Chapter 234
Steven Wright was nowhere to be found. The woman sat at a table with two other women, probably her friends.
Her face was ghostly pale as she dropped her purse to the floor. The bag popped open, and a frog jumped out, croaking twice, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Where did that come from? Why do you have a frog in your bag?” one of her friends yelped, just as freaked out, and started waving for a waiter.
The frog hopped a few steps before a quick-thinking waiter managed to catch it.
The woman was so shaken she couldn’t even speak. The room was buzzing with whispers a moment later.
“That’s the woman from those dirty pictures online, isn’t it p>
“Pretty sure it is,” someone else replied, holding up their phone and glancing between the photo and the woman. “Yeah, it’s her. It’s all over the news, still trending p>
“She actually has the guts to show up here? Embarrassing p>
“Honestly, people will do anything for money these days. Who cares about some scandalous photos?” Follow current novels on.net
One of the woman’s friends couldn’t take it anymore and spun around, yelling at the gossips, “What are you even talking about p>
“Come on, she knows what she did. It’s gross just being in the same room as her p>
After hearing that, the woman and her friends, still rattled, finally pulled out their own phones.
At that exact moment, a news alert popped up on Natalie Watson’s phone where it sat on the table. She tapped the notification. A grid of nine blurry, nude-toned photos filled the screen. Some showed lewd poses, others featured the woman being intimate with a man.
There was no doubt. The woman at the center of the storm was the same woman at the table.
“What is this? Sophia, say something. When were these taken?” one of her friends asked, her voice trembling as she stared at the phone in disbelief and then back at the woman.
“I… No I didn’t… I Sophia stammered, completely in shock. She couldn’t deny it was her in the pictures.
Natalie stared at the photos, frowning. Across from her, Samuel Thompson leaned in and joked quietly, “Didn’t know you were into this kind of stuff p>
Natalie slid her phone across to him and whispered, “I think they’re fake p>
She’d looked at so many photos over the years, authenticating art and antiques, that she could spot the signs of digital editing instantly.
She hesitated, wondering if she
should warn
the woman. But then she remembered the woman’s connection to Steven Wright. Telfing her would feel like betraying Arianna Mitchell Still, what if the woman was just another of Steven’s victims, with no idea he was seeing other people?
“She must have pissed someone off,” Samuel said, handing the phone back.
Just then, sabella Ward, sitting at Alexander Ramirez’s table, gave a soft, mocking laugh. “Some people just don’t know when to quit. They never see it coming when kamma hits. Right, bro p>
Bruce Ward looked at her, clearly confused.
Isabella’s eyes drifted toward Sophia, her stare full of contempt.
Sophia sensed something and
looked up locking eyes with Isabella. She went white as a sheet white
scrambling to grab her bag, her
words tumbling out, “It’s my fault p>
I… leave, I’ll go right now p>
Natalie, remembering everything she’d seen the night before, watched the silent exchange and understood immediately. This was all Isabella’s doing.
Sophia ran out, humiliated. Isabella just smirked, looking even more pleased with herself.
Suddenly, it hit Natalie. If Isabella had caught Arianna Mitchell with Steven Wright, then everything that happened today could have happened to Arianna instead.
Was that why Alexander stopped her from calling Arianna last night? Did he already know how ruthless Isabella could be? With that thought, Natalie glanced over at Alexander, her mind racing.