?Chapter 62:


    Christina rolled her eyes. “If you’re sick, go see a doctor,” she snapped, her tone cutting.


    Katie’s fury crackled in the air, her hands practically itching to p Christina across the face. But before she could so much as twitch, a hulking brute of a man stepped into her path, his massive frame filling the space between them.


    Katie froze, her breath hitching as her arm jerked back on instinct. The memory of those meaty hands wrapped around her neck—the brutal force that had left her dangling and helpless—shed through her mind, squeezing the air from her lungs all over again. A raw, animal panic seized her, rooting her to the spot. No way was she risking getting snatched up like that a second time.


    Katie’s voice came out in a quivering stammer as she faced the man. “Y-you… What on earth do you think you’re doing? I—I’m warning you, I could… I could call the cops…”


    The man didn’t blink, his nk stare boring into her with all the warmth of a tombstone.


    The cold in his eyes made her skin crawl, like a ghost brushing icy fingers over her scalp. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him for more than a second—her gaze kept slipping away, chased by that creeping, suffocating dread.


    Only after Christina and her entourage of muscle piled into the moving truck did the tension finally ease from Katie’s chest. She let out a shaky breath, relief flooding her as the paralyzing fear slowly uncoiled and faded away.


    “Get in,” Brendon called out, his voice clipped and unreadable as he opened his car door and slid inside, leaving Katie no choice but to follow.


    Their two vehicles stayed glued to Christina’s truck. Brendon refused to believe Christina had actually be some pampered mistress for a wealthy benefactor.


    Katie squinted out the window, her brows knitting together. “Isn’t this the road to the hillside mansions?” she muttered.


    In a syrupy, mock-worried tone, Ynda leaned forward. “They haven’t left this neighborhood… Could they really be headed for one of those exclusive estates? You don’t think Christina’s tangled up with some old, filthy-rich guy, do you? Perhaps…”


    Ynda let her voice trail off, deliberately sowing seeds of suspicion.


    Katie scoffed, crossing her arms. “Is there any doubt? It’s written all over her face. She’s…”


    Absolutely bagged herself a sugar daddy. Who in their right mind would choose a washed-up divorcée and treat her so generously?”


    Ynda shot Brendon a pointed look. The tension in his jaw and the way his knuckles nched on the steering wheel made it clear he was barely holding it together.


    Ynda sighed thoughtfully. “Well, she is divorced now. Honestly, whatever she does isn’t anyone else’s business. If a woman can’t fend for herself, what choice does she have but to cling to a man with deep pockets? Still…” She let the thought hang tantalizingly in the air.


    Brendon’s fingers dug even deeper into the leather, his breathing strained as he struggled forposure. He pressed, forcing a veneer of calm into his voice, “Still what?”


    “Oh, it’s probably not my ce to say. Just forget it,” Ynda murmured softly, ncing away as if she’d lost the nerve.


    “What’s so hard about just saying it out loud? If Christina was gutsy enough to pull that stunt, she should at least have the backbone to admit it! If you won’t say it, I will!” Katie barreled in, unable to restrain herself. “Brendon, what Ynda won’t spit out is that that bitch Christina was screwing you way before the divorce!”


    Ynda raised her hands, trying to calm Katie down. “Katie, we really don’t have any evidence. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”


    “What’s there to be afraid of?” Katie shot back, her voice trembling with outrage. “No evidence? Then let’s go find some!” Her whole body trembled with fury at the thought of that slut Christina getting her hands on even a penny of their money.


    Katie whipped around to face Brendon, eyes zing with contempt. “Brendon, listen to me. We have to dig up proof Christina cheated during the marriage. Force her out with nothing—don’t let her walk away with a dime!


    Just imagining Christina pocketing a vi and millions in alimony made Katie’s blood pressure spike. That was Dawson money, damn it—she’d die before letting some outsider waltz off with their family fortune.


    Ynda put on her most delicate, worried expression. “But they’re already divorced. The settlement’s signed. Trying to break it now would just rack up penalties. Besides, collecting hard evidence of cheating is nearly impossible.”


    Of course, as the soon-to-be Mrs. Dawson, Ynda was just as eager to see Christina lose everything. She simply preferred to y the gentle, reasonable type, letting Katie wear the viin’s mask.


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    Katie’s gaze flicked left and right, scheming. Suddenly, a cold, triumphant grin twisted across her lips. “Actually, I’ve got a way to make sure she forfeits everything.”


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