Gina’s expression froze. She didn’t believe him. "No, you are lying." She shook her head. "You said that only to make me leave you. Actually, you are scared that I’ll manipulate you." Pulling a smile to her face, she reassured him, "I’m telling you again: I’ll never deceive you. My loyalty be with you always. I don’t care about Claudia or my father. All that matters to me is you. Let’s get married."

"I am married already," Theodore snapped, his eyes blazing with rising annoyance. "And I love my wife."

"Wife!" Gina narrowed her eyes with disbelief. "You mean, Bella! But you divorced her, didn’t you?"

"No, I didn’t," Theodore replied instantly. "It was just an act to keep Bella safe. I love her, and I’ll never leave her."

"So, you are rejecting me for Bella," Gina mumbled, realizing everything. Her heart ached. She had been trying to woo him for years and dreamed of marrying him, but Bella had ruined her dream. Her hatred for Bella only grew deeper.

"What is in her that I don’t have?" she demanded fiercely. "She is only with you for your money. Can’t you see it? Why are you obsessed with her?"

"She is the woman who saved me twice," Theodore hissed. "Her love for me is unconditional. She didn’t even hesitate to risk her life to save me. She completes me. She is the joy of my life. Without her, my life is dull. I’ll bring her back soon."

Gina curled her lips slyly. "Hurting me so deeply, you think you can have a peaceful life!" she spat. "I won’t let you bring her back. If I can’t be your wife, no one can. I’ll kill her."

Theodore’s anger spiked, his face darkening. "Dare to hurt her, I’ll ruin you," he threatened her. "Your problem is with me. If you have issues, come to me. Don’t even think for a second to touch Bella."

Gina sneered, bitterness filling her insides. "You are pathetic, Theodore – as heartless as my parents. All of you are the same. For your selfish desires, you can use anyone...You don’t care about other’s feelings. I hate you all."

Throwing a scathing glare at him for the last time, she stormed out. Once she was out of the house, she paused and sneered. "You think you can save Bella after hurting me. You betrayed me, Theodore. After hurting me, you think you can have a peaceful life. Never." She clenched her fists, the fire of vengeance burning inside her. "I’ll make you pay."

She hurried away.

Theodore’s jaw tightened in anger and worry. He was afraid Gina would do something to hurt Bella. "I need to alert Tristan."

He dialed his number, but the phone didn’t connect. He scowled at the screen, muttering, "Where the hell are you?"

His worry deepened. "I need to talk to Skyler." He would increase Bella’s security. His fingers moved swiftly on the screen as he searched for Skyler’s number and made a call. But before the call could connect the door knocked, interrupting him.

"What is it?" he barked.

"Sir, Officer Steward is here." The maid’s voice came out from the outside. "He is waiting for you in the hall."

"Officer Steward!" Theodore mumbled thoughtfully, his eyebrows furrowing. "Why would he come here now?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He soon realized Claudia had submitted the videotape to the authorities. "Alright!" He slipped the phone into his pocket, a sly look crossing his face. "The game has begun."

With confident strides, he stepped out of the study and walked down the stairs. His eyes fell on Steward’s formidable figure standing tall in the hall.

"Officer, how can I help you this time?" Theodore asked sincerely as if he wasn’t aware of anything.

Steward smirked. "You said you didn’t meet O’Neil and that you did nothing to him. But I got evidence against you – a video footage that showed you torturing him. You are under arrest, Mr. Theodore Reid."

Theodore knew this would come. "Alright, I’ll go with you," he said without hesitation.

His carefree demeanor took Steward by surprise. This man had been denying all the time that he wasn’t involved in O’Neil’s disappearance. But now he didn’t even try to defend himself.

"Seems like you are giving up," Steward scoffed. "All criminals do the same. First, they will pretend to be innocent. When we show them proof, they just blurt out the crime they have committed." He squinted at him skeptically. "But I thought you would at least defend yourself. After all, that man tried to kidnap your wife."

"Officer, I did nothing wrong. So why should I be worried about it?" Theodore said with conviction. "I do agree that I beat him hard for hurting my wife. But I am not behind his disappearance."

"Really?" Steward smiled as he pulled out his phone and held it up to show the footage. "Have a look. You beat him so hard that he could barely move. Maybe you killed him and buried him there."

"If I had killed him, I wouldn’t have been staying here so peacefully," Theodore said calmly, his gaze unflinching. "There is someone else."

"Who?" Steward squinted at him suspiciously. At the same time, he was curious too.

"Since you have been sniffing after me all the time, I’ve also started looking for O’Neil," Theodore said with a convincing tone, slipping his hands into his pocket. "I got some information about him."

"What information? Do you know where he is?"

Theodore glanced at him coldly. "I’ll tell you everything, give you every piece of evidence I’ve gathered. But you have to dismiss the case against me. You can’t drag me into this case."

Steward’s face hardened. "First, show me the evidence. Then I’ll decide what I should do."

"Come with me." Theodore walked out, his strides purposeful.

Steward was skeptical, but he followed him begrudgingly. "If you try to manipulate me, I swear I’ll make you pay," he warned.

Theodore hopped into the driver’s seat, and Steward couldn’t help but settle into the passenger’s seat.

"Where are we going?" Steward asked.

"You want to know where O’Neil is. I’ll take you there." Theodore ignited the engine and drove off.