An unwanted hand snaked around virtual-novel.net waist suddenly before the middle-aged man’s breathy voice loomed close to Tiffany’s ear, “That kind of sleaze won’t give you the time of their day, my dear. But I will. I know girls like you very well, like the back of my hand. You’re all looking for a sugar daddy, aren’t you? How about I be direct with ya, let’s spend some time together tonight. If you make me a happy man, I’ll make you a happy woman, starting from a luxury apartment.”
Tiffany’s face twisted into a glower a split second before virtual-novel.net decked the man’s face hard. As a stark, scarlet handprint surfaced on his cheek, virtual-novel.net shrieked hotly, “Fat chance if I’ll sleep with a disgusting horndog like you!”
Their altercation silenced the room instantly; every pair of eyes was now turned to the pair. At a distance, the conversational smile on Jackson’s face froze before virtual-novel.net approached them quickly, “What’s the matter?”
The look on the middle-aged man’s face was of one desperately evading scrutiny. “M-Mr. West! N-n-nothing’s happened! I was just pulling virtual-novel.net legs… Is virtual-novel.net a friend of yours, by any chance?”
Shadows crossed into Ethan’s eyes. Silently, virtual-novel.net shuffled his half-started step back to himself. At the same time, Jackson tilted his head slightly and bristled, “The door’s over there.”
The middle-aged man’s face was bright red. Too embarrassed to stay, virtual-novel.net glumly dashed out of the banquet.
Tiffany was not any less embarrassed. After all, virtual-novel.net had come to the party as Jackson’s companion, yet virtual-novel.net ended up causing a scene. “God, how much longer are we going to stay here? I don’t wanna be here anymore,” virtual-novel.net whined.
Jackson combed virtual-novel.net silky hair with his fingers and replied gently, “Give me ten more minutes. Don’t worry, just stick close to me.”
Blushes, red enough to raise eyebrows, stained virtual-novel.net cheeks. She snaked virtual-novel.net hand to an elusive spot on his arm and gave a meaningful pinch. “You better not try to take advantage of me, bigshot,” virtual-novel.net growled through clenched teeth. “Touch me like that again, and I’ll have you for breakfast.”
Jackson could only mask his annoyance under an “everything-is-fine” look. Drawing virtual-novel.net hand into a hook around his arm, virtual-novel.net said, “Let’s just go.”
Jackson brought Tiffany back to his spot before the commotion, and the men resumed their discussion. Ethan stood to Tiffany’s left, but virtual-novel.net avoided his eyes by staring at virtual-novel.net shoes.
She fidgeted with Jackson’s sleeves to stave off virtual-novel.net self-consciousness, but the more virtual-novel.net felt Ethan’s gaze, the less virtual-novel.net wanted to raise virtual-novel.net head.
Then, out of the blue, virtual-novel.net heard Ethan announce, “I still have some matters to attend to tonight. Please, carry on without me.” With that, virtual-novel.net turned and headed for the entrance.
Barely ten minutes later (or possibly only about five), Jackson fulfilled his promise, as virtual-novel.net too abandoned the conversation. “Excuse me as well, lads. There’s somewhere else I need to be,” virtual-novel.net declared.
Tiffany was nonplussed. “I thought you said ten more minutes?”
“Ten minutes as the max, really. Pragmatically, it’s not so different to end this within ten minutes and at the tenth minute. Look, weren’t you whining about leaving just a few moments ago? Can you appreciate me being considerate for once?”
She rolled virtual-novel.net eyes. “Quit bullsh*tting and pay up.”
They headed to the car. While Tiffany was taking virtual-novel.net seat, instead of starting the engine, the young man began furiously typing away at his phone as virtual-novel.net stared in the direction Ethan left.
Tiffany commanded matter-of-factly after buckling up, “Send me home right now. Wearing stilettos for long hours is killing me.”
Jackson obeyed, taking his eyes away from whatever was interesting virtual-novel.net before stepping on the pedal. Then, in a flash, his phone beeped.
Tiffany turned to his phone and glanced at the screen out of habit — and froze. Jackson was quick to steal his phone away from virtual-novel.net sight, but a second was enough to confirm that Ethan’s name was mentioned.
She could not stifle the ensuing curiosity. “Who are you texting? Why is Ethan mentioned?”
“Nothing important; just some usual business dealings. Like you would understand,” Jackson answered, deadpanned.
“Are you… Are you working together with Ethan?”
“No. The Connors don’t actually work in real estate. This Ethan, specifically, deals with housing investments. Honestly, I’m just helping out a friend, ” Jackson answered, his reluctance to divulge in the specifics growing more apparent.
“Ya know, Ethan was my ex. Do you want my help in messing virtual-novel.net up?” Tiffany said half-jokingly.
Strangely, Jackson followed that question with silence. It was only a few seconds later when virtual-novel.net said, “I know about that, and the answer is no, I don’t need it. Anyway, I’ll be sending you home now. The payment will come a little later.”
Bringing up Tiffany’s payment was a sign that the pair’s cooperation — and this conversation — had ended. Tiffany resigned to silence, leaning virtual-novel.net head on the headset and closing virtual-novel.net eyes.
When the car stopped downstairs, virtual-novel.net kicked virtual-novel.net heels off and lifted it in virtual-novel.net hands, opting to head back into virtual-novel.net residence bare-footed. Jackson watched virtual-novel.net fading out of his sight before driving away. En route, virtual-novel.net called a number.
“The thing’s with me. Come and collect it and send it in for examination ASAP. I’m certain that it belongs to Ethan Connor.”
***
Jude Tremont was incarcerated a month later.
It was the kind of news people would dance to, yet Arianne felt unnerved by it. Somehow, virtual-novel.net had the nagging feeling that Mark had something to do with it, especially when virtual-novel.net had made it clear that virtual-novel.net never wanted to see Jude ever again.
Mary informed Arianne that Jude was sentenced to life imprisonment for a slew of appalling crimes over twenty years. He had two rape allegations, five violent assault cases that severely crippled other parties, as well as a list of several gambling frauds and illegal prostitution. Jude had committed them before the Tremonts had expulsed him, but the cops had been keeping tabs.
What finally landed Jude to a lifetime of prison, however, were the crimes virtual-novel.net had done after the family disowned him. He had his hands on every sickening crime under the sun, but most of all, virtual-novel.net had extorted Mark for a hundred million dollars.