Ch. 536..540: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 536-540
Chapter 536
Vernon grinned proudly, "But of course! Now we've solved the food problem. I will cook, and your Mommy will be the one who tells me what to do, so we can still eat her cooking even when she can't cook for a while!"
"Yay! Finally, I can eat Mommy's food again!" Mackie chirped.
Chloe watched how Vernon and Mackie rejoiced over such a trivial thing. She didn't expect such a simple thing as homemade food could affect them greatly.
'Maybe I've underestimated myself...' Chloe thought. 'Maybe I do have a role in this family.'
Vernon carried the quesadilla plate to the dining table, followed by Mackie, who couldn't wait to eat more.
But they stopped halfway when they realized that Chloe wasn't following.
Vernon and Mackie turned their heads at the same time, staring at Chloe, and asked;
"What are you doing standing there? Come, let's eat."
"Un! Let's eat, Mommy. I'm starving!"
"Ah--" Chloe snapped out of her daze and smiled at them. "Yes, let's eat. I'm also hungry."
Thus, Chloe joined them at the dining table, eating the food Vernon made under Chloe's tutoring. Chloe felt so happy and relaxed for the first time that she ate a lot of quesadillas today.
**
Diamond was busy watching Netflix at home when she got a call from a private number.
Of course, she knew who this person was. So she picked it up without hesitation;
-
"Hello?"
"Good evening, Miss. I have all the information you need about Miss Shailene Walsh," the man with a heavy voice said on the phone.
"Mhm, tell me," Diamond instructed. She had to thank her boss for allowing her to use this informant to investigate Shailene. He was very effective in doing his job.
"Shailene Walsh has one very important client, and that is Mrs. Dorothea Gray," the informant said. "Mrs. Dorothea Gray paid her at least ten thousand dollars per session, though it doesn't seem to help."
"As expected," Diamond murmured.
She was wondering about Dorothea because Diamond believed the old woman couldn't get that kind of information without any insider information. And the only ones knowing about Vernon and Chloe's relationship and Chloe's true identity as Vincent's wife were only her and Shailene, Vernon's temporary psychologist.
This information was important, but she needed something more to catch that bitch off guard, "Do you have any additional information?" she asked. "You know having Dorothea's identity as Shailene's main client isn't going to change things, right?"
"Yes, Miss. I've gathered one more piece of information that will ruin her career. I'd like you to read it by yourself. I put the document under your parked car," the informant said.
"Good, my boss will send you the money as always," Diamond said.
"Understood, thank you for the business, Miss."
Beep.
--
Diamond tossed her phone on the sofa. Two weeks had passed since the day Diamond started investigating Shailene. She had obtained all the information needed, including Dorothea's identity as the main client.
But she needed stuff that would actually screw the crap out of her.
"Well, let's hope this information he got is good," Diamond murmured. She grabbed her sweater and went to the basement, where her car was parked.
She walked to her car and crouched. She grabbed a file under her car and entered the car to read the document. She couldn't wait to read what kind of secret that manipulative bitch had.
"Alright, now, let's see," Diamond murmured as she unwrapped the file. She had no expectations since Shailene seemed to be a good psychologist who handled many important women.
But when she read the document, Diamond's hand suddenly trembled. She clenched the paper until it was crumpled around the corner.
"Wow, what an ass," Diamond cursed. "I know she is already a despicable woman for telling Dorothea about Vernon and Chloe. But I never expected her to be THIS despicable."
Diamond gritted her teeth. She couldn't wait to face that woman and tear her apart.
But she had to wait patiently because she didn't want to ruin her plan.
"Heh, things just get even more personal now," Diamond said. "I won't let here ruin people's life for the third time."
**
Shailene sighed as she took off her glasses. It was a busy day today. She had three clients with severe problems.
But none of that mattered much because she still hadn't seen her biggest client entered the door.
"Where is Dorothea now? Don't tell me that Vernon killed her after a confrontation?" Shailene guessed. "Ah, I don't think Dorothea is that stupid. She can always tell Vincent about this, and Vincent will do the stuff to ruin Vernon and Chloe's life. So Vernon will know that Chloe is just a misfortune brought into his life."
