Chapter 17
Lydia was curled up in the dimly lit apartment as she stared at the news playing on the TV.
“Rising Designer Samantha Wins International Fashion Award.”
On the screen, Samantha wore a pure white gown, looking dazzling under the camera flashes. Lionel stood beside her and gently adjusted the ribbon on the trophy.
“Bitch!” Lydia suddenly hurled her wine glass at the television. The glass shattered, and red wine splattered across the screen. “Why? Why does this bitch get to live such a good life? Why?”
She screamed furiously as she smashed one piece of tableware after another.
She swore to herself that she would not allow Samantha to live in peace.
Her fingers trembled as she opened a hidden album of secretly taken photos. She selected a photo of Samantha and Lionel together in an art studio and used an editing program to splice them into a nude
bed scene.
“Let’s see how you explain your way out of this…” Lydia sneered as she sent the fake photo to Harry.
She didn’t forget to add the message. “The wife you can’t forget has long since climbed into another
man’s bed.”
Then, she uploaded another copy of the image to the Internet.
When she got the notification that the image had been successfully sent, she laughed maniacally.
The scandal spread online like wildfire, and the story quickly shot to the top of the trending lists. But it didn’t last long. Someone pulled strings behind the scenes, and soon, a flood of dirt on Lydia replaced the insignificant doctored photo.
Hiding in a hotel room, Lydia scrolled through her phone with trembling hands.
The Internet was swamped with her scandals, such as proof that the photo was fake, audio recordings of her abusing Joseph, surveillance footage of her framing Samantha…
Each accusation came with ironclad evidence, and the comments were filled with people cursing at Lydia.
“This woman is rotten to the core!”
“She pretended to be so kind and gentle in the past, only for her to secretly abuse a child and frame the real wife? She’s both stupid and vicious!”
“Mr. Wright must have been blind to trust her. Well, it’s too late for regrets now! Samantha has found both a successful career and a great love life. I hope Lydia dies’ of anger!”
Lydia screamed, “How could this happen? How did it happen?”
She hurled her phone against the wall. Her flawless makeup was smeared into an ugly mess by her tears.
She had thought that sending the fake photo of Samantha and Lionel to Harry would enrage Harry enough that he would give up on Lydia.
But instead, Lionel immediately hired a top-tier legal team, which exposed the forgery within 24 hours and publicly issued a legal statement.
And to make things worse, Jack handed over photos of Joseph’s bruises and audio recordings of the abuse. The man who once indulged her every whim now stood before her with fury burning in his eyes.
The heavy iron door of the basement creaked open, releasing a damp, moldy stench.
The bodyguards shoved Lydia violently to the floor. Her knees slammed against the cold cement, sending a sharp pain shooting through her.
She looked up at Harry, who was standing in the shadows. Her voice trembled as she said, “Harry, I can explain…”
“Explain?” Harry let out a cold laugh. He stamped on the back of her hand with his leather shoe, pressing down harder and harder. “Are you going to explain how you abused my son? Or explain how you framed Samantha over and over again?”
He threw the photos of her abusing Joseph in Lydia’s face. Joseph’s pale skin was marred with horrifying welts and scars.
Harry’s eyes were bloodshot as he clamped his hand tightly around her neck. “Tell me. What were you trying to do?”
Lydia screamed in pain, but her cry was cut off when he tightened his grip. “Do you know how Samantha treated you back then?”
Harry’s voice was low and cold. “When you pretended to have stomach pains, she would get up late at night to make you hot soup. When you pretended to spill hot soup and burned yourself, she bandaged you right away. And how did you repay her? You constantly schemed against her and hurt her!”
Harry finally released her, and Lydia collapsed on the ground, coughing violently. Her elegant dress was
covered in dirt.
It was hard to read Harry’s expression, and the uncertainty made Lydia panic. She lunged forward and clutched his leg. “Harry, I’m sorry. I’ll never do it again…”
Her desperate screams echoed through the basement.
