Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts

Chapter 142

"By the way, Izzy, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I've got some news about that guy Carlos you asked me to look into."

Ines perked up, grinning, "That was quick! What's the deal between Carlos and Shirley Dave?"

"He's her ex-husband."

Ethan filled Ines in on what he'd found out. Carlos was Shirley's ex-husband. He came from a well- off family in their town, but he was a lazy bum. He dropped out of middle school and started loafing around. He fell for Shirley, but at the time, she was already dating her childhood sweetheart, Hunter, who was a penniless college student. He'd been out of college for two years and was barely scraping by in A City, let alone being able to afford to bring Shirley there. Meanwhile, Carlos started hotly pursuing Shirley. When Shirley's mom fell ill and had to be hospitalized, Carlos' family paid off her medical bills. They continued to help out Shirley's family, and Shirley was torn between enjoying Carlos' small acts of kindness and looking down on him for his lack of culture. Hunter was the one she loved, but he couldn't provide the life she wanted.

For a long time, Shirley was indecisive between Carlos and Hunter. Hunter was too busy with work and trying to make something of himself to give her the attention she needed. They could only meet once every few months, and gradually, they grew apart. Later on, Hunter started working at the Page family's company and met Ines' mother. But he never forgot about his girlfriend back home until one day he received a call from Shirley, telling him she'd chosen to leave him and quietly marry a rich man's son in their town.

After marrying Carlos, Shirley followed him to A City to start a small business. That's when she found out that Hunter had also gotten married. Not long after, she discovered she was pregnant. But Carlos turned out to be a total screw-up and got hooked on gambling. At first, he won a little money here and there, and even when he lost, it wasn't too bad since his family could afford it. But

eventually, he neglected his business, sneaked back to their hometown, cleaned out all their savings, took anything valuable from their home, and disappeared without a trace.

To make ends meet, Shirley had to work at a hotel.

A few months later, Shirley's belly started to show, and she had to quit her job and return home. She soon gave birth to a daughter.

Carlos, having lost everything, had no choice but to return home. He fought and argued with Shirley for a few years, but in the end, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a robbery that resulted in a death. His parents were so upset they died, and he was only recently released.

Ines listened closely, but she couldn't find anything suspicious. Instead, she felt dizzy from all the information. She knew Hunter was aware that Shirley had been married before and that the man was Carlos. Logically, an ex-husband shouldn't present any threat to Shirley.

"Ethan, you're making my head spin. Are you trying to tell me that Emma isn't a Galeana?" But that didn't seem possible either, given how much she resembled Emma.

"I had someone look into Emma's birthdate. She's actually a few months older than you, so she should be your older sister, not your younger one. She was conceived before Shirley married Carlos. She kept this a secret from everyone, but Carlos found out and used it to blackmail her."

Hearing this, Ines finally started to piece things together. She had read in her mother's diary that Shirley had shown up with a DNA report claiming that Emma was her sister. This greatly upset her mother and, coupled with her depression, led her to commit suicide.

If Emma was conceived before Shirley and Carlos got married, then Shirley was intentionally misleading her mother. Her mother was a proud woman; how could she tolerate the fact that her husband had an affair during their marriage and while she was pregnant? This means Shirley had a

hand in her mother's death. Realizing this, Ines suddenly looked up at Ethan, who nodded and said, "She did spend a night with Hunter at the hotel while she was working there, but she was already pregnant then."

Ines was shaking with anger. No wonder Shirley succumbed to Carlos's blackmail. If these two matters were exposed, the first person who wouldn't let her off would be Hunter. Hunter cared about his reputation his whole life, but because of her deceit and concealment, he was labeled a cheater.

Ines got up to leave, but Ethan quickly pulled her back into his arms and asked, "Izzy, where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Hunter. I want to see how he deals with that woman after finding out the truth!" Ines was trembling with anger, unable to accept the truth.

"Izzy, calm down. It's so late already; what can you do?" Ethan tried to reason with her. Ines glanced out the window and realized it was already dark. But she couldn't control her anger. She had always thought there was some beautiful love story between Hunter and Shirley, but the truth was so ugly. A woman who abandoned him because he was poor and married someone else; he actually accepted her and even married her. It was simply disgusting.

The more Ines thought about it, the more it irked her. "Ethan, what the hell is Hunter thinking? How could he fall for a woman like that?" "Yeah, yeah, his taste is crap. But Izzy, let's not get into this right now. No point crying over spilled milk; you rushing over there won't do any good." Ethan himself couldn't stand that woman, but Hunter was in no shape to handle any drama. If Ines got him all worked up and something happened, she'd be the one left feeling guilty.

Listening to Ethan's words, Ines gradually calmed down. She knew he was right; charging in now wouldn't solve anything, but the pain and hatred in her heart just wouldn't budge.

"So what do we do?" Ines asked, furrowing her brow.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.

"First, cool your jets, then we'll figure something out. I've got your back, whatever you decide," Ethan said, gripping Ines' hand tightly, boosting her confidence.

Looking into Ethan's resolute eyes, Ines knew that with him by her side, she could weather this storm, despite her chaotic emotions.

"Ethan, what do you think I should do? When I found out what she did to my mom, I just lost it. Why does that bitch get to live while my mom had to check out early?" Tears filled Ines' eyes. Ethan knew Ines was in a bad place, but there was nothing he could do other than hold her and comfort her. "Don't worry, they'll get what's coming to them."