When She Walks Away (Teresa) novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77

When Theodore arrived at the Sullivan Mansion, he spotted Teresa at the door.

“What’s with your messy hair?” Theodore asked, his tone harsh.

Feeling guilty, Teresa lowered her eyes and mumbled, “It was the wind.”

Theodore saw right through her weak excuse. Teresa, I’m not against you dating, but you need to know your limits. If you screw up like last time, I won’t let it slide again.

“And don’t go getting pregnant just because you’re careless. You’re a girl; it’s easy for you to get hurt. Don’t just spread your legs for anyone.”

With that, Theodore walked into the Sullivan Mansion.

Teresa hesitated at the doorway for a long moment, then finally stepped forward and followed him inside.

“It’s not like that, really, Theodore,” Teresa blurted out, sounding a bit flustered.

After a pause, she added, “But no matter what, I’ll do what you say.”

Theodore turned to glance at her, noticing her slightly red eyes. His tone softened. “Okay.”

Teresa finally smiled, her voice gentle. “Thanks, Theodore.”

Theodore didn’t want to dwell on it, so he switched topics. “Monica missed you. You’re always busy, and she barely gets to see you. Next time you’re free, come home earlier.”

Teresa replied softly, “I know, Theodore.”

The next morning, Teresa woke up to find Monica already off to school. But her phone buzzed with a voice message from her niece. [Aunt Teresa, when winter break comes, let’s go skiing abroad together.]

Monica’s sweet little voice just melted Teresa’s heart.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Teresa played the message over and over. The more she listened, the more her mind wandered to Yolanda.

Teresa had been raising Yolanda for so long, but never once had the chance to take her daughter on a real trip.

It wasn’t that there weren’t chances; she just always dreamed of the three of them, her, Charles, and Yolanda, going somewhere together as a family.

Charles only ever cared about Naomi. He would never want to go anywhere with them. Now, both Charles and Yolanda had eyes for Naomi.

After saying yes to Monica’s plan, Teresa got out of bed, freshened up, and started getting ready for work.

That afternoon, while she was busy writing patient records in her office, one of the interns walked in, carrying a stack of packages.

When she got to the last one, the intern approached Teresa’s desk. “Teresa, this one’s for you. I brought it over on my way.”

1/4

Teresa looked up, confused. “Huh? My package? Are you sure?”

The intern nodded. “Yeah, I double-checked. The phone number matches.”

Teresa froze for a moment, just staring at the box.

When Teresa took the package and saw the sender’s name, Troy, she instantly knew what this was about.

Suddenly, the box felt like it was burning in her hands.

Teresa wanted to just toss it, but whatever was inside had to be worth a fortune, probably even more than that bracelet he’d sent before. But if she kept it, she was afraid to accept something so expensive.

Teresa found herself caught between a rock and a hard place.

In the end, Teresa held onto it. After all, if she lost something that pricey, there was no way she could pay for it.

As Teresa was wrapping up her patient notes, she overheard a few doctors gossiping nearby, “Did you hear? That genius doctor who got fired a while back just got blacklisted from the medical field.

“They’re even talking about stripping him of his master’s and PhD degrees. He’ll have a permanent stain on his record, and even his kids won’t be allowed to be a doctor.”

“Seriously? What did he do to deserve all that? That’s brutal.”

“He was taking bribes, illegally raising money, and got mixed up in some shady stuff. Someone reported him, so that’s why he’s in trouble now.”

“Well, serves him right.”

Hearing the gossip, Teresa pulled out her phone and opened her Twitter.

Sure enough, the news about Hector getting blacklisted from the medical world was the number one trending topic.

Buried under all the hate, there was actually one comment sticking up for Hector.

[I’ve met Dr. Reed before. He did my mom’s brain tumor surgery, and it’s been two years since then. She’s still doing great.

[Dr. Reed was super easy to talk to and never asked for any money. I even tried to give him some cash, but he refused, telling me to save it for my mom’s recovery meds.]

Teresa was just about to type a reply when, right before her eyes, the comment disappeared-deleted in an instant.

Teresa tried searching for the account again, typing in the username she remembered, but she couldn’t find it anywhere.

No question that the account had just been banned for speaking up for Hector.

With something like that, the first person Teresa thought of was Jason.

With Naomi by his side, Charles naturally would not pull himself away to meddle in Teresa’s affairs. Other than Charles, the only one capable of that was Jason.

Plus, Jason and Hector had a bit of a history.

Teresa was worried about Hector, so she sent him a message, typing: [Are you okay?]

2/4

After she hit send, Teresa kept checking her phone, but there was still no reply.

By the time work was over, Teresa still hadn’t gotten a response.

Finally, Teresa decided she couldn’t wait any longer. She grabbed her keys and headed over to Hector’s apartment complex.

But as soon as she got to the entrance, Teresa could tell something was off. A crowd of people gathered, all aiming their cameras at the same spot.

Teresa followed their gaze and saw one of the apartments; its windows were smashed, the glass cracked and splintered like a spiderweb.

And then the stench hit her, thick and revolting. Someone had thrown filth all over Hector’s place.

To make things worse, someone had scrawled in big red letters on sheets of white paper: [Filthy orphan freak.]

[Angel of Death.]

[Hope your family line ends with you.]

[Why haven’t you gotten cancer yet?]

[Why don’t you take your father’s grave grass and go patch up the desert sands?]

The vicious insults sent a chill down Teresa’s spine.

In the shadows, there might be an even more dangerous threat lurking.

Teresa didn’t dare go in to find Hector. Instead, she nervously sent him a message: [If you’re at home, don’t go outside. If you’re not, then don’t come back for the next few days.]

Still, there was no reply.

Teresa didn’t waste any more time. She drove straight to the restaurant where Jason usually hung out.

Luckily, she spotted his car parked out front.

Barging into the restaurant, Teresa saw Jason having dinner with a gorgeous woman in a revealing outfit.

Teresa didn’t care about the scene she was about to make. She marched right up to Jason and demanded, “You’re behind what’s happening to Hector, aren’t you?”

Jason calmly set down his fork and knife, wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, then rested his right arm on the back of his chair. Turning to Teresa, he raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, it was me.”

He owned up to it without a second thought, not even bothering to make excuses.

Teresa clenched her fists, glaring at him. “You’re despicable.”

Jason spread his palms. “Well, if he got outplayed, he has to take it.”

Teresa’s anger boiled over. “All you do is use your power to crush people. That doesn’t make you better than anyone, Jason. If I were you, I’d be disgusted with myself. If you can’t stand me, then come at me instead.”

Jason just raised an eyebrow, his voice icy. “He defended you. Anyone I can’t stand, I’ll grind them into the dirt until there’s nothing left-not even bone or blood.”

3/4

Faced with Jason’s power, Teresa could only sigh helplessly. “Jason, you’d better pray you never end up needing help from anyone.”

Jason crossed his legs, a faint smile on his lips. “Hate to break it to you, but I’ll never be the one begging. And if that day ever comes, the only people I’d ever ask are Charles or Naomi.”

Teresa gave a short laugh, then left without saying another word.