Chapter 81 Suspicion
Vanessa blurted it out, her voice sharp and high. The moment the words left her mouth, she froze.
She immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She sat on the couch in silence and stole a glance at Vincent. When she saw his eyes narrow slightly, her heart sank. She let out a nervous laugh and tried to backtrack. "I... what I meant was, how could that be?"
"Those people were after me-didn't we already go over that?"
Vincent said nothing, which made her even more anxious. She gently took his uninjured hand and looked up at him, her eyes growing red. "Vince, did you make someone your enemy? I'm so worried about you."
"I was just thinking out loud." Vincent pulled his hand away. "Any progress on your investigation?"
Vanessa leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, her voice tinged with hurt. "No. The police said the person was wearing a mask and a hat, so they couldn't make out the face. The security cameras didn't catch a clear shot either. They said they'd keep looking into it, but there's been no news so far."
Vincent gave a quiet "mm" and left it at that.
Vanessa pressed a little further, her fingers gently tracing over his bandaged arm, her voice soft. "Let me take a look at your injury. It was bleeding — did you pull it again?"
Vincent didn't push her away. He let her carefully unwrap the bandage. She let out a small gasp, then rushed to find the first aid kit, dabbed on some antiseptic, and called the housekeeper to bring fresh bandages. The whole thing turned into quite an ordeal.
Once the bandaging was done, Vincent stood up. "I'm going to take a shower."
Vanessa stood up too. "Your hand can't get wet. Let me help you."
"It's fine. Get some rest — you've had a long day." Vincent said, already heading upstairs.
Vanessa stood in the living room and watched him disappear at the top of the stairs. The warmth on her face slowly faded.
Her fingers curled into a fist.
Something was off with Vincent lately.
Anyone with half a brain could see it.
Vanessa was no fool. Far from it — she was sharp and perceptive.
She thought back to what she'd blurted out just now, and a wave of unease rolled through her. She was terrified that the whole act was about to fall apart.
She knew better than anyone that the only reason Vincent had ended things with Daisy so quickly was that she had taken a knife for him. He'd acted out of shock and guilt — that was all.
And ever since she moved in, whether she'd hinted at it directly or indirectly, there had been no real intimacy between them. Not even close. Let alone anything more.
His excuse sounded reasonable enough — he didn't want to aggravate her injury — but Vanessa knew the truth. If you really love someone, you can't help being drawn to them.
Vincent wasn't drawn to her. Not at all.
How could she possibly feel at ease?
If the act was exposed, what would happen to her? Vanessa didn't even dare think about it.
The anxiety sat in her chest like a worm, gnawing away and giving her no peace.
--
Upstairs, Vincent stood under the shower. Warm water ran over his shoulders and down onto his injured arm, soaking through the bandage and bringing a dull, stinging pain.
He didn't mind pain. It sharpened his mind.
He stood there with his eyes closed, replaying the moment over and over.
When Vanessa said "impossible," she'd sounded too certain — like she already knew the answer.
Why?
When it first happened, his mind had been flooded with shock and guilt. But looking back now, something felt off.
The attacker's knife had definitely been aimed at him — but right before it made contact, it seemed to pause. Just for a moment, as if waiting for something. And it was in that moment that Vanessa had thrown herself at him from the side.
It almost felt like... like the attacker had been waiting for her to do exactly that.
And now that he thought about it — that day, he'd only needed to go alone to discuss the deal. It was Vanessa who had insisted on coming, acting like she was really interested in the project.
But she'd never asked about it again after that.
Vincent opened his eyes. Water streamed down his face. His gaze was distant and unreadable.
--
Luna was picked up from her great-great-grandmother's house on Sunday evening.
The moment she got home, she ran around calling out "Mommy, Mommy," but after searching upstairs and down, there was no sign of her.
"Auntie Vanessa, where's my mom? Did she move out again?"
Vanessa smiled. "Your mom is staying at a friend's place. Isn't having Auntie Vanessa enough?"
"Sigh." Luna drooped like a little old lady.
"Great-great-grandma sent back so much yummy food! Chicken soup, cheese corn egg tarts — all the stuff Mommy loves."
Vanessa smiled and patted her head. "Was there anything you like?"
"Of course! Great-great-grandma is such a good cook! Everything she made that day was my favorite — especially the chicken soup!" Luna's eyes lit up, then she suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, Daddy had some too! He had a whole big bowl!"
She held her hands apart to show how big.
Vanessa's eyes flickered. "Daddy was there too?"
"Yeah!" Luna nodded. "Daddy and Mommy went together. They shared a room, but Great-great-grandma said the bed was too small, so she made me sleep with her instead of Mommy and Daddy."
She pouted a little. "I haven't slept with Mommy in so long."
The smile on Vanessa's face went rigid.
They shared a room?
The two pieces of information spun around in her head, forming a picture that made her blood run cold.
Her hand tightened around the couch cushion, her nails digging into the fabric.
But her expression stayed perfectly calm.
"Well, that's because Great-great-grandma loves you so much. And you haven't slept with her in a long time either, right?" she said with a smile, her voice as gentle as ever.
Luna kept chattering about this and that. Vanessa listened, chiming in every now and then, while her mind buzzed with noise.
She'd known Vincent was hiding things from her. But she hadn't expected the truth to be so much worse than she'd imagined.
He'd shared a room with her. Shared a bed. And said nothing — not a single word, not even a hint.
Had they gotten back together?
Had he decided not to go through with the divorce? Were the signed papers, the whole process already underway — was all of it about to be thrown out?
She took a slow, deep breath and pushed the churning emotions back down. Then she smiled and asked, "Luna, has your mom said anything to you lately?"
Luna tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Not really. Mommy doesn't pick up when I call. I think... I think there's someone bad following her. I have to go everywhere with a bunch of bodyguards now!"
She scrunched up her face.
Something stirred in Vanessa's chest. "Oh, really?"
--
That night, Daisy stayed over at Shawn's place. Shawn had been in a bad mood for days, still hung up on the situation with Marcus.
Daisy felt bad for her and decided to come keep her company. She caught a ride over herself, so there was no need for Vincent to drop her off or pick her up.
She'd just finished washing up and was about to go to sleep when her phone rang. It was Luna.
She hesitated, then answered.
"Mommy!" Luna's bright, clear voice came through the phone. "Are you free next week?"
Daisy thought for a second. "What's going on?"
"I almost forgot to tell you — our school has parent-teacher conferences next Friday!" Luna's voice was full of hope. "Are you coming?"