Ch. 661..665: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 661-665
Chapter 661
Maria checked the CCTV at the corner of the elevator. This place was an elite apartment with CCTV everywhere, so the security guard must watch their move.
Maria wanted to just seize this black bimbo right here, right now, and then drag her out of the apartment to an empty, abandoned building, where Maria could torture her as much as she wanted until Diamond didn't even dare to raise her head anymore, just like what Vincent did to Chloe.
But this place wasn't safe to beat someone up, and Diamond's confidence already showed she had the upper hand.
Maria looked over her shoulder. She brought two henchmen who were burly and strong enough to handle one stupid woman. So she had nothing to worry about.
Thus, she smirked evilly at Diamond and said, "Please lead the way to your apartment, Ms. Johnson. I want to have a little chat with you."
Diamond scoffed, "Sure, I'd love to see you try."
Maria was a bit distraught by Diamond's confidence. No matter how good the CCTV around the apartment could be, there was no way she could fight back against two strong men once they entered her apartment room.
Diamond stopped at her apartment floor and led the way to her apartment room. She strutted leisurely, turning the corridor into a runway until she stopped in front of her door.
She looked over her shoulder for a moment. Maria was eyeing her like a predator, ready to kill her prey, but Diamond wasn't scared at all because she also had a little surprise for this old hag.
Click.
Diamond unlocked the door. She could faintly hear footsteps inside her house. Thus she raised her voice and said, "Since I have three uninvited guests coming to my apartment, then it's just right for me to greet you with two butlers of mine."
Diamond opened the door and was greeted by the sight of her two brothers standing side by side, glaring at the uninvited guests in front of them.
Maria's eyes widened, and she stepped back subconsciously when she saw the uniform and a badge she feared.
Diamond turned around and smirked as she stood in front of those two powerful men, "Should I introduce you to my two butlers? They happen to be my brothers, by the way."
"B—Brothers?!" Maria's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She thought those two might've been Diamond's boyfriends because she looked like a cheap bimbo that used her body to gain male's favor.
If that was the case, Maria could always take them to her side with a bribe or entice them with a more beautiful woman.
But the family connection was a different thing.
"Yup," Diamond stepped back and hugged her brother's arm on the right, "This is my little brother, Derek. He happens to be a cop in the New York Police Department. He might be young, but I'm sure you won't want to mess around with him."
Maria checked the man on the right. He was a young cop wearing a police uniform. He looked robust and bigger than both of the henchmen Maria brought. His arms could crush their heads, and his punch could definitely make a hole in their chests.
The two henchmen were also intimidated immediately upon facing a fully armed, strong, and tall policeman in front of them. After all, they were just gangsters. They knew they weren't a match against a properly trained cop
Diamond smirked maliciously as she saw that Derek intimidated the two henchmen Maria had brought. But Maria seemed stronger mentally compared to those two wimps with big bodies.
Then, she hugged her brother's arm on the left and introduced him, "This one is my big brother, Desmond. He happens to be a district attorney in Queens, New York. You can see it from his badge, right?" Diamond nudged the badge on Desmond's suit, which showed that he was a legit district attorney that Maria shouldn't mess around with.
Maria's mental fortitude finally faltered once she knew she was also facing the district attorney. She could still play along and manipulate a cop, but an attorney, especially the state-owned one, was NOT something she shouldn't fight.
Diamond was satisfied with Maria's expression. It seemed her two brothers were enough to scare the shit out of Maria.
"Should we come inside and have a chat?" Diamond offered. "I am so~ eager to know what you want to talk about, Mrs. Maria Orien."
Maria's heartbeat skipped for a second once Diamond mentioned her maiden surname. She always tried to hide her real surname because she didn't want to be traced.
Thus, she always introduced herself as Maria Gray because she was basically married to her job and the Gray company. She dedicated her life to that family, so she was already part of it, right? She was proud to hold Gray's surname as Mr. Vaughn Gray's favored employee.
So, for Diamond to know about her maiden name, this bimbo must've done her research far earlier than her. She was truly someone that Maria couldn't mess around with.
"N—No need," Maria said nervously. "I have nothing to say to you."
