Ch. 641..645: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 641-645
Chapter 641
Vincent squinted to see the screen because Maria said the severe problem was caused by Vernon. Which he thought was something ridiculous because his Little brother worshiped him so much, there was no way he'd try to backstab him.
Once Vincent regained some of his consciousness, he saw the trending topic of the day. It was not the video of Chelsea's joker-like face anymore, but it might as well be.
The trending topic of the day was a picture of a popular make-up guru with lipstick smeared around her cheek. The make-up guru grinned devilishly, and the tagline of that picture was:
-
A beautiful mess.
-
It was the same tagline that Vincent wanted and the same make-up guru and pose that he liked.
But the timing of this ad was absolutely wrong. Because everyone was still talking about that joker lady in the video. They were laughing at her, and also Vincent because Chelsea--the joker lady, claimed that she was the future wife of Vincent Gray.
So when everyone on the internet saw this ad, they were instantly reminded of that Joker lady with a scar across her cheek. They knew the Gray company had developed this new make-up brand, so when Vincent checked the comments, it was full of ridicule. It pushed one hashtag that everyone used to laugh at his relationship with Chelsea.
--
'Omg, did you see the new lipstick ad? I bet Vincent Gray is seriously in love with that crazy woman! #VincentandJoker is real!'
'LOL! #VincentandJoker went viral, I wonder what kind of wedding they will do? Maybe a Batman and Joker theme? Vincent as the groom wearing Batman suit, and that crazy lady will be wearing a joker suit.'
'Ahahaha! I bet the bride will be using the lipstick from the ad, since it fits her so much!'
'Oh, that makes me wonder, why does Vincent Gray need to hire a popular make-up guru when he can just hire his soon-to-be wife as the model in the ad? She fits perfectly well, that woman is a mess, but not beautiful!'
'Oh, that's true! I bet that crazy lady is head over heels right now, because her boyfriend, Vincent Gray is making an ad just for her!'
'Anyway, I don't want to buy that lipstick or any of the make-up kits from the company. It always reminds me of the video from yesterday, when that crazy joker lady is screaming and shouting like crazy.'
'Same, I won't buy that. Maybe they should advertise this product for those who want to do Joker cosplay?'
'LOL, that crazy lady from the video doesn't even need to do cosplay. Just smear the lipstick all over her scar and she'll be the best Joker ever! Even better than Heath Ledger!'
'LOL!'
'Hahaha!'
'LMAO!'
--
Vincent's body shook as he kept reading the comments while Maria patiently scrolled down on her phone. She wanted to make sure that she got a good reaction from Vincent.
The angrier he got, the better he would clean this whole mess.
'I want him to go absolutely insane about this whole thing, so he is angry enough to chop his pesky brother's head, and takes the swift action to find and kill Dorothea and Chloe, maybe he should kill his daughter too so he won't have anymore emotional baggage,' Maria thought. 'Vincent can be a debauched man who fucks every woman he found as long as that can help him to be a good CEO. The company is going down at this point.'
"There are so many comments laughing at you, saying that you're an idiot. The ad has also been posted in Times Square's billboard. You will see many people posting about the billboard ad in Times Square and laughing at you in Tiktok and Instagram."
"You've become the butt of the jokes now, Vincent Gray," Maria said while tormenting Vincent. She had been working with Mr. Vaughn Gray and his descendant long enough to know which button to push so Vincent would do what she wanted him to do.
Vincent imagined everyone who laughed at him. They must be ridiculing him because he wasn't as perfect as they thought.
They would see that he was just a regular man with many flaws, and they wouldn't shower him with praise.
But the worst of all...
Vincent imagined Chloe laughing at him. He imagined her looking at him as if she was higher, better and had more power than him.
Vincent clenched his fists as he was drowned inside his own fantasy.
'That stupid bitch must be looking down on me right now. She must be laughing her ass off at my failure while she's being embraced by another man,' Vincent thought. He started gnashing his teeth, wondering what he should do to zip her mouth. He couldn't wait to punch that bitch's face because she dared to look down on her. 'Don't you dare you look at me as if you're better than me, Chloe! You're my woman, you're supposed to be below me!'
