Natalie was stunned as she heard Lucian. She tried to hold her temper in check before she murmured, “This cannot be. How would the Saunders know about Valeria?”
“But there’s no other reason that would make Sir Gavin approach Miss Brown. I have a bad feeling about this. What if they want to take Miss Brown in when he finds out about her identity?”
Natalie’s hand was pressing on her forehead, “No. I can’t let them take Valeria away. I won’t let it happen!”
All of these wouldn’t have happened if Gavin did not support Savannah in the past to separate her from Archer.
So, Valeria had no ties with the Saunders. Natalie would never let them take Valeria away from her. Valeria was her child, and only hers.
On the other side of the city, Raymond had been driving without a destination after he left the Wolf Group Hotel. He told William he was heading to catch a drink, but he didn’t know where to go. He wasn’t in the right mood.
Just then, Abbie called him, “Let’s meet up. I’ll see you at the bar.”
Raymond sped up and turned to their usual meet-up bar. Abbie was already waiting when he arrived there, and she waved to him when she saw him.
“I want to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” Raymond asked.
“The few guys who set us up that day… I’m going to find them and take revenge,” Abbie fumed. She had been furious since the day she found out about it.
She wasn’t always like this. Although Richard and William promised they would settle that problem for her, she insisted on taking her own revenge to vent her anger. And so, she needed Raymond’s help.
“Well, how are you planning to do that?” Raymond questioned her.
“First, we need to find out who the culprit is, and we can start from why he’s doing this. Now, he drugged you and Valeria with that kind of substance, but only made me go to sleep. Then, he got reporters on standby, I think to ruin our reputation. The person must really hate both of you, and I only got involved accidentally.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Raymond nodded in agreement.
“Do you have any idea who might do this? Anyone that you’ve offended or anyone who would hate you to this extent?”
“I don’t recall any,” Raymond shook his head. “It’s more complicated than this. Otherwise, Uncle William would have found out who they were already.”
Abbie frowned, “Alright, let’s do this the other way then. Who else knew we were going out for dinner that day? We’re not public figures, and that dinner was a last-minute thing. Yet the person had the time to contact reporters and prepare those drugs, which only makes sense if they knew about our dinner plans earlier. I’ve only mentioned it to Valeria and Richard. What about you?”
Raymond was thunderstruck at her question, “I told my mom.”
“Are you sure you only told your mom?” Abbie asked in confusion. If that was the case, this train of thought was not valid anymore.
After all, as Raymond’s mother, there was no way Savannah would harm her own son and ruin his reputation.
“I’m sure. I only told her over the phone when she called me.”
“Maybe she told someone else?” Abbie figured. “Why don’t you check with her?”
Since Abbie insisted he do so, Raymond gave his mother a call, “Mom, did you tell anyone about my dinner with Abbie that night?”
“I didn’t. What’s wrong?” Savannah asked.
“I just want to be clear. Those people who set us up that day clearly planned ahead of time, so I need to know who else knew about our dinner.”
Savannah’s heart dropped as she heard those words. She couldn’t believe that Raymond was actually suspecting her.
“I’m your mother! Why would I lie to you?”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’m only asking.”
He hung up and shook his head at Abbie, “She didn’t tell anyone.”
“That’s strange. Unless someone bugged your phone, there is no other way they would know about the dinner. Valeria was a victim, and I trust Richard. So, the mole must be from your side.”
A thought sparkled as she finished her sentence. She continued, “No, I just remembered. Your mom has a dark past.”
“Abbie!” Raymond grimaced. He wasn’t happy that Abbie was bringing Savannah’s history up.
“Let me finish,” Abbie knew how Raymond was feeling. “Do you know the full story? Valeria’s mom and your dad were a thing, a very loving one at that. But your mom forced them to break up. She somehow managed to be pregnant with you and still made your dad marry her even though she knew Valeria’s mom was pregnant with your dad’s child as well.”
“Where did you hear that from?” Raymond couldn’t hide the shock on his face. He had only found out that Savannah married Archer after destroying his previous relationship, but he never thought the other party would be Valeria’s mother.
“My mom. Valeria and I are best friends, so my mom told me when that useless dad of hers framed her. My mom said he was also one of the reasons why Valeria’s mom was dead. Also that if it weren’t for your shameless mom, Valeria’s mom would have married your dad and escaped her fate.”
Raymond’s heart sank, and he couldn’t bring himself to believe those words. He never expected Savannah to turn out to be someone so shameless.
But then, he recalled Archer looking at Savannah full of hatred, Gavin saying those mean things to her, and all she could do was to hide her ashamed face.
Raymond asked in a hoarse voice, “But why would she do this to me? I’m her son.”
“How would I know? But some people are born shameless and cruel, just like Mr. Brown. Do you remember what he did to hurt Valeria? He even tried to send her to Declan Anderson. That’s not something a father would do to his daughter.”
Abbie scoffed, “Thinking back at what your mom had done back then, she must be still as shameless and evil now. Who knows? She might have set that scene up to break up Valeria and William. Think about it, how else is William going to carry on with their engagement if he knew you two were together?”
“This is too far-fetched. I don’t believe she would do such a thing!” Raymond was in denial.
“I don’t care what you believe. This is the best explanation of what has happened. Wake up, Raymond Saunders! This world is crueler than you think it can be. If you want to refute my guesses, why don’t we give it a test?”