She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 459

"Pleading with us won't do you any good. It's up to the two of them if they want to settle this out of court. If they press charges, your son is looking at jail time!"

The color completely drained from Camilla's face at the mention of jail time.

"No, no, he can't go to jail. Absolutely not."

She hurried over to Melanie, putting on a show of desperation, though her eyes brimmed with toxic resentment.

"Melanie, please. You two were married. You shared a life together! How can you be so utterly heartless as to watch him get locked up in a cell?"

"Maybe he should have thought of that before he decided to attack me in the street!"

Melanie snapped back without missing a beat.

"Melanie, listen to reason..."

Gregory smoothly interjected, taking control of the conversation.

"Dominic lost his temper. He acted impulsively, but it was all just a terrible misunderstanding... I swear to you, I will handle him the second we get home. This will never happen again... For the sake of the long history between our families, please, just agree to settle!"

Unlike his wife and son, Gregory was a shrewd, calculating man who knew exactly how to play the game.

But Melanie wasn't buying it. Her response was immediate and unwavering.

"Not a chance."

The faces of the entire Hale family darkened simultaneously.

Standing right beside her, Preston watched her fierce determination, the faint shadow of a proud smile touching his lips.

Right on cue, Melanie's cell phone began to ring.

She didn't answer immediately.

A sinking intuition told her exactly who was on the other end.

Letting out a soft sigh, she finally accepted the call.

"Melanie..."

It was her father, Nathaniel.

"I heard about the mess at the station with Dominic. Tell me you're not actually refusing to settle this."

Hearing the subtle edge of coercion in her father's tone, her gaze naturally drifted over to Gregory.

The old fox really had covered all his bases. He must have called Nathaniel before even stepping foot in the precinct.

"Melanie, he's practically family. Don't blow this out of proportion."

She let out a dry, bitter laugh.

Besides, he had hired a private investigator right before getting discharged.

The report proved that she had been living with this guy at Rosevale Heights for a while.

She loved riding the moral high ground about his infidelity, but hadn't she been keeping a boy toy on the side the whole time?

The sheer hypocrisy of it drove him crazy, which was exactly why he had ambushed her tonight.

He figured the best-case scenario was forcing her to get back together with him.

And if she refused? Well, he was determined to at least take her to bed once.

Just to make the entire doomed marriage worth his time.

Instead, his surefire plan had completely imploded, and he had been beaten to a bloody pulp for nothing.

His blood boiled at the humiliation.

While Dominic stewed in his corner, Preston calmly addressed the man on speakerphone.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"Mr. Whitmore, I need you to talk some sense into my daughter. Convince her to drop the charges... If you do this, consider it a personal favor owed to you by me."