Jerome was drifting in and out of consciousness, the hours-long surgery having


    left him in agony. At the sound of his mother''s voice, his eyes shot open. He saw her standing over him, her own eyes filled with tears.


    "Mom, I..."


    Wendy wiped her eyes. "Jerome, I''m going to show you something. Then you''ll know just how wrong you''ve been. After you see it, we''re cutting ties. A son like you is only going to get himself killed by his own stupidity."


    She called for guards, who brought in a wheelchair and lifted Jerome into it.


    Seeing that his mother was serious, Jerome panicked. "Mom, I was wrong not to give you the shares, but I wanted Yvonne and the baby to befortable. She''s pregnant with my child-your grandchild..."


    "Shut up. I don''t want to hear it. No matter what you see or hear, you keep your mouth shut. In three days, you''re getting on a ne and leaving the country. Whether you live or die after that is up to you."


    Wendy instructed the guards to wheel the drowsy Jerome out of the room.


    In a nearby fire escape...


    Yvonne was ring at Joanna. "Joanna, he''s a cripple now. You don''t actually expect me to marry a cripple, do you? And was it really Natalie who did this to him?"


    Joanna''s gaze was sharp and


    iet


    imperious. Whether Natalie did it or not is irrelevant. What matters is that they had a fight three days ago when Jerome gave her designs to Verna Natalie wanted him dead. That''s motive. Besides, Yvonne, the baby in your belly isn''t even Jerome''s. I found you a rich fool to


    take the fall so


    you should just keep


    your head down and y along."


    How dare youe here and


    question me?"


    Yvonne sneered. "So I was just another one of your pawns. Six months ago, you used me to frame Natalie and Zenobia..."


    "Yvonne, shut your mouth!" Joanna hissed. "Everything I did was for your own good. Jerome was giving you a fortune for an allowance every month. You spent it all on your boy toy. Now that he''s a cripple, you should be taking care of him."


    "Joanna, I agreed to marry him on the condition that he was healthy and could pay for my lifestyle. He''s useless to me now. He can''t give me anything. I''ll find a way to have this baby and raise it myself if I have to. But I am not waiting on a cripple. You can forget it."


    Yvonne spun around and stormed off.


    Joanna scoffed and headed downstairs to see the oue of Natalie''s interrogation.


    ...


    In the hallway, Jerome''s body trembled, tears streaming down his face. An immense wave of grief and pain washed over him. It was all a lie, a carefully orchestrated sham.


    27


    Natalie and Zenobia hadn''t framed him. The real culprits were Joanna and Yvonne. That bright, lovely girl, Yvorine how could she de this to him? He had been so stupid, so incredibly stupid. She had been taking his money and spending it on another man.


    The shock was too much. Jerome passed out, a tear still clinging to his eysh.


    Was it from the physical pain, or the agony of betrayal?


    Wendy watched in silence, her own tears falling. She motioned for the guards to take Jerome back to his room.


    Downstairs, Natalie and Luna were with the police. Nathan arrived and shot Natalie a cold look, which she returned with an equally icy smile. He recounted the conflict between Jerome and Natalie from three days.


    prior, and a witness was brought a forward-a man who pointed at Natalie and identified her as the mastermind.