Shailene still thought Chloe was behind all the misfortune befalling the Gray family.
Dorothea and Vincent had gone crazy after Chloe was married into the family. Vernon insisted that Dorothea and Vincent had been crazy since the start, but Shailene didn't believe that.
"How can I believe him when he was being groomed by that bitch?" Shailene said. "I feel bad for Vernon, honestly. A perfectly good man, getting groomed by a manipulative, poor woman who just wants to climb the social ladder."
Shailene couldn't help but imagine, "If only I had access to Vernon when he was young. I would be a much better person than Chloe, and Vernon will get obsessed with me instead."
"But I can't rewind time. I just hope there's news from Dorothea, and Vernon will get separated from that manipulative bitch," Shailene wished. "He must know that I'm the one who cares so much about him. He won't find a better partner than I am."
Shailene spent her evening thinking about Vernon when she suddenly got a call from an unknown number;
Shailene didn't think much about it and picked it up;
--
"Good evening, Dr. Shailene Walsh, Ph.D. here," Shailene opened with her title to make sure the one calling her wasn't some random person.
"Hello, Dr. Walsh," the voice from the other side sounded calm but somehow mysterious. "My name is Diamond Johnson, I want to set up a meeting."
--
Chapter 537
--
"My name is Diamond Johnson, I want to set up a meeting."
"A meeting?" Shailene frowned upon hearing the request. Most of the time, any new clients had to go through the hospital bureau before contacting Shailene.
Still, it wasn't uncommon for her to get a direct call from a potential client, but she didn't simply share her number with random people. The ones with her number must be recommended by her current or ex-clients, and all her clients were the elites.
'So this woman must be one of them as well,' Shailene believed.
"Certainly, Miss Johnson. But before we proceed, may I know who would recommend me to you? It's nothing serious, just patient data I have to fill in for the admin," Shailene said, though there was no administration here. She just wanted to ensure she wouldn't waste her time with a client without money.
"Yes, I got the recommendation from Madame Dorothea Gray," Diamond replied. "She told me to look for you."
Shailene's eyes widened instantly. She got excited knowing that Dorothea recommended her to one of her friends. Because it was a sign that Dorothea was still on her side, and she probably told Vincent about Vernon and Chloe's secret relationship already.
"Madam Gray is my main client. I feel honored that she recommended me," Shailene said. "I'm the best in my field, so you can trust me to handle your problem."
"That's nice...." Diamond said. She didn't seem to be as excited as Shailene. But Shailene didn't care. Maybe this woman was in too much emotional turmoil and needed a place to vent.
'In fact, it'd benefit me even more in the long run,' Shailene thought. 'As long as this woman is vulnerable, it won't be hard for me to extort more information about Dorothea and everything that's happening in the Gray family.'
"Please inform me when you will visit my office. I will send the address after a meeting has been scheduled," Shailene asked.
There was a brief pause from the other side until Diamond replied, "A week from now. Same day, I want to go after midnight."
"After midnight?" Shailene was taken aback by the sudden request. "M--Miss, my schedule is empty next week, so you can come at anytime--"
"Anytime, right? Then I will come after midnight, prepare yourself," Diamond said.
She was calm as she stated her schedule, but somehow, Shailene had a gut feeling that it sounded more like a threat.
But she quickly dispelled the idea, 'Maybe this woman is just crazed. It's not the first time I dealt with crazy women. Don't worry, Shailene, getting information from this woman will be easy,' Shailene tried to convince herself that everything was alright, even though her gut feeling said otherwise.
"Alright, Miss Diamond Johnson. I will set up the meeting on December 3rd, after midnight. Please come at the designated time, I will wait for one hour or the meeting will be canceled," Shailene said seriously. "I will text you my address after the call ends."
"No need, I know your apartment already," Diamond replied.
"Really? Did Madam Gray tell you my address?"
"Yes, she told me everything," Diamond hinted. "Including something very private."
Shailene took this as good news because Madam Gray must've been close to this woman to share something private.
'This is great, I can definitely extort a lot of information from a mentally unstable woman like this one,' Shailene thought.
