A Joke, A Lifelong Regret Chapter 07
By the time I walked out of the precinct, statement given and forms signed, Aria was long gone.
Damian had been taken into custody on the spot.
The Vale family had the top criminal defense team on the East Coast working through the night to
pull him out of the mess.
They even sent Mrs. Vale to find me.
Before I could say a word, she was already on her knees in front of me.
Not one of her bodyguards moved to help her up.
The women of the Vale family didn’t kneel because they were weak. They did it because they knew exactly when to change tactics.
“What Damian did to you was wrong.”
“But you caught it in time. No real harm was done.”
“Elena, you and Damian have years between you. He was there for you in your worst moments.”
“For the sake of what you once had, can you find it in yourself to let this go?”
She delivered every word like it was being wrung out of her.
Like Damian’s situation was something I had caused.
I shifted slightly to avoid stepping near her and settled into the sofa beside me.
“Mrs. Vale. You knew about Damian and Aria long before any of this, didn’t you.”
Her expression went rigid for just a moment.
Then she let a bodyguard help her up. The grief and sincerity she’d had on her face a moment ago were completely gone.
She said nothing.
I kept going.
“Not only did you know they were together. You knew about the pregnancy.
“So when you approved of me and Damian, it wasn’t because you liked me. You never actually accepted me.”
“You just knew nothing between us would last.”
“You knew from the beginning, and you chose to watch it play out. So you can keep watching.”
I found out the rest through the journalist’s report.
The previous month, the same week Aria found out she was pregnant, Damian had already taken her to complete the real marriage registration.
And the Vale family had hosted a small dinner at a private estate, just a handful of their closest old-family connections, to mark the occasion.
While I, as Damian’s official fiancée, had not heard a single word of it.
Everyone knew.
I was the only one who didn’t.
Mrs. Vale’s face hardened. She let out a short, cold sound.
“I came here today and swallowed my pride because this doesn’t have to blow up the way it has. Not because it can’t be managed.”
“Elena Hart. There’s a time to be reasonable. You’ve pushed this as far as it goes. Aren’t you worried about what happens when you need something someday, and the Vale family decides to return the favor?”
I smiled.
“If you can actually get to me, I’ll take my lumps.”
“What I know is that right now, Damian Vale belongs in a cell.”
Mrs. Vale saw she wasn’t getting anywhere. She turned and walked out with her bodyguards.
The next day, everything broke open online. Video evidence, documentation, the fake City Clerk’s Office, the full scope of Damian’s fraud, all of it hitting at once. The journalist’s piece cut straight through the Vale family’s spotless public image.
The story spread fast.
The evidence was airtight. Vale’s legal team could only drag out the timeline. They couldn’t touch the verdict.
Damian was sentenced to three years.
That night, the Vale family council stripped him of his seat as heir. His name was taken down from
the silver nameplate at the head of the family table.
I also filed a civil suit against him and the Vale family for emotional damages.
The judgment came back quickly.
I won.
But Damian put in one request.
He wanted to see me.