Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 334

Emma didn’t press further. As long as everything was in order, that was enough for her.

Larson asked the driver to start the car, then turned to her. “Get some rest tonight,” he said. “You’ve got things to take care of tomorrow, right? I’ll go with you.”

Emma nodded. It was actually a relief to have her brother come along—at least that way, there’d be less chance of Theodore trying to pull something unpredictable.

It was almost over now.

Five years.

After a quick trip to the hospital for some basic treatment, Jared and Cecilia returned to her place. Their injuries weren’t serious—no internal bleeding, no broken bones—but their faces were a mess. Whoever those guys in black were, they’d aimed every punch at their faces, leaving them both swollen and unrecognizable, like cartoonish caricatures with bruised, ballooned cheeks. The rest of their bodies ached, but the bruises there weren’t as obvious.

“Damn it, those guys were definitely sent by Rossi!” Jared groaned as he sank into the couch, feeling every ache as his adrenaline faded. “They knew exactly what they were doing—hurt like hell, but not a single open wound.”

But there was nothing they could do. It had been too dark to see any faces, and the men had come and gone like shadows. They hadn’t even managed to catch a glimpse of the license plates.

Without access to security footage, there was no way to find out who they were. But calling the police wasn’t an option, and they didn’t have the authority to request traffic camera footage.

When Cecilia got home, she checked her phone and opened the trending topics. The entire feed was flooded with people hurling insults at her. Her Twitter account, too, had been overrun—every comment section filled with the vilest abuse.

She burst into tears. “What am I supposed to do? Everyone’s calling me names—how am I supposed to show my face in public ever again?”

Suddenly, she noticed her building’s group chat had exploded—over ninety-nine new messages. When she tapped in, her heart dropped. They were talking about her.

Someone had shared a link to the trending news.

“Jared, what am I supposed to do? I can’t take this anymore! It’s not just the internet—now everyone in the building is talking about me, and tomorrow’s event is full of socialites and big names. They’ll probably all be gossiping about me, too. I have nowhere left to go!”

Jared winced, clutching his side. “You lost your cool. Why’d you have to send those messages to Emma? If you hadn’t, they wouldn’t have had anything to fight back with. Even if there were security cameras at the party, Larson would never have made the footage public. With all those powerful people there, if anyone thought there was a chance of being recorded and exposed, Larson’s reputation would be finished in Cresthaven.”

“What good does that do me now?” Cecilia shot back, tearful and furious. “It’s already happened!”

Jared thought for a moment. “Actually, there’s still a way out.”

“What?”

“Call Theo. He’s divorcing Emma tomorrow anyway. Have him put out a statement saying he’s already single and the divorce is done. That way, it won’t count as cheating, and you won’t be the other woman anymore.”