s downstairs?” Raymond listened to the report, his frown deepening. He thought, Why is Veronica downstairs and not coming up to see me? Did something really bad happen to her?”
If Veronica, still deep asleep, knew Raymond had spun up an entire drama in his head, she would’ve handed him an Oscar for Best Imaginary Screenplay on the spot. Unfortunately, she had no idea and kept sleeping until Isabel called to invite her to dinner.
The doorbell rang. Veronica, brushing her teeth, walked over and looked through the peephole. She choked on a mouthful of foam in shock when she saw who it was. “Raymond?” she muttered.
She thought, “What is he doing at my door? Veronica frowned wiped her mouth, and opened the door. “Ray-
“Why didn’t you tell me you got bullied?” Raymond asked in a cold voice. Veronica looked up and batted her eyes, confused.
Raymond walked in without waiting for a response. He glanced around the small room Veronica was staying in and frowned. “This place is tiny. How are you supposed to live here? Move upstairs.”
Veronica was still puzzled. She hadn’t said a word. Raymond turned around to look at her and saw the dazed expression on her face, like she hadn’t fully woken up.
“What’s wrong? Still sleepy? That was when he noticed the wrinkled nightgown she was wearing, her messy long hair, the toothbrush in her hand, and a faint trace of foam at the corner of her mouth. She really didn’t look her best.
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5.09 PM P.
Chapter 13
The way she looked now reminded Raymond of the cat he had when he was a kid–dopey, soft, and so adorable that it gave him a rush of cute aggression.
He walked over to her and by the time he realized what he was doing, his fingertip had already brushed the corner of Veronica’s mouth. She was instantly stunned.
Just then, a voice came from behind her. “Ronie, are you-
