RENEE "Renee—” “Don’t fucking Renee me! You're doing that thing again where you keep important stuff from me and don't explain shit until later," I said, frustrated. "You stormed in here and arrested your son without cause. You wouldn't let me say anything. You didn't listen! And now you're telling Harry to pack everything and bring me to the house. What house, Robert?" His attitude remained unchanged at first. He simply stared at my seething body with apathy in his eyes. Then, like a switch, he went from apathetic and angry to calm and collected. “I never meant to call you dumb, Renee. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay.” I sighed, dropping his wrist. “Just please tell me what’s going on. What happened at the office? Did you make any headway in the investigation, and where is Harry taking me?” “Harry is taking you to our house, Renee. The mansion I bought for you." I wrinkled my brow in surprise. “About the investigation…” He touched either side of my face, softly cupping my cheeks before dropping his forehead to mine. I let him have a moment to breathe, feeling weirdly calm despite how agitated I was. Then, very quietly, he said, “I have substantial evidence that Dylan and his mother framed me." A shiver went down my spine, and I stiffened. “They... They what?" He nodded and explained further, “An old acquaintance of mine came forward with some claims. Amanda contacted him to do a dirty job, but he declined. When he saw me on the news, he had a guilt trip and chose to confess. How he got my number is still a mystery, but after his call, every piece of the puzzle fell into place.” I stayed quiet, a cold dread washing over me as Robert continued. He talked about how the black box prints matched Amanda's and how Cade's team obtained lost CCTV footage from the club that night. Apparently, she arrived with a man named Darren. Initially, they had an argument, but it was soon resolved. Then he strolled over to the dance floor, approached me, struck up a pre-planned conversation, and tried to drug me but failed. He was kicked out of the club after Robert handed him to the local authorities, and further footage from street cameras showed him in another altercation with Amanda beside the alleyway. She attacked him, and the rest was history. He detailed everything painstakingly, and with each detail, I felt a knot in my chest over Darren's untimely demise. Well, he’d try to put me in harm's way, still… “So, there you have it," Robert interrupted my thoughts, smiling sadly. “I found my culprits.” “Oh my God!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe this." “I don't want to, but all the evidence points to Amanda. It's perplexing, Renee. The lengths she went to to destroy me—to destroy us." “Is she in custody yet?” “Unfortunately, no." He groaned. "We have not caught her yet. She must have realized we were onto her and ran.” “How do you know that?” “We were able to trace the hotel she’s staying at, but when we arrived, her room was empty.” “What will you do now?" “I have a plan to lure her out. Cade gave me the suggestion, and Mr. Patrick agreed to it." His gaze hardened. "I'm going to release a press statement saying I've been vindicated, and the culprit responsible for the frame-up has been caught." “Okay, and after that?" “After that?" He chuckled. "I'm going to throw a party." “A party?" I asked, confused. “How will that get Amanda arrested?” He smirked, tugging a strand of my hair. "This isn't a party, party. It’s bait." “Bait?” “Yeah. To lure Amanda out." “And you think she’ll come?" “She will. If there’s one thing I know about my ex-wife, it's that she's a psychopath. A lunatic. She’s irrational and can get desperate when she wants to get rid of something or someone. When she realizes that her plot to frame me has failed, she’ll try something else.” “Which will be her coming to the party in disguise to confront you?"“Exactly! Although she won’t confront me, she’ll try to hurt me. Revenge is her driving force right now; she’ll stop at nothing to eliminate me. Since she can’t have me in her life, then you can't. Nobody can. She’s that crazy." “You’re putting yourself in danger because of Amanda.” I gaped. "That's insane, Robert. You can’t do that." "Can't I, though?" “You cannot! Amanda is crazy but not stupid," I insisted. "What if she sees through all this? What if things go south and—” “Calm down, Renee," He cut me off. "Nothing will go south. The mansion will be heavily secured, and once she’s spotted, she’ll be arrested. She won't get to me." “But—” “No buts, Renee." He drew me close to him again. "Everything will be okay, you’ll see. Everything will work out perfectly. Just trust me." I wanted to believe him; honestly, I did. But a part of me still felt apprehensive, thinking that putting himself in harm’s way wasn’t the right move. “Renee, say something.” “Okay,” I whispered, despite my doubts. “I trust you. I have faith in you.” “Good.” “So, when is this party?" “Tomorrow evening. We shouldn’t waste any more time.” He smiled fondly. “You know, I was planning a housewarming party so we could finally move in. Guess I’ll use this event to kill two birds with one stone.” “Hm, that’s clever of you.” I chuckled, and he grinned before kissing me passionately. “I have to leave now, baby,” He mumbled against my lips, pulling away reluctantly. “Alright. Be careful.” “Always.” He winked at me. “A stylist is coming to the mansion tomorrow morning. I booked an appointment. Get yourself and Nicole a nice dress for the party.” When Nicole was mentioned, I suddenly remembered that we had an audience. I peeked behind me to see her and Harry pretending not to look at us. Robert smiled in amusement. “Nicole, will you take care of Renee for me? Please?”“Sure thing.” She hummed. “She’s in good hands.” “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He turned to Harry and gave some orders before leaving the suite. I watched him leave, and the uneasy feeling from earlier returned tenfold. Worry gnawed at my insides, fear twisting my guts at the same time. Something felt odd, something terrible, and I just couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen.