Chapter 340

Seeing that he wasn't going to acknowledge her, Latisha lowered her head and tried to quickly scurry past him.

"Wait."

Her feet glued themselves to the floor. She slowly, fearfully looked back.

Without warning, Santino tossed something heavy at her. It arched through the air and hit her squarely in the chest. Startled, she managed to catch it.

Looking down, she realized it was a leather wallet.

She opened it hesitantly. It was stuffed with thick stacks of crisp, hundred-dollar bills.

Latisha looked up at Santino in total shock, completely unable to process his game.

A dark, mysterious smirk played on his lips. "Keep it. You're completely broke, aren't you? Just remember you owe me."

Clutching the heavy wallet, Latisha stood paralyzed, unsure if accepting his money was signing a deal with the devil.

But then her mind flashed back to Clifford walking right past her in the freezing rain, the glowing red exclamation mark on her phone, and the glamorous press conference on the television...

Latisha took a deep, steadying breath, gripped the wallet tightly, and walked out the door.

Watching her take the money, Santino's smile widened in sinister triumph.

With cash in her pocket, Latisha finally felt a tiny shred of autonomy. She hailed a cab and headed straight for Aqua Harmony Haven.

Standing outside the imposing gates once again, she stared at the villa, took two deep breaths, and pressed the doorbell.

Hearing the familiar, melodic chime ring through the courtyard brought a wave of crushing bitterness. She never thought the day would come when she had to ring the bell to her own home.

But the chime faded into silence. No one answered.

She pressed it a few more times. Still nothing. Had he really not come back yet?

She pulled out her phone, found Clifford's number, hesitated for a long moment, and pressed call.

She needed closure.

She couldn't let herself be emotionally tortured like this anymore. If he wanted a divorce, then they needed to make a clean, absolute break.

She held the phone to her ear, listening to the agonizing ringing. With every tone, her heart slammed wildly against her ribs.

But a second later, the ringing cut off, replaced by an automated voice: *"The number you have dialed is currently busy..."*

He had hung up on her.

Latisha stared blankly at the screen. She stood alone in front of the grand estate like an absolute fool, with nowhere left to go.

She couldn't understand him. He was the one who demanded the divorce. So why block her on WhatsApp? Why reject her calls? What exactly was his end game?

Letting out a shaky breath, she stubbornly dialed his number again. This time, it went straight to voicemail.

For some reason, a single word popped into her mind: *Coward.*

She didn't know why she felt that way, but Clifford's petty, evasive behavior left her no other conclusion.

Latisha thought it was hilarious. She, the discarded wife, had finally mustered the courage to face the death of their marriage. So why was *he* the one running away?

Was he not as deeply in love with Yesenia as he pretended to be? Or was his pride just so wounded that he wanted to drag this out purely to make Latisha suffer?

Exhaling a long, defeated breath, Latisha turned around and hailed another cab to the corporate headquarters.

After searching the entire executive floor, Ziven confirmed that Clifford hadn't stepped foot in the building for three days.

Staring at the massive, empty office, Latisha dropped her head in defeat and walked out of the skyscraper.

Out of options, she took a cab to Lambert Manor.

As she stepped onto the estate, she immediately noticed the suffocating, oppressive atmosphere. The staff were bustling about nervously keeping their voices to hushed whispers.

Before she even crossed the threshold, she heard the piercing wails of a baby.

It was Jaden.

Latisha paused at the massive front doors for a second before stepping inside.

"Mr. Lambert, please, let me take the young master. He's very hard to soothe," the nanny begged, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

Mr. Lambert had returned yesterday. Since walking through the door, he had ignored

all his responsibilities, opting instead to hold and play with baby Jaden.

The problem was, Jaden absolutely despised him. The nanny would get the baby perfectly calm, but the second he was handed back the

wailing would start all over again.

At first, they thought it was just bad timing. But after several attempts, the pattern

was undeniable.

Latisha stood in the foyer, staring at

the tall, imposing man holding the

tiny infant. Chifford was glaring down

at the screaming baby, his brows locked in a deep, thoroughly

annoyed scowl.

The harder the baby cried, the tighter he held him, as if he were engaged in a battle

of wills with an infant.

The nanny happened to glance up. Upon seeing Latisha in the doorway, she looked

as though she had just seen an angel descending from heaven.

"Mrs. Lambert is back!" she cried out in desperate relief.