Take My Breath Away

Chapter 392: Domestic Violence

Without a word, Carlos picked out around ten dresses and asked the housemaid to pack them into Piggy's suitcases. Soon, the two suitcases were jam-packed. There wasn't any room for the rest of the clothes, let alone the shoes, which they hadn't even started packing yet.     

Carlos went and got a bigger suitcase. He laid it open on the bed and started packing the remainder of the clothes and the shoes himself.     

When he was finally done, he closed the doors of the wardrobe. There were only a couple of dresses and some pairs of shoes left.     

Next, he opened a drawer and took out a giant box from it. Inside were some accessories he had bought for Piggy.     

He carefully placed the box into one suitcase. By now, the three suitcases were crammed. There were some bags too, which had been filled with her toys. The day Debbie had brought Piggy to the manor, she had had only one small suitcase.     

Staring at all the stuffed suitcases and bags, she realized how much Carlos had indulged the little girl. A pang of pain surged through her.     

The housemaids carried the suitcases to her car, and she and Piggy headed back to her apartment.     

In the evening, after Piggy had gone to bed, Debbie got a call from Ivan. "Debbie, my mother is pressing me. I'm about to give in."     

"Okay. What do you need me to do?"     

"You may need to marry me. But we can get a divorce anytime."     

"Okay," Debbie said.     

Later, she took Piggy to Curtis'.     

It was then that she learned that Carlos and Stephanie had gone to M Country two days ago.     

The news struck her hard. After getting back home, she curled up on her bed, with no strength left in her. Accidentally, she saw that Carlos had updated his Moments.     

It was a picture of Stephanie on the beach without any captions.     

Yet, it was enough to pierce her heart. 'Good job hurting me, Carlos.     

You think I'm gonna sit here and do nothing about it?     

Well, you're wrong!'     

If she was unhappy, she was going to let everybody know about it.     

The next day, an incredibly hot piece of news caught everyone's attention.     

The headline read, "James Huo cheated on his wife, Tabitha, and beat her to insanity."     

The article detailed the affair. It said that the current CEO of ZL Group, James Huo, had cheated on his wife with one of the housemaids of the Huo family three years ago. The affair had lasted for two years. It was also revealed that his wife, Tabitha, had been hospitalized in a mental institution in New York. According to a solid source, long-time domestic violence had led to her schizophrenia and depression.     

The source also provided details about James' wire-transfer records. He had transferred money to the said housemaid many times throughout the years. The doctor's diagnosis of Tabitha's mental disease was also released online.     

Reporters wanted to interview Tabitha. But the hospital informed them that she was in a secluded place.     

Just as Debbie had expected, Carlos saw the news and was no more in the mood to enjoy the trip.         

He stayed in the hotel room to make phone calls to find out the truth behind the breaking news.     

He got a phone call from Miranda soon after. "Carlos, the news is true. James had mistreated your mother repeatedly before you lost your memory," she told him gravely. After Carlos' accident, James had taken advantage of Carlos' memory failure and had been pretending to be a good father. The violence on his wife had been reduced only because he was rarely in New York anymore.     

It was Miranda who had managed to get the information about James' affair and the doctor's diagnosis of Carlos' mother.     

Debbie then released the proof to the media.     

Carlos' lips tightened into a thin line. A menacing aura surrounded him. "I'll look into it," he said, gritting his teeth. If it was true, he would seek justice for his mother.     

When he had woken up from his coma, James had told him that Tabitha was mentally ill because schizophrenia ran in her family.     

Carlos had never known about James' domestic violence on Tabitha. James stayed away from New York for a long time. Carlos had assumed that he and Tabitha just didn't get along. Since they didn't see each other much, it had never occurred to him that he might be lying.     

But now, there was concrete proof which showed that James had abused Tabitha in the past.     

"You can ask your grandma about it," Miranda told him. It was the most direct approach.     

Carlos thought of Valerie. The old lady stayed out of everyone's business now. She sat in the hall all day, worshiping the Buddha.     

"Okay."     

After getting off the phone with Miranda, Carlos wondered if he should call Valerie. After some consideration, he called Frankie instead and asked him to run some errands for him.     

Carlos had little time for Stephanie. Realizing that he was busy, Stephanie wandered about in the streets alone.     

"It's pretty, isn't it? Do you like it, Miss Li?" a man asked her as she was admiring a knick-knack through the display window of a shop nearby.     

Stephanie looked at the man and recognized him immediately. Kinsley.     

They had only met for the first time two days ago at a banquet. So, they didn't know each other well. Stephanie acted nonchalant. She didn't respond to his charming words.     

Kinsley didn't mind her cold attitude. He put his hands on his pant pockets and said thoughtfully while looking at Knick-Knack, "This Knick-Knack matches your aloof presense. How about I gift it to you, Miss Li?"     

Stephanie cast him a sidelong glance and asked in a flat tone, "What do you what?"     

Kinsley smiled and answered with a sigh, "I want nothing. I was window shopping and came across you. It was a mere coincidence."     

"A coincidence is it? But my bodyguards already informed me that you have been stalking me for more than ten minutes now. I wonder why that is?" Kinsley expression changed into that of pure embarrassment. Stephanie sneered. "Hun! Who would have thought that the famous Kinsley, the youngest son of the Feng Family, and the superstar of show business, is a stalker in reality?" Stephanie mocked, ignoring his pale face.     

It was only then that Kinsley noticed the two bodyguards nearby, He smiled awkwardly, scratching his hair. "Oops! Busted. But don't get me wrong. I didn't have any ill intentions."     

"Were you following me around without any ill intentions?"     

She got him there. Kinsley was stumped, not knowing how to respond to her questions. Luckily, recovered quickly. "I'd like to invite you to launch to apologize, Miss Li. May I have that honour? There's a nice Western Restaurant around here. If my memory serves me right, you fancy French Cuisine, am I right?"     

"How do you know that?" Stephanie was surprised.     

"Of course, I would know. You're my goddness. I paid attention to everything regarding you and bore it in mind, hoping that one day when I see you again, is would help me impress you. Just like today."         

Kinsley was handsome, energetic, and funny. Even though Stephanie was a proud and aloof woman, she couldn't keep a straight face any longer.     

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