The Good Girl's Revenge

Chapter 8

Back at the apartment, the heavy door closed behind me with a thud, shutting out all prying eyes from the outside world.

Lucien didn't immediately question me like I thought he would. He just walked over to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of whiskey, and handed one of them to me.

"Drink some, to keep the shock down." His tone was calm and unruffled.

The more he did, the less I felt in my heart. I took the glass and the cool liquid slid down my throat, the spicy burn relaxing my tense nerves a little.

I decided to keep playing along; it was my only talisman.

"Lucien," I clutched my glass, my voice taking on a deliberate tremor, "thank you for earlier. I don't know why, that woman ...she scares me."

Lucien didn't turn around; he just let out a soft, unspoken laugh that stood out in the quiet apartment.

"Is that so?" He slowly turned around, his deep gaze falling on my face, which was so sharp that it seemed to be able to peel away all the layers of my disguise, "Is it her you're afraid of, or are you afraid that she'll find out that you're in her future husband's study, rummaging through the closet?"

My heart, for an instant, stopped beating!

He knew!

The blood drained from my face, and my hand shook uncontrollably as I gripped my wine glass, barely able to hold it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I was making one last struggle, but my voice was dry and feeble.

He takes a step closer to me, so powerful that I can barely breathe. He takes the glass from my hand and casually sets it aside before cupping my chin and forcing me to lift my head and meet his gaze.

"Norah," his voice is low, but carries an imperious authority, "stop acting. Your play has been full of holes since the hospital. A true amnesia patient wouldn't have the fire of vengeance burning under her eyes upon hearing of the betrayal. A real amnesia patient, much less plot a precise tiger's mouth in such a short period."

My disguise was unceremoniously and completely shredded by him!

After the shock and panic, I calmed down instead. Since I had already been seen through, it was pointless to keep up the disguise.

I met his gaze, and there was no longer the slightest bit of bewilderment or fear in my eyes, replaced by a cold determination, "Yes, I don't have amnesia. So what? Are you going to tell Damian and Serena?"

"Tell them?" He laughed lowly as if he had heard some great joke, his chest vibrating slightly from the laughter, "Why would I help my stupid brother against a woman ...so interesting?"

He released my chin and slid his fingers ambiguously over my cheek, his eyes burning, "Now, you can tell me. What did you find in there that was worth the risk?"

I looked at him, judging the truth in his words. I knew that from now on, I would have to play an equal game with him.

I took out my cell phone and projected some of the evidence I had captured - those forged authorizations and transfer records - onto the huge computer screen. I temporarily hid that deadliest murder plan, which was my last card.

"These are the prima facie evidence of their embezzlement of my property." I said calmly, "I think it's enough to bring them to ruin."

Lucien looked at the documents with an unusually calm expression, even with a hint of sarcasm that I couldn't read. He poured the most stinging cold water on me.

"Disgraced? Norah, you're naive." He hit the nail on the head, "A forged power of attorney? Serena's a top lawyer; she can say it's a retroactive signature after your verbal authorization, you've lost your memory, and there's no proof of death. These offshore account transfers? They can say they're helping you with legitimate global asset allocation. Based on that alone, you want to sue them?"

His words were like a heavy hammer, hitting my heart hard, sobering me up to the fact that the road to vengeance was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.

"So what do I do?" My voice took on a hint of helplessness.

"There is one way," Lucien's mouth curled into a sneer.

He pointed to a nondescript offshore account on the screen, "We can take it and anonymously report it to the financial regulators."

My eyes lit up, but Lucien's next words sent me plummeting into an ice pit.

"But you have to think about the cost." He looked at me gravely, "Doing so would immediately alert the snakes. They will frantically destroy all the remaining evidence, and it will be difficult for you to find it again. Serena is very capable; she might even be able to trace the report by backtracking, and then, you will be completely exposed from the shadows."

He left the choice to me, "Norah, tell me, do you dare to bet? Bet that we can find more and more damning evidence before they react completely. Or are you just going to take the painless stuff and sit on it?"

This choice was a pitch to truly embark on the path of vengeance. My heart was struggling fiercely.

After a long time, I raised my head, a more determined flame burning in my eyes, "I bet!"

"Very well." Lucien's eyes flashed with a hint of approval.

Under his guidance, I used a brand new, untraceable computer to send the anonymous tip-off email.

The moment I clicked send, I felt a wave of emptiness and a firm determination.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms encircled me from behind, and Lucien rested his chin gently against my shoulder, his warm breath spraying the side of my neck with a tingling tickle.

"Welcome to the real game, my Nemesis." His voice was low and husky with a hint of approval.

Before I had a chance to respond, I felt his warm hands, already traveling unruly upward from my waist, eventually covering the softness of my breasts and gently kneading them.

My body instantly froze, and then uncontrollably heated up.

He came up to my ear and gently nibbled on my earlobe with his teeth, whispering, "The act between us is over, it's time for something real. Here's my consulting fee for helping you analyze."