Chapter 142


    In a hotel room.


    Rhett sat at the desk, ncing towards Kristin who hesitated in the corridor, too timid to approach.


    “Take your medicine,” he said, sliding a ss of water with the dissolved pill towards her.


    Kristin, nervously hiding behind a partition until she heard Rhett’s voice, walked over with her head


    down.


    “Do you feel like resting here, or would you like to check out the town?” Rhett remembered Kristin had


    once mentioned she loved the seaside view from Harborside Haven.


    A spark lit up in Kristin’s eyes as she tightly clutched the water ss. Although she struggled to


    express herself, her eyes never lied. Whether she liked something or not, it was always apparent at a


    nce.


    That was why when Rhett first met her at a Fitzgerald family gathering, he thought her eyes shone with


    a naive rity.


    “Feeling any cooler?” Rhett stood and touched her forehead.


    Kristin stiffened but didn’t pull away.


    “Still a bit warm. Take the medicine and rest a bit. Later, we can go see the coastal night view,” Rhett


    said and leaned on the desk, watching her.


    This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.


    She nervously gulped down the medicine in one go.


    “Here,” Rhett said, handing her a bottle of water from the desk, having already unscrewed the cap for


    her.


    Kristin, grimacing from the bitter taste, was about to take a sip when Rhett suddenly frowned and took


    the bottle back.


    He had a thing about cleanliness and was very particr about hotel’amenities. The cap hade off


    too easily, meaning the bottle had been tampered with. He inspected it closely and sniffed the contents,


    his expression darkening. “There’s something wrong with this water.”


    Kristin stared at him, shocked. “Wrong? Is it dirty?” She thought Rhett was just being overly fastidious.


    “I’ll get a fresh one.”


    “Smell this,” he urged, holding the bottle to her nose.


    She sniffed and her eyes widened in rm. “There’s definitely something off. It smells sour.”


    Good water wouldn’t smell sour even if it was past its expiration date.


    This wasn’t water.


    Rhett furrowed his brow, motioning for her to be silent. He grabbed two sugar packets from


    Chapter 142


    near the coffee machine before guiding her into the bathroom.


    Kristin watched, curious about what he was nning.


    Rhett tore open the sugar packets and poured them into an ashtray, then added the bottled water. The


    sugar turned ck and bubbled up with gas.


    “Diluted sulfuric acid,” Rhett said, his voice low.


    Kristin gasped, covering her mouth. “Sulfuric acid?”


    If she had drunk that, the consequences could have been disastrous from severe damage to her throat


    to a life–threatening emergency.


    Rhett was grave as he screwed the cap back on and stepped out of the bathroom to call York.


    Soon after, York arrived at the room and set up makeshift cameras in both the bathroom and the main


    room.


    “Act natural,” York advised, ncing at Kristin.


    She nodded dumbly, aware that they were trying to catch the culprit.


    The bottle contained sulfuric acid, and only a limited number of staff had been in and out of the room. It


    wouldn’t be fair to use anyone without evidence.


    If Kristin had been harmed, everyone would have been too panicked to consider keeping the water


    bottle as evidence for the police.


    The perpetrator would return to the crime scene to cover their tracks, because simply flushing the bottle


    down the toilet would leave no evidence.


    “Don’t be scared,” Rhett reassured her.


    Kristin was pale, not sure whether the person behind this was targeting her or Rhett.


    “This room was booked under Kristin’s name, could this be a personal attack?” York whispered. Rhett


    nodded. If he hadn’t been the one to open the bottle for Kristin today, it didn’t bear thinking about.


    His fingertips were cold as he felt a wave of retrospective fear.


    “Help! Something’s happened! Call an ambnce!*


    Outside, York’s panicked shouts filled the air, his hands apparently covered in ‘blood“.


    Kristin’s face and mouth were smeared with ‘blood‘ as she pretended to faint in Rhett’s arms. They


    rushed out of the hotel and into the elevator. “Mr. Fitzgerald, what’s happened to Kristin?” Rhett’s voice


    was tense and low, and he didn’t respond.


    As York and the others left, a housekeeper who had been lurking in the hallway sneaked into


    Chapter 142


    the still–open room, searching for the open bottle of water.


    Quickly, she poured the contents into the toilet.


    “Heh, it’s always the ones you least expect.” York came from the doorway, carrying a note of sarcasm


    as he entered with the hotel manager.


    The housekeeper went pale, almost copsing to the floor.


    “Speak up! Who put you up to this? You’ve got some nerve to harm Mr. Fitzgerald!” the


    manager’s voice shook with fury. This was a criminal offense.


    “Manager, I didn’t do anything. I just saw the door open and came in to clean,” the housekeeper


    protested.


    “Really?” York sneered, pointing to the prepared cameras and the switched sulfuric acid. “Caught red–


    handed. Go exin yourself to the police.”


    In the underground parking lot.


    Kristin sat in the car, still in shock.


    “Scared?” Rhett asked, pulling her close.


    Kristin looked up at Rhett, feeling the aftershock of the incident.


    From now on, she resolved that anything Rhett was about to consume, she would need to test.


    first.


    “We’re going back to Silvergrove City, and York will stay to handle things here,” Rhett said, his mood


    dark. He couldn’t risk Kristin’s safety any further.


    Kristin had just had a run–in with Nic, and then this attempt on her life, a warning from Nic.


    Rhett snorted coldly, flexing his fingers.


    Nic had be toofortable within the Fitzgerald family.


    Kristin nodded stiffly.


    She had been looking forward to seeing the seaside night view with Rhett.


    Now, ncing out the car window at the passing traffic, her gaze lingered with a hint of sadness.


    Sometimes she wondered was everyone in this world free except for her.


    She felt like she was forever locked in a cage.


    “Take the outer loop to the beach,” Rhett instructed briefly.


    The driver nodded and steered the car onto the outer loop road.


    Chapter 142


    A few years ago.


    “Kris, what are your ns after getting out?” the only person Kristin could talk to during those years in


    prison was Harriet.


    “Just wanna be there for my kid…” Kristin’s voice was raspy.


    She just wanted to be there as Summer grew up.


    “Ever thought about getting hitched? It’s gonna be tough for a woman raising a child on her


    own.”


    “As if marrying off would make life any easier? No one’s gonna love a woman like me…”


    Kristin was acutely aware of her tarnished reputation, knowing full well that love might nevere


    knocking again.


    She had stopped longing for marriage and a future a long time ago.


    Unbeknownst to her, the car had pulled over to the curb, and Rhett stepped out, opening


    Kristin’s door.


    She had been leaning against the door, lost in thought, and almost fell out when Rhett abruptly opened


    it, throwing her off bnce.


    Instinctively, Rhett stepped forward, catching Kristin against his legs.


    With Rhett’s high figure and perfectly proportioned body, his long legs made Kristin’s fall. awkwardly


    intimate, to say the least.


    Clearing his throat, Rhett looked away. “The tide’sing in. You might like a stroll by the


    beach.”


    Kristin straightened up, following Rhett clumsily, her nerves in a twist.


    ncing up at Rhett, Kristin noticed his ears had turned a deep shade of red, aplete giveaway of


    his embarrassment and shyness.