The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 198

The plagiarism incident had started with her; Tamara had been dragged into it.

But then things had spiraled out of Victoria's control. She never imagined Tamara would resort to such an extreme method to prove her innocence, let alone that it would lead to a mental breakdown.

If she put herself in Abbey's shoes, watching her own sister—who she'd grown up with, who had always been gentle and kind—be betrayed by a roommate she trusted, have her designs stolen, and then be framed as the plagiarist…

The campus that once held all of her sister's dreams had become a living hell, swallowing her whole and turning her into a walking corpse.

And the person responsible for it all was living freely, as if nothing had happened.

What would she do?

She would be furious. She would hate. She would want to make the culprit suffer, to inflict a pain ten, twenty, even a hundred times worse than what her sister had endured.

Victoria opened her eyes and looked at the white funeral banners fluttering gently in the wind. Her face grew pale.

So…

Abbey, is this your revenge?

Did you deliberately get close to Grady, secretly looking for an opportunity to get justice for Tamara?

What was your role in all of this? Did you say something to Genevieve, or was this whole thing part of your plan from the start?

Victoria didn't know how long she stood there in the snow.

By the time she returned to the inn, her face was numb.

Rita was warming herself by the stove. Hearing the door, she quickly stood up. "Miss, you're back! Did you go to the Prescotts? Did you find your relative?"

Victoria didn't respond. She walked right past Rita and headed for her room upstairs.

Rita watched her go, muttering to herself, "So mysterious."

Then, a thought seemed to strike her. She turned her head and looked at Victoria's BMW MINI. An imperceptible glint appeared in her eyes. She pushed the door open, walked outside, and circled the car twice before pulling out her phone and snapping a picture, which she then sent.

-

A Maybach sped down the asphalt road.

The center console screen showed a Bluetooth call in progress. Jonah Chase's voice came through the speakers.

"Damn it, after two months of checking surveillance footage, I finally found the bastard Harry Brown said was paying him off! The scumbag is good at hiding. To think he'd hole up in such a godforsaken place."

Elias kept his eyes on the road. "Did you find out who he is?" he asked in a low voice.

Jonah ground his teeth. "That's the most infuriating part! The identity he registered with the police is fake. I tried to trace it, but it's a damn rabbit hole. I can't find the end of it."

Jonah was now certain he hadn't misheard. "I thought the plan was for me to take some guys tomorrow! If you go now, it'll be dark by the time you get there. We don't even know if that bastard is still there or what the situation is. If you go alone without backup and something happens, like five years ago…"

"Victoria is there," Elias cut him off, his voice heavy.

Jonah was stunned silent for nearly half a minute. "Victoria? What's she doing in Rivertown?"

"I don't know."

"You two… Fine. Great. I guess it's true what they say, you two are just alike," Jonah said, rubbing his forehead.

"I'll stay in Rivertown for the night and check things out first. Tomorrow morning, Hawk will come with you to meet me."

With that, Elias hung up, glanced at the speedometer, and floored the accelerator.

The engine let out a low growl, and the car shot forward like a blade.

-

Night fell.

The small inn had no air conditioning. As darkness fell, the little warmth from the daytime sun vanished completely. Each breath felt so cold it was as if her lungs were freezing.

"Miss, are you asleep?" Rita's voice came from outside the door.