“Later, someone threw a note through my window, saying that Whitaker Scarlett wanted to meet me. The note claimed she liked me but was worried that her family wouldn’t approve of the marriage because I was unreliable. The note told me to ‘make things happen’ with Scarlett first,” Wesley stammered, still trembling from fear and spilling everything in one go.
As he continued, his tone carried traces of resentment. “So I went to find Scarlett, but she denied writing the note and even cursed me, calling me a toad lusting after a swan. I wouldn’t let go of her, and that Walter Janson punk showed up again to ruin things for me! Listening to their nonsense, I realized that Walter was engaged to Scarlett’s cousin. He must’ve been whispering sweet nothings to Scarlett about how disappointed he was or whatever. Those two were probably already having an affair!”
Wesley grew angrier as he spoke.
He hadn’t gotten what he wanted, and instead, someone else had beaten him to it. Furious, he convinced himself that Scarlett, who acted all virtuous in front of him, was secretly involved with her future brother-in-law.
The rumors about Wesley and Scarlett rolling around in the haystack began to spread in the surrounding villages. When people asked Wesley, he didn’t deny it, grinning lasciviously instead. The rumors grew wilder, and Wesley started worrying about the recent crackdown. What if Scarlett reported him to the police?
Fortunately for him, the Whitaker family didn’t take action. Scarlett even tried to take her own life.
Wesley, eager to absolve himself, piled dirt on Scarlett, claiming she had an affair with her cousin’s fiancé. The worse he made her look, the better it was for him.
Wesley’s swollen eyes, barely open slits, nervously peeked at Kay for his reaction.
No matter how good Wesley thought he was at spinning tales, he couldn’t fool Kay, let alone Leo.
Kay’s face was a mask of icy contempt. Scarlett, with her beauty and grace, would never stoop to someone like Wesley. Lies like this didn’t even deserve acknowledgment.
Leo, having pieced things together, smirked. “Someone’s clearly out to ruin Scarlett’s reputation. That note? It wasn’t from her. This whole mess was someone else’s doing.”
Kay’s voice was calm but carried a deadly edge. “Which hand of yours touched her?”
Wesley trembled and quickly denied, “I didn’t touch her! I just tore one of her sleeves, that’s all!”
Kay’s lips curled into a chilling smile, his anger burning so fiercely that it turned cold. Scarlett had been driven to despair by this pathetic excuse for a man.
“Good. Very good.”
Leo panicked, worried that Kay might actually shoot Wesley. “Brother, don’t lose your cool. Not here—heck, not anywhere! A guy like this isn’t worth dirtying your hands over.”
Leo turned to Wesley and sneered. “Let’s hand him over to the police. With the recent crackdown, they’ll make sure he gets what’s coming to him.”
Wesley’s face turned ashen. He wasn’t stupid—he realized Scarlett must have someone powerful backing her, and these two were here to settle scores on her behalf. If they handed him over to the police, he was as good as dead.
Desperate, Wesley blurted, “If you hand me over, Scarlett’s reputation as a loose woman will be set in stone. I’ll make sure everyone believes we were in bed together!”
Kay didn’t even flinch. Instead, he calmly pulled out a large box from under the bed. Opening it, he revealed it was filled to the brim with cash.
Kay took out several stacks of bills and shoved them into Wesley’s arms. For a moment, Wesley thought it was hush money.
A fortune! There had to be thousands here. If Kay could hand over this much so casually, who knew how much more was in the box?
Wesley’s greed flared, and he was about to ask for more when Kay’s next words plunged him into despair.
“Leo, have the guesthouse call the police station. Tell them we’ve caught someone embezzling public funds.”
