'She cheated on me and even had another man's baby?!' Carlos pulled a long face as he thought of Debbie's bright smile.
'So this is the real reason why we got divorced. Now she knows that I'm recovered, so she is trying to get back together with me.'
"Dad, it was not your fault. But why did all my assistants leave the company?" Carlos asked. From what he had been told, all of his assistants were not in the company anymore.
After a moment of reflection, James answered, "When it was reported that your chances of living were very unlikely, both Tristan and Zelda resigned. As for Ashley and another assistant, they must have quit over my style of management."
Everything now made sense to Carlos—some employees would resign when their boss was replaced.
But he somehow felt something was not right with Tristan's and Zelda's departure.
"After Tristan tendered in his resignation letter, I personally went to him to see if I could convince him to continue working with us. I told him I was only holding the fort while you were away, but apparently, judging from your condition, it wasn't easy to believe you'd make it out alive. Besides, he turned me down saying he had found a more suitable employer. Not long after, he went abroad."
'So, Tristan's hopped to a better company, ' Carlos thought to himself.
Listening to James' explanation, Carlos was convinced.
"Then what happened to Curtis?" he pressed further. Although his memory was problematic after the accident, there were a few things he could recall. His friendship with Curtis was one of those few exceptions. They had always been close. Bosom buddies, if he could use that. What had changed that he no longer saw Curtis?
Feeling helpless, James sighed, and was tempted to change the subject. However, he knew that would only work for a time. "Well, it's not easy to explain everything in detail, Carlos. But in short, Debbie is Curtis' niece, and in the tough times that followed, he chose her over you. That should be understandable, I think. Any reasonable man in his situation would have done the same. To protect Debbie, he worked hard to take down all the negative news posts about her from the Internet.
Anyway, he didn't know why I had told Debbie that you were dead. It was just a test of her loyalty to you, but she failed. What else could explain her rush decisions which followed almost immediately? Couldn't she have waited a little longer, at least to confirm, or if not, to mourn her husband? It surprised me how quickly she replaced you with another man. You know what? Three years ago, under her influence, you put Lewis behind bars, on false charges. That woman has always been a problem, but you were not willing to accept it." Thinking back of Lewis going to jail and every other disagreement in the family because of Debbie, James fought to contain his tears.
Carlos' face darkened. Already, he knew Curtis was Debbie's uncle. For that fact, what James was saying added up.
"Here is the thing Carlos," the old man said, a thoughtful look on his face. He then took a calculated pause, and studied Carlos for his reaction. When he was certain to have gotten attention, he continued, his pitch dropping for effect, "Stephanie has always loved you, and you should have stuck with her. And it was the worst heartbreak for her when you married Debbie. That's the reason Stephanie left Y City. Despite all the pain you caused her, when she knew you had a car accident and Debbie had divorced you, poor Stephanie came back from abroad, just to be by your side. The girl has done everything possible to take care of you. How can you be so insensitive and ungrateful, Carlos? Next time, please be wary of Debbie and her intentions. At every turn, she has proved herself to be unfaithful and unreliable. And I hate the fact that you don't seem to see through her deception."
Those were weighty words for Carlos. 'So her tears...her emotions...They were all fake, weren't they?' "I see," Carlos answered after a moment's silence.
"Son, you are my only child. Your mom is mentally unstable now. I wish nothing but the best for you. I hope you and Stephanie will live a happy life together."
"Hmm," Carlos simply answered.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Megan. Her parents died while they fought to save you and Wesley. You two brought her back and doted on her. But ever since Debbie appeared, she always tried to slander Megan and drive a wedge between you and her. She had another man's baby and said it was yours. She used it to blackmail you, demanding that you send Megan behind the bars. That woman is heartless and plain dangerous, Carlos. Damon must have told you that Megan had been behind bars before, right? Anyway, the decision is yours. If you still think that woman has your best interest at heart, I'll wash my hands of everything."
'Put Megan behind the bars?'
Now, Carlos finally understood why Damon and Wesley disliked Debbie.
James kept throwing mud at Debbie, warning Carlos over and over against her advances.
Taking in what his dad had just said, Carlos remained glued to his chair, undecided on what to do. After what seemed like an eternity, he dialed Megan's number. "Hi Megan, I want to ask you something. It's about Debbie..."
Half an hour later, he hung up the phone. By the aura around him, anyone who saw him right now would be scared to death.
Debbie's wickedness was beyond Carlos. 'She pushed Megan into the river, drove her out of the country and scared her from ever stepping in Y City! Besides, she cheated on me, had an abortion and eloped with another man...'
To add oil to the flame, James had an assistant send Carlos a folder with evidence to Debbie's unfaithfulness.
The stack of photos that fell onto the desk when he opened the folder was more than Carlos could take.
What on earth had Debbie turned into? Why would a normal woman hang around with a different random guy every time?
In one of the photos, Carlos recognized the man. Somewhere in a garden, as they played, Debbie sitting on a swing, while Hayden stood behind, pushing her with unmistakable enjoyment.
If this photo couldn't prove that Debbie had an affair with Hayden, there were still several other photos in which she was sleeping in the arms of a strange man. In a fit of rage, Carlos crumpled the photo he was holding in his left hand, and banged on the table with the other.
There was no need to go through the remaining photos.
In addition to the photos, there was also an enclosed note in the folder.
In Debbie's unmistakable handwriting, it read, "Apart from his money, what else did Carlos Huo mean to me? Nothing. Zero. Zilch! Now that is a closed chapter. Carlos is dead, and I'm a free woman. On top of that, I'm pregnant with another man's baby. A man I slept with while I was in England. The game here is simple. Since his dad has never wanted me in the family, I'll leave this city with money. It has to be good money, I swear! Five million dollars is the least I'll take. Nothing less! And I'll leave Y City for good."
The gloating tone of her note was sickening. What did this woman have for a heart?
"Jeez!" he bellowed and banged on the desk. The pen that was sitting on the edge of the desk fell to the floor.
"And this woman thought she'd fool me again? Damn!" he shouted. When he realized he had shouted, he looked around cautiously, then said through gritted teeth, "Woman, I'll make you pay!"
Carlos kept swearing.
Elsewhere, Debbie started to sense something was off when Carlos hadn't contacted her for the third day in a row. She sent several messages to him, but there was no response.
She walked her dog around several times, but didn't see Carlos once.
To kill her boredom, she went to Curtis' house and had some fun playing with Piggy and Justus, but the bad feeling just wouldn't budge. Later, when she came back home, she called Carlos.
Several times, she tried, waiting and hoping he would pick up, but there was no response. At long last, when she was almost giving up, her prayer was answered, or so she thought. She greeted him cheerfully, "Hey, old man. Are you busy now?"
Stephanie had put the phone on speaker, so Debbie's voice reverberated in the office.
On hearing the familiar voice, Carlos couldn't help but recall the photos and the accompanying gloating note. His face darkened.
When Debbie didn't hear any response, she looked at her phone screen and asked in confusion, "The phone is connected. Old man, are you busy now?"
Seeing that Carlos had no intention of speaking, Stephanie, who had taken a few steps back, came closer to answer. "And what do you want from Carlos, if I may ask?" she asked with obvious derision in her tone.
Debbie was shocked. 'Why is Carlos not answering?' she wondered.
"I need to speak to him, madam. Where is he?" she asked bluntly.