"Oh good, now you should turn around and walk away. Oh, don't run though, I'm afraid you might get a sudden heart attack, you dying old bitch," Diamond sneered.
Maria clenched her fist, she had never been so humiliated in her life, and she couldn't believe she'd be humiliated by a bimbo like Diamond.
Unfortunately, all she could do now was to leave because she couldn't fight a cop and a district attorney.
Thus, Maria turned around and walked away from Diamond. Her two henchmen quickly scurried behind her like two big rats. It was a funny scene for Diamond because she had been itchy to do something against this old bitch who dared to hurt her best friend.
"Don't forget to report this to Vincent! I'm sure he will be happy to know that he's going to go bankrupt soon!" Diamond yelled.
Chapter 662
"Don't forget to report this to Vincent! I'm sure he will be happy to know that he's going to go bankrupt soon!" Diamond yelled and then laughed, full of mockery.
Maria gritted her teeth. She hastened her steps and entered the elevator with her henchmen, finally admitting defeat.
There was nothing but silence in the elevator as they went down. The two henchmen looked at each other nervously until one of them opened their mouth, "Ma'am, how about our payment?"
Ding!
Maria waited until the elevator door was opened. She looked over her shoulder and replied, "You two are fired. Don't you dare to show your faces in front of me again, or I will make sure to make your life a living hell."
The two henchmen were shocked by the old woman's words but couldn't do anything against her because she had Vincent Gray as backing.
Maria stomped her heels as she walked out of the lobby towards the parking lot. She entered her car and then sat silently, letting everything sink in before she scoffed, full of contempt, "Then, my only bet is to find Chloe forcefully and bring her in front of Vincent. Let him do whatever he wants with that stupid woman until he has returned to his old self, and the company will return to normal. That is my only hope at this point."
Knowing that Vernon or Diamond wasn't her match without proper preparation, Maria decided to focus on her last option. Thus she called the Informant that handled the hospital and CPS and asked.
-
"Did you get any information regarding Chloe Gray's visit to the hospital?" Maria asked.
"Yes," the Informant replied, much to Maria's delight. "I just got a report that there will be a visit to see Judith Carlson's corpse in the morgue, and the visitor's name is Chloe Carlson."
"Good, I will make sure to prepare a trap for her. This is our last hope, don't mess this up," Maria said.
"Understood, Ma'am."
Beep.
—
Maria was relieved that at least something was going in her direction. At least she still had control over the situation.
"The Gray family will never fall as long as I'm around. I will continue supporting Mr. Vaughn Gray and his family for the rest of my life," Maria promised as she had to prepare for the ambush in the hospital.
**
Diamond made sure that Maria and her henchmen already entered the elevator. She then shut her door and locked it before facing her brother again.
Both Derek and Desmond had that questioning face. They were confused by the whole situation.
"What just happened, Diamond?" Desmond asked.
"Yeah, what just happened?" Derek added. "You suddenly called us to visit your apartment this evening for an urgent matter, but you won't tell us the reason."
"Are you in debt?" Desmond asked. "I mean, just by the look of that greedy old woman and her two henchmen, they look like they're searching for you because you've borrowed money from a loan shark."
Derek argued, "Eh, that's impossible, bro. Don't you know that her Boss paid her one million dollars per year for her job? How come she could get herself in debt?"
"ONE MILLION?!" Desmond's eyes widened. "Holy shit, I'd love to get paid that much by being a secretary. Your Boss is so generous, Diamond."
"I know, right, I want to be paid that much too," Derek lamented because his salary as a police officer was barely enough to cover living costs in New York.
"Ugh, can you two shut up? I've just survived a life and death situation!" Diamond yelled frustratedly.
Desmond and Derek looked at each other in confusion, "Life and death situation?"
Diamond rolled her eyes, "That old hag just now is Vincent Gray's secretary, Maria Orien. She is a ruthless old bitch that just cannot die out of a heart attack. She's the one that has been helping Vincent with all of his crazy antics."
"You can say that Maria is even more dangerous than Vincent, because she is far more scheming and has no weakness, unlike Vincent whose weakness is obviously Chloe," Diamond said. "I had a feeling that she would target me today, after I fired her mole that had been spying on the company for a while. That's why I called both of you to come. It seems that my guess is right."