Maria's eyes peered as she stared at Vincent, who looked so pissed off. It seemed that Vincent was thinking about something, and Maria guessed it must be about Chloe.
Vincent might never admit it, but Maria knew Vincent was obsessed with Chloe. He was obsessed with keeping Chloe by his side, suppressing her until she was barely a human, and then tormenting her every day so he could see her cry.
It was a hellish cycle for Chloe, but Maria didn't care about that.
'What's the problem with sacrificing the happiness of one insignificant woman? Chloe's sole use is to be Vincent's punching bag, so Vincent can be a good CEO that can develop and maintain his late father's company. The sacrifice of one insignificant woman is nothing compared to the lives of thousands of people employed by the Gray company.'
Maria was pissed off because Chloe was shirking her duty to be Vincent's punching bag, 'I got to torment Vincent even more, so he will find Chloe faster. I refuse to let the company go down.'
Chapter 642
Maria remembered how hard Mr. Vaughn Gray worked for his company. He was talented at managing and improving his company, so the already prosperous Gray family business could branch out and become even bigger.
'Ah, Mr. Vaughn Gray, if only you're here to replace your son. I know you told me to guide your son so the company will not fall, but he is not as good as you,' Maria complained in her heart. She stared at Vincent, who was busy with his own thoughts with hatred and disgust in her eyes. 'Look at him, Mr. Vaughn Gray, your son cannot even beat one woman to submission. He's not as great as you, and he stopped fucking and beating women after his stupid wife left. What a wimp.'
"What are you waiting for, Sir?" Maria asked. "Are you going to keep being a wimp while everyone is laughing at you? Your father must be disappointed."
"SHUT UP!" Vincent got up from the bed and stood tall in front of the short and old Secretary Maria. He glared down at her, but the old woman didn't budge. "Don't you dare to call me a disappointment or I will beat the fuck out of you as well!"
"Are you really going to do that?" Secretary Maria taunted. "Will you get the satisfaction of beating an ugly, worthless woman like me?"
"…"
Vincent went silent, but he kept staring at Secretary Maria with the same hatred she emanated.
Both of them hated each other, but at the same time, they also trusted each other so much. Because they knew they had the same amount of maliciousness, they just had a different priority.
While Vincent wanted to have fun and be satisfied all the time, Maria wanted the company to run smoothly.
"You know that we have the same target, right, Mr. Gray?" Secretary Maria said. "No need to hide things from me, Sir. I know that you feel empty and distracted without Chloe by your side. You made many rookie mistakes for months, and you keep putting the company into jeopardy."
Vincent hated to admit that he was a mess without Chloe by his side. He was unstable and couldn't sleep with any other woman because he kept imagining Chloe.
Now that things kept going wrong, he knew he was at his wit's end.
"So why don't we make a deal?" Maria said.
"And what would that be?" Vincent asked.
Secretary Maria was surprised that Vincent would agree to listen to her so easily. She thought she needed to do more.
But she wouldn't waste this chance.
Thus she proposed, "Just let me do whatever it takes to start searching for Chloe. I will tie her up and bring her to you. Meanwhile, you have to deal with whatever bullshit is with your little brother. I don't have enough power to do anything against him."
"You're not allowed to do anything to my little brother or I will kill you first, you old wretch," Vincent threatened. "There must be an explanation why he did something like this. He doesn't usually make such a huge blunder like this."
"You have your opinion, Mr. Gray. But I am convinced that Vernon is up to something. He has a malicious intention towards you."
Vincent scoffed, "Forget about him, I'll deal with him myself."
"Then does that mean you allowed me to deal with Chloe?"
Vincent hesitated for a while. Though he couldn't wait to beat Chloe up for making so much mess by leaving him, Vincent still didn't want her to get killed, and he knew how cruel this old hag could be.
So he gave her a requirement, "You can handle her. But I will not allow you to severely injure, let alone kill her. Only I can inflict pain on her. So if you can actually catch and bring her to me, I will check whether she has any wound or not, then I will inflict the same wound on you. Got it?"
"Understood, Sir," Maria nodded. She tried to maintain her cool, but she couldn't help but get giddy just imagining the company on the brink of collapse finally recovered, and things would return to normal after this.
