Chapter 4
Chloe knew every intimate detail of my personal life and career ambitions.
We had attended college together, where she was the first person I trusted with the secret of my biological father and my desire to build an independent life on my own merits.
When I first met Charles, Chloe was the exact person who pushed me hardest to date him.
“You really need to give Charles a fair chance, Serena,” Chloe had insisted back then with enthusiasm. “He seems so hardworking, humble, and completely different from the selfish men you usually worry about.”
Now I finally understood why Charles had always known the exact right words to say to win my affection.
Chloe had provided him with an instruction manual on how to manipulate me.
Robert Choate and his financial team systematically reviewed bank statements, corporate communications, and fraudulent contracts.
For nearly a full year, Charles had been redirecting major client projects from my office to a newly formed company named Bennett Creative.
The initials matched Chloe Bennett’s name perfectly.
The two of them planned to drain my business of all its funds, render me mentally unfit to run the company, and divide the profits between themselves.
The valuable land back home was their ultimate prize because a massive commercial resort was currently scheduled for development nearby.
However, Charles still firmly believed that I was completely disoriented and helpless.
We decided to use his arrogant assumption to trap him once and for all.
A trusted medical specialist evaluated my condition and officially confirmed that I suffered from no underlying psychiatric disorder whatsoever. With full legal counsel, we kept that medical evaluation completely hidden from the family while we quietly gathered irrefutable evidence of their crimes.
Charles returned to my hospital room late that night with an expectant look in his eyes.
“Serena, do you truly know who I am right now?” Charles asked smoothly.
I stared back at him with a blank expression, pretending to struggle with my memory.
“Are you… one of the new doctors here?” I whispered softly.
His eyes lit up with satisfaction as he fell right into the trap.
He sat down closely beside my bed and eagerly pulled out the legal documents once again.
“I am someone who cares about you very deeply,” Charles said with a gentle tone. “That is why I need you to place your signature right here.”
I picked up the pen with a trembling hand and drew silly, meaningless scribbles across the document.
“Look at all those dark snakes crawling on the wall,” I muttered, pointing toward an empty corner of the room.
“There is nothing on that wall!” Charles grumbled angrily, dropping his gentle act.
I violently threw the legal papers onto the floor and began screaming at the top of my lungs.
Medical staff immediately rushed inside the room and forced him out into the hallway.
From right outside the door, we overheard him making an urgent phone call.
“She is not going to sign the papers like this,” Charles barked into his phone. “We will physically break her out of here tomorrow night, so make sure you bring extra help.”
That desperate move escalated the situation far beyond financial fraud.
The following evening, we acted as though everything was completely normal.
At precisely eleven twenty that night, Charles slipped into my room accompanied by two imposing men and his mother.
“Move quickly,” Beatrice ordered anxiously. “Before the night staff notices us.”
One of the strange men pulled out a chemical cloth and moved directly toward my face.
I instantly opened my eyes wide and shouted.
“Help me right now!” I yelled at the top of my voice.
The main door flew open immediately as plainclothes police officers and hospital security personnel flooded the space.
One of the hired men tried to bolt toward the exit, while the second man immediately threw his hands into the air.
Charles stood frozen in place, his face drained of all color.
“She is my legal wife!” Charles shouted frantically. “I was simply trying to take her home safely!”
Robert Choate stepped into the room right behind the arresting officers.
“Then it should be very easy for you to explain to the judge why you hired two men to break into a hospital room carrying illegal sedatives,” Robert Choate stated calmly.
Beatrice burst into hysterical tears right on the spot.
“My poor son did not do anything wrong!” Beatrice wailed aloud.
However, the clear audio recordings painted a completely different story.
Charles was immediately taken into custody and investigated for attempted kidnapping, systemic fraud, and conspiracy. The two hired men were also promptly arrested.
Even so, Beatrice and Violet still foolishly believed they could save their valuable property, while Chloe remained free from charges.
Following Robert Choate’s expert advice, I legally froze all corporate accounts tied to my design firm and officially revoked Charles’s administrative access.
Then, I arranged to meet Chloe at our usual coffee shop downtown.
She arrived wearing dark sunglasses and carrying a visibly nervous smile.
“My dear friend, I heard about your terrible hospital stay,” Chloe said, sitting down across from me. “That entire situation sounded so utterly dreadful.”
“Yes, it was,” I replied softly. “My memories from those days are still extremely hazy.”
Her nervous expression shifted slightly as a flash of interest entered her eyes.
“So you do not remember things clearly?” Chloe asked eagerly.
I slowly shook my head in response.
“I only remember something vague about a massive new resort contract,” I lied smoothly. “I believe Charles was holding onto those papers.”
Chloe tried her absolute best to conceal her greedy curiosity.
“Perhaps he left those important contracts at your business office,” Chloe suggested quickly.
Then, I deliberately dropped a fake detail to test her reaction.
“There was an official authorization allowing the transfer of rights to an offshore account,” I added smoothly. “If those documents turn up, they are worth millions of dollars.”
Chloe made a quick excuse to leave just ten minutes later.
That exact afternoon, she desperately tried to contact Charles and instructed one of her assistants to search my office for that non-existent legal form.
With full authorization from law enforcement, investigators tracked her movements and easily reconstructed the clear paper trail.
Chloe’s business account had been receiving unauthorized payments directly from my former corporate clients for months.
Violet had also been secretly selling my exclusive architectural designs online without my consent.
Furthermore, Charles had taken out massive personal loans by submitting forged tax returns representing my company’s total annual revenue.
The grand conspiracy fell apart completely because every single person had left obvious digital footprints behind.
However, we were still missing a direct confession linking Beatrice to the poisoning attempt.
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I did not even have to force the issue because her own explosive temper gave us everything we needed.
A week later, I returned to the family home accompanied by private security to retrieve my remaining personal belongings.