"What will they do if we're not here, Sis?" Derek asked.
Diamond went silent for a while and replied, "I'll be tortured, killed, anything unpleasant you could think of. That woman is evil."
"Then I will try to find a way to persecute her. If she can be that evil to you, then she must've committed other crimes before," Desmond said. "Derek will help to arrest her, right?"
"Yep, I can help with that as long as there is an arrest warrant," Derek added.
"Not now, Vincent and Maria are still too powerful for us to fight, we're still nothing compared to them right now. I will tell you the right moment when we should strike," Diamond said. "It's better for me to inform my boss first, so he will be on guard."
Desmond and Derek nodded, "Then we'll be waiting. Don't worry, we will always help as long as it's for you or Chloe."
Diamond chuckled, "Are you guys still obsessed with my homegirl?"
Derek and Desmond became bashful when they were talking about Chloe. Derek was the first to admit it, "I can't lie. I saw a trending video on twitter. I saw her face. She has gotten healthier, and looks so beautiful. I think I fell in love."
"Same, I saw that video, she looks like a goddess compared to that ugly female joker," Desmond added. "I'd be happy if you could give me her phone number."
"Hahah, I can't," Diamond refused. "I know you like Chloe, but there is a man that deserves her much more than any other man in this world. He devoted his life for her, and honestly, I'm afraid he will kill both of you if you guys dare to make a move on Chloe."
"So, for the good of everyone, let's just watch her happiness from the side."
Chapter 663
Mackie woke up early the next morning. She was the one who knocked on her Mommy's door and woke her up, "Mommy, wake up! We will visit Gran in the hospital today!"
Chloe woke up after hearing her daughter's voice early in the morning. She had a terrible dream last night, which made her restless for the rest of the night.
She dreamed she was in a morgue, visiting her mother's corpse. She stood right beside a corpse inside a body bag.
She thought it was her late mother inside, but when she unzipped the body bag, it was actually Secretary Maria hiding inside the bag.
The old hag opened her eyes and glared at Chloe with red eyes as if she couldn't wait to kill Chloe and stuff her inside the body bag instead.
It was a terrible dream that Chloe didn't wish to revisit, so she stayed up late at night until she only had three hours of sleep until dawn.
Chloe stretched her limbs before she got up from the bed. She washed her face and opened the door to see Mackie's door wide open, and the little girl was busy checking her closet because she wanted to look good in front of her Gran.
Chloe leaned on the door frame, staring at her daughter from behind. She was sad that Mackie was too excited to see a dead person.
'Is it too early to tell her that her Gran has already passed away?' Chloe wondered. 'I don't want to make her cry so early in the morning.'
Mackie made a little twirl while holding her dress and asked, "Mommy, should I wear this one?"
Chloe sighed and replied, "Dear, it's really cold outside, and we're going to visit the hospital. You don't need to dress up. Besides… your Gran won't be able to see your dress anyway."
Mackie tilted her head. She didn't understand what her Mommy was saying but obeyed her suggestion and stopped searching through her dresses.
Chloe decided to pick a simple long-sleeved shirt, warm jeans, and winter jacket and boots for Mackie, "You can wear this, dear. Don't worry, it won't be long for us to visit the hospital."
"Um!" Mackie nodded excitedly. She couldn't help to meet her Gran in the hospital. She still thought that Gran was just really ill, so she had to get hospitalized.
Meanwhile, Chloe dreaded the whole hospital visit.
She didn't know if she could calm Mackie once the little girl realized her Gran was dead.
She also didn't know if she could calm herself down. She feared she'd break down in tears upon seeing her mother's cold corpse.
But she had to face the truth that her mother was dead, and it was because of Chelsea and Vincent. No amount of denial could change that fact.
Chloe went upstairs to prepare breakfast. It was still early in the morning, but she already saw Vernon sitting on the stool near the kitchen countertop, staring emptily and yawning a few times.
Vernon could barely sleep last night because he got a call from Diamond around ten. She informed him that Maria had brought two henchmen and tried to kidnap her in her apartment.