"Then I'll excuse myself, Sir. Please handle the problem with your Little brother before it goes out of hand," Maria said. She turned around and walked away from the master bedroom.
"Wait!" Vincent stopped her before she left the door. Maria halted her step, waiting for her boss to say something. "You said there are two problems, and you've only told me one of them. What's the second problem? Let me fix it."
Maria grinned maliciously but tried to reply as formally as possible, "You don't need to worry about that one, Sir. I will handle it."
"Huh? Are you sure? You haven't even told me about the problem yet."
"Yes, it's no problem for me, now please excuse me," Maria finally left the bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Vincent frowned, "She's usually not the one who'd hide things from me. But I guess the problem is that it's menial, that's why she doesn't bother to tell me about the second problem."
"Well, it's time to talk with my stupid little brother. I need an explanation. How could he be so stupid to release the ad when the bad press about Chelsea and I haven't died down yet."
Vincent searched for his phone, and once he found it, he started searching for Vernon's contact.
Meanwhile, Maria walked through the corridor with a satisfied grin. She was quite happy that Vincent didn't force her to tell him about the second problem because it was directly linked to Chloe.
Maria just got the news from one of the police who worked in the New York Police Department that Chloe took Chelsea's sons with her, and the social service would probably search for them in a week.
"It'd be the best time to finally find where Chloe lives and ambush her when the time is suitable," Maria plotted. "You can't escape me, Chloe Gray. Just accept your fate for the good of the company."
Chapter 643
Vernon was snacking in his office when he finally got the call from his beloved Big brother. He scoffed as he saw Vincent's number and cleared his throat to fake the enthusiasm in his voice before answering the call.
—
"Good afternoon, Big bro!" Vernon greeted joyfully, fully knowing that Vincent must be enraged right now. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Yes, come to my mansion right now. Be here in thirty minutes or I will be really mad at you, Vernon," Vincent said with his repressive tone as he tried to intimidate his little brother. But Vernon almost giggled because he was so excited to see his Big brother's expression.
"Alright, I'll be there in thirty minutes!"
Beep.
—
"Pfft—hahaha!" Vernon laughed freely as he was ridiculing his Big bro. Just by his tone, Vernon already knew that Vincent was still trying to forgive him.
"He probably thought that I did a blunder or something, ppfft—," Vernon got up from the sofa and grabbed his car key. "Well, I'll act all clueless then. It's fun to see him struggling to keep his good opinion about me."
Vernon left the office and saw Diamond sitting on the Secretary's Desk as always, their eyes met, and Diamond asked, "Where are you going, Sir?"
"To meet my Big brother," Vernon replied briefly. He walked to the elevator, pressed the button, and reminded Diamond, "Don't forget to find a good mid-ranged apartment for Chloe and the boys. Make it far from the Phoenix Tower, I don't want to rouse any suspicion from my Big brother regarding Chloe."
"Yes, Sir. I already found a good mid-ranged apartment for rent," Diamond replied. Her boss had already told her about the whole thing, and she was hellbent on helping her homegirl to find a place when the CPS came. "Do you want me to prepare the children's documents as well, Sir? You know, for their school."
"I can handle that myself," Vernon said. "But you should help Chloe to buy as many clothes as possible for Dorothea and those boys. She can't go to the mall because she's still hiding right now."
"Understood, Sir," Diamond said. "Please take care, and return in one piece."
Vernon chuckled. He entered the elevator and assured, "Relax, the only thing that won't be in one piece after this is Vincent's sanity."
The last thing that Diamond saw was her boss' malicious grin as the elevator door closed.
Diamond shrugged as she returned to her phone as she was still contacting the landlord. She knew her boss would be fine, "I'm more worried about my homegirl. She will be exposed since she's taking care of four boys, I have to make sure nobody can hurt her, maybe I should hire extra bodyguards for her. Meyer the driver is not enough if Vincent decides to raid the apartment."
**
Vernon went to the mansion without a worry. He parked his car and swaggered through the corridors filled with maids as none dared to even look at him, knowing the status of Vernon Phoenix Gray as Vincent Gray's favored little brother.
