The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

The room fell into an awkward silence, Natalie’s slap echoing in everyone’s mind. Sabrina stumbled at the force, her hand reaching out to hold her burning cheek. Her eyes widened with shock, not expecting out of everyone her sweet, kind daughter-in-law to hit her.

"How dare you-" Sabrina shouted, taking a step forward but Natalie’s expression made it hard to appear confident. She looked around for someone to take her stand but everyone simply stared at them, with Avery barely holding her snicker.

"Don’t ever try to hit me again, Ms. Grey," Natalie warned, her voice as strong as the steel. With a sigh, she continued, "I am not your son’s wife anymore."

Fredrick frowned at the news and looked at Dominic’s assistant standing at the door, behind Sabrina. Did they sign a divorce already? He thought, guilt washing over him for neglecting his son all these years. If he hadn’t left with his ex-wife, Dominic would have been living with a better life.

"And nor is my brother your dead daughter’s murderer," Natalie added after a brief pause, making Sabrina realize the reality, and digest the fact that she was the real culprit, the very reason Katherine was not here with them. "So you have no right to take it out on us anymore."

"What do you mean?" Fredrick questioned, his frown deepening at Natalie’s words. It seemed like she was indirectly accusing Sabrina about his sweet Katy’s death. He glanced at Jonathan and Zevian before looking at Sabrina who was silent, her shoulders dropped in shame.

Sabrina’s eyes lowered to the ground, her hand pressing against her burning cheek. The more they tried to remind her, the worse it became for her to accept it, drowning deep in denial. Gritting her teeth, she looked up and retorted, "And you have no right to take care of my son. Only I can do it!" Her eyes moved to Fredrick, conveying she was against whatever they were plotting to snatch away her son.

Dr. Mathew felt the tension in his office suffocating and sighed out loud. He cleared his throat and tried to end this discussion for now, "We need to observe him for at least a week and can only shift to Arecamia."

Fredrick clenched his fists as Sabrina’s silence spoke volumes earlier, the sting of Natalie’s words hanging in the air. Without another word, he grabbed Sabrina’s wrist firmly but not aggressively, pulling her towards the exit. Sabrina resisted, her heels dragging against the floor, but Fredrick’s hold tightened as he spoke through gritted teeth.

"We’re talking about this, Sabrina. Now."

Her shoulders tensed, and she opened her mouth to protest, but the firm grip he had on her left no room for argument. She glared at Natalie before being dragged out of the room. The door clicked shut behind them, leaving an awkward, heavy silence.

Rosalind let out a long, weary sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly as she had been holding the tension inside for too long. She turned to Natalie with a soft smile and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "You did well, my dear," she murmured, her voice filled with both relief and pride.

Natalie, still rigid from the confrontation, allowed herself to melt into her mother’s arms for just a moment.

Zevian and Jonathan exchanged relieved glances, though a shadow of worry remained in their expressions. They knew this was far from over. They didn’t give a damn about Sabrina, but Natalie’s situation was still worse.

Evelyn, watching the entire exchange silently, took a step forward. "Now that Dominic’s parents are here, maybe it’s best we all head home," she suggested, her tone calm. "Everyone’s exhausted, and there’s nothing more we can do here tonight. Natalie needs rest, and so do all of you."

The room seemed to collectively exhale. Rosalind gave a small nod, wiping the corners of her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse. "You’re right. We should go."

Evelyn turned to Zevian, her hand brushing his arm as she spoke softly. "Take your parents and Natalie home. Make sure they’re alright. I’ll come with Avery."

Zevian frowned slightly, his eyes searching her face for any sign of unease. "Are you sure?"

Evelyn smiled gently. "Yep."

Zevian hesitated but eventually nodded since his family needed him right now. He turned to his parents and Natalie, gently guiding them toward the exit. As they left, Evelyn turned to Avery, who was about to follow them.

"Wait," Evelyn called out, grabbing Avery’s arm before she could turn around the corridor. Avery paused, a confused look crossing her face.

"What is it?"

"Come with me," Evelyn said quietly, her eyes flicking toward Dr. Mathew’s office. "I have some questions for him about something... something that’s been bothering me."

