Silas Hawthorne was paying close attention for news about Evelyn Kendrick. The message had barely been sent before he replied.
[Silas Hawthorne: Go on.]
[Silas Hawthorne: If this information is worthless, then the two hundred thousand is off the table.]
Seeing this, Hazel Sinclair raised an eyebrow. ’Heh, the big sucker’s gotten smarter this time.’
’He knows to filter the information now so I can’t just make easy money off him.’
Leon Sterling, who was in the kitchen, heard her and asked quizzically, "Hairy Fig Chicken Soup... how do you cook that?"
He’d never had it before, nor had he seen it in any shops around here, so he had no idea how to make it.
"Look it up online. Don’t ask me," Hazel replied lazily.
"Alright," Leon Sterling agreed, then pulled out his phone and started searching.
[Hazel Sinclair: You said you were just using Evelyn Kendrick as a tool to get relationship experience. She heard you.]
Sitting in his office, Silas Hawthorne twirled a pen in his hand. His gaze was fixed on the screen, his brow deeply furrowed.
Memories from his youth surfaced, as if a fog had just been lifted from his mind.
Back then, he had been young and arrogant. After he started dating Evelyn Kendrick, his friends were constantly gossiping. He was concerned about his image, so when someone asked, he feigned nonchalance and said it.
"Evelyn Kendrick? She’s just a tool for me to get some relationship experience."
He never imagined Evelyn Kendrick would overhear him. No wonder she’d skipped the party that day. And no wonder she’d left to study abroad without saying a single word to him.
[Hazel Sinclair: Damn, man. You were pretty arrogant when you were young. Serves you right that Evelyn Kendrick can’t stand the sight of you.]
[Hazel Sinclair: I can’t believe you had the guts to say something so hurtful. Tsk tsk tsk.]
Reading Hazel Sinclair’s teasing messages, Silas Hawthorne let out a bitter laugh.
He was laughing at his younger self, who had said such hurtful things for the sake of his ridiculous pride.
Silas Hawthorne didn’t reply. He just silently transferred the money. This time, he sent double the previous amount: four hundred thousand.
Hazel Sinclair’s eyes went wide when she saw the number. He’d actually sent her four hundred thousand for that single piece of information.
[Hazel Sinclair: Thanks, boss! Hope you strike it rich!]
[Hazel Sinclair: Obsequious_Smile.jpg]
Silas Hawthorne ignored her. Instead, he found Evelyn Kendrick’s number and called her.
After he called three times in a row, Evelyn Kendrick’s resolve softened and she finally answered.
"Silas Hawthorne, are you insane?"
"Calling me at this hour? Are you a fucking idiot?" Evelyn Kendrick’s voice was dripping with impatience.
"Evelyn, are you free tonight? I’d like to take you to dinner," Silas Hawthorne asked, his lips pursed as he listened to her voice. His own words were tinged with bitterness.
Hearing this, Evelyn Kendrick ran a hand through her hair, her tone becoming even more hostile. "Are you crazy? Why would you ask me to dinner?"
"Is there any reason for us to have dinner together?"
"Yes," Silas Hawthorne said with utter seriousness.
"I have something very important to tell you. Please, you have to have dinner with me," Silas Hawthorne said, his tone exceptionally earnest.
"I don’t have time!" Evelyn Kendrick refused without a second thought.
"Evie, I’m begging you," Silas Hawthorne pleaded, his voice cracking as if he were about to sob.
Evelyn Kendrick froze when she heard him call her ’Evie’.
After a minute of silence, she spoke, her voice still hostile but with an awkward edge. "You’d better have a good reason for this. If not, I’ll kill you."
"Thank you," Silas Hawthorne replied, a smile in his voice.
After hanging up, Silas Hawthorne looked at his phone, the corners of his lips curling into a small smile. ’Evelyn is still a softy, just like always.’
Hazel Sinclair was being waited on by Leon Sterling. She held her phone with both hands, occasionally opening her mouth to accept a bite of food he offered.
"I think you’re spoiling me rotten," Hazel Sinclair said, putting down her phone and looking at him seriously.
Hazel Sinclair picked up her chopsticks. "I’m done with my business. I can feed myself now."
Having already arranged a departure time with a driver, Hazel Sinclair breathed a sigh of relief. ’High-speed trains and planes are too easy to track.’
’So, she had chosen the most expensive and exhausting option: leaving by car.’
’It cost fifty percent more, and Hazel’s heart bled at the thought.’
Leon Sterling, who had only managed to feed her two bites, regretfully pulled back his chopsticks. ’A shame I can’t keep feeding her.’
"How’s your studio coming along?" Hazel Sinclair asked, changing the subject.
"It’s slowly getting on track. Don’t worry," Leon Sterling said with a smile. "I’ve been meaning to develop an app for a while, and now I’ve picked up the PowerPoint for it again."
Hazel Sinclair nodded. ’Of course. Even after leaving, the male lead can still make his studio a roaring success...’
After dinner, Leon Sterling washed the dishes, took out the trash, and left.
Hazel was at home, bored and playing on her phone, when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the door, then got up from the sofa and went to open it.
There was no one there, just a box sitting on the doorstep.
Hazel looked at the cardboard box and assumed it was a package for Leon. She bent down, picked it up, and brought it inside.
She grabbed a knife to open the box. When she saw several dead, venomous snakes inside, a piercing scream tore from her throat.
"AHHHHH—"
"Help! This is terrifying!"
Seeing the snakes, Hazel was so frightened she was practically jumping out of her skin.
"Snakes—"
"Why are there snakes?"
After seeing the dead venomous snakes, Hazel’s mind went completely blank.
As she was about to grab her phone to call Leon Sterling, a notification lit up her old phone. She picked it up, and seeing the vile message on the screen, she froze.
[Did you get my present?]
[Hahaha, soon you’ll end up just like them—dead from a shot to the head.]
The sender was gloating. The two messages were filled with a triumphant tone, as if they had Hazel right where they wanted her.
After reading the messages, tears instantly streamed down her face. She sank to the floor, completely overwhelmed by fear.
’Why is this happening to me?’
"I’m so scared..."
Every day, it was vile messages. Every day, it was slut-shaming. And now, they’d even sent dead snakes.
Fat tears splattered onto the floor. Behind her, the venomous snakes lay in the cardboard box.
And inside the box, the words "Bitch" and "Homewrecker" were scrawled in marker.
’She hadn’t seduced a married man. She’d never done anything so disgusting.’
’Who was it that was so convinced she’d seduced their husband?’
DING-DONG, DING-DONG—
At the sound of her phone’s notification, Hazel couldn’t help but tremble.
She slowly picked up her phone, expecting another abusive message, but was surprised to see it was from Liam Lancaster.
[Liam Lancaster: There’s a cruise party in a few days. Want to go with me?]
[Liam Lancaster: Don’t worry, I’ll protect you this time. I won’t let anyone bully you.]
Seeing Liam Lancaster’s message, Hazel began to cry even harder.
’She didn’t dare tell Leon Sterling; she was afraid this would alter the course of the plot. She didn’t dare tell the Sinclair family either, for fear of dragging them into it.’
’But Liam Lancaster was barely mentioned in this book. Telling him should be fine.’
[Hazel Sinclair: Can you come over to my place?]