"Then, the meeting has been scheduled. I'm looking forward to meeting you next week, Miss Johnson."
"Yes, good bye."
Beep.
--
Shailene frowned when this woman ended the call with a simple goodbye, and it didn't sound friendly either.
"What the-- this woman sounds condescending as fuck!" Shailene complained. "No wonder she has problems, she's definitely the type of woman that everyone despises."
"Well, she is friends with Dorothea, I guess they're pretty much the same. They are the type of women that everyone hates, and the only redeeming quality they have is their money," Shailene said condescendingly. "Oh well, if she's as rich as Dorothea, I guess I can ask for ten grand, or even more as a payment for every meeting we got."
Shailene put her phone down and leaned on her chair. She stared at the ceiling for a while before a simple smile perked on her lips, "I don't know what's happening inside the Gray family right now. But I'm pretty sure that things are going awry there."
"Maybe Vincent had gone insane after knowing that he had been betrayed by his own little brother, then he decided to take that manipulative bitch back while ruining Vernon's business and his future."
"Then Vernon will have nowhere to go. He will be heartbroken, ruined, and he will realize that Chloe is nothing but a misfortune brought upon himself."
"Then, once everything has been destroyed, I can just wait and enter his life," Shailene's grin turned into a wide smile as she tried hard to contain her excitement.
It had been so long since the last time she had embraced that man, and that man was the only one she fell in love with. She thought that she would eventually forget about Vernon after their bad breakup.
But that feeling never left her heart. It lingered for so long that she stayed single because she found other men lesser than Vernon.
Thus, when she realized that her feelings for him hadn't subsided, she packed up and went to New York to find him. Honestly, it wasn't hard to find him because he was a rising CEO that was hot talk on social media.
She couldn't contact Vernon because he was so busy and didn't want to make the same mistake. She wanted to know everything about him before they got together again.
Thus, she started getting in contact with Madam Dorothea Gray and was able to grab her as the main client. Madam Gray naturally told her everything about her family. From there, she concluded that Chloe was the manipulative bitch that ruined Vernon.
Chapter 538
Shailene thought that she had to be close to Dorothea enough until she got the chance to meet Vernon at an event.
Who would've expected that he suddenly gave her a call, asking for a therapy session? It was almost like a dream come true for Shailene. She was trying her hardest not to scream out of excitement at that time.
Until she realized that Vernon's problem was about this woman called Chloe, the same woman who ruined their relationships and the same woman who ruined Vernon's childhood.
"That's why I want to wake you up, Vernon," Shailene said firmly. "I want you to know how much I care for you. You won't find a woman who has you in my mind more than I do."
"And that Chloe bitch?" Shailene's gaze got cold as she mentioned Chloe. She scorned, full of contempt, "She can rot in hell. What a manipulative woman, trying to take advantage of a vulnerable heart just to get what she wants."
"Ah, can't wait to have him by my side again," Shailene said. "I miss him so much…."
**
A week passed, and Shailene was preparing herself in her home office. She had to look proper in front of her client, so it would convince the client that Shailene was a professional worthy of being hired.
She waited in her living room until midnight and heard a door knock after 00.00.
Knock. Knock.
Shailene's heart jumped. She couldn't help to curse out of reflex, "God-fucking-damn-it, why did she knock right when it's midnight? Has she been waiting in front of my door for a while?"
Shailene was creeped out, but after another knock, she walked to the door and checked through the peephole.
She was surprised when she saw a black woman in her 20s. She was young— too young to be able to befriend Dorothea since Dorothea's friends were mostly women of her age or just slightly younger or older.
She was also gorgeous, with her tall and slim body. Shailene almost mistook her for a supermodel.
'Is this really my client? She doesn't look sick or mentally deranged. Can I really get any information about the Gray family from her?' Shailene started doubting her client's usefulness. She didn't have time to handle another mentally sick woman right now, especially one like Dorothea, who had a lot of emotional baggage.
'But this woman got my contact from Dorothea. Let's just hope that she has good news for me.'
Thus, Shailene put up her sweetest smile and opened the door.
