Ch. 556..560: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 556-560

Chapter 556 "Mmmp—Mmmppp—!!" Mrs. Andrew continued struggling to no avail. Mrs. Andrew was scared that this woman might actually kill her if she kept struggling, so she stopped once her face was planted on the ground until it was for her to breathe, let alone open her mouth.

"Mm, good, she finally stops struggling," Maria said, then glanced at Mr. Vincent Gray and also Vernon. "Don't worry, it will take her long enough to actually die out of asphyxiation. I don't care if she does, though."

Maria fished her phone out and started calling someone, and then, ten minutes later, two men in black showed up and helped her prop Mrs. Andrew up. They covered the old woman's mouth with one hand and pulled her out of the office.

Secretary Maria watched from the side. After ensuring that woman was taken care of, she bowed respectfully at Vincent and Vernon before leaving the CEO's office and shutting the door.

…

Vernon was speechless the whole time. He knew that Maria was Vincent's lapdog that would do anything for him and the company. He also knew that Maria was very dangerous and observant.

But he didn't expect Secretary Maria— that old woman could be ruthless and unfeeling. She didn't even hesitate to stomp the old Principal and called two men to bring the old Principal out.

'I also can't believe that it's so easy for her to talk about murdering someone in front of a guest like me. Is this a common occurence?' Vernon glanced at his Big bro, who didn't seem to be affected at all, then asked, "Big bro, what will she do to that old Principal?"

"Hm? I don't know," Vincent shrugged. "She will probably kill her, or even worse, torture that old woman until she dares not talking about anything to the public. She's quite effective for this job."

"And you also allow her to use those important men in black to do her bidding?"

"They are still my people. I just give Maria enough control to deal with tasks like this," Vincent continued. "Why are you asking? Are you surprised that Secretary Maria can be so ruthless?"

Vernon nodded.

He was genuinely curious about Secretary Maria's life story and why she did everything for Vincent, even though it barely benefited her.

"Well, let's just say that our late Father helped her enough until she decided to dedicate her life to our family. You won't find someone more dedicated than she is, that's why I keep her around," Vincent explained. "Anyway, that old Principal's life is over. I don't think Maria will kill her because it's too much of a hassle to do. But she will definitely punish and traumatize Mrs. Andrew enough until that old bitch don't even dare to do think about telling the media about me."

Vincent watched the astonishment on Vernon's face. Again, he always felt so proud when Vernon looked so surprised and stared at him with awe. It proved that Vernon was still the same Little brother who would always listen to his words.

Just like a dog.

"Speaking about old women. I don't know where Dorothea is right now," Vincent complained. "I tried calling her many times, and she never answered any of my calls. I tried to contact the Gray mansion, and the head butler said that she is on her trip to Greece to heal herself."

Vernon swallowed his saliva when Vincent brought up the topic of Dorothea. He was afraid that the old woman might've told Vincent about everything, "Are you sure that you can't get her in contact? Does she have any bodyguard that follows her around?"

"Huh? Why?" Vincent frowned. "Why do I need to hire a bodyguard to protect a depressed dying woman like that?"

"Well, I just thought that maybe you want to keep her safe…." Vernon murmured.

"Huh? You really think I care so much about her?" Vincent stared at his Little brother as if Vernon had said something so utterly ridiculous just now.

"I just thought that you might have a little good will to her, Big bro," Vernon said. "After all, you're her favorite son."

"Favorite son? HAHAHAHA!" Vincent burst out in laughter. The more he listened to his Little bro, the funnier it got. It took him the whole five minutes until he was satisfied with his laugh and asked back with a grin on his face, "Do you really think that she loves me?"

…

"Well, let me tell you something, Vernon," Vincent patted his Little brother's shoulder and leaned closer so he could whisper, "I didn't give a shit to her pampering when I was young. You and I know that she did it because of her failing marriage with our late Father."

"She doesn't want to be left out. Although her life has been ruined by her husband, she still have me. She wants me to be her doll that she can shape whichever she want based on her vision of perfect son," Vincent said. "Unfortunately, I'm not that doll. I got bored dealing with an overbearing mother like her, and I don't care if she dies or not right now."

