A Vengeful Ex-Wife

The next morning when Maria woke up, she went to the bathroom to clean herself up. However, she found out the there was no water or electricity in the villa.

She wondered why they were suddenly cut off. Before she went to bed last night, she didn't notice any problem with the water or electricity supplies.

Maria peeked through the window and found that the door was locked. Perhaps James had seen her sneaked in last night.

She went to the kitchen to check the fridge, but it was empty. Even the storage room was clear. There wasn't even a single pack of instant noodles or small bottled water. It seemed that James wanted to starve her to death.

The whole morning, Maria hadn't eaten anything, so she got so hungry in the afternoon. Feeling desperate, she thought of tearing up the bed sheet, so she could slide down from the third floor through the window. But much to her dismay, she discovered that there were security alarms installed on the walls and near the window.

She glanced at the high walls of the courtyard where she jumped in last night, but she didn't see any security alarms on the wall. Her brows furrowed. How did James find out that she came in?

It couldn't be the surveillance camera because she made sure that it was a blind spot before she jumped in.

Maria circled around the third floor a few times, hoping to find a way out. Then, she noticed something suspicious on the balcony. There was something in there which was black and round. She stuck her head out to examine the wall, and she saw the pinhole-sized thing. 'Is this a video surveillance camera?' she wondered inwardly.

What she didn't know was, James met her eyes through that device.

Maria realized that it was useless to waste her energy breaking out, so she changed her mind. Instead, she took out her phone. It had a twenty percent battery, so she could still make a call. She dialed a number, and while staring at the pinhole-sized camera, she said, "Look for Alina Tang's phone number and call me back ASAP!"

James, who had been watching her all the time, frowned. If he hadn't known that Maria couldn't see him, he would have thought that she was intentionally provoking him again.

But since he knew what she did on the phone, he contacted someone and ordered, "Block the phone signal in Fairview Villa."

As a result, Maria waited for nearly twenty minutes, but no one called her back. She suddenly felt suspicious, so she took out her phone to check. And she felt debilitated when she found out that her phone had no signal anymore.

Knowing that James had something to do with it, she felt so angry that she wanted to smash her phone on his face. She wished she could break his nose bridge.

Maria went back to the balcony and fixed her eyes on the pinhole-sized camera again. She had already guessed that James had been watching her from somewhere else and could hear everything she said. She thought for a while.

Actually, she was only in a villa. Escaping a place like this was just a piece of cake for her if she really wanted to. If she was willing to go out, she could.

Maria wanted to stay longer in the villa. It didn't matter if this place belonged to James.

But with the current circumstances, she really had to leave since there was no food, water, or electricity. In the future, she would be able to move back to Fairview Villa aboveboard.

With this thought, Maria went back to the storage room to look for tools. However, she didn't find anything useful.

Gee! James really wanted her dead.

Left with no choice, she went back to the bedroom where she slept and tore up the bed sheet. She also took the bed sheet from the guest room and did the same. Then, she tied them up together. Maria didn't care if those bed sheets were silk jacquard that cost a fortune. She would tear them all apart as long as they could help her leave this villa.

Soon enough, her improvised ladder was ready.

Maria tied one end of the bed sheet to a wooden desk, knowing that it was heavy and steady. She then wrapped the other end to herself a few circles, jumped out of the window, and landed on the yard with

ease.

But as soon as her feet touched the ground, some people rushed over, shouting, "Police! Freeze! Hands in the air!"

Maria was taken aback for a moment. Then a bitter smile surfaced on her face. 'Screw you, James Xi!' she cursed inwardly.

She didn't want to be in the headlines tomorrow for attacking a policeman, so she didn't resist when a policeman handcuffed her. She would be taken to the police station, being accused of trespassing. Before she got into the police car, one young policeman kindly said to her, "We will pass by the shopping mall later, so you can buy a pair of shoes." Maria glanced at the innocent policeman and asked, "You will allow me to buy shoes by myself?"

"Of course not! You are a suspect. How can you be allowed to go shopping alone?" another policeman chimed in.

Maria threw up her hands and said, "Forget it. I don't want to be photographed going shopping like a prisoner." The policemen exchanged glances but said nothing.

Last night, she tried to find the shoes she used to wear six years ago, but sadly, they weren't there anymore. Perhaps James had already asked someone to throw them away. How heartless he could be! Left with no choice, Maria got in the police car and was taken to the police station barefooted.

In a meeting room of HL Group, James had just finished a video conference.

As soon as he turned off his computer, Lorenzo immediately reported, "Mr. Xi, Ms. Song was taken by the police."

"Okay." James clearly heard that Maria was taken to the police station, but he just remained calm. He said, "Tell the police to release her. But she must promise first that she will leave H City right away. Don't forget to send her out of town after that." He wanted to drive Maria out of H City because he knew that she would never stop making trouble for him. From now on, he didn't want his name to be associated with her anymore.

"Yes, Mr. Xi," Lorenzo replied with a nod. He understood why James had asked him to deal with this matter. James knew that he was more ruthless than Summer in dealing with Maria. Hence, he couldn't let James down.

Lorenzo turned around to leave. But before he could walk out of the door, James said, "Tell Summer to come over."

"Yes, Mr. Xi."

Two minutes later, Summer knocked and entered James' office. "Mr. Xi, do you want to see me?"

James was reading a document, so he didn't answer her immediately.

Summer had been standing there for one minute now. Before she came in, she didn't think too much. But now, she began to feel a little nervous. When she remembered what happened the night before, she couldn't help thinking that James might want to get even with her.

She quietly wiped the cold sweat that broke out on her forehead and stood still, almost breathless.

After five minutes, James had finally finished reading the document. He picked up his pen and signed the last page vigorously.

He then put the signed document in front of Summer and said, "This is the partnership contract with CT Securities Group. For this project, I will need to send someone capable to L Country, so I will assign you to this. You will be the project director, and you will take a team with you. How long do you think will it take to finish this project?"

Summer's heart tightened, and she felt suffocated. Sure enough, James was really angry at her.

She knew this project in L Country. And based on her calculation, she needed to stay there for at least three to five years.

Summer was certain that she would be paid lavishly for this project. However, she was born and raised in H City. Her parents and parents-in-law were also here. She had only left H City for a few years when she studied abroad. But other than that, she had spent all of her time here.

Now, James wanted to send her away for several years. Obviously, this was his kind of punishment for her.

When Summer helped Maria, she already knew that James would be angry. But she didn't expect that it would reach this extent.

Since she became James' special assistant, he had only relied on her and Lorenzo. He would never send either of them away from him. He must have really gotten mad at her this time.

Summer suppressed the mixed emotions that surged up in her heart and plucked up all the courage to speak up. "Mr. Xi, I know that it's all my fault. But I just think that Maria is willing to do her best to defend you. Just like what she did at the dinner party last night. Maria really loves you. Besides, she's your ex-wife. She might have made an irreparable mistake, but I hope you can soon realize that she didn't really mean it. Mr. Xi, there's no need..."

"Summer!" Summer almost bit her tongue when she heard James call out her name. She felt that the temperature in the office had sharply dropped.