<h4>Chapter 318: Chapter 318 Blow After Blow</h4>


    A slight smile touched Rhys’s lips when he saw me. ‘You came.’


    He quickly got out of the car and came to my side. ‘Mirabelle... you still trust me, then.’


    ‘I don’t trust you. I just want to see what game you’re ying,’ I said, my voice cold.


    ‘That’s alright. You’ll believe that I’m not ying games this time. You’ll believeing to lunch with me was worth it. Where would you like to go?’ His eyes were soft, his tone gentle.


    ‘The restaurant across the road,’ I said. I was only here for the truth, not for him.


    ‘Alright.’


    The restaurant was fairly busy. I asked for a private booth.


    Once we’d ordered, I got straight to the point. ‘Where’s this proof you mentioned?’


    ‘Are you really in that much of a hurry?’ Rhys looked at me with wounded eyes, but I felt nothing.


    ‘Yes, I’m in a hurry to find out what you’re scheming. I also don’t want to be here with you. You know that. If you hadn’t said it was about this, I would never havee.’


    Rhys gave a bitter smile. ‘Fine. I understand.’ He handed me a folder. ‘Someone gave this to me. See for yourself. There are some photos in there, too.’


    He pointed to a picture of a man. ‘This guy’s a low-level hustler. Does nothing all day, but hisputer skills are decent. He makes a living from shady jobs. If you pay him, he’ll do pretty much anything. He’s the one who hacked into your studio’swork and messed with your database and job sheets.’


    I looked at the photo. The man was maybe in histe twenties, andpletely unfamiliar. I was sure I’d never seen him before.


    ‘This isn’t enough proof,’ I said. ‘This could just be a random guy’s photo you downloaded online.’


    ‘Wait, there’s more.’ Rhys tapped his phone. ‘I just sent you a video.’


    I opened it on my own phone. In the clip, the hacker confessed to altering my studio’s orders.


    ‘How did you get this? And how can you prove this man wasn’t hired by Catherine?’


    ‘Look at these.’ Rhys sent me another file.


    It was a record of transactions. Payments received by the hacker, sent by a middleman, who in turn got the money from...


    ‘Genevieve,’ I muttered.


    Rhys nodded. ‘That’s right. The hacker never met Genevieve face to face, but the money he was paid ultimately came from her.’


    <fn5530> Original content can be found at f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fn5530>


    My chest felt tight, my heart pounding with anger and disappointment.


    So, the person Rhys said Ashton was protecting... it was Genevieve?


    ‘Are you saying the person who wanted to hurt me is Genevieve, not Catherine? Then why did Catherine confess?’ I asked, my eyes fixed on him.


    Seeing that I was finally starting to believe him, Rhys gave a faint, humourlessugh. ‘For money. She’d do anything for money.’ His smile was cynical. ‘Ashton paid her to take the me.’


    ‘That’s not possible,’ I shot back.


    Rhys’s expression shifted to one of pained sympathy. ‘Do you care about him that much? You won’t even believe solid evidence right in front of you?’


    ‘He’s my husband. Of course I care about him.’


    My heart was trembling, aching. Why would Ashton protect Genevieve like this?


    ‘Why should I believe you? You say Ashton paid Catherine and she just agreed? How do you even know that? You’re divorced. And besides, Ashton said he’d hand Catherine over to the police. Would she really take money just to go to prison?’ A part of me was still desperately trying to defend him, hoping everything Rhys said was a lie.


    ‘You think Ashton actually called the police?’ Rhys’s tone was mocking. ‘Look... see who this is? Isn’t it Catherine? She left Skylinest night. This is her at the airport. You think Ashton would really hand her over? You’re so naive.’


    He continued, ‘I’m telling you, he lied to you. He never called the police. He gave Catherine ten million. Quite generous, really. Ten million, just like that. You know Catherine as well as I do. She’s vain. When we divorced, she fought me for every penny because it was never enough for her. She doesn’t even have a job now. How long would it take her to earn ten million on her own? Of course she was tempted.’


    He wasn’t done. ‘Look, here’s the transfer record. The proof. It wasn’t Ashton himself who sent it, but if you look into this ount, you’ll find the guy works for Ryan Fenty.’


    I stared at him. ‘Ryan Fenty? What does that have to do with—’


    ‘With Ashton? What if I told you Fenty transferred the money as a favour to Ashton? Don’t look so shocked. It’s standard practice in our world. People use names they’re not directly linked to when a transaction is... inconvenient, or just in illegal. If you don’t believe me, go ask Fenty yourself.’


    The blows just kepting. ‘And these photos. This man is Ashton’s assistant, right? Harry, or something. He was the one who personally approached Catherine. With all this evidence, how can you still not believe me?’ Rhys stared at me. ‘Mirabelle, don’t be a fool.’


    ‘Maybe Harry meeting Catherine doesn’t prove anything on its own,’ he pressed on, ‘but this evidence is more than enough to show that things aren’t what Ashton told you.’


    I bit my lower lip, my hand clutching the folder tightly. ‘How did you get all this? How do you have photos of Catherine meeting Harry? Or the transaction records between Genevieve and the hacker?’


    ‘Of course I didn’t have the means to get this myself,’ Rhys said. ‘Someone gave it to me. Someone who clearly doesn’t want you and Ashton to stay married. But that’s not the important part, is it? The important thing is that this is the truth.’


    ‘Who? Who doesn’t want me with Ashton?’