Chapter 474 474

Shailene knew there was no turning back anymore. The cat was out of the bag this time. "Chloe is a pedophile!"

"W--What?!" Dorothea was too shocked to react. That accusation was so out of the blue that she couldn't even process what Shailene had just said.

"Y--You heard it right!" Shailene's voice started wavering, hesitating and scared that she might have made the worst mistake in her life.  But she had to be convincing or else she'd lose her golden ticket to obtain Vernon back to her life.

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"Do you know the young man's identity that Chloe has groomed ever since he was seven years old? I'm pretty sure you clearly know who that man is."

Dorothea still couldn't believe Shailene's words.  But she still tried to find the identity of a man ten years younger than Chloe and who had been close to her ever since she was young.

But Dorothea couldn't find any, because as much as she knew, Chloe was only close to her son, Vincent, because they had dated since high school and Chloe visited the Gray mansion a lot, either checking on Vincent, cooking for him, and taking care of Little Ver--

!!!

Dorothea gasped. Her eyes were unfocused as she felt lightheaded instantly.

She lost her footing and quickly grabbed the edge of the sofa so she wouldn't fall and faint.

"That can't be--" Dorothea muttered. She shook her head repeatedly, and each time her head moved, she continued denying it as if it was the worst news she had ever heard. "No way."

Dorothea looked at Shailene, who was just as agitated as she was, but probably for a different reason.

"How did you know this?" she asked impatiently. "I swear to god if you lied, Shailene. I will hunt you to hell and back!"

"You can trust me in this one," Shailene claimed. "Because the man that had been groomed by Chloe came to me twice. He asked about relationship advice between him and Chloe, because apparently Chloe has a lot of trauma-- or at least so he claimed. Who knows it might be just Chloe trying to influence his poor mind?"

"But-- but how could he go against his own Big brother?!" Dorothea yelled out of desperation and confusion. This came as such a shock to her that her brain short-circuited. "Our relationship has been damaged beyond fixing, but he seems kind and loyal to Vincent. How could he--"

"Isn't it obvious? Because Chloe influenced his mind! It's so easy for her to do that because his mind has been ruined by Chloe since he was a kid. Who knows what kind of perverted thing Chloe did to him when he was just a child? She's fucking pedophile!" Shailene claimed. "She must've used her charm to manipulate that poor man until he goes insane and plan to betray his own Big brother. That's why I told you that she's the most vicious woman you will ever find in your life!"

Dorothea shook her head again. She took a step back as she tried to deny the harsh truth, "I don't believe you, Shailene. I won't believe you!"

Shailene thought this was the right chance to make everything finally work in her favor, "You don't believe me? Then let me show you something!" Shailene fished her phone from her pocket and scrolled through her gallery. After finding the needed proof, she flipped the phone so Dorothea could see the photo on the screen.

Dorothea gasped again because this was the damning evidence she clearly didn't want to see.

It was her second son, sleeping on the same chaise lounge where Dorothea often laid twice weekly.

Now, this felt like a nightmare that she couldn't live through. Her first son turned out to be an abusive, perverted monster who was no different than his late father.

And now her estranged second son, whose relationship with her was beyond repair, tried to fight his own Big brother for the sake of Chloe. Either he was a total idiot or a reckless bastard who didn't know that his struggle would only lead to the destruction of the Gray family.

At this point, her family could not be saved anymore. Everyone and everything was already fucked up, and everything would eventually crumble.

She had nowhere to go, not even to Chloe.

She tried not to frame Chloe for being a groomer or a pedophile, but the way Shailene framed her effectively made it impossible for Dorothea not to suspect Chloe.

"You see it now, right?" Shailene muttered. "Chloe is the reason why your family is in ruin. That's why I said that Chloe must be the one triggering and manipulating Vincent in some way, so he reached the boiling point and finally started abusing her."

"But--" Dorothea tried to deny that, but her tongue was tied. Even she was unsure whether Chloe was innocent or not.

"See? You can't even deny it anymore," Shailene said. "If she's vicious enough to groom a seven-year-old child and manipulate him into adulthood, do you think she can't do the same to her own husband?"

"No, I--"

"Dorothea, I'm just trying to help you and your family. I care about you, you're more than just a client to me. You're my friend!" Shailene continued pressing her without giving Dorothea a time to think.

Dorothea finally shot another glare at Shailene but said nothing.

"I--I need to gather my thoughts," Dorothea said. She turned and walked towards the main door. She wobbled on her way out but tried to lean on the wall as she kept walking and opened the door.

This time, Shailene didn't try to stop her anymore. She had revealed her trump card and believed there was no way for Dorothea to deny this fact.

"Dorothea, I know that you need time. But you should know your friend and foe. I am your friend, your only friend in fact," Shailene claimed confidently. "I'm not a manipulative bitch like Chloe. I'm not going to use your depression and sadness to make you stand by my side. I'm doing this solely because I want you to get better!"