Her motivation was obvious, that mole Diamond just fired must've told Maria about the whole thing, and Maria wanted to do something to Diamond as revenge and a way to weaken Vernon's position.
It was fortunate that Diamond had a bad hunch since the moment she fired that mole, so she called her brothers to come to her apartment. Maria was intimidated by a cop and an attorney and left without doing anything.
-
'Sir, you need to be careful. I have a bad feeling about the hospital visit today,' Diamond told her last night. That sentence had been lingering in Vernon's head for the whole night.
Though everything had been prepared according to plan, he was still worried that something out of the equation might happen in the hospital.
'That old bitch, I should've killed her sooner. She is far more troublesome than Vincent,' Vernon thought. 'She already guessed that I was up to something since long ago, it was thanks to Vincent's favoritism that he didn't suspect a thing until it was too late for him.'
-
Chloe approached him, who was still in a daze, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to wake him up, "Good morning, Vernon."
"Oh—!" Vernon snapped out of his daze and stared at Chloe, who smiled at him for a second before taking the apron. He decided to put his worry aside because, at this point, there was nothing he could do other than make sure everything was safe for Mackie and Chloe. Thus he asked, "Are you sure you want to visit the hospital today?"
Chloe paused for a while and nodded, "I have to. I already promised Mackie, and I have to prepare cremation for my mother as well."
Chloe noticed that Vernon looked concerned and assured him, "It's okay, Vernon. I will be fine. I also don't need to worry about Mackie and my safety because I have you, right?"
Vernon nodded, "Don't worry, I will make sure you are well protected until you're done with the visit. You have my word."
**
Chloe, Mackie, and Vernon ate their breakfast at dawn. She prepared themselves for the hospital until they were ready around seven.
Vernon used an old car with a fake plate number to avoid detection from Vincent or Maria. The atmosphere in the car fell still as he drove through the snowy morning.
Vernon and Chloe were tense, but Mackie seemed to be enjoying the snowy trip to visit Gran. She wondered why Mommy and Uncle were so nervous and asked, "Mommy, Uncle, is everything okay?"
"Ah—everything is okay, dear," Chloe replied.
"But if everything is fine, why are you so nervous, Mommy? I thought we're visiting Gran," Mackie commented. "I think Gran will be happy with us visiting."
Vernon, who had been silent the whole time, finally opened his mouth, "Just sit still, Mackie. Don't worry, we're going to reach the hospital as soon as possible…"
"… and get this over with," he said in a very low, almost inaudible voice.
Chapter 664
Vernon's car entered the parking lot. He was driving around the mostly empty parking lot for a while until he noticed one black car with four guys in suits standing outside. They didn't seem to be bothered by the cold.
He parked his car right next to them and slid the window down. One of the men in black approached Vernon and reported, "Sir, everything is clear. The hospital is quiet and mostly empty right now because it's snowing and it's early in the morning."
"Good," Vernon nodded. "I will be waiting here, escorting my wife and daughter, surrounding them and making sure that nobody is able to touch them."
"Understood, Sir."
Vernon turned his head towards Chloe and Mackie and said, "These four men will escort you to meet Judith. They are highly trained professionals, so you don't need to worry about your safety, alright?"
Mackie was still clueless about this whole thing, and she asked, "How about you, Uncle? Are you coming with us?"
"I will be waiting here, don't worry, I'll keep myself updated," Vernon said. "I am always ready to save you two."
"Okay then, we won't take long," Chloe said. She left the car first and then opened the door on the backseat. "Come on, Dear. We're going to visit Gran now."
Mackie was still confused about the whole setup. Why did they need to be surrounded by four big men when they were just visiting Gran?
But she swallowed that question and obediently hopped out of the car. She held Mommy's hand. As soon as they walked through the snowy parking lot, those four burly men quickly surrounded them, forming a barrier so nobody could touch Chloe and Mackie.
As they entered the hospital entrance, Chloe tightened her grip on her daughter's hand. Chloe registered herself at the front desk and said, "My name is Chloe, I'm here to see my mother's body."
The front desk naturally understood the identity of this woman. She was the hidden wife of Vernon Phoenix Gray, the popular young CEO, as it had been confirmed by Mr. Phoenix Gray's secretary yesterday. She nodded and said, "You can turn right, exit the corridor, and continue straight, the morgue is at the end, Ma'am."
