Second Marriage to Mr. Rich (Ned Fletcher)

Chapter 18

“They’re fine, so don’t worry.” Vanessa’s pregnant belly was prominent underneath her white coat. Her smile was as gentle as always. “Ned protected Ms. Dalton well, so she only had a dislocated ankle. It’s already been tended to. Ned’s also only been bruised and

scratched in a few places.”

Angeline was relieved to hear that. As long as Ned and Ingrid weren’t badly injured, Anne could probably be released soon.

“Dr. Stone, we’ve received a call from the ER. They need you there,” a nurse popped her head out of the elevator and called out to Vanessa urgently.

Angeline moved aside to make way for Vanessa. “You should go, Vanessa.”

“Alright.” Vanessa put her stethoscope into the pocket of her coat. “It’s late, so be careful when

you head home. Text me when you arrive.”

Angeline nodded: After leaving the building, she sat in the dimly lit garden. She looked down at her phone and punched in a number she’d memorized. But she hesitated before calling it.

As Zachary had said, the current Ned didn’t know about her relationship with Anne. This phone call would easily make him misunderstand her.

But if she didn’t say anything, would the fact that she hadn’t contacted him make things worse once he found out the truth himself?

As Angeline hesitated, she heard a familiar voice ring out behind her. “You mean this woman named Anne York is Angeline’s adoptive mother?”

She turned around. There were some trees and plants between the bench she sat on and the corridor. She could vaguely see Ned and Ingrid’s cousin smoking by the trash can

Angeline remembered Ingrid’s cousin because he’d been the one to burst into the room and take photos of her and Ned when they’d had those laced drinks.

Later, the photos Ned had plastered all over Oceanford College had been the ones taken by Ingrid’s cousin, Tommy Yates.

“Yeah. You don’t remember the past, so you might not know this. Angeline’s birth mother was abducted to Emmerson Village, right? Anne York had escaped that hellhole with Angeline’s mother.

“After Angeline’s mother died from major blood loss when she was inducing labor, the

+15 BÔNUS

Lawsons didn’t want to have anything to do with her because they hated the Emmersons. Anne’s the one who raised her for two years. She also changed Angeline’s name from Jodie to Angeline.”

Tommy continued, “Later, Anne fell sick and couldn’t care for Angeline anymore. Since the Lawson family didn’t want her, the people from Emmerson Village brought her back. They happened to save you from your kidnappers. And later … Angeline latched onto you and followed you to Oceanford.”

Ned leaned against a tree, crossing a leg casually. His eyes were like deep pools as he stood there silently. 1

“That York woman’s the one who cared for Angeline when she was a vegetable. She can’t have kids, so she’s always thought of Angeline as her own. I bet Angeline’s the one who told that York

woman to harm Ingrid!

“Trust me on this–Angeline will definitely come to you to ask you to let that York woman off the hook. Don’t give in to her when the time comes; you have to avenge Ingrid!”

“And how do you think I should do that?” Ned asked.

“Look, she laced your drink so she could sleep with you and break you and Ingrid up. Everyone knows Miles and Mallory Locke are her best friends; she must’ve pretended to call the police before putting on an act with Miles and calling off the report.

“If that’s not a sign of guilt, I don’t know what is. Ingrid almost fled the country to avoid you because of that, remember?”