Avery’s brows furrowed, but she nodded, sensing the seriousness in Evelyn’s tone. Together, they walked back toward Dr. Mathew’s office, their minds racing with thoughts. The doctor, still sitting behind his desk and reading through a thick file, looked up as they knocked and entered.

"Mrs. Reign, Miss Cartwell," he greeted with a tired smile. "Did you forget something?"

Evelyn shifted nervously on her feet, her mind racing with the memories of her conversation with Mariam, her grandmother’s maid. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, her voice soft but determined.

"I wanted to ask you about something... different from Dominic’s case. It’s about someone aged and with Alzheimer disease."

Dr. Mathew’s brow lifted in curiosity, and he gestured for them to sit. "Go on."

Evelyn glanced at Avery, who gave her a reassuring nod. She took a deep breath and began, "When we first met Mariam, she said some strange things—about... my mom."

Even Avery blinked at words before Evelyn continued, "She claimed Gracia didn’t die and that I needed to find her. Her daughter Reema told me it was just the ramblings of someone with Alzheimer’s, but... I don’t know. Something about it didn’t sit right with me."

Dr. Mathew leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "It’s possible for someone with dementia to remember a single vivid incident, even if it’s out of context. They might repeat it over and over, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true."

Evelyn bit her lip, feeling a sense of urgency bubbling up inside her. "Could it be more than that? Could she be remembering some traumatic or very strong fragment of her memory? Just like Dominic remembers about Natalie?"

Dr. Mathew’s eyes narrowed as he considered her words. "It’s possible. If the incident she remembers is something significant, it could be her way of trying to communicate something important. But without examining her myself, I can’t say for certain."

A spark of hope lit up in Evelyn’s chest. "Could you see her? Maybe check if there’s something more to what she’s saying?"

Dr. Mathew checked his watch before nodding slowly. "I have some free time after lunch. If you can bring her to me, I’d be happy to take a look and see if there’s anything we can work with."

Evelyn’s heart lifted at his words, a smile breaking across her face. "Thank you, Dr. Mathew. I’ll make sure she’s here."

Avery smiled, relieved to see Evelyn so determined again after she had been heartbroken about her birth revelation. It was like the old Evelyn was back—the one who never gave up until the very end. As they stood to leave, Evelyn turned to Avery with a thoughtful expression.

"Zevian is needed at home with Natalie and his parents. Let’s not disturb him."

Avery nodded in response. With a scowl, she added, "I don’t think Damien should come with us either. He scared Reema pretty badly last night, and if he’s there, she might refuse to let us see Mariam again." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Evelyn nodded with a smile. "You’re right. It’s best if we handle this on our own."

Without wasting any more time, they quickly left the hospital and headed toward Reema’s house, the weight of their mission hanging over them. The drive was silent, each of them lost in their thoughts, the city streets buzzing with life outside the car window.

When they finally arrived, they parked a short distance away and walked toward the small house where they had met Mariam just a couple of days ago. But as they approached, both women frowned. The once-bustling bookstore had been replaced by a small convenience store, and the door to the house was locked from the outside.

A sinking feeling settled in Evelyn’s stomach. Something was wrong!

They walked up to the store owner, a middle-aged man stocking the shelves inside. "Excuse me," Evelyn called out as she entered the store. "Do you know what happened to the family that lived here?"

The man turned around, wiping his hands on a rag. "Oh, you mean Reema? She sold the place about a week ago."

Evelyn’s heart skipped a beat. "Sold? Where did they go?"

The man shrugged. "No idea. All I know is that she got a big payout—a huge sum of money. Everyone in the colony was talking about it. Then they just up and left."

Evelyn’s blood ran cold. She glanced at Avery, who looked equally stunned. There were only two possibilities: either Reema had been lying from the start about Evelyn’s birth, or Mariam had spilled out a truth that needed to be hidden from them at all costs that forced Reema to flee.

Evelyn’s mind raced, a thousand questions swirling in her head, but one thing was clear, she needed to dig into this again. And perhaps find Gracia?