Meanwhile, Vernon's eyes swept around the corridor. They realized his Big brother hadn't removed a single framed picture of Chloe or Mackie. This proved that no matter how much he despised Chloe for running away, he just couldn't live without her.
'We're not so different,' Vernon thought. 'We have the same obsession towards her. I just treat her better, that's why I got to have her by my side.'
Vernon knocked on the home office door a few times until he heard a voice from the inside, "Come in!"
Vernon opened the door, and saw his Big brother writing something on his home office desk. He looked pissed, but not pissed enough to the point that he'd attack Vernon without having a proper discussion first.
Which was funny for Vernon.
Because his Big brother was clearly able to have a proper conversation. He was logical and smart. But he went absolutely batshit insane in front of Chloe.
As if Chloe was a special thing, he could pour all of his craziness into her so he could act normal in front of the others.
Vernon clenched his fist for a few seconds, trying to curb his anger. Vincent had done enough damage to Chloe and would not allow him to keep doing that.
"Sup, Big bro?" Vernon asked. He sat on the sofa leisurely and put his feet on the coffee table.
Vincent lifted his head a bit and continued writing as he opened the conversation, "Do you know how much of an idiot you are? You disappoint me, Vernon."
Vernon acted surprised, "Wha—What's wrong, Big bro? Did I do something that makes you mad? I thought I did everything according to your instruction."
Vincent finally put down his pen and glared at Vernon, who sat across the room, "Do you not realize the timing of the advertisement? That stupid bitch Chelsea went viral because of a video of her fighting with Chloe. She dares to claim that I will be marrying her even though we barely have any contact," Vincent said. Though he intentionally tried to mask a few things, such as the fact that he actually had a lot of contact with Chelsea.
"The advertisement only exacerbated the viral Vincent and Joker hashtag. Your ad only put me in a worse position, Vernon. Everyone is laughing at me right now."
Vernon almost laughed at his Big bro for being so stupid to hire him. But he tried his best to maintain his shocked expression, "But I did everything based on your instruction, Big bro. You told me to make an ad with that beauty guru, and also with that pose, the same shade of lipstick, even the same tagline. And the date as well, you told me to publish today, so I already prepared everything a month before, and everything is according to the schedule."
"Why would you blame me for something I can't control, Big bro? It's not my fault that you become a laughing stock!"
Chapter 644
"Why would you blame me for something I can't control, Big bro? It's not my fault that you become a laughing stock!" Vernon protested.
Vincent's veins instantly popped out when Vernon called him a laughing stock. He got up from his chair and walked around the desk to approach Vernon.
Vincent stood in front of Vernon, who was still sitting on the sofa. He looked down at him and asked, "What did you say just now?"
Vernon clicked his tongue, "I said, it's not my fault that you become a laughing stock, Big bro!"
"You--!" Vincent raised his hand and swung it towards Vernon, intending to slap his stupid Little brother for mocking him.
But Vernon caught his wrist with one hand effortlessly, which shocked Vincent. He used to get what he wanted and abused whoever he thought to be irritating. There was no history of someone trying to fight back.
So he was petrified when Vernon caught his hand and got up from the chair.
Vernon was ten centimeters taller than his Big bro, so he looked down at him. Vincent was surprised when Vernon suddenly lost all of the meekness and childish enthusiasm that he usually showed in front of him.
Vernon looked at him as if Vincent was a stranger that he could beat anytime he wanted. There was anger brewing in Vernon's eyes, something that Vincent wasn't used to.
"How dare you look at me like that? I am your Big brother!" Vincent raised his other hand and launched a fist at him. But Vernon simply brushed it off with his other palm and grabbed his Big bro's collar.
Vernon yanked him when Vincent staggered out of shock, "Listen, you piece of shit," Vernon said without an ounce of warmth in his voice. "I've done what you want, and I did it according to your instruction. I'm not some weakling you can bully just because you're my Big brother. Why do I need to care about you because of that stupid mistake you made?"
"I made no mistake!" Vincent yelled. He tried to push himself away from Vernon, but he didn't expect his Little brother to be so strong.