Vernon's body trembled slightly. Vincent was simply terrifying, especially when he acted all kind and amiable like this.

It reminded Vernon of how ruthless he could be to an old woman just now.

But he clenched his fist to gather his strength so he didn't look scared in front of Vincent.

"I see," Vernon nodded. "Then, if you don't care about that old woman, why are you trying to find her now?"

"Obviously because I have to make sure that she will die in a civilized manner. There are still so many Gray family assets under that old woman's name. It'll be a headache if I have to fight all of those rotten apples to obtain all of my birthright," Vincent said, referring to the Gray family branch members as rotten apples.

"I see…"

Vernon was relieved that Dorothea hadn't told Vincent about his relationship with Chloe. Just like what Chloe said—Dorothea wouldn't betray them.

'What if… what Chloe said a few weeks ago was true? Dorothea has changed and wants to help us. What should I do if Chloe actually win the bet?'

 

Chapter 557

'What if… what Chloe said a few weeks ago was true? Dorothea has changed and wants to help us. What should I do if Chloe actually wins the bet?'

That question lingered in Vernon's mind more than he'd like it.

He was unsure whether he would call it a blessing or not, but he certainly disliked the fact that there was a chance of him losing the bet against Chloe.

He was 100% sure he'd win it because, in his mind, Dorothea was a monster no less than Vincent. She was an abuser, and her target was the innocent Little Vernon, who knew nothing about this world and his fault for deserving such beating from his mother at such an early age.

So he was certain that a monster like Dorothea would not change her view in such a short time, and Vernon refused to believe that Dorothea could be good.

She hurt him so badly that he never felt any motherly love from that monster. He found comfort from his Big sis Chloe instead, and now this old woman wanted to crawl back into his life with Chloe?

Oh, that would not happen!

'Fuck, this is bothering me now,' Vernon complained. 'Did Chloe somehow tell Dorothea about our bet? That would explain how Dorothea hasn't told Vincent about my relationship with Chloe.'

'But why? I don't think Chloe is that dumb. She may be kind, but she's not stupid enough to get manipulated by that old witch for the second time,' Vernon wondered. 'Besides, she has had no contact with anyone for the past three weeks. She's only going out accompanied by that military-trained bodyguard as a driver, so her action throughout the day is very predictable. She also has no phone. So there's no way she could contact Dorothea.'

…

'Are you telling me that Dorothea is actually trying to help us? Trying to help me?' Vernon's chest felt heavy as he thought about the idea of meeting his estranged mother. 'No fucking way. There's no way that bitch has no malicious intention.'

'I just have to prove Chloe wrong, so I don't need to sit face-to-face with that old bitch!'

Thus, determined to kick that dying witch away from his new life with his beloved, Vernon asked his Big bro, "If that old woman actually disappears, then there must be a reason before she left, right? Did something happen to Big bro when you talk to her?"

"I don't think so," Vincent replied. "The last time I talked with her was in this office, with you. Do you remember how she tried to frame you and pit us against each other? Yeah, that time when I showed video of me beating Chloe as lesson."

….

"Then, did something happen after she disappeared?"

"Yes," Vincent's eyes darkened as he answered. Vincent rarely took things seriously at work and usually weed out problems without thinking twice.

But he looked so serious now, so there must be a big problem after Dorothea was out of his radar.

"Dorothea, that old bitch, dares to withhold three months of scholarship money from the Gray foundation. She directly instructed the manager of Gray foundation to allocate the three months' money somewhere else, and now I can't reverse it due to complicated bureaucracy," Vincent said. He really hated to be put in a tight position like this.

He was always in control, but when something irreversible like this happened, he got easily frustrated and distracted with everything else.

"I don't know why that old bitch doing this. Shouldn't she be happy that I allowed her to live for so long? I could've killed her easily if I wanted to, but letting her live is the biggest blessing she could get, really."

"Can you just use your own money first, Big bro?" Vernon asked.

"No, again, the bureaucracy is complicated. I can do that, but it'd take another month to do, it's best to just wait it out."

Vincent darted his eyes back at his phone, "And now, those ungrateful shits that got their scholarship money restrained for three months start protesting in social media, mostly twitter."

…

"I thought you don't care about what people said, Big bro," Vernon commented.

He actually wondered about this one as well. Vincent always said that he didn't give a shit to what people said outside, but Vernon knew very well that Vincent had a professional PR team that worked nonstop to keep his image perfect in public.

So it was obvious that Vincent actually cared a lot about what people thought of him.

"Tsk, I don't care about those twitter bastards. But Maria told me that their comments push the topic to be a top one trending, and many investors and business partners are speculating about what happened to me and the Gray foundation," Vincent said. "They start calling me over and over, asking the same thing, mostly about the stock and if everything is fine. Because the Gray foundation is proof that we are rich enough to send so many people to good schools, we even sent plenty to Harvard and Yale before."

Vernon was quite surprised that his Big bro knew very well about the domino effect that might happen because of this event set by Dorothea. It would definitely affect the public image of the Gray family. Some might assume that the company started having problems— big enough to stop them from sending scholarship money, at least, and that would also affect the stock.

Vernon wouldn't deny Vincent's mind. He was smart, brilliant, in fact. And Vernon would never be able to defeat him academically when he was young.

But his Big brother also had a weakness, which was his mental instability that often clouded his judgment, especially when it involved his ego. Whether it was his insatiable desire to look perfect in front of the public, or his crazy fetish to abuse women, especially his own wife.

The more Vernon talked with his big brother as an adult, the more he realized how flawed Vincent was.

'And that means I have a lot of room to exploit his instability.'

Chapter 558

Vernon had 101 ways to exploit his Big brother's vulnerable state right now.

Vincent must've had a lot on his mind, and he got frustrated when he couldn't solve any problem quickly. It was the perfect time for Vernon to start thinking about a counterattack, maybe taking more of his Big bro's business partners under his wing or putting even more people inside the Gray mansion and Vincent's own mansion.

He was certain that Vincent wouldn't notice a thing or even care about those 'menial' things when he had a lot of stuff on his mind.

'He's also even more unstable after Chloe left. He can claim that Chloe doesn't affect him. But he grows increasingly unbearable and ruthless to people around him. He becomes more of a madman,' Vernon thought. 'I guess it can't be helped. I was also easily irritated and prone to temper before I reunited with her.'

Vernon knew this was the right time to start planning for his next move against his Big bro.

But there was something else much more important disturbing his mind, and it absolutely ruined his mood right now.

'I hate to admit that Chloe wins the bet,' Vernon fussed. 'That old bitch actually never told Vincent about my relationship with Chloe, and also fulfilled her promise to go against her own favorite son to help us, to help me….'

Vernon gritted his teeth in silence. He couldn't imagine himself forgiving Dorothea. He'd rather kill that old bitch, so she'd never enter his life with Chloe again.

He could do that, in fact, but he cared a lot for Chloe's opinion.

He had done everything for Chloe up to this point, so he couldn't afford the possibility of Chloe hating him for killing that heroin-addicted old woman.

Vernon watched his Big bro, who was busy on his phone. He called someone called Nigel and told him to come to the office as soon as possible.

"Who's Nigel, Big bro?" Vernon asked.

"The manager who handles the Gray foundation. He is Dorothea's direct subordinate and also the one who got the call from that witch," Vincent informed. "You should stick around longer, Vernon. Let's interrogate Nigel about Dorothea, maybe you can help me to find her. I'd appreciate your help finding Dorothea more than finding Chloe."

"And why so?"

"Because Chloe is mine," Vincent claimed without hesitation. "I know that you're trying to help me. But I don't want her to get touched or even talk to you. Because she might use her pussy to seduce you instead. She's a cheap whore after all."

Vernon started to get used to Vincent's slander over his beloved woman. Chloe was NOT a cheap whore. She was, in fact, the kindest woman that Vernon had ever met in his life, before and after he lived in Europe.

He was still angry about the slander, but he was able to contain his rage inside his heart, so Vincent wouldn't suspect him.

It took at least thirty minutes before the door was knocked, and a man called Nigel entered the office.

He was a young man in his late twenties, well-dressed like a geek with big framed glasses and a sweater. He was checking his tote bag as he entered Vincent's office.

