Hello, Ex! I Finally Found My Worth! - Chapter 198

Chapter 198: Trap
Who the hell had tried to kill his wife? Was it really Vanessa? Did she want to kill Emma? Why? Why not Jake whom had left her in hiding and was going after Emma?

Did that mean Emma had been right that day to say she had seen Vanessa?

He couldn’t let her slid this time. He had to find Vanessa, where ever she was. His gaze flickered to her, as he held her while she was still kneeling on the floor, Jake’s blood staining her trembling hands and his stomach twisted.

This could have been her blood. She could have been the one in the ICU. If he let things slid, Emma could be in bigger danger. He needed to do something and find out where Vanessa was so he could end this once and for all.

Alex’s fists clenched as he stood in the middle of the hospital hallway, his heart still racing from the last few minutes.

He had to figure out a way to get whoever made that shot. He narrowed his eyes when something occurred to him. CCTV camera in the hallway.

That was it. He could find whoever the person was if they could at least know his face and identity.

Because he was too engrossed in his thoughts, he didn’t notice Natalie trying to sneak away from the hospital since she had heard Jake telling Alex and Emma the whole truth.

“Stop there!” Emma said, startling Natalie.

Natalie froze mid-step, her breath hitching as Emma’s sharp voice cut through the hallway. Her body stiffened as she turned slowly, her face pale.

She looked down at Dawn who was holding on to her tightly and she couldn’t help but wish she had left after causing the commotion she had wanted yesterday.

Alex’s gaze snapped up, his focus shifting from his thoughts to Natalie. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

Emma took a step forward, her expression unreadable. “Where do you think you’re going, Natalie?”

Natalie swallowed hard, trying to keep her composure. “I—I was just—”

“Leaving, I guess?” Alex finished coldly, his fists clenching. “Why? Guilty about something?”

Natalie’s lips parted, but no words came. She glanced around as if searching for an escape, but there was none.

Emma’s heart pounded in her chest. After everything that had just happened—Jake’s confession, the shooting—she wasn’t about to let Natalie slip away. It was because of the stupid stunt Natalie had pulled, that’s why her birthday wasn’t only cut short the previous day, but had given Vanessa a chance to try to get to them.

“Natalie,” Emma said, her voice laced with warning, “Jake just told us everything. So you better start talking!”

Natalie stiffened even more.

Alex took a slow, menacing step toward her. “You knew, didn’t you?” His voice was dangerously low. “You knew Dawn wasn’t mine so why pull that stunt? It’s because of you we’re here—”

“I understand you’re hurt or mad that Emma would’ve been in there instead of Jake but all of this, isn’t my fault. Jake was the one that asked for all this. I wanted leave after causing you problems yesterday but Jake insisted. He said we could take things further so he could marry Emma and then I’d have a chance to give my daughter a good life. I liked the idea is I went with it! None of this is my fault!” Natalie cried.

“Look, I’m sorry all of this happened but it’s really not my fault—”

“Why?” Emma cut in and Natalie frowned.

“Why what?”

“Why did you fly all the way from Paris to Zeden to do this Knowing he’s not her father? Didn’t you stop to think about this child? What must she be going through being given the hope of having a father when it’s all a lie? Why?” She asked and Natalie realizing how selfish she had been, burst into tears.

“I just wanted to cause problems in your marriage after you treated me that way like I was some trash. How could I have been so consumed by my bitterness to have forgotten the harm I was putting my daughter through,” Natalie cried as she bent down to look into her daughter’s face while Emma and Alex just watched.

“I’m sorry honey. He’s not your father, okay?” she said and Dawn frowned her little face.

“Then where’s my father?” she asked, her tiny little voice carrying the weight of her sadness.

“Your daddy is up, looking after you and me,” she said and Dawn’s face lit up.

“Really? Can I see him?” she asked excitedly and Natalie sighed.

Emma’s chest tightened as she watched the interaction between Natalie and her daughter and how she tried to convince her she couldn’t see her Dad.

No matter how angry she was, seeing the pure innocence in Dawn’s eyes made her heart ache. This little girl had been caught in a web of lies, all because of Natalie’s bitterness.

Alex, on the other hand, remained silent, his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles in his face twitched. His mind was still racing from everything that had happened.

After she had succeeded in explaining things to Dawn, Natalie looked up.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted her to have a father,” Natalie whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I thought… if I could make you believe she was yours, she’d have the life I couldn’t give her alone.”

Emma’s heart clenched. She understood what it meant to want a better life for someone you loved, but this—this wasn’t the way to do it.

“You didn’t just hurt Alex,” Emma said quietly, her voice strained. “You hurt your own daughter. You made her believe in something that wasn’t real.”

Natalie let out a soft sob, nodding. “I know. I know, and I hate myself for it.” She turned to Alex, guilt written all over her face. “I won’t ask for forgiveness. I don’t deserve it. But I swear, I’m done with all of this.”

Alex let out a slow, heavy breath. “You should be. Because if you ever try something like this again, I won’t be so lenient.”

Natalie flinched but nodded in understanding.

Emma took a deep breath, rubbing her temples. “You need to leave, Natalie. Take Dawn and go back to Paris. Give her the life she deserves, without lies.”

Natalie hesitated, glancing at Dawn before nodding. “I will.”

Alex’s expression remained unreadable as he stared at Natalie for a long moment. Then, without another word, he turned away. He was done with this.

Emma watched as Natalie gathered Dawn in her arms, whispering something to her daughter before walking toward the exit.

As soon as she was gone, Emma let out a shaky breath and turned to Alex. “Do you think she’ll really leave for good?”

Alex ran a hand down his face. “I don’t know. But I do know one thing.”

Emma looked at him questioningly.

He turned to her, his eyes dark with determination. “I’m done dealing with the past. It’s time we focus on the real threat—Vanessa.”

Emma’s stomach twisted at the name. If Vanessa really was behind the shooting, then she wouldn’t stop until she got what she wanted.

And that terrified her.

“Come on, I need to check on the CCTV footages. We need to catch who ever had shot at you,” he said and Emma nodded.

But just as he grabbed Emma’s wrist to lead her away, a deep voice cut through the tension.

“Mr. Sterling!”

Alex turned to see one of the personal guards he had hired to look after Emma striding toward him, gripping a struggling man by the collar. The guard’s face was set in a hard, unreadable expression, but his grip was like iron, keeping the man firmly under control.

“He tried to run after the gunshot,” the guard said, shoving the man forward. The shooter stumbled, nearly falling to his knees before he caught himself, glaring up at Alex with defiant eyes.

Emma gasped softly beside him, and Alex’s eyes darkened with barely restrained fury.

“You caught him?” Alex asked, his voice dangerously low.

The guard nodded. “Yes. I was at the corner when I saw him fire at your wife. I secretly chased him, and when he realized I was after him, he turned the gun on me. Fortunately, the bullet didn’t do anything—I was wearing a vest and I had also called the other guy. We managed to bring him down before he could try again.”

Alex’s eyes never left the shooter, his body radiating a lethal calm. The man still looked defiant, but there was something else in his expression now—uncertainty.

He had only made one shot because he had only been asked to kill the woman. Now the guy had jumped in front of it. While he had done his job, he hoped it wouldn’t be held against him since it wasn’t his fault that the man had taken the woman’s place.

“You tried to kill my wife,” Alex said, his voice eerily quiet. The hallway felt colder, the tension suffocating. “And you failed.”