"Really? Heh--," Vernon scoffed. "Weren't you the one who told me that you slept with so many women outside to the point that you already lost count? What guarantees that you're not sleeping with this one, Big bro? I mean, you basically dipped your dick to every woman you met, you may have no standard at all."
"BASTARD!" Vincent snapped. He struggled. He tried to punch Vernon's chest as hard as he could, but Vernon didn't even seem to get hurt by his punch. "I HAVE STANDARD! I WON'T FUCK AN UGLY BITCH LIKE HER!"
"Oh really? Weren't you the one who said that my sister-in-law Chloe is an ugly bitch? But didn't you fuck her? Didn't you have a daughter with her?" Vernon scoffed. He was trying his best to suppress his anger. He couldn't help to clench Vincent's collar tighter when they talked about Chloe.
Vincent was at a loss for a while. He also didn't understand his own feelings.
He kept saying that Chloe was ugly, whether she was fat or super thin. But deep down, he knew he'd still want her to be by his side no matter what.
'But why do I keep saying she's ugly?' Vincent wondered.
Vincent was dazed for a while as he had difficulty processing his own conflicting thoughts.
Vernon scoffed and released his collar. Vincent lost his balance and fell on the glass coffee table. The glass table was shattered upon impact, giving cuts all over Vincent's palms.
"Argh, fuck!" Vincent cursed as he felt some of the glass shards pierce his palms. He tried to get up, but Vernon stepped on his chest and looked down at him as if he was looking at a piece of dog shit.
"Remember, big brother. I want to work with you because you also give me profit and connections. Doesn't mean that I will tolerate getting beaten by you," Vernon said. "You have no power over me."
Vincent gritted his teeth, "YOU BASTARD! I CAN CRUSH YOUR COMPANY EASILY! YOU WILL RETURN TO ME BEGGING FOR YOUR COMPANY TO BE SAVED!"
Vernon grinned, "You should see the reality, Big bro. Your company is unstable right now because of your own stupidity. I have no reason to fear you anymore."
Vernon pressed his big brother harder with his shoes until some glass shard pierced his back. He screamed in agony, but Vernon didn't even pity him because he knew Vincent had done much worse than this to Chloe.
In fact, he couldn't wait to slit his Big brother's throat to finally avenge all he did to Chloe.
But he knew the repercussions of doing so. He didn't want to spend his life being a fugitive when he had already planned a beautiful life with Chloe and their children.
Thus, Vernon acted like a meek young man who was so smitten by his Big brother's awesomeness that he let his guard down. But now that they were finally on equal terms in business and influence, he didn't need to be so nice to him anymore.
In fact, he had been waiting for this moment to happen. Just looking at his Big brother being so helpless against him was like a dream come true.
"YOU--TREACHEROUS BASTARD! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU FOR DISOBEYING ME! ARGH! MY SKIN!" The more Vincent struggled, the harder Vernon pressed his chest with his shoes. Thus, Vincent finally gave up once he realized he'd actually made some deep cuts if he dared to continue struggling.
Thus, he stayed still. With his chest heaved, he looked up at Vernon, who was still looking down on him with so much disgust in his eyes, "Listen, Vincent Gray. I am not your dog anymore. So don't you fucking dare to lay your hands on me, understand?"
Vincent wanted to argue because he knew he had more power than his Little bro.
But he didn't want to kill himself over this. He'd rather teach Vernon a lesson later.
So he could only nod, much to Vernon's satisfaction.
He lifted his shoes from Vincent's chest and said, "Good, know your place, Big bro."
Chapter 645
Vincent watched as Vernon swaggered out of the room. He looked so arrogant as he gave Vincent a quick glance full of contempt, "You can try me if you want, Big bro. Do you want to use your influence against me? Then I will show you that I'm not a kid you can bully anymore."
SLAM!
Vincent gritted his teeth as Vernon slammed the door behind him. He tried to endure the pain since plenty of glass shards had already dug deep into his skin, so he needed proper medical care.
However, instead of calling 119 for an ambulance first, he called Secretary Maria instead.
—
"Yes, Sir?" The hoarse voice of an old woman that Vincent usually detested so much became music to his ears. Because now he knew that he needed to work with Maria if he wanted to succeed.
Secretary Maria had been telling him many times that Vernon was not as pure as he looked. He had his own agenda, and he wouldn't hesitate to push Vincent down if he had no more use for his Big bro.
Vincent didn't know to what extent his Little brother worked behind his back, but at this point, he wanted nothing less than to teach his little brother a lesson of humility.
He needed to know what his little brother was up to, so he could take a proper measure, "Maria, send me all the data that you've collected about Vernon's activity, that piece of shit dares to fight back when I was about to hit him."
Secretary Maria was excited that her boss had finally snapped out of his stupidity and planned to do something. She had been trying to convince him many times that Vernon was not an obedient little puppy.
But he kept telling her that she was wrong, and after so many attempts of convincing him, Maria simply gave up.
She didn't know what had happened with her boss and his little bastard brother. But she wouldn't miss this chance!
"Yes, Sir! I will collect as much data as possible about Vernon's activity and his growth. We can discuss this later!" The old woman said enthusiastically.
"Good, because I can't wait to beat my pup so he will listen to my orders," Vincent checked the glass shards on his palm and added, "He has grown way too big for my liking. It's time to shrink him back."
"Yes, Sir. We will beat him into submission. I've grown tired of his charade as well," Secretary Maria said. "Now, please excuse me, Sir. I'm in the middle of something."
"What are you doing right now?" Vincent asked. "Are you searching for Chloe's whereabouts?"
"Yes, but I have to start somewhere to find her. I have this feeling that Chloe is being kept by someone very powerful, someone that might be your match, because I have a hard time extracting information and finding any clue about her current whereabouts," Maria reported.
"Keep searching then. I can't wait for all of this bullshit to be over with, so everything will turn back to normal," Vincent said.
"Yes, Sir. I can't wait for things to return to normal again. I want the company to keep running forever," Maria said. "It is my life."
"Good, do your job. I'll reward you later."
"The best reward I can get is to see the Gray company flourish even more than this, Sir," Secretary Maria said. "On another note, the better reward I can get might be your daughter."
"My daughter? Mackie?"
"Yes, Mackenzie. She will be the future heir of the Gray family business. You can give her to me and I will teach her to be a good heir. I will teach her to be very professional at work."
Vincent laughed as he thought that was funny, "Well, Chloe won't be able to have time taking care of that little shit after I get her here. She'll be inside the bedroom probably for the rest of her life. So you can take my daughter and do whatever you want with her, just don't let her die, it won't be good for the press."
"Certainly, Sir. Please excuse me now."
"Yeah, I'm waiting for good news from you, Maria."
Beep.
—
Vincent finally hung up the call after he got a satisfactory answer from Maria. He stared at his bloodied palm again, somehow it wasn't as painful as before.
Maybe because he finally realized that he had to be a bloodthirsty monster to fix everything.
"I just realized that I've been so kind these days. I don't do anything against all the disrespect that I got," Vincent said. "This is all because of Chloe. She makes me weak and confused because she left me. This is just like what my father told me before, women are poison to men. You have to make sure to contain them in a small jar so their poison won't spread anywhere. Beat her into submission so she won't dare to fight back, crush her confidence so she dares not to argue with you."
Vincent clenched his fist, digging the glass shard deeper into his skin. Somehow he felt even more excited as his blood dripped to the floor.
"I will turn the tide with my power. I am Vincent Gray, and I deserve everything great in this world, including the obedience of my dog brother, and the submission of my wife."
**
Maria put her phone back into her pocket and continued waiting at the New York Police Department as she wanted to meet with one Officer.
After ten more minutes of waiting, a tall, robust black officer approached her, "Good evening, Ma'am. I heard from my coworker that you're searching for me. Do you need any help?
Maria turned her head towards him, and her wrinkly smile appeared, "Are you Officer Derek?"
"Yes, Ma'am. May I know why you are searching for me. I don't remember ever meeting you before," Officer Derek said. "Are you related to a case or something?"
"Oh, yes, I want to ask about a woman. But I think it's better to talk in a more private space, Officer," Maria said calmly.