He stood right in the middle of the room, under the scrutinizing gaze of two Gray brothers. Funnily enough, he didn't look scared even though he was facing the ruthless Vincent Gray.

"Good morning, Sir. I'm here to answer all of your questions regarding the scholarship fund that gets withheld for three months."

Vincent and Vernon glanced at each other briefly before nodding in tacit understanding.

"Tell us about Dorothea's instruction," Vernon asked first.

"Madam Gray told me to withhold all scholarship funds for three months straight, so nobody will get their scholarship for December-January-February. It will return to the regular schedule in March."

"Can you reverse this? Or did Dorothea actually take all the scholarship fund for herself?" Vincent asked.

"No, Sir. Madam Gray didn't take any money from the foundation. Unfortunately, I cannot reverse this because all the funds have been directed towards disaster relief, we cannot take those money back, Sir."

"USELESS!" Vincent shouted. He got annoyed with the fact that Dorothea gave him no way out. So all he could do was endure those phone calls from business partners and investors for three months until things went back to normal.

"My apology, Sir. But I cannot do anything now. All I can do is to put up a public announcement regarding the condition. I can say there is a slight mismanagement, or we can put someone to blame for corruption perhaps, people will sympathize more if you say there is corruption in the Gray foundation and the company is trying to investigate."

"Yes, do that," Vincent said. "Put the blame on someone in the Gray foundation and fire him. Give him compensation to shut him up, so he won't talk bullshit in the media to challenge our announcement."

"Yes, Sir," Nigel agreed.

Vernon was listening to the conversation the whole time. He found it terrifying how easily his Big brother instructed his subordinate to frame someone to save his perfect image in public.

"Is there anything I can help before I leave, Sir?" Nigel offered as they continued with the investigation.

Vincent had already been informed about this problem before. He just told Nigel to come so they could solve this problem faster by communicating directly.

"You can go now," Vincent said.

"Yes, Sir," Nigel was about to turn around when Vernon suddenly interrupted.

"Wait!"

Nigel and Vincent darted their eyes toward Vernon at the same time, and they waited for him to speak, "It's about Dorothea. Did she say something when she gave you the instruction? Is there a reason for her doing this?"

"Nothing in particular, Sir," Nigel replied. "I asked if she is certain of this instruction, knowing the backlash that will happen in the social media and the fact this instruction is irreversible. But she said that she will take responsibility for everything."

Chapter 559

"She said she'll take full responsibility?" Vincent reacted.

"Yes, Sir. Madam Gray said she'll take full responsibility over everything, that's why I dare to do this big move, because she granted my safety."

"Heh, very good," Vincent scoffed. His eyes darkened with a glint of maliciousness in them. He was so angry right now that Nigel and Vernon noticed it immediately.

The atmosphere became tense, and Vincent said, "You can leave now, Nigel."

"Y—Yes, Sir. Please excuse me," Nigel bowed his head and took a few steps back until his back hit the door behind him. He quickly turned around and left. He didn't dare to be in the same room with the angry Mr. Vincent Gray. He heard enough scary stuff from other staff about Mr. Gray's mood swings and general insanity.

Now Vernon was alone with his Big brother, who was so angry, he could kill a man—or an old woman in this case.

"That dying bitch. I gave her the right to stay alive for so long and this is how she repay me? How ungrateful," Vincent muttered. "She said she will take responsibility for everything? So she's really well prepared to face my wrath, huh? I wonder what she can do when I catch her later and skin her old wrinkly body."

Vernon shuddered upon hearing his Big brother's threat. Vernon might have the bigger temper between them, but he never threatened to kill someone easily. He had to have a solid reason for eliminating someone, mostly when they threatened his life first, unlike his Big bro, who could do something heinous for the fun of it.

Vernon felt that it was justified for him to want to kill that dying bitch, because Dorothea had been so horrible to him when he was young.

But Vincent had been spoiled rotten by Dorothea and still wanted to kill her for this.

"What are you going to do next, Big bro?" Vernon asked.

Vincent glanced at Vernon with malevolence in his eyes and asked, "What do you think, Vernon? What should I do next when I have to face a traitor like her?"

