The woman’s shrill voice, paired with the man’s sinister laughter, was truly unbearable.
Hogan frowned, about to send someone to check it out to prevent any low-class trouble from happening on their turf.
But before he could do anything, the door to the private room was suddenly flung open. A woman with disheveled hair ran out, her dress torn. She collapsed at Conrad’s feet, and when she saw him, it was like she had seen her savior.
“Conrad, Conrad, help me!”
Amid her messy hair, a face suddenly appeared. Evelyn was gripping Conrad’s pants tightly, her wrist straining so hard that veins bulged.
The man behind her, looking older, was startled when he saw Conrad.
“Mr. Conrad, you’re here!” The man tried to pull out a cigarette and offer it to Conrad.
Conrad stood with his hands in his pockets, exuding a powerful presence.
The man, with his beer belly, couldn’t even look him in the eye. Instead, he smiled nervously at him, saying, “Mr. Conrad, I didn’t know this woman knew you, my bad, my bad.”
Conrad looked at the business card he handed him-something like “director”-but he didn’t know this kind of person at all.
It was late, and he needed to go home. Frowning, he looked down at Evelyn, still holding onto him. “Let go!”
Her grip had wrinkled his pants.
Evelyn shook her head, crying and begging, “Conrad, help me.”
Conrad pulled his pants away from her grasp and moved past her.
Evelyn couldn’t believe it. She stared wide-eyed as he walked away and tried to crawl after him. “Conrad, help me! You said you cared about my eyes! Help me!”
But Conrad had already left the building without a glance back.
The man watched for a while, then finally squatted down and touched Evelyn’s face. “Look at you. What’s your problem? Didn’t you want the third female lead position? Sure, the character might not be great, but with your looks and abilities, it should be enough, right?”
Evelyn suppressed her disgust. “Get lost!”
The man cursed and slapped her twice. “What the hell, wasn’t it you who called me here? And now you won’t even let me fucking you? You think I want to give you a role? Begging Conrad? Acting like I’m trying to rape you? You’re delusional. You really think you can hook up with Conrad?”
Evelyn shouted in anger, “You’ll regret this! Conrad used to treat me so well, you don’t know!”
“Yeah, right,” the man said, eyeing her up and down. “What kind of person is Conrad? Even if he’s blind, he wouldn’t pick you. Pfft!”
He spat on her face, adjusted his belt, and walked off.
Evelyn trembled with anger. The humiliation she had suffered recently had brought her to the point where even such a lowlife could give her a hard time.
It was intentional.
She knew Conrad was in this place, and she had asked around about how Lillian had managed to get close to him all those years ago.
So, she waited here, waiting for him.
But the same process had led to different results. Lillian had soared to great heights and gained his protection, while she, despite being noticed too, ended up in such a pitiful situation.
She couldn’t accept it! She couldn’t!
Evelyn couldn’t accept her failure, and she couldn’t accept losing.
When Conrad reached the bottom floor, he finally asked Andrew, “Did you get in touch with the doctor?”
“Yes, it’s all set. Surgery should be happening soon.”
“Mm.”
After all the time spent taking care of Evelyn, it was time for her to be useful.
Conrad never thought of himself as a good person. Those who stayed by his side were just the difference between his people and outsiders.
He still made a distinction between those who were useful and those who weren’t.
He had spent so much money on her, so he had to get enough back from her.
She needed to understand that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
******
Booth had returned to the country, quietly meeting friends and not daring to make a public appearance, fearing he would run into his terrifying second uncle.
Especially since he was just a distant relative in the family and couldn’t even be considered a blood nephew to Conrad.
Whatever, even if they were blood-related, could Conrad really give him any face?
Booth cursed his luck, a bit tipsy, and when he was brought home by the driver, he nearly had a heart attack when he saw someone sitting at the door. He thought he was seeing a ghost.
“Booth, it’s me, don’t be scared.”
Booth squinted, then sighed with relief. “Evelyn, you scared me for no reason!”
She really managed to scare him half to death for no reason.
Just then, a car passed by, and its headlights illuminated Evelyn’s disheveled appearance.
“What happened to you?” Booth was shocked.
He quickly asked, his concern evident.
Evelyn looked up, her eyes full of victimization as she choked on her words.
Booth quickly opened the door, urging her to come inside and offered to get her some water.
Seeing his attentive actions, just like before, Evelyn felt a slight sense of calm in her heart.
As long as someone was willing to help her, she would cling to that lifeline.
Martin had helped her, but only as a stand-in for Lillian.
But Booth was different. He hated Lillian and liked her. He was the only man who had completely separated her from Lillian in his mind.
Thinking this, Evelyn, who had nowhere else to turn, started to feel a bit of sincerity toward Booth.
Since she couldn’t go back to Conrad for now, she might as well make a move with Booth.
“You’re drunk, don’t worry about me,” she said.
“I’ll go take a shower first. You can stay in the guest room upstairs, and tomorrow, I’ll take you out.” Booth scratched his head, saying as he headed upstairs.
She had already tasted the good life, and she would never allow herself to be denied it.
Even if she had to stick to Conrad shamelessly, she wouldn’t let go.
As Evelyn headed upstairs, she passed Booth’s study door and subconsciously glanced inside.
Booth wasn’t the type to read books. Most of the room was filled with gaming computers, skateboards, and other things.
When she turned on the light and saw the photos on the desk and the wall, she was shocked. Even if the photos were small and inconspicuous, Evelyn immediately realized that the person in them was Lillian.
Evelyn glanced at Booth’s room door, which was still closed.
She opened the drawer directly, and to her surprise, it was filled with photos of Lillian from her school days, likely taken without her knowledge. Some showed her chatting with girls, while others captured her performing in the auditorium.
Lillian, in those days, had smiled brightly in group photos-truly an extraordinary beauty.
It was a radiance Evelyn had never known.
“What are you doing?”
A voice suddenly came from behind her, and Evelyn jumped in shock.
Booth frowned at her, snatching the photos from her hands and shoving them back into the drawer. “Don’t go through my stuff.”
It was rare for Booth to speak to her so sternly.
“Do you… do you have a crush on Lillian?” Evelyn asked in disbelief.
She had to get to the bottom of this!