CHAPTER 188: CHAPTER 188

At that moment Chloe’s excitement dulled under her mother’s heavy words, her heart sinking just a little.

But even so, she stubbornly clung to the hope that Liam reaching out meant something real.

Something worth holding onto.

She looked at Maria, her voice small but steady.

"I understand what you’re saying, Mom. But I still want to hear what he has to say. I’m going. I have to."

Maria didn’t argue further.

She simply gave a tired shrug, waving her hand dismissively.

"Suit yourself," she muttered under her breath, turning away and walking back toward the window.

Chloe lingered for a moment, her eyes following her mother’s slow, heavy movements.

Something wasn’t right.

Even if Maria tried to hide it, Chloe could see it—etched in the deep lines across her forehead, in the restless way she kept fidgeting with the curtains.

"Mom..." Chloe said quietly, taking a small step closer. "Is everything alright?"

Maria stiffened slightly at the question, but quickly masked it with a tight smile as she turned around.

"Yes," she said calmly. "I’m fine."

But Chloe wasn’t convinced.

She could see it in her mother’s eyes—the fear, the worry clawing at her beneath the surface.

Maria let out a slow breath and forced her voice to stay steady.

"I’m just... worried about you," she said, softening her tone. "Worried about everything. I don’t want anyone to look down on you... or treat you like you’re not good enough."

At that moment she walked closer and rested her hand lightly on Chloe’s shoulder.

"Everything I’m doing," she said, her voice lowering into something almost pleading, "I’m doing for you. And for your little brother. Everything."

Chloe bit her lip, feeling the weight of her mother’s words press against her chest, unsure whether to feel comforted—or more afraid.

Then Chloe looked up at her mother, her heart weighed down by everything but still finding a flicker of gratitude in the middle of it all.

"Thank you, Mom," she said softly. "Thank you for standing by my side... for doing everything you could to make sure we have the best."

She reached out and squeezed Maria’s hand lightly, a small smile forming on her lips.

"I trust you," Chloe continued, her voice a little stronger now. "I know what you can do. I know you don’t tolerate nonsense."

She stepped back, her eyes determined.

"And I’m going to do everything possible to make you proud," she promised.

Maria said nothing for a moment, only nodding slowly, the weight of everything pressing down harder on her shoulders.

Chloe straightened her dress, brushed her hair behind her ear, and gave a small, determined sigh.

"Well," she said brightly, trying to shake off the heaviness, "I should get going now. I’m feeling better... and I really want to see Liam."

Without waiting for any further response, she turned and walked briskly out of the room, her heels clicking sharply against the floor.

The door closed behind her with a soft thud, leaving Maria alone once more.

Maria stood there, unmoving, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

Her mind was racing, the pressure mounting so high she could barely breathe.

She knew she was in a tight corner now, Raymond wasn’t someone she could plead with.

He wasn’t someone she could manipulate.

And from the little she has seen when he’s furious.

And when Raymond was furious just like what he heard on the phone, the world around him burned.

At that moment Maria swallowed hard, her heart thudding heavily in her chest, wondering desperately what she was going to do next.

Again Maria stood frozen in the middle of the room, her arms tightening even more around herself, her mind spiraling in every direction.

’What am I going to do? what can I do?’

Every path she thought of led to a dead end.

Every escape she imagined ended with Raymond crushing her without a second thought.

She was on the verge of breaking down completely when a sudden thought sparked in her mind — a memory she hadn’t considered in a long time.

"Damien."

Her breath hitched slightly as she clung onto the thought, piecing it together carefully.

"Damien."

The man whose father was one of the most powerful, well-connected businessmen she had ever known.

A man with influence so vast that he could move people in power with a simple phone call — politicians, law enforcement, media heads.

The kind of man who could make problems disappear.

And Damien himself...Maria’s lips pressed into a thin line as she remembered —Back then, Damien had been obsessed with Valentina.

Chasing after her relentlessly.

To the point where it almost ended in disaster.

If Valentina hadn’t bravely made a public broadcast that exposed everything, Damien’s father wouldn’t have been forced to ship him overseas in shame.

Maria’s eyes narrowed, a faint glimmer of hope sparking in the darkness clouding her mind.

Everything is coming into play now...She recalled hearing just last week that Damien was back in the country — and not just in the country, but right here, in the city.

And if Damien was here...

There was no one — absolutely no one — who could challenge him for his money, his arrogance, his cruelty.

If anyone could make Valentina’s life a living nightmare, it would be Damien.

At that moment Maria’s heart raced at the thought, her mind already spinning plans faster than she could think.

Maria began pacing again, but this time, her steps were sharper, more focused.

Her mind raced ahead, piecing together the wicked plan taking form.

Damien still holds a grudge against Valentina.

That much was certain.

Bitterness like his didn’t simply fade away with time.

If anything, it festered, growing darker and deeper the longer it stayed buried.

And now that he was back...

What if she make it worse? What if she twist the knife deeper?

Maria’s lips curled slightly into a cold smile.

She could lie, twist the truth into something far more poisonous.

Make it seem like Valentina wasn’t the victim — but the traitor.

She could tell Damien that Valentina had liked him back then.

That she wasn’t innocent at all.

That she had pretended, flirted, and led him on — only to betray him when it mattered most.

Maria’s eyes gleamed with cruel inspiration.

She would say that someone had paid Valentina off.

That it wasn’t about protecting herself — it was about greed.

That Valentina had willingly agreed to frame Damien because she needed the money.

And she wanted to bring Damien’s powerful family down.