Vernon swallowed his saliva with difficulty. He knew this was his chance to actually save Dorothea. He could ask his Big bro not to hurt Dorothea because of their blood relation.

But Vernon was petty.

He still had a grudge against Dorothea, even though it had been confirmed that Dorothea was trying to help him and Chloe.

But he still refused to admit it and refused to reconcile with that hag.

So he replied, "Naturally, it's to eliminate her, right?"

"Hahah, you're right! It's so obvious that I will fucking find and kill that hag for ruining my image!" Vincent proclaimed. He was ruthless and didn't seem to be playing around with his words.

Vernon stayed silent. Somehow, he felt guilty for telling Vincent to kill Dorothea, especially after the revelation that Dorothea was trying to help him, which was something very unlikely of him.

​ Vernon was just as ruthless as Vincent, but now, he pitied his abuser.

'Am I becoming soft and stupid now? Is this because I've been enjoying life for too long?' Vernon pondered. 'Or maybe it's because I've been pampered by my beloved? I heard from Carlos that men tend to get docile after finding his true love.'

'I shouldn't be soft to anyone other than Chloe and Mackie. This is not right,' Vernon thought.

"I think you need to leave now, Vernon," Vincent said. "I don't want to kick you out so early, but I'm not in the mood, and you might get caught in my rage."

"Okay, Big bro," Vernon nodded. He also knew that it was his time to go because there was no use staying here after he got all he needed.

Now he knew that the Old Principal had been taken care of, and Dorothea hadn't told Vincent a thing about his relationship with Chloe.

She also fulfilled her promise to disturb Vincent for three months, giving a lot of leeways for Vernon to do his thing.

So, in short, Chloe won, and Vernon hated it.

"I'll talk to you later, Big bro," Vernon said before he left Vincent's office.

**

Vernon resumed his day like usual since he still had a lot to do in his office. He worked nonstop and had a meeting until it was nine in the evening and continued to work in his office.

"Sir, you don't seem to be so energetic today, did something happen at home?" Diamond asked as she put a coffee on the desk. She checked the clock and added, "Maybe you should go home."

"No," Vernon refused curtly. "I don't want to face her right now."

Diamond frowned, "Did you fight with Chloe again? Sir, you know that you shouldn't yell at her, right? She is easily frightened."

"I didn't yell at her—hell, I'm not even fighting with her, we're on good terms these days," Vernon began to get annoyed by Diamond's bias. "And why do you think that I'm always yelling at her? I don't yell without reason."

"That's not what I see for the past few years I worked with you," Diamond shrugged. "Anyway, what's the problem now? Maybe I can help in some way."

"You can't, because we don't have a fight. It's about the bet that Chloe and I made before," Vernon said.

Diamond frowned, "What bet, Sir?"

…

Vernon went silent for a moment and then grabbed his briefcase.

He took out a phone that Diamond identified easily since it was so outdated, and the only one who had an outdated phone was none other than Chloe.

Thus, she quickly connected the dots and remembered Vernon and Chloe's fight and bet about Dorothea.

"Do you remember?"

"Yes, Sir. I think it's been a month since you two made the bet, right? So what will you do next?" Diamond asked. "Remember that I will never forgive you if you dare to lock her up just because you win the bet."

"That's the problem, I lost the bet."

Chapter 560

"That's the problem, I lost the bet."

Diamond's jaw dropped, "YOU WHAT?!"

Vernon sighed. He dropped all the documents in his hand and leaned on the executive chair, "I lost the bet. I found out that Dorothea never told Vincent about my relationship with Chloe, that's why Vincent has no suspicion of me whatsoever."

"Wait, the whole Gray foundation fund--well, stuff you two talked about? Did she actually do it?" Diamond had gotten the information about the whole bet thing from Chloe and Vernon.

Thus she knew the whole point of the bet.

If Dorothea actually helped them by fulfilling her promise to stop the scholarship fund of Gray foundation for all awardees for three months, that meant Chloe won the bet.

But if she didn't do anything for the whole month, or even worse, told Vincent about their relationship, then Vernon won the bet.

