Shattered Then Healed By His Love (by Haley Blanton) novel Chapter 79

Chapter 79 Arrows in the Dark

Sure enough.

It was always the hidden arrows that cut deepest.

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Natalie should have seen it coming the moment Victoria and Zoey showed up at her clinic days before. Today’s farce had crippled her business–earnings barely a third of yesterday’s.

Even with the notice she and Atlas pinned to the door, foot traffic stayed miserably thin.

With nothing to do, she closed early and went to wait for Lily outside the school.

And there he was.

Jackson.

Class wasn’t even out yet. He stood at the gate, tall, familiar, unwelcome.

Back when they were still married, it was always her who came for their son. Jackson rarely bothered. Funny how in her years locked away, he’d learned how to play the part of “father.”

Too bad he never once learned how to be a husband.

“I heard something happened at your clinic.” His voice was low as he stepped closer.

Natalie gave him a sidelong glance, her tone flat. “News does travel fast with you, Mr. Collins. Who told you–Victoria?”

“What does this have to do with her?”

His eyes hardened, a flicker of ice in their depths.

“She didn’t tell you? The man already confessed. Said Zoey put him up to it. And Zoey-” she let her smile curl coldly “-isn’t she Victoria’s bosom friend?”

“This was Zoey?”

“On the surface. But whether she acted alone?” Natalie’s laugh was sharp and humorless. “That still needs looking into. And I will.”

“You’re saying it ties back to her? You think someone like Xin Xin, so kind, so simple, could ever stoop to something like that?”

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17:21 Mon, Sep 29

Chapter 79 Arrows in the Dark

His hand shot out, clamping her wrist tight, his eyes growing darker.

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“I never said Ms. Hayes,” Natalie snapped, voice cutting like ice. “Why so eager to defend her?”

He only squeezed harder. “When you say ‘someone,‘ who else could you mean?”

“You really do know the answer, don’t you?” Her smile widened, mocking. “You’re not blind- you just chose your side long ago. You recognized the truth back then and still stood with her. Deliberately.”

“Stop this nonsense!” Jackson wrenched her arm free, his voice suddenly raised. “Natalie, don’t drag up the past. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You mean you don’t dare face it.”

“What?” His steps faltered, but he couldn’t leave. He looked down at her, unsettled.

“You’re afraid,” she pressed, her eyes bright with scorn. “Afraid if I prove I was wronged, you’ll have to face your precious first love. Afraid that her spotless image will crumble. Isn’t that it?”

“One thing has nothing to do with the other! I asked about your clinic, not the past!”

“Funny,” Natalie said, her voice rising, “because the two are bound together by Victoria’s hands.”

Jackson’s brows knotted. “What proof do you even have? Zoey was named, not Victoria. Don’t twist this just because they’re friends!”

The way he shielded her, so blindly, so naturally–it made Natalie want to laugh.

“Natalie.”

A small voice cut through the air.

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