"Thank you," Chloe and Mackie walked through the corridor surrounded by four bodyguards. The hospital was especially empty right now. No nurse other than the one in the front office walked around the corridor, it could be because of the heavy snow outside, and it was still very early in the morning.
The little girl sensed her Mommy's tenseness based on how strongly she gripped Mackie's hand. She looked up and asked, "Mommy, are you okay?"
"Ah—mhm, Mommy is okay, dear," Chloe forced a smile. "I'm just a bit… scared."
"Don't be scared, Mommy. I'm here to protect you," Mackie said. "You are safe with me."
Chloe couldn't force a smile anymore. She couldn't imagine the sadness that would hit Mackie when she knew the truth.
But they were already here, and there was no turning back.
As they walked through the open corridor, Chloe noticed a sign on top of a door at the end of the corridor.
'Morgue.'
Chloe's feet began to get heavy as she approached the morgue. Her body began to tremble when one of the bodyguards opened the morgue door, giving an entrance to Chloe and Mackie.
Mackie peeked at the inside of the room. She thought she'd be greeted by the sight of her Gran on a hospital bed.
But all she saw were metal boxes stacked on top of one another.
The bodyguard talked to the old lady inside for a while and then returned to Chloe, "All clear, Ma'am, we can go in."
Chloe and Mackie stepped inside the morgue. The four bodyguards were lining behind her as she talked to an old lady inside.
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ "My name is Meredith, Ma'am," an old lady with a very hoarse voice introduced herself. She was wearing all white, a sterile bouffant cap covering her hair, and a mask covering half of her face, so Chloe couldn't identify the woman. "I'm in charge of cleaning the morgue everyday. My supervisor told me that you will be visiting early in the morning."
Chloe was a bit disturbed by this old lady. Somehow, she had a bad feeling about her, but Chloe simply wanted to make things fast right now, so she asked, "Where is my late mother?"
The old woman glanced at a corpse inside a black body bag on top of a long body tray, "I've cleaned her, but it's best not to check more than half of her body, especially now that you brought your little girl here. It might traumatize her,' Meredith said.
Chloe stared at the body tray. She had no intention of showing Mackie the corpse of her Gran. She just wanted to tell Mackie that they were in a morgue, and that meant her Gran already passed away.
Chloe also noticed six body bags lined on the floor near her mother's body tray. She asked Meredith about it first, "What happened to them?"
"Oh, don't mind them, Ma'am. Those are deceased men, they're unrelated to yours," Meredith replied. "You can check your mother's body first, Ma'am. I will be waiting at the corner."
Chloe saw Meredith slowly walking to the corner of the morgue, giving Chloe a way to approach Judith's corpse.
She took a deep breath and clenched Mackie's hand tighter than before.
She walked towards the body tray and slowly unzipped the body bag.
She gasped when she unzipped until neck length. Just the sight of her mother's cold and pale face was enough to make her weak. Her face paled instantly, her knees gave up on her, and she almost fainted on the spot.
"Ma'am!"
One of the bodyguards helped to prop Chloe before she fainted. Chloe's consciousness was floating away. She thought she was ready to see her mother's cold corpse.
However, her consciousness returned to her body when she could feel a pair of small hands holding her arm and asked worriedly, "Mommy, are you okay? What's wrong with Gran?"
Chapter 665
Chloe found strength once she realized she wasn't alone in this morgue. She had her daughter, who was still questioning about the whole thing. So she had to look strong in front of Mackie despite her heart shattering into pieces.
"I—I'm okay now. You can release me, thank you," Chloe said as she gently pushed the bodyguard away.
The bodyguard stepped back, silently watching Mrs. Phoenix Gray as she collected herself.
Chloe gently patted her daughter's head and asked, "Dear, you know that Gran is very old, right? She is sickly and has a frail body."
"Um, I know," Mackie nodded. Naturally, she knew that Gran was very old. She often got sick and bedridden, so she couldn't accompany Mackie and the boys to play around.
She would cough often. Sometimes she couldn't even get up by herself and needed the support of a cane.