Chloe took a huge risk in this gamble because Vernon tried to intimidate her by saying he'd own her body. Everything about her would be all for himself, and her life would be under Vernon's control.

Vernon said he wouldn't actually do that. It was just a threat so Chloe would back off.

But she didn't.

She accepted the bet and said that Vernon had to follow Chloe's instruction, whatever that would be.

Of course, Vernon knew it was to accept his abusive mother into their small family.

"Fuck, I can't believe that I lost the bet," Vernon cursed. He didn't know who to blame except himself right now. Heck, he didn't even know if he should blame himself because he didn't expect Dorothea to actually take the risk to go against Vincent.

"What should I do now, Diamond? I don't want to meet, let alone accepting that cruel witch into my life. I don't want her around Chloe and Mackie too!" Vernon vented out his frustration. He felt lost, and even more so when he realized that he had to tell Chloe about this.

Diamond went silent for a moment and sighed, "I don't know, Sir. A bet is a bet, and you lost it. You can't do anything other than following her demand, especially after Chloe is brave enough to challenge you and accept the bet that might cost her own freedom. She earned it."

"Damn it!" Vernon grew increasingly frustrated after hearing Diamond's answer because it was true. He had no way out anymore and had to admit his defeat this time.

"Maybe I should lie to her," Vernon said. "I can lie that Dorothea did nothing, so Chloe will automatically lose the bet!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Sir," Diamond sneered. "After all, you're only dealing with the inevitable. Chloe will eventually find out about everything, and you still have to face your defeat plus Chloe's anger and disappointment on the side."

"It's so unlike you to avoid responsibility, Sir. You're not a coward," Diamond reminded. She always saw her boss as a powerful man that wouldn't falter against anything or anyone.

"I'm not a coward. I just don't know if I can control myself when I see that old bitch's face, makes me want to punch her old wrinkly face," Vernon said, full of contempt. "I'd rather face 100 Vincent than facing 1 Dorothea, who wants to act nice and warm in front of me. It's disgusting."

Diamond had no more words for this. There was no way for her boss to accept that old woman into his life, especially with Chloe and Mackie around.

But he also had to face his loss like a real man. Chloe truly earned her win because she was brave enough to bet on her own freedom.

"I have no more suggestions, Sir. All I can say is good luck, and face Chloe."

"Tsk, fine!" Vernon grabbed all of his documents and laptop on the desk and shoved it all into his briefcase. "If there is no way out, then I guess I will have to face Chloe!"

"Wait, you're actually going to do that?" Diamond asked.

"What? You told me that I have to face Chloe with the truth that I lost the bet. What else do you want?"

"Nothing, Sir. I was just a little surprised by how decisive you are, especially when you have to admit defeat."

"Just like what you said just now, Chloe earned it. And I don't mind admitting defeat in front of my beloved," Vernon proclaimed. "It's her right to do whatever she want, since she owns me now."

"Owns you?" Diamond raised her brow. "You mean because of the bet, right?"

Vernon didn't give any answer and walked out of his office instead, "You can leave the office anytime you want, Diamond. I'm going home first to meet with my woman and tell her the whole truth."

"Yes, Sir. I wish you good luck."

Vernon scoffed and swaggered out of the office arrogantly. He closed the door behind him, leaving Diamond alone in the office.

"Well, I guess that's what we call character development," Diamond commented. She sipped her coffee while staring at the door. "He never wanted to admit defeat to anyone before, not even for the smallest argument. No matter how wrong he was, he'd never back down."

"But Chloe has changed him in a good way, and I'm all for it. After all, who wouldn't want to have a kind boss?" Diamond nodded as she agreed with her own statement. "I guess that means I'll have to extend my stay in this office. I like the atmosphere now."

**

Vernon turned up the radio to the max volume as he listened to some random music blaring from the speaker. His eyes were on the road, and he tried to mouth some of the lyrics from a few songs.

But his mind was actually empty as he kept thinking about Chloe and Dorothea. Just the thought of spending time with Dorothea was enough of a nightmare for him.

And now, the nightmare was about to happen soon since he had just parked his car in the basement.

Vernon sat inside his car for a while and muttered, "I fucking hate this."