Chapter 137

EMILY

The woman looked strangely calm now, like she had finally reached the part of the conversation she had been waiting for all along.

Then she folded her arms loosely and looked directly at me.

“The Montegos stole from my late husband.”

I frowned immediately.

“What?”

“They took everything from him,” she continued smoothly. “And Cecelia Thompson helped them do it back then.”

The coldness in her voice made me straighten slowly.

Vivian stepped away from the car and started walking toward the garden path while speaking, forcing me to follow after her.

“Cecelia was sleeping with Mateo’s father years ago,” she said without hesitation. “That woman became their backbone, their connection, their protection. Every single time my husband tried to fight back, somehow the Montegos always stayed ahead. I later got to knew it was becasue the snake was always at our place, sleeping over at the house, forming tight bonds with my daughter. That lady has always been cheap even back then in college.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

“And you think marrying your granddaughters into their family fixes that?”

“It gives us access.”

Vivian turned toward me again, her expression sharpening.

“That family built their empire with what belonged to mine, Emily. I spent years waiting for the right opportunity to get it back.”

I let out a dry laugh and rubbed my forehead slowly.

“This is insane.”

“No,” she corrected calmly. “What’s insane is letting people destroy your family and doing nothing about it.”

I looked away for a second, trying to process everything she was throwing at me. Everything was just too much.

Every conversation with this woman somehow became worse than the last.

“And Hazel?” I asked finally. “Why not her?”

Vivian’s lips pressed together briefly before she answered.

“Because Hazel is too soft.”

That irritated me instantly.

“She’s not soft.”

“She is,” Vivian replied bluntly. “Hazel loves too easily. She forgives too quickly. She wouldn’t survive doing what needs to be done.”

Then her eyes settled on me fully.

“But you would.”

I blinked slowly.

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Vivian tilted her head slightly.

“You almost cheated on your husband,” she said calmly. “That alone tells me you’re capable of things Hazel would never even consider.”

The words hit me so hard that I actually stepped back.

“Wow,” I muttered in disbelief. “That’s really low, even for you.”

Vivian only shrugged.

“Was I wrong?”

“It was a moment of weakness.”

“Oh please,” she scoffed. “Weakness always reveals character.”

Anger rushed through me so fast that my chest tightened painfully.

“You don’t know anything about my marriage.”

“I know enough,” she replied coolly. “And honestly, Emily, you can always go back to your ex-husband later. I’m not asking you to love another man forever.”

I stared at her.

Then very slowly, realization started settling in.

“You actually planned all this,” I said quietly.

Vivian didn’t deny it.

Instead, she stepped closer.

“You’re going to marry Mateo Montego.”

The statement landed heavily between us.

I laughed once in disbelief.

“You cannot be serious.”

“Once you marry him,” she continued like I hadn’t spoken, “half of what belongs to that family becomes tied to you. And once Mateo becomes fully invested in you emotionally, getting control becomes even easier.”

I shook my head immediately.

“No.”

“You have to make him want you.”

“No.”

“You have to make him trust you.”

I stared at her like she had completely lost her mind.

“I’m not doing this.”

Vivian’s expression hardened instantly.

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Yes, I do,” I snapped back. “I know Ryan didn’t sleep with Miranda now. Nothing is keeping me here anymore.”

For the first time since this conversation started, Vivian smiled slightly.

But the smile didn’t comfort me.

If anything, it made me more uneasy.

“Your marriage won’t even be real,” she said calmly. “That arrangement will only exist between you and me.”

I frowned deeply.

“What?”

“You’ll stay married long enough to secure what I need,” Vivian explained. “Your daughter goes back home to Ryan, and when the time is right, you follow after her.”

I stared at her in complete disbelief.

“You actually expect me to destroy my family for you?”

“I expect you to protect your own. If Ryan loves you, he would wait for you… although I still don’t like anything tied to Cecelia.”

“Are you for realy?,” I snapped. “This is manipulation.”

Vivian sighed impatiently.

“You’re looking at this emotionally when you should be looking at it strategically.”

I shook my head harder now.

“No. Absolutely not. I would never do that to Ryan.”

Something dangerous flickered across her face immediately.

Then she chuckled softly.

“Bold of you to assume you have a choice.”

My stomach tightened instantly.

“What does that mean?”

Vivian took one slow step toward me.

“I believe you love him enough not to want harm coming to him.”

The words came out so calmly that they chilled me more than shouting would have.

I stared at her.

“You’re threatening him?”

“I’m advising you to think wisely.”

My breathing slowed painfully.

For several seconds neither of us spoke.

The evening breeze moved lightly through the trees around us while I stood frozen in place, trying to understand how this woman had transformed so quickly.

A few minutes ago she had looked like a grieving grandmother desperate to reconnect with me.

Now she sounded like someone fully capable of ruining lives without blinking.

And the worst part was that she didn’t even look guilty about it.

Vivian adjusted the strap of her handbag calmly before turning toward the house.

“You’ll thank me one day,” she said without looking back.

Then she walked away.

Just like that.

Leaving me standing alone beside the driveway while my entire body felt numb.

I stayed there for a long moment without moving.

My head hurt.

My chest felt tight.

Every single thing around me suddenly felt unstable.

I finally forced my legs to move and slowly walked toward the house.

The second I stepped inside, Hazel rushed toward me immediately.

“Emily?”

I lifted one hand before she could say anything else.

Just enough to stop her.

Because if anyone asked me one more question today, I genuinely felt like I might lose my mind.

Hazel stopped instantly, concern all over her face.

I avoided her eyes completely and walked past her toward the staircase.

“Emily, wait—”

“I can’t talk right now.”

My own voice sounded strange to me.

Hazel stayed downstairs while I dragged myself up the staircase and toward my room.

The moment I stepped inside, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it heavily.

Then finally, for the first time all day, the silence hit me properly.

I looked around the room slowly.

The packed bag sitting near the bed.

My passport hidden inside.

The plans Hazel and I made to escape.

Just this morning everything had felt simple.

Now...

Because even if Ryan was innocent about Miranda…

Even if those photos were fake…

Vivian had already made one thing painfully clear.

Ryan was not safe if I do not follow her plans.

And somehow, that scared me more than losing him.

I slowly slid down against the door until I was sitting on the floor.

Then I covered my face with both hands while one horrible thought kept repeating itself inside my head.

Was a few weeks of happiness with Ryan really worth risking losing him forever?