<b>Chapter </b>10
The overhead lights cast a soft glow inside the car. When the man’s gaze swept over her knees, something cold and sharp flickered in his dark eyes, but his voice remained as detached as ever. “You didn’t hold back, did you?”
His assistant muttered, “When has Matriarch Paige Murphy ever gone easy on anyone…”
“te Murphy’sing back into the country soon, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get everything ready.”
“To what extent?”
The man shot him azy nce, but his eyes were icy, his brows drawn in a way that made his temper clear. “What do you think?”
When Elissa woke, her body felt limp and drained of strength.
But she wasn’t in pain, not really.
Her palms and knees, which should have been swollen and throbbing, hardly hurt at all. They just <i>looked </i>a little rming.
Even her tailbone, <i>sore </i>for two days straight, felt lighter now, as if someone had taken the weight off.
Still, she shouldn’t be <i>here</i>. That much she knew.
Elissa frowned<i>, </i>reaching for her phone <i>to </i>call the hotel front desk and figure out what had happened<i>. </i>As she moved, she caught the faintest trace of sandalwood clinging to her
skin.
For a moment, she felt disoriented.
When she came to, she forced a wry smile and grabbed a familiar tube of custom–made ointment from the nightstand. Without another nce back, she checked out and left.
At home, the atmosphere felt unusually harmonious.
It was as if all the friction from the past two days had sprung from her presence alone.
“Elissa, you’re back!”
Marcia beamed, her greeting dripping with sweetness.
13:29
Obviously, Frank had done a ster job of putting her in a good moodst night.
Elissa ignored her, not in the mood to y along.
Marcia, unwilling to let things go so easily, strode forward, tucking her hair behind her ear to show off a dazzling pair of pink diamond earrings.
Collector’s grade–rare pink diamonds.
Elissa had coveted that set of jewelry for ages.
After a long time circting through private collections, it finally reappeared at auction, and Frank had promised he’d buy it for her.
He’d told her she looked best in pale pink, that it would suit her perfectly.
No doubt, he’d said the same to Marcia when he gave them to her.
Marcia didn’t miss the flicker of disappointment on Elissa’s face. Tilting her head, she smiled prettily. “Grandma used to say you know a thing or two about jewelry. Take a look for me–aren’t these earrings gorgeous? Frankie spent over a million dors on them.
Worth it?”
“They’re alright.”
Elissa forced a smile, swallowing the bitterness. “Oh, and just so you remember, Frank and I are still legally married. Half of that million is marital property.”
“If I recall correctly, the exact amount was one point two million.”
She tapped at her phone. “<i>So</i>, Marcia, please wire six hundred thousand to this ount before midnight tonight. Otherwise, I’ll just have to exin it all to Grandma.”
No sooner had she said it than Marcia’s phone buzzed–a WhatsApp message. She
checked it. It was the bank ount number.
She saw red.
That witch! Always using the olddy as leverage!
Six hundred thousand!
The Atwater family hadn’t even divided up the inheritance yet. With Spencer gone, her share barely added <i>up </i><i>to </i>half a million!
Elissa couldn’t care less whether Marcia had the money.
After a shower, she started decluttering, sorting through her things and tossing out anything she didn’t need. It would make leaving that much easier when the time came.
She grabbed the trash bin and dumped things in without hesitation. She’d never been one
<b>2/3 </b>
13:29
to waver.
She even packed up her wedding dress, asking Edna to help carry it downstairs to throw
out.
That’s when Frank came home and walked in on the scene.
He noticed the crumpled mess of white tulle and satin in the trash bag, unease creeping across his face. “Why are you getting rid of your wedding dress?”
Elissa met his eyes without flinching, her voice calm. “Throwing it out.”
Useless things, after all, are meant to be thrown away.