Chapter 73

The repulsive blond man licked his cracked lips, revealing yellowed teeth in a grotesque grin. "Perfect, Edward! This is exactly my kind of job! Don't forget I spent three years in prison for running that escort ring!"

His bloodshot eyes raked over Evelyn's unconscious form on the bed. Fresh out of jail after a five-year stint, he hadn't touched a woman in ages. The parole officer breathing down his neck made finding work impossible, let alone affording female company.

When Edward had approached him with this proposition, he'd jumped at the chance. Getting paid to defile this beauty? He'd have done it for free. Hell, he'd gladly go back to prison for another decade if it meant having her.

Abigail's stomach churned watching the man's predatory excitement.

After Evelyn had humiliated her by shoving her head in that toilet, she'd vowed revenge. Now Evelyn would know true disgust - permanently.

The plan was simple: frame Evelyn as a high-end escort caught mid-transaction at the Grayson family hotel. Once Nathaniel saw the police reports, he'd never look at her again.

Exactly as Abigail intended.

With Nathaniel out of the picture, Margaret would immediately disown the "soiled" girl. The old matriarch's Victorian sensibilities wouldn't tolerate such scandal.

Edward cleared his throat. "Miss Grayson, perhaps we should leave before the... unpleasantness begins?"

Abigail nodded, casting one last triumphant glance at Evelyn before sweeping out of the suite.

Alone at last, the blond man tore at his stained shirt, drool dripping onto his unwashed chest as he lunged toward the bed.

Abigail arrived home to find Nathaniel waiting in the parlor, newspaper in hand.

"You're early," she remarked, smoothing her skirt.

Nathaniel's piercing gaze lifted. "Where's Evelyn?"

"Oh, she ran into some old friend at the mall," Abigail said airily. "Blond fellow. They seemed... quite close."

Nathaniel's fingers tightened around his coffee cup. "Old friend?"

Before Abigail could elaborate, Lucas burst in. "Sir! Emergency at the hotel!"

Nathaniel didn't even look up. "Report."

Lucas swallowed hard. "Police raided suite 3201. Arrested two people in a prostitution sting. The media's already picked it up - it's a PR disaster."

Abigail hid her smirk behind a cough. Perfect.

That wretched Evelyn would be out on the streets by morning.