She smiled at the black woman who was a head taller than her, "Miss Diamond Johnson?"
Diamond nodded in response, "May I come in?"
"Oh, sure! Follow me, Miss, we can start your therapy in my home office."
Shailene opened the door for Diamond and led the woman into her home office.
"Please lay there, Miss," Shailene pointed at the chaise lounge while preparing a warm tea glass as a welcome gift.
Diamond obediently lay on the chaise lounge. She kept staring at Shailene's back, who was busy preparing tea for her.
"I have been expecting you, Miss Johnson, I can't wait to meet and talk to you," Shailene tried to sound hospitable as she was brewing tea. "After all, Madam Gray is my main client, so it's my pleasure to treat you here."
"I have been expecting you as well," Diamond said. But her voice was cold and unfeeling, which made Shailene uncomfortable.
But she maintained her amiable persona and took it as a joke instead, "Haha, you're funny, Miss."
If Shailene turned her back now, she would see a pair of eyes full of hostility, as if Diamond couldn't wait to end her life.
Shailene returned to Diamond with a glass of hot tea. She put it on the small table right beside the chaise lounge and sat on the seat on her usual seat.
She picked up her pen and notes, then crossed her legs, a sign that she was ready to do her work, "Alright, time to start the session, shall we? Miss Diamond Johnson, may you state your name, age, and occupation first?"
…
"Diamond Johnson, 23, Secretary."
Shailene was genuinely surprised by the answer, "Twenty-three and you're already friends with Madam Dorothea Gray? Wow!"
"Well, since you said that you're a secretary, does that mean you're working for the Gray business? Maybe you're Mr. Vincent Gray's secretary? That will explain your connection with Madam Gray."
"… You talk too much for a psychologist. Shouldn't you listen to your client first?" Diamond said condescendingly.
"Oh, my apology, I got excited because I see Madam Gray more like a friend than a client," Shailene said. She was about to say 'like a mother-in-law,' but she had to wait until Vernon married her to have that title. "Well, Miss Johnson, you just need to take a deep breath for now, inhale and exhale… and once you feel more relaxed, you can start talking to me about your problem."
Diamond followed the instruction that Shailene gave, but she didn't feel relaxed at all.
She felt vengeful.
She wanted to take down this bitch for complicating things between Dorothea, Chloe, and Vernon.
Diamond knew that Shailene was doing it out of spite, maybe she still loved Vernon or just wanted to be part of the Gray family.
Nevertheless, she messed with her family too, since she already saw Chloe as a sister from another mother— and father.
Other than that, Diamond also had a personal matter with this woman simply because of what Shailene did to one of her clients a few years back.
"I do have a personal problem," Diamond said. "It's about my big brother, Derik."
Shailene started to guess about the problem this man named Derik had, "So it's a family problem, I see," Shailene murmured as she started writing down her note. "Please continue, Miss."
Diamond smirked momentarily and continued, "He was bullied in middle school, and his depression worsened each day. So he got assigned to a psychologist to treat his depression and trauma."
Chapter 539"I see…" Shailene continued writing down her note. But she couldn't help to get distraught about the teenage bullying until he got depressed and had to be assigned to a psychologist.
Because it reminded Shailene of something unpleasant back then.
"You may continue, Miss Johnson."
"… Derik got assigned to a male psychologist named Carter, who happened to be young and also quite inexperienced. My parents didn't have that much money to begin with, so we could only afford a third-class psychologist and hoped for the best,"
"We thought that Derik's mental health would eventually recover. But as time passed, and money wasted into the psychologist, Derik's mental health wasn't recovering at all. He got worse, and had to drop out of high school because he had a manic episode that harmed one of his classmates."
"My parents were heartbroken because my brother had to drop out. They tried to move my Big brother to a different psychologist, but he got very close to this male psychologist, and refused to get treated by other professionals."
Shailene continued noting down, but she got increasingly uncomfortable as she didn't know what to do with this information.
First, she got uncomfortable because her client kept mentioning her brother in the past tense. As if he had died long ago.
Second, the story she was listening to sounded like something had happened to her. She tried her best to ignore and close the case because it would taint her reputation as a renowned psychologist.
