Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 50: The silence

"I suggested dating." Scarlett teased, walking beside Aveline. She was excited to send Aveline on dates after her divorce from Damien, the devil.

When Aveline didn’t react, Scarlett’s expression hardened. She asked cautiously, "Linnie, what’s wrong?" The shift in her voice hinted that she would go berserk if Alaric had crossed any line.

"I’m... I should have walked away from him." Aveline whispered, more to herself, guilt deepening her features.

Scarlett glanced over her shoulder at Alaric, without understanding what was happening. "Linnie, is he threatening you?" She needed to know why Alaric cared about Aveline despite knowing she was married.

A darker thought struck her like lightning, "He didn’t ask for anything wrong in exchange for the footage, did he?" Her voice dipped, low and dangerous.

Aveline shook her head and grabbed Scarlett’s arm, silencing her as Alaric approached from behind.

Aveline, desperate to escape, and Scarlett, burning with questions, left NexGuard with news of progress. Walter had changed his statement, and Lifeline Hospital was under investigation.

But neither Aveline nor Alaric felt like celebrating. Her complex thoughts buried her emotions, and the idea of her returning to Damien’s villa made Alaric restless.

Watching through the glass as the Maserati pulled away, Alaric wondered why she chose a silent war. Why stretch the time and give opportunities for Damien to hurt her?

He wanted to get rid of Damien from her side. The faster, the better, and safer for her.

He looked down at the sticky note she had left on his desk. Her handwriting was smooth and stylish, flowing like butter across the paper.

Logisync Systems.

CEO/Founder: Silas Hale

Any sane person would have questioned her sanity or at least her motives. But the more she revealed about the theft, the more concerned he grew.

What was she hiding?

What was she going through?

How was she holding it together?

More importantly, why had she shared so much without demanding anything in return?

Why was she trusting him when he could easily refuse to help?

By the end of it, he wasn’t just intrigued. He was worried.

...

Alaric was working on Aegis when his phone lit up with Ezra’s name.

Answering it on speaker, he resumed typing.

"Sir," Ezra said, hesitation lining his voice, "Chairwoman De’conti is in the waiting room."

Alaric’s fingers froze on the keyboard. Of course, she learnt about his actions. But he hadn’t expected her to show up so fast. The hesitation in Ezra’s voice meant the footage was in Isabella’s hands.

Still, he didn’t invite her to his office. Instead, he grabbed his phone and went out.

...

The darkness outside pressed hard against the windows. But the lobby’s light kept her glowing and elegant, with her secretary standing behind her.

Isabella’s chest tightened when she saw Alaric entering with just a shirt on and nothing to keep him warm. Holding back all these years, she failed to open up and show her concern to her son.

And he sat down, and looked at her as if she were a mere stranger.

It hurt her. But she knew she deserved it.

"You’re breaking the very rule that made Obsidian what it is," she said, her voice firm.

Alaric didn’t respond. If anybody else, they would have requested her, but he wouldn’t ask her for anything. Because every time he asked, Isabella always took it away. And even when she replaced it with something better, it never mattered.

She clenched her fist at his silence and asked, "Why do you need that footage, Ric?"

She already knew it was footage of Damien and Vivienne. Damien was Alaric’s friend. It made no sense to her. Why would Alaric get that footage from the Obsidian, especially when there were rumors of Damien and Vivienne? freёnovelkiss.com

Alaric chose silence again.

Isabella glanced at Ezra. Though he was appointed by her mother, his loyalty was sworn to Alaric. He remained quiet.

The silence stretched painfully.

Her jaw clenched. She had stopped him from taking any role in Lancaster Global Holdings to stop her stepson from feeling threatened.

But how could she leave her son with nothing?

Thus, she built Obsidian. "You turned Obsidian into the powerhouse of Velmora. And now you’re willing to risk it all?" She demanded a response.

Still, nothing.

How could she let Alaric risk Obsidian that could secure his future and his presence in the business world?

When the silence began stabbing her, she spoke again, "Speak, before I dig into it myself."

His expression changed. Her threat cut through something in him. She had always monitored every move he made. Just recently, she had gone quiet.

Now she was back to digging.

And Aveline was the last person he would let Isabella mess with.

He stood and turned to the door. "Get Giselle to file a restraining order against Chairwoman De’Conti, " he flatly instructed Ezra.

"Alaric." Isabella roared, rising from her seat. Her composure cracked.

Even Ezra and Isabella’s secretary stood frozen at the coldness in Alaric’s voice.

Breathing ragged, her heart shattered, she tried to follow Alaric. But Ezra reacted quickly and blocked her.

"I’m sorry," he said. "CEO Lancaster doesn’t like to see anyone right now."

"I’m his mother." Isabella snapped, trying to push past him.

Ezra didn’t flinch. "Please don’t make this uglier than it already is."

Tears slipped down Isabella’s cheeks. She turned away from the two men in the room. It wasn’t the first time she was crying, but it was the first time in front of somebody other than her husband.

She was already an evil mother, she wasn’t going to give in due to the fear of losing him. She quickly composed and buried everything to herself.

Grabbing her bag, she paused at Ezra. Her voice was quiet but steady, "Tell him. I won’t let him destroy it."

Then she walked away.

....

Ezra stood by the door and watched Alaric’s fingers flying over the keyboard, typing hard, not slowing for a second.

His action said enough. Whatever passed between him and Isabella affected him too.

"I’ve informed Ms. Lancaster," Ezra said quietly.

There was no response.

"You should have told her the truth." He added.

He believed Isabella would have helped Aveline if she knew what Damien had done.

When Alaric’s typing abruptly paused, Ezra immediately disappeared from there.

Alaric clenched his fists. It had taken him 25 years to give up on his mother. He had finally stopped expecting her to do anything good for him.

All these years, he had stayed away from Aveline to avoid giving Isabella a reason to trouble Aveline.

Now, to protect Aveline, he was ready to destroy anything that stood in his way.

Even Isabella.