On the way to the police station, Sydney could not stop turning the thought over in her mind. With Eloise, she had always endured and swallowed insult after insult because she knew the old woman\u2019s capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was certain Eloise despised her. Those eyes often regarded her as if she were already dead, yet the woman never struck the final blow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney had no power, no backing. She could not afford to provoke her. To survive, she had to stay meek. She had\u00a0<\/p>\n
to endure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, she had not endured in the Hampton family. Perhaps she had assumed she discovered Adeline\u2019s weakness, finally a leverage point to bargain with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the police station\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
The officers accepted the bag of clothes and promptly told Sydney to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney could not just walk away. \u201cOfficer, what\u2019s really happening with Tiffany\u2019s case? She would never persuade anyone to commit perjury.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The officer hesitated. \u201cWe\u2019ve had orders from higher up. It\u2019s serious. Until it\u2019s settled, no one is allowed to see her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words made Sydney\u2019s stomach tighten. What kind of case required \u201corders from higher up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pressed her lips together, about to push further, when her phone rang. The caller ID made her stomach drop. She thanked the officer quickly, hurried outside, and answered in a hard, cold voice. \u201cWas it you? Did you set up Tiffany?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, well.\u201d Victor\u2019s voice was lazy, mocking. \u201cGetting all worked up already?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any remaining doubt vanished.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney asked, \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to beg me,\u201d Victor drawled carelessly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor!\u201d Rain poured harder, and Sydney did not bother opening her umbrella. She strode toward her car, speaking fast. \u201cWhy drag Tiffany into this? Do you know what you\u2019re doing? You\u2019ll ruin her life!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In university, Tiffany had fought tooth and nail to study. After graduating, she had worked even harder. If this charge stuck, everything she had built would collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCut the crap.\u201d Victor\u2019s voice carried a cold finality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Consequences never touched him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He only sneered, \u201cSydney, I\u2019m done with the hard way this time. This time, I want you to come to me yourself. I want you to climb into my bed willingly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney\u2019s eyes burned red with fury, and she ground her teeth. \u201cIn your dreams.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew this was not his idea. He lacked the brains for it. Undoubtedly, it was Penelope\u2019s scheme again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney forced herself to think clearly. Then she floored the gas, steering straight for Viridian Garden. If Adeline would not lift a hand, she would go to Caleb.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the phone, Victor chuckled, unbothered. \u201cDream or not, we\u2019ll see soon enough. You have one night to think it over. If I don\u2019t see you before dawn tomorrow, your friend can look forward to prison.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hung up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney pressed her foot harder, nearly to the floor. By the time she reached Viridian Garden, she barely stopped the car. She left the engine running as she flung open the door and rushed inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upon hearing the car in the courtyard, Kelly Watts hurried to open the gate. She was surprised to see Sydney in such a panic. \u201cMs. Wilson, why are you back?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Caleb?\u201d Sydney asked, breathless, desperate to clutch at the last straw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kelly shook her head. \u201cHe isn\u2019t here. He has hardly come home these past few days.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018So that\u2019s what Caleb meant when he said Penelope had moved. He moved out with her,\u2018 she thought bitterly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 154 On the way to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-when-love-is-gone-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22272,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22136\/revisions\/22272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}