Chapter 113 Infidelity?
That night, Quinley couldn't sleep. She'd always been an overthinker, and after Zachary's stunt today, her mind was a complete mess.
That night, Zachary couldn't sleep either. He'd worked until three in the morning, then took a shower. But Quinley's image haunted him. He ended up sitting against the headboard until dawn broke.
As for Lucas, he didn't sleep a wink either. He was stuck holding those things with no idea what to do with them. Return them to Zachary on Quinley's behalf? He worried Zachary would kick his head clean off his shoulders. Give them back to Quinley? With her stubborn-mule personality, she'd definitely refuse. He couldn't just keep them for himself either.
Poor Lucas was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The next day brought clear skies and sunshine.
Marlee took Colin to the community hospital for physical therapy while Quinley met with Detective Wilson. At ten AM, the two crossed paths in the bus terminal's waiting area.
Detective Wilson had gone full homeless person for this meetup—tattered clothes, beat-up shoes, and a beer dangling from one hand. He hunched his back, his messy hair covering most of his face. He wore thick bottle-bottom glasses and had a circle of realistic-looking fake beard glued around his mouth.
Quinley didn't recognize him at first glance. He walked past her, lowering his voice. "Third row, fifth seat. Wait for me there."
Quinley didn't make a scene. Detective Wilson's line of work demanded absolute discretion. She did as instructed. A few minutes later, he sat down in the chair next to her and pulled out an old-school flip phone, pretending to make a call.
"The person you asked me to investigate—she seems to have left Rosewood City. What's strange is that I can't find anything about her past." He'd been looking into Susan per Quinley's request.
Everyone has a past. If you've existed in this world, you leave traces. When someone's past is completely blank, it means someone deliberately erased it.
"You're saying someone intentionally covered up her past?" Quinley wore earbuds, her head bent over her phone. To an observer, it wouldn't look like she was communicating with Detective Wilson at all.
"Ms. Elikin, I'm advising you to drop this investigation."
Quinley was shocked. She turned to look at Detective Wilson. He maintained perfect composure, not a crack in his disguise.
"Why? You told me before you could definitely find information on her."
Detective Wilson moved the flip phone away from his ear and also turned to look at Quinley. Those sharp, cautious eyes settled on her face. "I can't be completely certain—besides you, there are at least four other groups investigating her. Of course, some people are also investigating you. For safety's sake, today will be our last meeting."
He slowly stood up, preparing to leave. Quinley stood too. "Among those four groups—is Zachary one of them?"
"Yes." Detective Wilson didn't hesitate.
For a moment, Quinley couldn't identify what she was feeling. But quickly, she gave a self-deprecating smile, and her emotions settled back to calm.
"Help me with one last thing."
Detective Wilson shuffled toward the ticket machine, pretending to buy a ticket. Quinley also moved toward it.
"What is it?"
"I need a completely new identity."
"Alright." Detective Wilson didn't ask questions. He simply agreed.
"As soon as possible. It's urgent." Quinley caught up to add that last bit. Detective Wilson didn't respond—he'd already shuffled away in his flip-flops.
After leaving the bus terminal, Quinley headed to the mall.
The third of next month was Marlee's birthday. She might not be in Rosewood City by then, so she wanted to pick out a gift in advance. But as luck would have it, the moment Quinley entered the mall, she ran into Lucas.
Actually, it wasn't exactly a coincidence. After dropping Zachary at the office, he'd requested a half-day off. He'd sent Quinley messages that went unanswered, then drove to the Elikin family home and knocked with no response. So he'd driven to places Quinley frequented, and spotted her along the way.
"Ms. Elikin." Lucas had finally found Quinley. The weight on his chest felt like it might finally lift.
It was a weekday morning, and the mall was quiet. Lucas's loud call echoed awkwardly in the space.
Quinley turned around to find Lucas already rushing up to her. "You're a hard woman to track down." He was out of breath.
Quinley's brow furrowed slightly. "Mr. Murphy, what do you need from me?"
Lucas pulled out the property deed and bank card, hastily shoving them at Quinley. "This... I can't return these for you. If you don't want them, give them back to Mr. Jennings yourself."
