Chapter 313 Witness to Betrayal\u00a0<\/p>\n
64\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sky outside was just beginning to lighten, the deep blue of night yielding to the first hints. of dawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett had no desire to return to sleep. She went into the ensuite bathroom to wash her face and get ready for the day. What Vincent might be doing or thinking outside the door held no interest for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time she finished and stepped back into the bedroom, Vincent was gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once she was dressed, the early morning light had fully crept into the room. It was still very early, but Scarlett had no intention of lingering at Ravenshade Villa any longer than necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she left the guest room, she heard the sound of crying coming from Vanessa\u2019s room down\u00a0<\/p>\n
the hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWahhh\u2026 Daddy, Sabrina isn\u2019t answering my texts. She doesn\u2019t want me anymore!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door was slightly ajar. Through the gap, Scarlett saw Vincent standing by the bed while Vanessa stood on the mattress, her small arms wrapped tightly around his waist as she sobbed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing his daughter\u2019s distress, Vincent quickly tried to soothe her. \u201cIt\u2019s still very early, sweetheart. Sabrina is probably still asleep.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. \u201cBut Daddy, Sabrina always wakes me up at this time. She didn\u2019t today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent gently stroked her hair. \u201cHow about I call her for you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vanessa nodded vigorously, a spark of hope in her eyes. \u201cOkay!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holding Vanessa, Vincent pulled out his phone and dialed Sabrina\u2019s number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The call connected, but was immediately met with a cold, automated voicemail greeting informing him the subscriber was unavailable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett, still paused in the hallway, heard the faint robotic message through the door. Thinking of Sabrina\u2019s late\u2013night video and her habits, a cynical thought crossed Scarlett\u2019s mind\u2013perhaps Sabrina had simply had a very enjoyable night and was now sleeping it off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the thought, Scarlett gave a small, humorless shake of her head and continued downstairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From her perch on the bed, Vanessa\u2019s eyes, still glistening with tears, had been fixed on the sliver of hallway visible through the doorway. She had seen the shadow of someone passing by -it was Scarlett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:08 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 313 Witness to Betrayal\u00a0<\/p>\n
64\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, Mommy heard me cry?\u00a0<\/p>\n
But why doesn\u2019t she come in to check on her? Before, she always would.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But this wasn\u2019t the first time, or even the second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A sad, final certainty settled in Vanessa\u2019s young heart\u2013Mommy didn\u2019t love her anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, fine. If Mommy didn\u2019t want her, she still had Sabrina.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since Sabrina\u2019s phone was off, Vanessa\u2019s crying subsided into hiccups. She looked up at Vincent. \u201cDaddy, Sabrina must just be really tired. She\u2019s sleeping in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent gently pinched her cheek. \u201cMhm.\u201d Even as he agreed, he knew this was out of character for Sabrina. As a doctoral student, she kept her phone on at all times, needing to be reachable for her research advisor or university matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*****\u00a0<\/p>\n
That afternoon, Scarlett was in her office at the hospital, finishing up some patient charts, when her phone screen lit up on the desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a message from Claire. Opening the app, Scarlett saw Claire had sent a short video clip. In it, Sabrina was walking arm\u2013in\u2013arm with Vincent, looking at display models in what appeared to be a luxury real estate office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A follow\u2013up text from Claire came through. \u201cYour husband is house hunting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett didn\u2019t understand the implication and replied with a simple question mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s response was immediate. \u201cSeriously. Looks like he\u2019s picking one out for Sabrina.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett stared at the message for a long moment. Then, her fingers moved calmly over the screen. \u201cCan you get a few more photos? If there\u2019s any money to be claimed back later, we\u2019ll split it 50\/50.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire, who was far from needing money, wasn\u2019t interested in that. Her concern was for her friend. \u201cYou\u2019re not upset?\u201d she texted back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett\u2019s reply was succinct and weary. \u201cWhat\u2019s the point?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
*****\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, after a day of viewings with Sabrina, Vincent had finally settled on a property\u2013a sleek, modern villa located in the same exclusive neighborhood as Ravenshade Villa, just a short walk away. Its proximity was the first advantage; the property\u2019s quality and privacy were\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:08 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 313 Witness to Betrayal-\u00a0<\/p>\n
the second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Vincent completed the preliminary paperwork, Sabrina looked at him, bewildered. \u201cVincent, why are you buying a place for me all of a sudden?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
64\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent straightened up from the table and looked at her, his gaze soft. \u201cYou and your mother should have a proper home of your own.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sabrina frowned slightly. \u201cBut\u2026 we have Ravenshade Villa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent\u2019s eyes held a trace of remorse. \u201cWhat happened last night was unfair to both of you. I don\u2019t want you to be put in that position again. From now on, you can live here. Whenever Vanessa misses you, she can come over anytime. It\u2019s close.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing this, Sabrina\u2019s eyes welled up. She threw her arms around Vincent\u2019s neck, her voice thick with emotion. \u201cVincent, you\u2019re too good to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He returned her embrace gently. \u201cIt\u2019s the least I can do. I handled things poorly yesterday. It won\u2019t happen again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
*****\u00a0<\/p>\n
That evening, just after seven, Scarlett was unexpectedly pulled from her routine. She was informed she needed to accompany an Emergency Room physician on an urgent home visit\u2014 a call\u2013out just as her shift was about to end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The demand for overtime instantly put her in a sour mood. The only small consolation was that the address was for a residential area less than two miles from the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The patient was a young child, which required the specialized assessment of a pediatrician like Scarlett. Fortunately, the case was straightforward\u2013a bad case of the seasonal flu with a high fever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After accompanying the child and their anxious parents back to the hospital for further observation, Scarlett finally returned to her own department to wrap up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she saved the last of her notes and leaned back in her chair to stretch, her phone screen lit up once more on the cluttered desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She glanced over. This time, it was a text message from Xavier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.1K\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editorial Board: Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.<\/p>\n
Silent Dreams Never Die \u2014 Author: John Miller 313 Chapter 313 Witness to Betrayal\u00a0 64\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 The sky outside was […]<\/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":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-impossible-condition-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27677","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=27677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}