Chapter 473 473

Dorothea tried to pull her hand, but the more she pulled, the tighter Shailene gripped her wrist. It was such a desperate move that Dorothea started wondering why she wasted so much time trying to console Shailene.

Clearly, this woman was not a professional. She never gave Dorothea any closure of what to do to make her heart feel at ease.

"Let go, Shailene!" Dorothea snapped.

Shailene shook her head vehemently, "You need to listen to me first! Chloe is a manipulative woman! She might look sweet or timid, but she's actually the most vicious woman you'll ever encounter in your life!"

Dorothea stopped struggling when Shailene said that. She couldn't believe the audacity of this unprofessional bitch, judging an abused woman even though she had never met Chloe in her life.

Although Dorothea wasn't close to Chloe— not yet, at least. But after realizing what Chloe had suffered, Dorothea could instantly relate to her, and her gut feeling told her that Chloe was not manipulative.

The worst assumption that Dorothea had for Chloe was ungratefulness and being spoiled.

But never manipulative or vicious.

"You're unbelievable," Dorothea said. "Though I'm not close to Chloe, she is FAR from vicious! She's also an abuse survivor just like me! With that kind of mindset you have, do you judge us as two ungrateful, spoiled whores?!"

Shailene's tongue was tied. She couldn't believe she had no more chance to keep Dorothea by her side. She wanted to know more about Vernon's family, so she could use it to show Vernon that she was far more accommodating and understanding than Chloe.

Shailene had to admit that the love she buried deep inside her heart bloomed once more. She was finally reunited with Vernon and refused to back down without a fight!

"Let me go, Shailene!" Dorothea snapped.

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Shailene gulped and finally let out her trump card, "No, you and Chloe are different. You both might be abuse victims. But you're not as vile as her, because you don't go for your brother-in-law after your marriage failed."

…

Dorothea paused for a while, trying to process what Shailene had just said. She thought this was another bullshit that she spouted just to keep Dorothea here.

But when Dorothea noticed the seriousness in her eyes, she started hesitating and stopped struggling.

"What do you mean?" Dorothea asked.

Shailene was relieved that Dorothea finally started listening to her, though with the cost of Shailene's trump card, which was unfortunate.

But after weighing the cost and benefit, Shailene thought it was worth revealing Chloe's crime early as long as Dorothea was by her side again.

It'd be very beneficial once Vernon realized that Shailene was the one who wanted to make things right between him and his family.

​ "L—Let's sit first and let me tell you what I know about Chloe. Mind you, I've been keeping this secret because I don't know if you can take it. But I have a good intention, I want you to realize that you shouldn't sympathize or try to relate yourself with Chloe."

"She is bad news, Dorothea," Shailene stated.

Dorothea started hesitating.

She wanted to deny everything that Shailene was about to say, but the belief in her eyes convinced Dorothea to at least listen to what Shailene was about to say before deciding whether she would believe her or not.

Thus, Shailene successfully convinced Dorothea to sit on the sofa. Dorothea crossed her legs, silently staring at Shailene, waiting for her to speak.

Shailene took a deep breath before she opened her mouth;

"The truth is, I know Chloe way more than what you told me," Shailene claimed. "I know that she ran away from home with her daughter, and I know the man who took her in."

"Who is he?" Dorothea interrupted. She was both curious and anxious about the identity of this man. Since Chloe ran away in an attempt to escape Vincent's clutch, Dorothea doubted that Chloe had found the right man when she was desperate.

She knew that desperate women often made the wrong choice. After all, Dorothea was the prime example of a woman who made many wrong choices.

Shailene paused for a moment. She had a moment of hesitation, wondering if telling Dorothea about it would benefit Shailene or not.

"Shailene?"

'Ugh, I really don't like to be in this position,' Shailene complained in her heart. "The man who takes her in right now is someone you know very well."

"A man I know?" Dorothea murmured. She tried to remember all the men she knew and came up with a few suspects. Vincent told her once that Chloe must've been hiding under an old millionaire's wing, probably as a pet.

After all, Chloe wasn't the young, ravishing beauty she once was, and she had a child too, so that man must've made her a mistress in exchange for protection and a place to hide.

"Is it someone from my family?" Dorothea asked. "I know some crooked old men," she added.

Shailene shook her head, "This man is not old. In fact, he is younger than you… or Vincent… or even Chloe herself. This man is in his mid twenties."

"Mid twenties?!" Dorothea's eyes almost popped out of their socket. She just couldn't believe what she had heard just now. "I don't believe you," Dorothea said. "I can't believe that you made up a stupid lie like that, Shailene. You're already unprofessional in my eyes, now you just made your image worse by lying to me."

Dorothea got up and grabbed her bag. She had depleted all of her patience for Shailene.

"I'm not lying!" Shailene exclaimed as she tried to stop Dorothea.

Dorothea shot a disgusted look at Shailene and yelled, "Who the fuck would believe that a man in his mid twenties would take Chloe! Unless he's a reckless idiot who wants to get his life ruined! Your lie doesn't even make sense!"

"He's not an idiot, but he has been manipulated!" Shailene stated. "Why? Because your sweet daughter-in-law, Chloe Gray, groomed him since he was seven years old!"