Second Chance: Marrying into Wealth Chapter 24

I opened my mouth, wanting to explain something.

But with Lawrence still here, I couldn't speak.

Fortunately, Lawrence was holding me, facing away from Christopher, so he didn't notice his presence.

Christopher's cold eyes showed a hint of disappointment, and a self-mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Then, without looking at me again, he turned and left.

I remained silent.

It seemed Christopher had misunderstood.

"Melinda, you're weak, and it's too cold here. Let's go back."

Lawrence's words brought me back to reality.

"Okay!" Christopher had already left, and we might not cross paths again. I gathered my scattered thoughts and nodded to Lawrence.

After leaving the cemetery, Lawrence said he would take me home first and then head to the company.

I refused, "I want to go to the pet store below Paula's apartment to check on her dog, Lucky. Can you take me there?"

Lucky is Paula's Golden Retriever, very well-behaved. Lawrence had heard me mention him a few times, and I had even shared photos of the dog with him.

Actually, Lawrence didn't like Paula. During our relationship, he had subtly suggested that I shouldn't spend too much time with her. He once said, "You're so innocent, and your friend Paula is a divorce lawyer. I'm afraid if you spend too much time with her, hearing about unhappy marriages, one day you might not want to be with me anymore."

At the time, I thought he loved me too much and was too afraid of losing me. I even kissed him and promised, "No, I know how good you are to me."

Looking back now, I realize I was too naive. He wasn't afraid of losing me because he loved me; he was afraid that if I heard too much from Paula about divorce cases, I would discover his schemes and he wouldn't be able to deceive and control me anymore.

I did want to see the dog, but it was also to dispel Lawrence's suspicions about me going out.

By visiting the dog a few more times, when I go out again, even to meet Vance, Lawrence wouldn't be suspicious.

"Okay, I'll take you there!"

Lawrence knew about Paula's business trip. He knew how difficult Paula, a top divorce lawyer, could be, so he chose to make his move while Paula was away, leaving me isolated and alone.

He got out of the car with me and, after seeing me with Lucky, the pet store owner, who was clearly familiar with me, Lawrence finally let go of his concerns and left me to spend time with the dog.

I took the dog back to Paula's apartment, where I had arranged to meet Vance. It was discreet and safe.

This time, Vance was dressed as an air conditioning repairman, carrying a toolbox.

He worked surprisingly efficiently, taking out a lot of information from the toolbox.

"Ms. Turner, you mentioned that Lawrence was transferring assets. I investigated in the direction you suggested and found that he had set up several shell companies under the names of relatives. These companies then collaborated with his main company, and once the money flowed into the shell companies, it was transferred to overseas accounts. I checked, and the overseas accounts are not in Lawrence's name either.

His uncle, sister, brother-in-law, and even his cousin all have companies under their names. Lawrence is bold but meticulous, and there are no financial issues to be found. It will be difficult to find concrete evidence of his asset transfers."

"What about the finance department? Since he did it, there must be real accounts. Can we use incentives to lure her? If he could make the finance person willingly falsify accounts, he must have given her significant benefits. We can do the same; if the incentive is big enough, she will be tempted.

If she's not tempted, it means the price isn't high enough!"

I couldn't help but speak up.

Vance gave me an approving look, "That's true, but the finance person will be very cautious. In the process of us trying to lure her, we might alert Lawrence."

"Let me think about it!"

I curled my fingers slightly, pondering what to do.

Although I hadn't been working much, my family had been in business since I was young. Kyle often took me along, and I wasn't entirely clueless about managing a company.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to make money from investments. However, I'm not greedy, so I only made small investments, earning modestly but never losing.

I considered that if approaching the finance department didn't work, I might need to devise a plan.

But that would be a last resort.

"Ms. Turner, your friend Paula is a divorce lawyer. Your situation is very complicated and has many unfavorable conditions for you. You should explain the situation to Ms. Ellis as soon as possible and start the legal process to avoid any unexpected incidents."

Vance, seeing my silence, thought I was troubled and suggested.

"Okay, I'll talk to her. We're already preparing for this." I thanked Vance for his suggestion.

After the meeting, I went straight home.

Unexpectedly, that bastard Lawrence probably thought I had agreed to forgive him.

Just as I was about to undress for a shower, he suddenly pushed open the bathroom door.

These past few days had been peaceful, and I had let my guard down. I hadn't locked the bathroom door out of habit, giving Lawrence an opportunity.

He suddenly hugged me from behind. I was too familiar with his scent, and his lips were kissing my ear.

"Ah! Who are you? Pervert! Help!"

I felt so disgusted I wanted to vomit, my whole body trembling with revulsion. I pushed Lawrence away forcefully and sprayed water from the showerhead into his eyes, kicking him hard in the groin.

Lawrence didn't expect such a strong reaction from me, nor did he anticipate that I would kick his lower body directly.

He fell to the ground in pain, clutching his groin, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, "Shut up, Melinda, it's me, Lawrence!"

His voice snapped me out of it, and seeing him on the ground, I was so scared I dropped the showerhead, which accidentally hit Lawrence's forehead.

"Melinda, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Lawrence said through clenched teeth.

I shook my head, my eyes welling up with tears, "I didn't, I didn't. You scared me! You said you would be good to me, but it was all a lie. How was I supposed to know it was you? I was just scared and reacted instinctively. And now you're yelling at me?"

I sobbed, feeling so wronged, pushing all the blame onto Lawrence.

I saw a flash of malice in Lawrence's eyes.

He took a deep breath, trying to ease the pain, and then said with a mix of helplessness and affection, "It's just the two of us at home. If it wasn't me, who else could it be? You didn't recognize my scent. I wasn't yelling at you on purpose; I was in pain. You really know how to accuse me. I'm starting to think you pretended to forgive me."

Lawrence's words made my heart skip a beat. Fortunately, the showerhead was still on, and the steam in the bathroom obscured my expression, allowing me to hide my shock.

"I'm not like you. I keep my word. If I said I forgave you, then I really forgave you. If you don't believe me, then forget it.

It's your fault in the first place. You have no idea how I've been having nightmares since coming back from the hospital, always dreaming about the baby. My nerves are tense, and I'm a bit out of it. That's why I didn't react right away.

It might also be because you were with your mistress. I still need time to come to terms with it, so my body is instinctively rejecting you..."