Chapter 26 Tonight, I Brought This Humiliation Upon Myself

Two years ago, she told him she'd come back for him. If it wasn't for that promise, she wouldn't be putting herself through this mess.

Alice tilted her head back a bit to keep the tears from falling, then opened the door and stepped out. She immediately spotted Esme heading her way.

Esme raised an eyebrow as if asking, "How'd it go?"

Alice shook her head. "Take me home. I did this to myself."

Esme wrapped an arm around Alice's shoulder. "Alice, if you're tired, lean on me. If it doesn't work out, there are plenty of fish in the sea. It doesn't have to be Henry."

Just as Esme finished, she noticed Henry leaning against a wall, smoking.

Esme didn't expect to see Henry and felt a bit awkward.

Alice looked up and locked eyes with Henry.

Henry's gaze was icy as he turned and walked away.

Alice could see the disdain in his eyes, which explained his Facebook message.

Esme patted her, and Alice managed a small smile as they left the club.

Charles was already waiting. He opened the car door, and Alice and Esme got in.

Just as they were about to leave, Rupert knocked on the window. "Alice, add me on Facebook."

Esme grabbed Alice's phone and added Rupert for her. "Don't mess with Alice, or you'll have to deal with me!"

"Don't worry, I'm serious." Rupert smiled at Alice. "Make sure to reply to my messages!"

Watching the taillights fade into traffic, Rupert clutched his chest. "My heart's racing again."

Kieran walked up and sneered, "You've got enough ex-girlfriends to form a soccer team. Leave innocent Alice alone. I think Henry really sees her as his niece."

Thinking about how Henry had messed up his plans, Rupert nodded. "I guess Alice got burned by his nephew, and he's worried she'll get hurt again." He ran a hand through his hair, "But I'm serious this time, dead serious. I wouldn't do anything so heartless."

A silver Bentley pulled up at Bluewater Bay.

Alice got out. "You guys should head back. Drive safe."

Esme wanted to stay. "I'll stay with you."

Alice shook her head. "Just leave me alone tonight."

Watching the car turn the corner, Alice went upstairs.

A metallic black Maybach had been parked on the roadside outside Bluewater Bay for a while.

The streetlamp's light fell on Henry's handsome face. He flicked his fingers on the window frame, and the ash from his cigarette fell to the ground. "Back to the old house."

Ethan nodded. "Yes, sir."

Alice had just gotten home when Lester called.

"What's up?"

"You finally answered! What happened that night? Why did Grant and those other guys end up in jail?"

Alice closed her eyes tightly. "I haven't been home these past few days. Shouldn't you ask where I've been staying first?"

Lester snorted, "You could stay in a hotel. You wouldn't be sleeping on the streets, would you?"

Alice laughed bitterly. What was she still hoping for?

Her eyes showed a hint of indifference, "So you're here to blame me now?"

"Did you really call the cops on them?"

Alice scoffed, not even trying to deny it. "So I should just sit back and take it when I'm wronged?"

Lester was fuming. "I told you to play nice with Grant and not throw a fit. Do you realize you've pissed off the Johnson Family and a bunch of others?"

Alice's grip on her phone tightened. "So I deserve to be humiliated?"

Elodie's angry voice cut in, "Do you think you're some saint? Always with that smoky makeup and those colorful wigs, where else would you be going but nightclubs? It doesn't matter how many guys you've slept with, but you can't make it public! Get a hymen repair, and you can still marry rich! Now the whole upper class knows what kind of person you are. Who would want you? You've not only made enemies for the Savoy Family but also disgraced us!"

"When have you ever considered me part of the Savoy Family?" Alice said, drying her hair with a towel. "I'll come back tomorrow to pack my things and discuss the shares."

With that, she hung up.

Zoey, who was eating, put down her utensils and wiped her mouth. "That brat Alice said she'll come back tomorrow to pack her things. Elodie, go check her room to see if she's taken anything that doesn't belong to her."

Elodie was still fuming about the $11 million Alice had spent. She looked at Lester. "She didn't nail Mr. Johnson, and instead, she blew $11 million. Is she worth that much?"

Lester was also furious and bitter about the money. "What a useless idiot!"

Elodie lost her appetite and slammed her utensils on the table before storming upstairs.

Zoey said, "Clara, you go check too."

"Yes, Grandma." Clara followed her upstairs.

Elodie and Clara tore through Alice's room but couldn't find anything valuable. They couldn't help but wonder where Alice had spent the $11 million.

Clara suddenly remembered Esme, who was shopping with Alice that day. "Mom, she might have spent it on someone else."

"Alice, that bitch! How dare she be so generous to outsiders!" Elodie was so angry her head hurt. She glanced at the computer on the desk and sneered, "What does a bumpkin from the countryside need a computer for?"

Clara frowned and recounted what happened in her advanced math class today.

Elodie found it hard to believe. How could a bumpkin like Alice learn advanced math in just three months and solve problems with different methods?

Could Alice really be a genius?

And Alice knew how to leave evidence, constantly outmaneuvering Clara?

Elodie suddenly thought of that thing years ago, and her fingers trembled. Maybe genetics really were strong.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Elodie snapped out of it. "Nothing. Clara, what about you and Sarah?"

Clara smiled, "Don't worry. Wesley is Sarah's uncle anyway, so the consequences won't be too severe."

"And Henry?"

"He's far away, and the Howard Family is so busy. How could Henry remember this?"

Elodie nodded. "That's good." She opened the computer, and a password prompt appeared.

"It needs a password." Clara said disdainfully, "What does a bumpkin know about setting passwords? That jinx!"

Alice watched the surveillance footage on her phone, her gaze icy as she watched Clara and Elodie's faces.