A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 90 The Perpetrator

James knew very well that Maria was at a disadvantage. He wanted the evidence of Alina's crime so he could keep it from being released. But if she gave it up, she would have no leverage. Maria should ask for more.

But the woman took down his email and sent the evidence to his inbox. "Don't bother ask if you're not sincere," she said icily. "You know what I want but you can't even give that much. So I guess we're done here."

This was the only way she could get his help, at least for now. She would need help with something else, so she was saving that. He owed her that much.

She took her purse and left, this time without him yelling at her to get out.

James watched her leave in silence. She was really capricious. He hadn't counted on that.

As soon as Maria walked out of HL Group's elevator, James received an e-mail with a rather large attachment. He opened his inbox and downloaded the video.

When he opened it, he saw a familiar-looking middle-aged woman. Thinking for a while, James finally recalled that she was the Xi family's former maid. She worked there for a while and resigned. He never saw her again. She said, "Six years ago, I worked as a maid in the Xi family and took care of Mrs. Judy Xi. Mrs. Judy Xi hated Maria Song, Mr. Xi's wife at the time. She made life hell for the poor girl in every possible way. She helped Miss Alina Tang replace a special kind of herb. This particular one was toxic, and they mixed it into her tea. Soon after she drank it, the herb damaged her vocal chords, and she fell mute..."

James clicked the pause button.

He was taken aback. He never knew that before. And it was Judy and Alina working together.

Maria's facial expression when she left his office flashed through his mind. She looked extremely aloof.

She must be hurt by the fact that rather than protecting her, he did his best to shield his family from anything she might do.

Maria had always been proud since she returned to H City. He couldn't believe that she gave him the evidence just because she wanted him to help investigate the vandalism her cafe had suffered. James lit a cigarette and blew smoke rings. Then he clicked on the play button and continued to watch the video. The following content was the statement about Alina ordering others to buy the drug. He realized that it must have taken Maria a lot of effort to get this. And she gave it to him so quickly.

James was lost in thought.

He made a decision to help her out. That night, Chuck was suspended and found himself the subject of an internal affairs investigation.

The next morning, they found the perpetrator, the one who smashed up Maria's coffee shop. Raising her brows, Maria read the name with an evil smile.

On the second floor of a chain beauty salon, a woman quietly sneaked into a private room from outside.

When she stealthily made her way in, there were four women in the room. Two beauticians were working. Two female customers were lying on reclining chairs, seats that had been specifically designed for facial treatments.

The woman walked to one of the beauticians, pointed at a woman lying on the recliner with her eyes closed, and whispered, "Let me serve her. I want to give her a surprise!" She had a warm smile on her face, showing that she was very familiar with the woman she pointed at.

The beautician was a little hesitant, and glanced at the two bodyguards guarding the door. Men were not allowed to go to the second floor. She realized something was wrong. When she was about to make an alert, the woman, Maria, quickly covered her mouth and waved a sharp dagger at the two beauticians. Another beautician was so frightened she covered her mouth in fear. The two women lying on bed were still chatting, heedless of the action in the salon. "Alina, did you go choose your wedding dress with Mr. Xi?"

Alina was about to ask her beautician why she stopped, but was interrupted by Stella, who was waiting for someone to shape her eyebrows. Alina answered, "Not yet, but our engagement rings are ready. We'll figure out the wedding dress after we get engaged."

Stella was focused on Alina, so she didn't pay attention to what her beautician was doing. "Alina, I really envy you. You get to marry Mr. Xi! " The admiration and jealousy in her tone pleased Alina almost more than the idea of marriage.

Alina smiled and pretended to encourage her. "Cheer up, Stella. You'll meet the right man eventually."

"Yeah," she said glumly. "But not as good as Mr. Xi. There's no one better. And I'm not that lucky!" Stella believed if she were the one marrying Mr. Xi, she would do better than Alina had done. She'd have him wrapped around her finger. But she would never say that out loud.

A woman's voice suddenly rang out. "Miss Qin, open your eyes, please. Do you like your brows? I tried to give them that personal touch."

Alina knew she heard that voice before. She couldn't place it, though. Then Stella's blood-curdling scream was heard. "Ahhhhh —"

Everyone else in the room was frightened, especially Alina. She sat up, pressing on her chest where her heart hammered from fear and shock. She was about to scold Stella when she saw Maria.

Alina was shocked. She took a look at Stella, who was still screaming next to her, and finally uttered, "Maria Song, are you fucking nuts?" She couldn't believe Maria had shaved Stella's eyebrows off. She also saw men here. She really believed that Maria had gone stark raving mad.

Ignoring Alina's babbling, Maria's gloomy gaze was glued to Stella's face.

Without giving her a chance to speak, she pressed a sharp dagger against Stella's neck. The two beauticians couldn't stand it any longer. They ran out of the salon, faces ghost-white.

The two bodyguards at the door warned the people outside not to call the police. Then they closed the door of the private room to ensure they'd remain undisturbed.

Maria didn't mince words with Stella. She asked her men to tie her feet and hands up. Then she said in a cold tone, "Miss Qin, I know you trashed my shop. So you're going repay me. You will open three coffee shops in my name. And they'd better be the same size as Miracle Cafe. Promise, or I'll destroy your face!"

She found that Chuck was romantically linked to Stella's mother. In order to protect Stella, Chuck tried to derail the police investigation.

Chuck didn't expect that Maria was that hard to fool. She even managed to ask James to help her.

"What? Why would I open coffee shops for you?" Stella refused to admit what she did. She thought Chuck would protect her.

Maria didn't want to waste any more time talking to her. She brought the dagger closer to Stella's face, pressing on it enough to show she meant business. Immediately, Stella felt a burning pain. She struggled to try and free herself, but only managed to dislodge part of the cord. When she touched her face, her hand came away bloody. "Ouch! Help! Help me!"

"You only have three seconds to make up your mind, Stella Qin. If you don't agree, I'll have my pound of flesh, so to speak. And you won't have to worry about applying makeup anymore!" Maria grabbed a rag from one of the beautician's tables and wiped the blood from her dagger.

Stella finally believed what Alina said-Maria was psycho! Afraid of getting hurt again,

Stella quickly nodded in agreement. "I'll open them. I'll do it..."

Alina could only stand there, frozen. Her mouth was dry. She tried to calm herself and asked, "What the hell is going on?" It was punishment for Stella's crime. Of course, Stella wouldn't admit to anything, and Maria didn't want to tell her either. Withdrawing the dagger, Maria looked at Alina. "If you know what's good for you, you won't mess with me. Or you might end up worse than her."

Alina figured she'd settle Maria's hash. She took out her phone and started to dial a number.

Maria gave her a cold look. "I'd be careful if I were you. I'm carrying James' kid. What do you think he'd do to you if you hurt the baby?"