Mackie always told Gran to eat more because Mommy always said that eating good food, exercising, and sleeping well were all you needed to be healthy.
But Gran said she was too old to do any of that, much to Mackie's gloom.
"And you know, when someone is very old and sickly, they will…." Chloe stopped speaking once she realized that her lips were trembling. She felt weak again but knew she had to be strong. She needed to be the support system that her daughter needed once she got the bad news. "…they will die."
"Die?!" Mackie's eyes widened. She looked at her mother and then at the body on the tray simultaneously. "M—Mommy, Gran… she is…."
Chloe pulled her daughter closer for a comforting hug, "Yes, dear. Gran has passed away. She died because… because of old age."
Chloe didn't want to traumatize Mackie with the harsh truth that her Gran died because she was murdered. Today must've been saddening enough for her, so this was for the best.
Mackie started sobbing in her Mommy's embrace. Though she had never had a relative who passed away before, she watched a few cartoons that talked about death, and they said that when someone died, that meant she wouldn't be able to meet them for a long time, but they would be able to meet again in heaven.
"Mommy, does that mean I can meet with Gran in heaven later?" Mackie asked.
"Yes, dear. You can meet her in heaven…." Chloe comforted me. This was also her method of comforting herself. Though she wasn't religious, she believed that as long as you did good, you'd go to heaven.
Her mother might have had a falling out with Chloe in her later years, but Judith was a good mother who took the responsibility of raising two daughters all by herself. Chloe admired her mother so much, so seeing her mother's corpse was devastating for her.
It was also a reminder that Vincent was an absolute monster that deserved no pity or forgiveness.
eαglesnᴏνel 'That man must rot in hell for all his sins!' Chloe said in her heart.
Meanwhile, the old woman Meredith had been watching the sad scene in front of her for a while. She rolled her eyes, thinking this whole thing was pretentious and stupid.
'Why are they crying over a useless old woman like that? She is just a minimum-wage worker her entire life,' she thought. 'You shouldn't cry for insignificant trash. But you should cry if a powerful man like Mr. Vaughn Gray died, because that would be a loss for the entire world.'
She had had enough of listening to useless cries over an insignificant woman. Meredith cleared her throat to get the attention of Mackie and the four bodyguards and said, "I think we have enough of the tear jerking reunion for that useless woman. It's time for you two to meet the most important person in your world, Mrs. Chloe Gray, and you two, Mackenzie Rose Gray."
Chloe darted her eyes at the old lady standing at the corner of the room. She was on guard, and the bodyguards surrounded her immediately.
Chloe glared at the old lady and asked, "How did you know our name?"
"Tsk, this is why a stupid woman like you needs to be locked forever, so you can help your husband simply by existing. You're really that clueless of what's happening around you, huh?" The old lady sneered. She pulled her bouffant cap and mask so that Chloe could identify her.
Chloe's eyes widened when she saw Vincent's senior secretary, Maria. She still had the same tired and wrinkly looks, but her eyes were very vicious as if she couldn't wait to catch Chloe and shove her back to Vincent.
Chloe naturally sensed the danger coming from the old lady. She quickly lifted Mackie and carried her. She already knew that Maria wanted to bring her back to Vincent, so she didn't need to ask for the old woman's intention.
"I don't know how you got the information about me visiting the morgue today, but you should know that Mackie and I are well protected," Chloe said, trying to intimidate Dorothea. "I have four bodyguards around me. So if you want to keep your life, then you should leave now!"
Maria smirked. She walked towards the door, but instead of leaving, she closed the door instead. She locked them all inside the morgue and then dropped the key.
"I come well prepared, Mrs. Gray. You should know that I am very capable and efficient at what I'm doing," Maria said before she kicked the key across the room until it slipped right under one of the body bags on the floor. "I expected that you'd bring bodyguards with you today, so I brought mine as well."
"W—What do you mean?" Chloe looked around. She noticed nobody in this morgue other than them and these corpses.
Maria scoffed as she darted her eyes at the lines of corpses across the room, "You guys should get up now."
Everyone except Maria was shocked when the six body bags lining the floor suddenly moved, and six burly men unzipped themselves out of those body bags.
He cracked their fingers as they were ready to throw some punches.