The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1725

After everyone left, Daniel grabbed Dorothy's hand and pulled her into their bedroom. When the door shut behind them, the tension in the air was almost suffocating.

“Just tell me the truth. Did you do something to Shirley?” Daniel’s voice was cold, his eyes locked on hers. “If you did, just say it. Where is she?”

“You’re actually accusing me now?” Dorothy shot up from the bed, her whole body stiff and defensive. Tears shone in her eyes, her voice shaky and hurt as she snapped back, “This is the second time you’ve treated me like this, all because of Shirley. Daniel, you never used to be this way.”

She thought of Patricia and Andrew too. Both of them were growing colder to her by the day. Andrew barely wanted to speak to her anymore, like he was ready to cut her out of his life. Ever since Shirley arrived, everything had changed.

“And were you like this before?” Daniel stared at his wife, his voice dark and heavy. “Look at yourself. Do you even recognize who you’ve become?”

“Daniel, wait—”

“I’m only going to ask this one more time. Are you involved in what happened to Shirley?” He cut her off, his patience gone and anger radiating off him in waves.

Dorothy met his eyes, refusing to look away. Her face had gone white, and silent tears clung to her lashes. At this hour, Shirley had probably already been dealt with. If she broke down now, Charlotte would have no trouble tracking down the person Dorothy had sent. There was no turning back now. If that man got caught, Dorothy was finished too.

She couldn’t confess. No matter what.

“No,” she said, staring right at Daniel, jaw set and voice as cold as his.

Daniel just stood there, frowning hard, a look of confusion and disappointment twisting his features. In that moment, he realized he barely knew the woman standing in front of him, not really. After twenty years of sharing a bed, he couldn’t even tell if she was lying.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Shirley’s hand shook as she gripped the small fruit knife she found in her bag, the one Andrew insisted she carry just in case. She never thought she’d actually need it.

“Someone paid a lot of money for me to take one of your eyes…” The man’s voice was casual, like he got offers like this every day. “But now I’m thinking twice about it.”

He eyed her up and down, and that sick smile never left his lips. “You’re too pretty for that. Would be a real shame to ruin a face like yours.”

He’d already decided he was going to hurt her. But seeing how beautiful she was, he wanted more. With the rain washing down on them, no one would see. No cameras, no witnesses. He could do whatever he wanted and just disappear.

Take her eye? The words hit Shirley like lightning. Her whole body trembled. She bit down on her lip, horror filling her mind. “Who sent you?”