Chapter 4 I Can Help You
1676 Words
Victoria's POV:
I quickly pulled up the surveillance footage.
My suspicions were confirmed. Seven days ago, Ryan had opened the safe and taken everything inside.
But strangely, there were no documents.
The cloud storage only had the past three months of footage. I reviewed all of it and found no one had entered the room where the documents were kept.
Ryan had already taken the property agreement long before.
Time passed, and my laptop died. The black screen made a cold shiver run down my spine.
I had thought that Ryan had simply betrayed me, but now I realized he had been planning this all along. He had set up a seven-year-long scam to get his hands on my assets.
My hands trembled slightly, but I forced myself to stay calm.
I quickly mapped out my next steps.
Immediately, I called my real estate agent to list the house for sale.
This house was a gift from my mother when I got married. It wasn't part of the property agreement, so it wasn't legally tied to Ryan.
I had to sell it immediately and transfer the money into my mother's account.
As for the money he had spent and the jewelry he had stolen to please his mistress, I would get it all back from him.
Once I received confirmation from the agent, I let out a sigh of relief, then started packing up Ryan's things.
I efficiently gathered every item of Ryan's clothes, including his underwear and socks, and stuffed them all into a suitcase, preparing to throw it all away.
After clearing out the unnecessary stuff, the wardrobe was instantly empty. Ironically, my clothes didn't even fill half the space Ryan's did.
I dragged the suitcase to the door. The moment I grabbed the doorknob, the door from the outside swung open.
Ryan stood there, dressed in a white linen shirt, his hair perfectly styled, as if the messy, disgusting version of him I had just seen at the office was nothing more than a bad dream.
"I'm back," Ryan said, his eyes flickering, quickly switching to an apologetic expression.
"I know I made a mistake, and I'm here to apologize."
"I'll do anything for you, baby, as long as you forgive me." Ryan looked at me sincerely, trying to push past the door.
I stepped aside, blocking his way, and stared at him coldly.
Of course, I knew exactly why he was here. He was trying to get back into my good graces.
Everything about his affair had solid proof. If I divorced him now, he wouldn't get a dime from me.
Ryan saw the eight or so suitcases behind me, and his face showed a hint of panic. He grabbed my hand, his voice urgent. "I've already dumped Lily, baby. I swear, I'll never see her again. Please give me another chance. Don't leave me. Don't throw away our home."
His eyes, which seemed so deep and passionate, were actually filled with a desire for money. I used to be blinded by love, but now I saw through his poor acting.
"Are you insane or what?" I pointed at my own head with my finger, then disdainfully shook off his hand.
With a swift kick, I knocked one of the suitcases right next to him. It collided with his calf and fell open, spilling his clothes, underwear, and socks all over the floor.
I crossed my arms, and the sight of Ryan's pathetic, scattered things gave me a little satisfaction. "Time to leave, Mr. Sullivan."
I saw the anger and shock in Ryan's eyes, but he quickly masked those emotions, beginning to beg me just like every other argument we'd had in the past.
"If this will make you feel better, I'll leave temporarily."
"Once you calm down, we can visit mother at the hospital, okay?" Ryan smiled gently. "Then we'll go abroad for a vacation to celebrate our third anniversary."
"You're either an i***t, or you're pretending to be one," I sneered. "You'll never come back here. The next time we see each other will be in court for the divorce."
"You want to go abroad? Why don't you take your lover with you?" I laughed out loud. "You probably can't even afford the trip. How about you go to the park next door for a couple of days instead?"
"And by the way, Sophia is my mother, not yours," I added, then kicked the remaining suitcases out the door. Ryan had to dodge them, looking even more ridiculous.
Just as I was about to shut the door, Ryan suddenly lunged, grabbing the doorframe. He shouted frantically, "No!"
I didn't stop. The heavy security door slammed against his palm, leaving a purple bruise that quickly formed. He screamed in pain and pulled his hand back, trembling from the pain.
Ryan's face flushed red, his chest heaving with each breath. I could hear his labored breathing and saw the bloodshot eyes staring at me.
I considered slamming the door shut, but Ryan reacted quickly, stepping forward and shoving his shoulder into the door.
