Chapter 120
"Who paid for it?" Martin chuckled.
Terry told him over the phone—it was Aaron, the newly appointed CEO of the Hill Group.
Martin laughed in anger. How obedient. He told Victoria to go find Aaron, and she actually did.
"Return the money. Put it through my account. And tell him something—I, Martin, am the Gonzalez family's son-in-law."
Hanging up, Martin lit a cigarette, then called Brian. "What's Victoria doing right now?"
Brian's eyelid twitched. Martin's interrogation call had finally come.
He looked at Victoria inside the restaurant, chatting happily with Aaron. If he told the truth, Martin would definitely make things difficult for Victoria.
Victoria had done him a favor. Without her, he and his wife would never have met, let alone gotten married.
"Mrs. Collins is out shopping," Brian lied on his own initiative.
Martin still sounded skeptical on the phone. "Really?"
"Really. Mrs. Collins seems to be in a pretty good mood."
"Of course she's happy. It would be weird if she wasn't." Martin sneered coldly, then hung up.
Brian let out a breath and nervously wiped away cold sweat.
Inside the restaurant.
Aaron served Victoria food, telling her to eat more, saying she looked like she'd lost weight.
Victoria felt something was off. This wasn't quite right—after all, she was a married woman. But Aaron used to be a police officer, and he'd helped her so much. Maybe she was overthinking it.
So she didn't hold back and ate the food Aaron had picked for her.
What they didn't know was that in another corner of the restaurant sat Mia. She sent the photos she'd just secretly taken to Martin's WhatsApp, along with a message: [Martin, guess what? I ran into Victoria and that Aaron at a hotpot restaurant. They're eating together. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were the married couple.]
After sending it, Mia pulled her cap down low, got up, paid her bill, and left the restaurant.
Knowing Martin as she did, Victoria was in for another lesson.
Aaron picked up his phone from the table and glanced at it. A refund notification popped up.
Right after, Terry's WhatsApp came through: [Mr. Hill, Mr. Collins thanks you for your concern for Mr. Gonzalez, but his point is that he is the Gonzalez family's son-in-law, so there's no need for you to do this.]
[Has Mr. Gonzalez's medical bill been paid?]
Aaron sent the message expressionlessly.
At that moment, Victoria's phone suddenly rang.
She glanced at the caller ID and hung up.
But Martin's call came again.
She didn't want to argue in the restaurant, especially in front of Aaron, so she held the phone in her palm and apologized to Aaron. "Mr. Hill, I need to step out to take a call. I'll be right back. Please, enjoy your meal."
"No problem, you do what you need to."
Aaron looked up with a gentle smile.
Then he watched Victoria leave the restaurant and stand on the steps, one hand in her down jacket pocket, answering the phone.
Victoria heard a mocking laugh through the phone. "Victoria, you've gotten bold, haven't you? Daring to hang up on me?"
"Mr. Collins, I'm very busy right now. I don't have time to listen to this." The cold wind hit her face like knives.
Martin scoffed. "Busy eating with Aaron, right? Victoria, you're not even divorced yet, and you're already this eager?"
"Are you done? If you're done, I'm hanging up." She stared calmly at the flickering neon lights across the street. So he was following her.
This was exactly the kind of thing Martin would do.
"Ten minutes. If you're not home, the consequences—"
Another threat.
Victoria didn't want to hear it. She abruptly hung up.
When she needed Martin's help the most, he watched coldly. He mocked and ridiculed. He schemed and used her. The one thing he didn't do was help.
She didn't want to deal with him anymore. She didn't even want to argue.
Back in the restaurant, she sat down again.
Looking at the unfinished food in her bowl, Victoria suddenly lost her appetite.
"Is something wrong?" Aaron was like an elegant gentleman, the curve of his lips just right when he spoke.
His voice was even more pleasant and deep, incredibly nice to hear.
Victoria pushed down the despair in her heart and shook her head with a smile. "No, just a scam call. Scammers are so aggressive these days. I got worked up and argued with him for a bit."
Aaron seemed to understand something but didn't say it outright.
She changed the subject. "Mr. Hill, no matter what, I have to thank you for your help today."
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Aaron thought about the refunded medical fees and frowned with a bitter smile. "Actually, I didn't really help you much."
Victoria didn't catch the meaning and thought he was being modest. "Mr. Hill, you're too kind. You've helped me tremendously."
"Actually, Martin does care about you, you just can't feel it." Aaron suddenly said this.
Victoria smiled bitterly and was about to argue when her phone rang.
Another WhatsApp message.
Martin's WhatsApp, brief but hitting her weak spot: [Victoria, if I don't see you at home within ten minutes, don't blame me for kicking your father out of the hospital!]
[Martin, you're despicable and shameless!]
Victoria was so angry she wanted to laugh. Gripping her phone, she quickly replied.
[I can be even more despicable and shameless. Try me!]
Victoria turned off her phone.
Aaron spoke up, wanting to tell her about the refunded medical fees. "Ms. Gonzalez, actually your father's medical fees were—"
"Mr. Hill, something came up suddenly. I need to go back. Let me pay the bill. Next time I'll treat you to a proper meal." Victoria interrupted.
Then, ignoring Aaron's attempts to stop her, she insisted on paying. After paying, she grabbed her bag, took a cab, and returned to Martin's apartment.
She used her key to open the door and found the place pitch black.
Martin hadn't come home at all.
Victoria breathed a sigh of relief, changed her shoes, and went back to the bedroom.
But she saw torn photos in the bedroom trash can.
She picked them up and looked—it was the back view photo of the mute boy!
That bastard Martin!
This was the only photo she had of the mute boy. It was the most crucial evidence for finding him.
Victoria pulled over a chair and sat down, then used double-sided tape to carefully piece the torn photo back together, bit by bit.
Her hands were skillful, and she quickly reassembled it.
Holding it in her hands under the lamplight, it was like a lost treasure found again.
At that moment, Martin came home with a cold face.
He saw Victoria's slippers missing from the shoe rack, and his expression softened considerably.
When he entered the bedroom, he saw Victoria with her back to him, sitting at the desk, head bent, examining something very carefully.
Martin deliberately slowed his steps and lowered his voice.
He walked up behind Victoria and saw her holding the reassembled photo of the mute boy's back view. She was smiling so sweetly. Martin's jealousy completely erupted.