Chapter 88 They Started Fighting
A flash of gloom passed through Steven's eyes, but when he heard her mention calling the police, his expression paused slightly.
Meeting her helpless gaze seeking support, his heart melted completely.
He raised his hand to gently caress her cheek, his voice tender and patient, "Of course you can call the police, but isn't Stargaze Gallery about to hold Autumn and Leo's joint exhibition?
If this matter becomes public, it will definitely damage Stargaze Gallery's image and affect the exhibition."
He paused, thought for a moment, and asked, "That glass of juice is important evidence - fingerprints can be extracted from it. Do you still have the juice?"
Rachel could see the heartache on his face, his deep affection showing concern for her, along with a hint of weighing pros and cons.
To put it bluntly, he was just worried that Nancy might really be the one who drugged her, afraid it would be hard to handle after calling the police, so now he wanted to talk her out of reporting it.
In a situation concerning her and the child's life, he still chose to protect Nancy.
How ridiculous, how pathetic.
Nancy was more important to him than her and the baby in her belly.
So what did his current heartache and deep affection mean?
Six years of feelings going down the drain left her somewhat dazed, her eyes feeling hot and swollen.
It was fortunate this was a fake pregnancy, otherwise she really could have gone through with the abortion.
Even if it meant harming herself, she would have made that choice.
She suppressed her emotions again and again to keep them from spilling out, her face covered with worry, "I didn't keep it after I sent the juice to the testing center that day."
Then she sighed, "You're right, if we make a fuss now, it would be bad for Stargaze Gallery's reputation. But if we can't find out who did it,
I feel uneasy. This time I noticed it, but what about next time? I'm scared."
Steven frowned, thinking, "Copy that day's surveillance footage and give me a copy. I'll help you investigate this. Until we have leads, don't eat anything from others at Stargaze Gallery.
Starting tomorrow, I'll have Quinn prepare meals and deliver them to you at noon every day."
Since he was being so thoughtful, Rachel had no reason to refuse.
As if sensing her anxiety, Steven stroked her head, softly comforting her, "Honey, don't be afraid. I'm always by your side, you can rely on me anytime."
He said it so sincerely and earnestly.
If the dense pain in her heart hadn't faded yet, she might have been somewhat moved.
Rely on him?
Perhaps that would only make her end more miserable.
She stared at his expression, unable to detect any guilt or shame.
When he said these things, didn't he feel guilty at all?
Perhaps this realization made her emotions somewhat fractured and collapsed. That night, lying in bed, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she sank into a dream where everything around her was dark. No matter how she ran or called out, there was no light or response.
That oppressive, panicked, even desperate emotion, like the grim reaper claiming lives, approached her step by step, trying to trap her forever in this dark world.
Suddenly, she seemed to hear a voice calling her, "Rachel! Rachel!"
That pleasant, deep voice carried an urgent shout.
But the voice grew fainter and fainter. As her consciousness completely faded, she heard the sound of water.
Had someone fallen into water?
She couldn't investigate. Her tightly closed eyes couldn't open no matter what. Finally, she was awakened by a phone ringing.
It was Carol calling.
She sat up in a daze.
This dream was also very real, but somewhat different from the previous two.
But what did this mean?
She frowned and recovered for a while, answering just before the call would disconnect.
There was a problem with a material needed for the exhibition. She said "I'll come over now" and hung up.
After she arrived at Stargaze Gallery and solved the problem, she returned to the third floor with Carol and saw Nancy talking with two colleagues about the latest fashion trends, speaking knowledgeably.
She seemed to be in a good mood. It appeared Steven hadn't confronted Nancy with that juice test report.
But it didn't matter. All she wanted was for Steven to have doubts about Nancy in his heart.
That was enough.
Nancy seemed to notice her gaze, looked up, raised her eyebrows, and cheerfully greeted her.
Nancy's provocations toward her had become increasingly obvious these past few days.
She withdrew her gaze as if she hadn't noticed and went straight back to her office.
Her phone in her bag chimed with a text notification.
[Heather has already bribed a girl named Faith Monroe from Stargaze Gallery's operations department to spread rumors tomorrow at Stargaze Gallery that Nancy is a homewrecker.]
