Chapter 2 The Secret Passage

• Meanwhile, at the Cloudington residence.
• Joanie Cloudington was sitting in front of her mother, Pamela Reese, on the floor complaining, “Mom, I don't want to marry that sickly man of the Hawk family! Everybody knows that psycho has a tiger as a pet. Even if I somehow managed to survive his torture, I'll likely become a widow! I promise you that I'll kill myself if you force me to marry him for money!”
• “What are you babbling on about? Who said anything about marrying you to a sickly man?” inquired Pamela rhetorically as she helped her daughter up. “The two hundred million from the Hawks is going to be more than enough to solve the financial problem of your father's company. The rest will go to you as dowry in the future, so I see no reason why we should back out of the deal. Of course, you're not going to be the one to marry the miserable man,” assured Pamela, who had already had a plan in mind, with a devious smile.
• When Joanie heard that, she stopped crying and stared expectantly at her mother instead.
• “Mom, are you thinking about using Ruth's good-for-nothing daughter?” inquired Joanie before frowning with concern. “But didn't we make that b*tch deaf and mute? Do you think the Hawks are going to be okay with that?”
• In response, Pamela chuckled coldly before explaining, “The Hawks simply wanted a wedding because they believed it'd bring luck, so I don't think they'd care who we're offering. If Jensen killed her somehow, that'd be even better for us!”
• Thrilled, Joanie immediately held Pamela's arm as she flattered her mother. “That's brilliant, Mom! Not only will we get the Hawks' money, but we'll also rid ourselves of that trash girl. Now that we have two hundred million, I can buy whatever the heck I want!”
• “Of course. My daughter deserves only the best!” promised Pamela. “The butler is delivering the trash girl to the Hawks as we speak.”
• At that moment, Rachelle was indeed on her way to Beshya.
• Seated in the backseat of a car, the young lady sheepishly kept her head down in silence.
• The butler in the front glanced at Rachelle through the rear-view mirror before shaking his head regretfully. “What a shame that a pretty woman like you ended up deaf and mute. Now they're even marrying you to that sickly man of the Hawk family out of superstition. I guess a handicapped woman like you would make a good match for the frail man. It's pretty much your ass luck that you were born a Cloudington.”
• As soon as the butler looked away, Rachelle looked up to sneer at the back of the man's head. Hidden in the depths of her seemingly innocent eyes was fierce determination. Ass luck? The Cloudingtons will soon learn the true meaning of those words.
• Secretly, Rachelle glanced at the phone she slipped out of her sleeves to read the message Liam White, her subordinate, sent her: Boss, I've found the person who saw your mother last eleven years ago. She's Old Mrs. Hawk of the Hawk family, and she lives at the Hawk residence!
• Rachelle's biological mother was Ruth Giniger, someone born to a family of perfumers and was the most popular socialite in Beshya. Ruth was also an expert in formulating perfumes.
• However, she fell in love with a poor man, Casey Cloudington, and ended up blowing through her dowry.
• After Casey became successful with Ruth's help, he revealed his true self by bringing a mistress and a daughter home, causing Ruth to get so emotional that she fell terribly ill.
• The year Rachelle turned nine, Ruth suddenly disappeared.
• All alone, young Rachelle was at the mercy of Pamela, who had officially moved into the Cloudington residence along with Joanie. Young Rachelle turned deaf and mute at the hands of the mother and daughter and only escaped the brutality when her maternal grandmother took her away to live in a remote village in the mountains. The elderly woman could not bear to see Rachelle getting tortured any longer.
• Rachelle humbly endured eleven years of hardship until she was ready to search for Ruth, for she believed that her mother was alive and waiting for her somewhere out there.
• After so many years, she finally found a clue.
• Rachelle was still trying to figure out how to get close to the Hawks, the most prominent family in Beshya, when an opportunity presented itself to her on a silver platter.
• Pamela immediately had a makeup artist work on Rachelle when the woman arrived at the Cloudington residence before shoving Rachelle into the car sent by the Hawks.
• Weddings were supposed to be cheerful celebrations, but since Rachelle was only married into the Hawk family for good luck, she was denied access to the front door and had to enter from the back.
• To call the event miserable would be an understatement.
• Wearing a bridal gown, Rachelle was guided by Bram Farren, the Hawk's butler, to her new room.
• As soon as she was left alone, Rachelle lifted the veil on her and looked around. However, she did not see her sickly groom.
• Even though the Hawks were the most prominent family in Beshya, Jensen was nothing but a sick joke.
• It was said that Jensen had suffered from a disease since he was a boy. On top of that, he was also cruel and had unpredictable temperaments.
• Nevertheless, that did not bother Rachelle because she was sure she could handle a sick man. Where is he though? Is he hiding because he's embarrassed that he's sexually incapable?
• The room was indescribably eerie since its walls were mostly black and had only one dim light on one side of the wall.
• When Rachelle tried to find the switch for the other lights, she accidentally touched something that triggered the wall to split open and reveal a dark secret passage.
• Suddenly, Rachelle heard a blood-curdling scream from inside.
• At the behest of her curiosity, she furrowed her eyebrows tightly as she carefully entered the passage.
• The deeper Rachelle got, the stronger the smell of blood in the air.
• When she finally reached the end, what she saw almost made her throw up.