Then, he pushed his way inside.
I stepped back, my hand subconsciously reaching for a metal ornament on the shoe rack near the door.
Ryan grabbed my shoulder, and that was when I noticed his palm was bleeding from where the door had slammed. Blood had stained my clothes.
"Have you calmed down? Can you reconsider our relationship now?"
Ryan grinned awkwardly, his attempt at charm falling flat as his twisted emotions started to show.
"Leave my house, or I'll call the cops," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible.
"Victoria, stop messing around. Haven't I already apologized?" Ryan ruffled his hair, clearly agitated.
He kept inching closer, continuing, "I cheated, okay? But it was just an accident. It's not a big deal, right? I don't love Lily. I love you."
His words almost made me puke. I couldn't stand him being here for another second.
I reached for my phone to dial 911, but Ryan grabbed it from my hands and smashed it on the floor. The screen cracked instantly.
"Are you going to keep causing a scene?" Ryan took another step forward.
I tried to back away, but my back slammed into the cold wall.
Ryan quickly trapped me, pressing his hands against both sides of my body, completely cornering me.
He leaned down to kiss me. I turned my head to avoid it, but his lips brushed against my cheek before landing on my ear.
His hand clamped around my throat, squeezing tightly.
"I know you still like me. Your body likes me too. Baby, forgive me, okay?" Ryan whispered in a seductive tone as he kissed my ear.
His hand reached for my collar, trying to undo the buttons.
I couldn't escape, so I just stared at him, my other hand instinctively gripping the cold metal ornament. But the coldness didn't help calm me.
It only reminded me of someone else.
I thought of that young man, who was just as icy.
But Ryan's kiss and touch disgusted me. He was nothing like the other guy.
From the moment Ryan cheated on me, he became dirty, and now he made me sick.
I took a deep breath and grabbed the metal ornament with all my strength, smashing it into Ryan's face.
His forehead instantly split open, and he staggered back, his eyes wide with shock. "b***h, you dare hit me?"
"I not only hit you, I'm calling the cops," I said coldly. "You'd better save your energy for prison."
I stood up from the couch and rushed to the bedroom. My spare phone was in there.
Ryan's expression twisted with rage. "Don't you dare call the cops! It'll ruin me!"
He chased after me, his heavy breathing getting closer. My heart felt like it was going to explode from my chest.
I reached the bedroom and turned just as Ryan was nearly on top of me. His hand almost grabbed my shoulder. I quickly slammed the door shut, locking it behind me.
If he hadn't reacted so fast, his hand would've been caught.
Once the door was secured, I pressed my entire body against it, using all my weight to hold it in place.
"Open the door! b***h! You're calling the cops, huh?"
Ryan began to violently pound on the door, and I could feel the force of it reverberating through my body. My organs felt like they were twisting.
I didn't respond, just focused on holding the door in place. After a while, I heard his footsteps grow fainter.
I quickly began searching for my phone. I scoured the entire room, but it wasn't anywhere to be found.
Just then, I smelled the strong scent of alcohol.
"If you want to ruin me, then go to hell!" Ryan's voice was hoarse, filled with madness.
I saw the brown liquid staining the floor. It was alcohol. The strong smell hit me hard, and I nearly passed out.
He was trying to set me on fire!
What should I do now?
Just then, the bathroom door swung open, and the young man from earlier lazily leaned against the doorframe, watching me. He waved his phone. "You looking for this?"
A glimmer of hope flashed in my eyes. "Call the cops!"
He grinned and pointed to himself. "I can help you. Just beg me."
"If you don't call the cops, you'll die anyway!" I was so furious I almost wanted to hit him. This guy was even crazier than Ryan.
He was definitely getting back at me for kicking him earlier and for the hesitation I showed when I brought him in.
But there was no time to waste. Ryan, somehow, had managed to find an axe, and a deafening crash echoed through the room. The wooden door was now deeply cracked.
I saw Ryan's bloodied face and the savage look in his eyes as he raised the axe high again.
"Please!"
In panic, I stumbled into the man's arms.
"Remember my name. I'm Dylan."
- Writer