But she maintained her magnanimity and asked, "So, your brother got stuck with that male psychologist?"
"Yes," Diamond replied. "Since he refused to find another one, we had to endure with that man, and it got worse after that. Derik's mental instability endangered everyone around them, and Derik locked himself in his room most of the time, only coming out when it was time to eat or going to his therapy session."
"Have your parents tried to talk to him?" Shailene suggested.
"As I said before, he only listened to that bastard psychologist," Diamond said. As she mentioned this psychologist, her tone grew increasingly cold and filled with hatred. "He manipulated my Big brother until he got emotionally dependent on that psychologist. He'd get frantic when he missed his therapy session. That psychologist started to increase his price until my parents had to sell a few things to be able to afford him."
"We got poorer and poorer, but Derik's depression had gotten even worse, and his manic episode got even more dangerous. My Dad started borrowing money from family and friends, until none of them wanted to give him more, because my Dad couldn't pay them back."
"So he started borrowing from the bank just to get enough money for Derik's therapy, and a series of bad decisions ended up costing us our home," Diamond grew increasingly bitter. She remembered that day when they were kicked out of their houses because their Dad couldn't pay the bank and had their house confiscated. "After they kicked us out, we had to live in a trailer on the outskirt of our town. Life was miserable, and Derik was still unwell."
Shailene starts sweating bullets. She didn't know if it was just a coincidence, but this story was too similar to something that had happened to her a few years back, and it wasn't a pretty thing to remember.
In fact, Shailene had been trying to forget about it, but she couldn't.
'This is just a coincidence. Still, it's definitely an eerie coincidence,' she thought. 'Alright, let's just act professional. Shailene. Act like nothing's wrong.'
"Did they manage to cure Derik in the end?" Shailene asked.
…
…
There was a long uncomfortable silence between them. Diamond didn't answer right away.
Instead, she kept staring at Shailene with a pair of dark, unblinking eyes. It was inexplicably creepy under the dim light of her home office.
Shailene gulped nervously. She wondered if this was also part of her new client's mental illness. Maybe a traumatic incident affected her whenever she recalled a memory. That traumatic incident must've been linked to Derik.
"He died," Diamond replied with a smile.
"D—Died?" Shailene's hand started trembling. She realized that things had gotten way too similar for her to ignore. "H—How?"
"He hung himself," Diamond continued. "I was fifteen at that time. I was the first one to see his corpse, hanging on a tree in front of our trailer. I remember how his eyes were lifeless, his tongue stuck out, and there were wounds around his neck where he wrapped the rope around. Maybe he realized that it was a bad idea, so he tried to free himself by clawing his neck, but it was too late, and he died."
"I remember screaming upon seeing his corpse, then my family all came out, and everyone was hysterical. My brother, Derik Johnson, died at the age of seventeen."
My family was grieving, we were poor too, so it was hell on earth for me," Diamond said. "Derik left us a note detailing his reason for committing suicide. He realized that he was nothing but a burden to the family, and he knew he wouldn't get any better, so he ended his life to save us all from the pain."
"But there was something that shocked us all inside his note. He mentioned one name that helped to push himself to commit suicide," Diamond said. "Do you know who it is?"
Shailene had already guessed the identity of the person who helped push Derik to commit suicide, but she hoped she was the wrong one here.
Because if she wasn't wrong, she could probably die from a heart attack right now.
"W—Who?" Shailene asked, playing along with Diamond, who was ready to drop the bomb.
Diamond smiled and opened her mouth. Not only she mentioned the name of the culprit, but also what he said to Diamond's brother that led him to commit suicide.
Chapter 540
Diamond mouthed it word by word. In fact, with her cold and somber tone, she said;
-
I want to say thank you to Mr. Carter Fallingham. He is such a good person who has given me hope for so long. He told me that a worthless piece of shit like me deserves to live for a while, and he also told me that I shouldn't try to hold myself back.
He said that if I have the urge to hurt someone, then I should do it.
If I want to make a mess, I should do it.
And if I want to make anyone's life a living hell, I should do it too.
After all, it's just a way for me to feel better.
