Erica didn't mind if she couldn't get an answer out of Matthew. She shot a fierce look at Phoebe, and if looks could kill, the pregnant woman would be lying on the floor. "I wanted you here to tell you in person Matthew is mine. Anything you had in the past stays there—in the past. If you don't want to raise the kid after it pops out, we'll help you raise it. Don't come here again. Or I swear I'll make you pay. I'm rich, so it's easy for me to get someone to mix contraceptives in your food. That'll fuck up your endocrine system and stop your period. You'll know what menopause feels like early. Don't believe me? Try me."
This time, Phoebe's belly really ached. Would Erica really poison her like this? She was more vicious than Phoebe had given her credit for. She shuddered uncontrollably.
As soon as she opened her mouth and was about to ask Matthew for help, Erica interrupted. She shouted at her, eyes wide open in an unsettling gaze. "Don't look at my husband! Why ask him for help? He's my husband! Even if he doesn't love me, the Huo family will back me up. He has to spoil me. Right, Matthew?"
The girl seemed upset. Matthew decided that discretion was the better part of valor, so he deferred to her this time. He held her in his arms and nodded obediently.
The man who had always been cold and aloof around Phoebe actually nodded after hearing what Erica had said. It was hard for her to accept. She nodded awkwardly and took a deep breath to maintain her composure.
"I need to go to the hospital. Paige doesn't need to go. I'll just have the driver take me!" she said in a hoarse voice.
After Phoebe found a ride to the hospital, Erica was instantly relieved and muttered in a low voice, "If I had known that she was that annoying, I wouldn't have bothered to claim my status as the hostess." She was so angry that her stomach ached.
Matthew picked up the bag beside him and said, "She was going to give this to you. That's why she was here."
"What's that?"
"Open it."
Erica opened the bag and found it was the things she thought were awesome at the auction yesterday. "Why did she give them to me? This is too much. You put her up to this, didn't you?"
"I asked her to give them to you," Matthew answered honestly.
The girl's bad mood was alleviated a little. "I figured. How did you know which ones I wanted?" she asked.
Matthew didn't explain himself, but comforted her instead. "Don't be too angry. It's bad for your health."
"Well, I see!" Erica was in a good mood, so she didn't give him any backtalk.
In the afternoon, Erica went to the college. If Hyatt hadn't told her, she wouldn't have known that Kaitlyn and Luther had switched to another college.
"Why did they transfer?" She looked at Hyatt in confusion.
Hyatt told her, "Everyone says it's because Kaitlyn and Luther pissed you off, and Mr. Huo taught them a lesson. I don't know if it's true."
"Really?" 'Matthew never brought it up. Oh, wait, that's right... He knew I was framed. But he never told me he'd deal with it. Was it really because of Matthew?' she wondered.
In order to find out the truth, Erica sent a message to Matthew asking, "What did you do to Kaitlyn?"
"Owen handled it. I don't know the particulars," he texted back.
It was obvious that he didn't want to tell her.
'Well, I'd better go home and ask him face to face!'
After she had attended two afternoon classes, it was getting cold and dark. The weather forecast called for heavy rain tonight. Erica shivered in the cold. She was going to grab a bite to eat with Hyatt. Preferably something to warm her up.
As soon as she walked out of the school gate, she received a phone call. She didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"
"Erica, it's me, Julianna."
Erica's mood was as gloomy as the weather at the moment when she found out who was on the other end of the line. "What's up?" she asked coldly.
"I need to talk to you. It's about Tessie."
"I don't want to hear it." She didn't want to talk about Tessie now. Matthew had sent someone to figure out what exactly had happened to Tessie. She'd know the truth soon enough, and didn't need to talk to Julianna.
Julianna sneered, "You're such a bitch. You've done so many shitty things, and now you don't even want to hear about Tessie. What's the matter? Afraid?"
"What should I be afraid of?"
"If you're not scared, just come. Come to the primary school Tessie and I went to. It's definitely walking distance from the college."
Erica and Hyatt exchanged glances. Since they were free, he might as well go along. "Okay!" she answered.
After Julianna hung up the phone, Tessie couldn't wait to ask, "So did you talk to her? Did she agree to come?"
"Yes, I'll text her the address." Julianna tapped in a detailed address and sent it to Erica.
Tessie was relieved.
When Julianna was out of earshot, Tessie walked outside and called Phoebe. She did her best to keep her voice low. "We did it, Phoebe! Julianna got Erica to agree to meet her at No. Eighteen Primary School. I can't wait!"
"Good. I'll let them know. Don't get yourself involved in this," Phoebe said. She just got back from the hospital. Fortunately, her baby was fine.
"Yeah, probably a good idea."
At No. Eighteen Primary School
It was the first time Erica had ever been here. It was early evening, and classes had already let out for the day. There was only a doorman at the gate, and the whole school looked empty.
The school was old and shabby, and lacked some modern amenities.
They followed the directions to the address Julianna gave her. Erica and Hyatt waited for Julianna under the eaves of the teaching building.
The gloomy sky had clouds of a gunmetal gray. It looked like it could rain at any time. Hyatt looked at Erica rubbing her hands from the cold, and said, "Hey, let me buy you a cup of hot milk tea. See if that'll warm you up."
Erica didn't turn him down. She was more than a little cold. "Cool, thanks. I'll wait for you here."
"Okay." Hyatt turned and walked out of the schoolyard.
When he walked past the playground, he brushed past several young men and women, but he didn't pay them any mind.
The young men looked at Hyatt as he walked toward the school gate, and thought for a while. They knew they'd seen him before, but they couldn't remember who he was.
One of the boys whispered, "He looks familiar."
"I think so, but it doesn't matter. Let's go! We'll get paid when we're done. You have the camera, right?"
"Yeah, I'm ready. Don't worry!"
Julianna wasn't there at all. Instead, several young men and women showed up.
A girl in a denim coat came up to her and asked, "Are you Erica Li?" Her tone was contemptuous.
Erica glanced at her and asked, "What's going on? Do you know Julianna?" She was sure she didn't know this girl.
"She'll be here soon. But first, we need to talk to you!" The girl tried to put her arm on Erica's shoulder as if they were good friends.
Erica sidestepped the maneuver and said with a fake smile, "I'm sorry. We're not that close. Now we've got that out of the way, what's this all about?"
The girl sneered and said, "Follow us. This is not the place to talk. I'll take you to the classroom where Julianna and Tessie used to take classes."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait right here!" Erica had a bad feeling about this. Julianna said she wanted to talk about Tessie. Then why did she ask six people to meet her?
This time, the two girls approached her at the same time, and flanked her. One on the left and the other on the right. They held her arms and took her upstairs. "Come on. She arranged a surprise for you up there!"
"Let go of me! Do you want me to hurt you?" And that was when Erica knew that Julianna had fooled her.