“What a twist.”
“Women really can lie without even blinking an eye.”
“What’s the matter? Did the CEO of Alcott Group get cheated on by his wife?”
Thinking of past events, I couldn’t help but speak up, “Which Lucia are you with?”
Avery, on the other end, paused and fell silent.
I sneered, curious to see how she would talk her way out of this.
“Egbert! Why are you with Lucia so late? You owe me an explaination,” Avery demanded after a moment.
She was playing the victim, indeed.
“I came looking for you,” Egbert muttered. “And my mom’s gone.”
After two seconds, Avery hung up the phone, and Egbert didn’t call back. He just sat on the couch, despondently holding his head in his hands.
About ten minutes later, a slim, elegantly dressed woman entered through the door. She gave me a hostile glance, walked over to Egbert, and gently patted his back.
“Honey, I’m late.”
The netizens perked up again.
“So this is the woman who embezzled money from her husband’s company and had an affair? She has the look of a vixen.”
“That face is clearly overdone with plastic surgery. How did she even manage to snag a rich husband?”
“Looks disgusting. She made my stomach turn, ugh.”
I glanced at the comments briefly before turning the tablet screen down.
Egbert looked up deeply, pushing Avery’s hand away.
Avery, like a startled deer, looked panicked, but her gaze towards me turned even more venomous.
When Avery finally appeared beside Egbert, he seemed unusually calm.
He no longer inquired why Avery lied or what the truth was, seemingly resigned.
The whispering at the door made Avery feel uncomfortable. She gently shook Egbert’s arm, looking very aggrieved. “Honey, I’m sorry. I lied to you. I didn’t go out to eat with Lucia today. Since your mother is getting worse, I went to a church and prayed for her there. I was afraid you’d think I’m superstitious, so I didn’t tell you.”
“So you couldn’t answer the phone?” Egbert said weakly, “Mom kept calling your name before she died. Her last words were for you.”
“I didn’t want to worry you. Telling you would only stress you up. I don’t want you to be unhappy,” Avery argued.
After saying this, she took out her phone. “Look, I even have the taxi receipt. I really didn’t lie to you. Honey, don’t you trust me?”
Egbert looked up briefly, seemingly moved, and sighed, pointing to the phone Wilcox was holding. “Do you have an alternate Facebook account?”
Avery’s expression darkened, and she shook her head. “I only have one account, and you know the password, honey. Has someone been slandering me to you?”
She glanced in my direction before speaking.
Egbert continued, “Mom kept calling your name on her deathbed.”
Avery’s face stiffened unnaturally as she replied, “Is that so? Did she say anything else?”
“She also mentioned ‘money.'”
Her complexion turned even paler.
Wilcox frowned, his professional instincts and keen investigative experience suggesting that there was more to this situation than met the eye. He whispered something to someone nearby and then headed back to the police station with his phone.
Avery’s eyes flashed with malice as she tugged at Egbert’s sleeve. “Honey, I’m truly sorry for your mother. I promised Lucia I wouldn’t tell anyone, but thinking of how kind your mother was to me, my heart aches. I’m sorry, Lucia.”