Releasing my rage and sadness to others is a way to make me happy.
And I did. For the past four years, I have been feeling better and better.
I feel great as long as I hurt others!
I thought we could stay like this forever until Carter told me my Dad failed to pay for my therapy. He was not happy with the failed payment, and after getting unpaid three times in a row, Carter told me that I should just die because I couldn't pay for my therapy anymore.
He told me that I was a failure who didn't deserve to live and I should hang myself because it would serve my father a reminder that he was a failure of a father. He was a poor bastard who could not save his son.
I thought about Carter's words and then looked at my family. For the first time, I finally realized that I was nothing but a burden.
Carter is wrong about my Dad. My Dad is not a failure. He did his best to make me feel better.
We have to lose so many things just for me to feel better, and I realize that I can't pay them back.
No matter what I do, I'm a failure, and I definitely don't deserve to live in this family because I did nothing but be a burden to them.
So I have to end our suffering. I have to end my life, so my family won't suffer anymore. So do I. Soon, none of you would suffer anymore.
Goodbye, Mom, Dad, and you too, Desmond, Diamond, and Damien. I love you all.
I'm sorry for being a burden for so long.
Derik.
--
"Stop! STOP!" Shailene couldn't handle it anymore. She dropped her notes and tried to get up. She wanted to run as far as possible, but her legs felt weak as the image of a teenage boy hanging on a tree haunted her mind.
Her legs wobbled as she tried to escape from Diamond and slumped on the floor.
Diamond finally got up from the chaise lounge. She walked slowly towards Shailene, who tried to crawl away from her.
Diamond kept talking about her deceased sibling, "Do you know what happened after we read that note?"
"Stop! Please stop! I don't want to hear it!" Shailene begged. She wanted to escape, but her body was so weak. So I felt like she would faint anytime soon.
Diamond stood right behind Shailene, who desperately tried to escape her.
Diamond wondered if Shailene had already guessed her intention or not because she really didn't expect this bitch to fall on her knees and try to escape like this.
But that was also beneficial for her because it also meant that Shailene had an absurd amount of guilt in her heart, 'Heh, even an evil, manipulative bitch like her still has a conscience. That's funny.'
Diamond stepped on Shailene's feet and pressed the ankle with her stiletto. Shailene shrieked in pain, but she was powerless when Diamond pressed her ankle harder with the sharp tip of the stiletto.
"Don't run away, I'm not done with you yet," Diamond said coldly. "After we read that note, my Mom became manic, she screamed crazily and wailed, calling my deceased brother's name hysterically."
"While my Dad-- well, he grabbed his gun and drove to that bastard's office," Diamond remembered how her father didn't listen when all her children tried to stop him. He pushed everyone out and drove to Carter Fallingham's office with his car.
Diamond finally lifted her stiletto off Shailene's feet. She crouched behind Shailene and grabbed her long hair.
She yanked Shailene's hair to the back, "Ah! S--Stop, p--please, I'm begging you, stop this...." Shailene whimpered. Shailene was so scared of this woman that she was about to faint.
She didn't know if this story was true, but it was way too similar to what Shailene did back then, and she couldn't handle the guilt at all.
Diamond smirked and leaned closer until she put her lips close to Shailene's ear, "My Dad drove to that bastard's office with a fully loaded gun. He stormed inside his room and found Carter Fallingham sitting leisurely in his office. My Dad must be very angry, because that bastard was the one who ruined our family, and the one who pushed Derik to his death."
"So he aimed his gun towards Carter's head, and shot him without hesitation," Shailene whispered. She sounded calm, but it was like a knife that pierced deep into Shailene's ear.
"My Dad shot him three more times to make sure that bastard is dead, and after getting his revenge, he--" Diamond formed an L-shape with her thumb and finger and pointed right under Shailene's chin. "--He shot himself from this position. That day, I lost my Dad and my brother at the same time, and that day will forever be ingrained in my mind as the worst day in my life."
Shailene started crying out of fear and guilt. This woman called Diamond was too terrifying. Shailene really thought that she was going to get killed today, "P--Please spare me. I--I can do anything, I will give you money if that's what you want!"