44 Chapter 44

"One of them is called Aunt Mary, and she is Dorothea's niece from her brother. She kidnapped Mackie and took her hostage."

Diamond's eyes widened, "KIDNA—"

"Shh!" Chloe covered Diamond's mouth and pointed towards Mackie with her side-glance, signaling Diamond to be careful because it was traumatizing for Mackie.

"Mary kidnapped her when Mackie was in the Gray mansion with Dorothea. I almost died out of panic once I got the news that my daughter had been kidnapped. I thought I would follow my daughter to the afterlife if Mary killed Mackie…."

"And, how does it get solved?"

"Mary wants Dorothea to fulfill her demands to get a hundred million of cash as ransom, but Dorothea and Vincent tracked her down in less than four hours after Mackie kidnapped her," Chloe explained. "Mackie said that Aunt Mary slapped her and clenched her arms until it's red. She was so traumatized by her face and how she forced Mackie to shut up because 'Aunt' Mary would choke her to death if she didn't zip her lips."

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"And what happened with Mary after she got caught?" Diamond asked.

"In prison, serving an unnatural life sentence," Chloe replied while staring at Mackie.

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Again, Diamond was shocked, "Life sentence? For kidnapping?"

"The Gray Family has a lot of people working for them and lots of powerful connections as well… that's why Mary could get an unnatural life sentence for kidnapping," Chloe sighed, full of woe, "Now you know why I can't just divorce him without his agreement, right? The Gray family will somehow turn the tide on me and make me the guilty instead…."

Now Diamond was the one who felt trapped. Just listening to Chloe's story made her feel heavy in her heart.

Diamond cupped Chloe's hand and said, "I will support you. At least I will be your help in the office, making sure that Mr. Phoenix Gray won't give you too much trouble, okay?"

Chloe didn't understand what made Diamond suddenly want to help her, but any help was necessary during tough times!

"Thank you so much, Diamond. You… you are my first friend for years, you know…." Chloe said. She hesitated a bit, afraid that Diamond wouldn't like to befriend an old, uninteresting woman like her. "If—If you don't want to be called my friend, then we can backtrack—"

"What are you saying about? I want to be your friend. Girl, we will be besties!" Diamond showed her warmer side as she wanted to hug Chloe.

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Chloe hugged her back, and Mackie saw this. She jumped off her seat and tried to join with the hug, "Mommy, Mommy, don't leave me out! I want a hug too!"

"Ahahah! Okay, dear," They were hugging as three, it was a little embarrassing, but Chloe felt warmth in her heart for the first time in years.

To have a friend again after Vincent isolated her from the outside world for so long. It was such a strange feeling, but Chloe didn't hate it at all.

**

Diamond gave her phone number to Chloe as they walked out of the restaurant, saying, "Remember to call me if you need anything, especially if it involves Mr. Phoenix Gray. I will help you in any way I can!"

"I will. Thank you, Diamond."

They returned to their respective cars and drove off in a different direction. Chloe drove to the Phoenix Apartment and asked Mackie, "What do you think about Miss Diamond?"

"Um… Miss Diamond is so pretty!" Mackie replied. "I want to play with her again later!"

"Sure thing, dear."

**

Chloe and Mackie returned to their apartment in Phoenix Tower. Mackie washed her face, brushed her teeth, and changed into pajamas before sleeping.

Chloe was left alone again. She restocked her fridge before going up with the groceries for Vernon's fridge.

Like a good maid, Chloe restocked everything inside the fridge while waiting for Vernon to come home. She had the receipt from The Brown Hut restaurant, showing the amount of money she spent eating out.

It was actually a little out of her budget because she was treating Diamond, but it was a great exchange because now she could befriend Diamond, which would ease her burden when dealing with Vernon and all his madness.

Chloe waited until it was almost midnight when she heard the penthouse door was opened.

Vernon went home looking ragged. He seemed to have a rough day and was in a terrible mood.

,m "Vernon, do you want—" Chloe tried to greet him, but he just gave her a glance before sidestepping her and walking towards his room. He slammed the door, leaving Chloe alone in the dim living room.

Chloe was afraid that Vernon could snap at her any moment if he found her annoying. So she tiptoed towards the kitchen and silently heated the food she bought for him from the restaurant. She also wrote a note behind the receipt before returning to her apartment, falling asleep quickly after such a long day.

**

Vernon walked out of his room wearing his grey pajama. He had a rough day with one of his new clients about their upcoming entertainment project together. The problem was solved, but it took a toll on him.

"Sister-in-law?" Vernon called as he looked around. He thought that Chloe must've been in the kitchen or living room, waiting for him.

But she was nowhere to be found.

"Huh, I was thinking about playing around with her a bit," Vernon mumbled. He noticed something on the kitchen counter, so he checked it out.

"Hmm… dinner and… a receipt?" Vernon picked the receipt first and realized it was just a regular receipt from a restaurant called The Brown Hut, and Chloe paid 300 bucks for it.

"Why is this on the kitchen table? What's the point of this?" Vernon asked, thinking that it was unimportant. Chloe could use that black card for whatever she wanted, even if she wanted to buy a new car or empty some branded store of her choice.