Lucas felt relieved—the hot potato was finally out of his hands. He didn't care whether Quinley accepted them or not. After shoving them at her, he immediately turned and bolted. The items fell to the ground. Quinley bent down to pick them up. By the time she straightened, Lucas had vanished without a trace.
But Quinley found herself face to face with someone she really didn't want to see.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here—our future sister-in-law! Helen, do you see this? She's got some nerve, doesn't she, cheating so brazenly?" Lisa's voice dripped with sarcasm.
She walked toward Quinley with Helen's arm looped through hers, triumph written all over her face, though her eyes brimmed with hostility.
"Quinley, who was that man just now?" Helen asked, her brow furrowed in accusation.
"A former colleague." Quinley answered.
She hadn't had time to tuck the items into her purse yet. Lisa let out a cold laugh and forcibly snatched them from Quinley's hands. "Oh please! You think we're idiots? This is a property deed and a bank card. What ordinary colleague is that generous? Why don't you introduce us? The Brown family has a reputation to uphold in Rosewood City. You really need to think carefully—with your credentials, you think you're good enough for the Brown family?"
Classic viper Lisa.
"Whether or not I'm good enough for the Brown family, Ms. Brown, that's not your call to make." Quinley smiled faintly and took back what belonged to her. She looked delicate, but she was solid as a rock.
"Helen, she's completely disrespecting me. I'm a Brown, and what is she? How dare she look down on me?"
Helen's expression soured. She grabbed Lisa's arm. "Lisa, this is David's business. As his sisters, we should probably stay out of it." Helen gave Quinley a slight nod and tried to pull Lisa away.
But after a few steps, Lisa shook her off and charged back to Quinley. "You really think you're untouchable, don't you? Seducing my brother while having something shady going on with other men—you think the Brown family is some ocean that can hold sewage like you?"
She pointed right at Quinley's nose, her voice loud enough that the few shoppers in the mall all turned to stare.
Quinley raised her hand and slapped Lisa across the face without hesitation. Her cool eyes suddenly turned ice-cold, sending chills down spines. Lisa was used to throwing her weight around. She never imagined Quinley would actually hit her.
"You dare hit me? Try hitting me again!"
Another crisp slap landed on her other cheek.
The rubberneckers all froze in shock. Lisa's eyes went wide as saucers. She couldn't believe Quinley had actually hit her again. Furious, she lunged at Quinley with clawed hands, aiming for her face.
Quinley took one step back. Lisa, consumed by rage, missed completely and face-planted on the floor.
Helen saw things spiraling out of control and rushed over to help Lisa up. "Get up quickly. All these people are watching—the Brown family can't afford to lose face like this."
The two of them were regulars at this mall, always coming here to shop. From management to store clerks, plenty of people recognized the Brown sisters.
"Quinley, let's show some mercy here. Once you join the Brown family, we'll all be family. Lisa's blunt, but she doesn't mean any harm. You don't need to be so confrontational."
Lisa had provoked her repeatedly, attacking her with vicious words—and that was "doesn't mean any harm"? Quinley had simply taught her a lesson—how was that being confrontational?
Quinley finally understood. The Brown sisters were playing good cop, bad cop, making it crystal clear they didn't want her joining the family. But what they didn't know was that Quinley had never planned on becoming part of the Brown family in the first place.
Lisa was the firecracker, Helen the diplomat. Together, they were formidable. Quinley wasn't equipped to fight them head-on.
But what she excelled at was playing the innocent victim.
Quinley shrugged, deliberately putting on a look of pure innocence. "But Lisa told me to hit her. I didn't want to at first, but she said to try it, so since she wanted me to try... I just listened to her and gave it a shot!"
Before she finished speaking, Lisa exploded. She had a short fuse, and Quinley twisting her words like this was intolerable.
"You bitch! I hope you rot in hell!" She cursed furiously, raising her hand to slap Quinley.
Quinley could have dodged. But she didn't.
A sharp crack rang out. Lisa's palm didn't land on Quinley's face—it landed squarely on someone else's.