Rachel frowned.
In two days, Heather had not only thoroughly investigated Nancy but also managed to bribe someone at Stargaze Gallery.
The feeling was subtle.
But more clearly, it was uncomfortable.
Like someone had touched a cake that belonged to her.
She suddenly remembered the earlier text warning that Heather also had her eye on Stargaze Gallery.
However, all this time, only during the period after Joan's death had she indirectly probed a few times, saying she'd get someone to help manage Stargaze Gallery.
At that time, Joan's death was a severe blow to Rachel, but she understood that Stargaze Gallery was Joan's life's work.
She had no reason to hand Joan's life's work over to someone else.
She never thought her Stargaze Gallery was an impenetrable fortress, but now thinking that Heather might have planted people in Stargaze Gallery, watching her every move, made her shudder.
Making an example of someone had always been a clichéd but effective tactic.
The next morning at ten-thirty, Rachel returned from the Art Association and noticed Stargaze Gallery employees were all discussing something.
She lowered her gaze, guessing that rumors about Nancy had probably spread throughout Stargaze Gallery.
Her eyes lost focus as she looked into the distance. Suddenly, a junior staff member came over, "Ms. Davis, Carol, you should go upstairs quickly. Nancy from Exhibition Team A and Faith from operations are fighting!"
Rachel was startled and frowned slightly.
Fighting?
This was truly unexpected.
Carol was also confused, "What happened?"
"About half an hour ago, Nancy had a delivery. Faith happened to be on the first floor and signed for it. But she didn't hold the bag steady, and photos inside fell out - all intimate photos of Nancy with a man, really intimate ones. There was also a rose-colored paper saying she could be his mistress.
Faith took the photos to her and asked if she was being a homewrecker. Nancy's eyes turned red and she attacked her. Wayne couldn't even pull them apart. Hair was all over the floor."
Rachel raised her eyebrows imperceptibly.
Heather was ruthless enough.
Going straight for nude photos and insults about being a mistress - such explosive tactics meant she wasn't planning to leave Nancy any way out.
She'd blocked all possible explanations.
Rachel smiled inwardly, her face expressionless, saying calmly, "Let's go see."
The group took the elevator to the third floor. As soon as they stepped out, even from across the corridor, she could hear the commotion.
After passing the corridor, what came into view was Exhibition Team A's area surrounded by three layers of people. Even through the crowd, she could clearly hear the arguing and cursing inside.
"Ms. Davis."
People standing on the outer edge saw her and immediately put away their gossip-watching expressions, nodding.
Hearing this, others also looked over to greet her, and the originally noisy place suddenly became much quieter.
The crowd automatically made way for her. In the middle were Nancy and Faith wrestling on the ground.
Neither was in good shape - both looked quite disheveled.
Their hair was messy, faces scratched, and Faith's sweater had pulled threads.
In all the years she'd known Nancy, when had she ever seen her this disheveled?
Many indecent photos were scattered on the floor, each one shockingly explicit.
Her gaze fixed on that rose-colored paper. She bent down to pick it up. It indeed had a line printed on it: No need to sneak around, you can openly be his mistress.
Impressive.
Rachel pressed the bridge of her nose, hiding the curve rising at her lips. After a moment, she spoke sternly, "Stop it! If you haven't had enough, go fight at the police station!"
Hearing this, Nancy and Faith both froze, looked up to see Rachel's cold eyes, bit their lips, and forcefully pushed each other away.
Rachel's gaze swept over the surrounding people, "Everyone so idle?"
Hearing her words, the crowd instantly dispersed, returning to their workstations.
Wayne and Carol stepped forward to pick up those scandalous photos.
Nancy walked up to Rachel, her face full of grievance and pitifulness, "Rachel, I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I threw the first punch, but Faith slandered me as a homewrecker and ruined my reputation."
Faith was all too clear about Nancy's hypocritical nature.
She quickly jumped in, "Do I need to slander and ruin it? The wife already sent over these intimate photos of you two."
Rachel cut her off, "Enough, isn't this embarrassing enough? Come with me, both of you. Don't disturb others' work!"
With that, she turned and walked toward her office.
Nancy bit her lip hard and followed.
Who could it be?
Who sent these photos?