The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 195

'Victoria's 20th birthday present, which I never got to give her. I never imagined she could be so foolish, risking her own life to save a man.'

'A collection of Victoria's discarded design sketches. I don't know what happened, but she was so unhappy after winning the design competition. The moment she got home, she threw this in the trash.'

'Victoria's college graduation photo.'

'Dad's verdict is out. Today is Victoria's wedding registration day. This is my wedding gift for her. I hope I get a chance to give it to her later.'

'Victoria said she's getting a divorce.'

Tears fell one after another onto the notes, blurring the strong, forceful handwriting.

Victoria gripped the notes, the jagged edges of the paper digging into her palms. Each word was a fresh blow, leaving her gasping for air in the silent room. Her heart felt as if it were being torn to shreds, the pain so intense she had to bite down on her lip.

She had thought Grady would have locked away confidential company documents, or perhaps some of his personal collectibles. She never would have imagined it would be her things, each one so carefully treasured by him.

"Grady..." Victoria bit her own arm, trying to swallow her sobs, but the tears wouldn't stop.

Suddenly, a photograph slipped out from the collection of her old design sketches.

It was a picture of her from behind.

On the back, in Grady's handwriting, was a note: [Came to Victoria's school for a lecture today and went to see her. Didn't expect to see her on the way back to her dorm after class.]

In the photo, she was walking along a campus path in a pale yellow dress. It must have been taken while he was moving, as the developed picture was slightly blurred.

Victoria stared at the photo for a long time. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something in the upper right corner. A pair of figures slammed into her vision.

Her pupils contracted. Her heart, which had just begun to calm, started to pound violently as she recognized the two figures. The suspicion that had been forming in her mind was now screaming for release.

The person on the left was Tamara. And on the right...

Was Abbey.

They were walking arm-in-arm, passing her from the opposite direction.

'Abbey, Tamara. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were sisters.'

Garnett's words echoed in her ears.

If Victoria had only been suspicious before, seeing the two of them in this photograph made them look like co-conspirators, bound together by a string of fate.

The various theories that had been flashing through her mind now grew like weeds, overwhelming her.

Abbey...

She knew Tamara. In fact, they were sisters!

Victoria's knuckles turned white as she clenched the photograph.

Fortunately, there was a home address. Judging by the location, it was likely her family's home in a rural town on the outskirts of The Imperial Capital.

If this address was real, it meant it was also Tamara's address.

After Tamara's suicide attempt, Victoria had tried to see her, but she was still recovering in the hospital and refused to meet. The Prescotts had become extremely emotional and told her not to come back.

Later, when public opinion turned against her, she had no time to worry about Tamara's whereabouts.

So much time had passed. Perhaps subconsciously, Victoria had chosen to forget that period of her life, and so she had never tried to find Tamara again.

Victoria paused for a moment before speaking to Saul. "Saul, I need you to go to Imperial University. Ask Abbey's professors and classmates if they have any idea where she is. I'm... I'm going to her house."

After hanging up, she walked out of the study, photograph in hand.

Mr. Flint was on his way up with a bowl of freshly made sweet fruit soup when he saw Victoria rushing out. "Miss Victoria, are you leaving?"

Victoria looked down at the photo in her hand, a storm of emotions churning within her.

If what she suspected was true...

How was she supposed to face it?

"Mr. Flint, something urgent has come up. The fruit soup... I'll have it next time I'm back." Victoria took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and went straight downstairs and left.