THE DISABLED HEIRESS, MY EX-HUSBAND WOULD PAY DEARLY.

Not long after Robert arrived, parked his car swiftly, and walked in with a purpose. He didn't stop at the host stand. He didn't look around. The staff knew him, and none dared to block his path. He went straight to the hallway that led to Abigail's private office. His footsteps were firm, echoing through the corridor like a man on a mission.

Inside the office, however, a different kind of energy filled the air.

Abigail and Victoria were seated across from each other on either side of a glass table. Their posture was tense, their eyes darting, their fingers restless. A deep silence had settled in between them, only broken by the occasional tapping of Abigail's perfectly manicured fingers against the armrest of her chair. Something had gone wrong, and they both felt it.

Suddenly, Victoria let out a loud, annoyed sigh one that practically shook the silence.

"That good-for-nothing boy," she muttered bitterly, rolling her eyes as she tossed her phone on the table. "He's not answering his phone calls anymore. Can you imagine that nonsense?"

Abigail didn't say a word at first. She just stared at Victoria with a cold expression, lips slightly pressed together, waiting for her to finish.

"I thought you promised him something far better?" Victoria went on, frustration building with every word. "Why is he this greedy? Huh? Extremely greedy. After all the things you said you'd offer him money, position, leverage over Cora. Everything! And he still has the audacity not to pick your calls anymore? Just imagine."

At that moment, Abigail her forehead creased and her tone growing sharper by the second leaned forward and continued her heated rant, her voice dripping with venom and disbelief.

Her hands were moving wildly, slapping against the table with every word that came out of her mouth. The anger she'd been holding in had finally burst through the cracks.

"Just imagine," she hissed through clenched teeth, her jaw tight. "Just imagine if I had already given that fool some part of the money. If I had offered him even 25% up front. This is what he would've done? Run away?" She scoffed loudly, shaking her head in disgust. "He thinks he's smart. That lowlife thinks he can just vanish, treat me like some desperate fool, and walk away from this? Never. Not in this life."

However Victoria sat silently for a second, watching Abigail explode. But even she couldn't deny how dangerous the look in Abigail's eyes had become. That wasn't just anger anymore. That was a promise of revenge.

Abigail leaned back, took a deep breath, and laughed bitterly. "He thinks he can get away with this. That I'll just sit back and say 'oh well' hell no. A deal is a deal. We had an agreement. He gave me his word. He took my offer. And now he wants to disappear like I'm some street girl he can toy with?"

Her hand balled into a tight fist.

"If he doesn't want to do the deal anymore, then fine. I'll force him. I'll make sure he follows through, whether he wants to or not. He doesn't know who he's dealing with. I can sue him. I can drag him to court and destroy him with nothing but a contract and a good lawyer. And trust me, I'll win. But I won't even go that easy route."

Abigail's voice dropped, low and dangerous now.

"No. He doesn't deserve legal mercy. I'm going to handle this the hard way. The forceful way. I'm going to make him regret thinking he could ever cross me."

Victoria, still leaning back in her chair, raised her brow slightly, then smiled. A slow, wicked smile that said she fully agreed.

"Well," she said coolly, "I actually believe everything you just said. You've always known how to handle problems in ways no one else dares." She crossed her legs slowly and tilted her head. "But that good-for-nothing boy… deserves to be punished. Deserves to be punished mercilessly."

At that moment, before Abigail could say another word, the door to her office suddenly swung open with a swift, unexpected creak. The sound sliced through the tension like a knife, forcing both Abigail and Victoria to snap their heads toward the entrance, their conversation cut short in an instant.

And then… their eyes widened.

Standing there, framed by the door like a shadow with intent, was none other than Robert.

For a few seconds, the room fell completely silent.

Their furious energy, the anger that had just been boiling moments ago, immediately shifted into something else entirely shock, confusion, and something they couldn't quite place. The rage that had been dancing in Abigail's eyes just seconds before slowly faded, her lips parting in disbelief.

Victoria blinked quickly, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Robert? Here? his presence in that moment wasn't just unexpected it was alarming.

Robert didn't say a word at first. He simply walked in, his gaze fixed, his expression unreadable. His silence carried weight. Heavy, pressing weight. The kind of silence that filled a room before something dangerous was said. The kind of silence that made people uncomfortable.

Victoria, not one to let herself get rattled easily, was the first to regain her voice.

She quickly stood up from her seat, plastering on the fakest smile she could find. Her tone was light, but her eyes were anything but.

"Well, well, well," she said, stepping toward him with an air of fake surprise, "What are you doing here, Robert?"

She tilted her head slightly, trying to make it sound casual, as if this wasn't one of the worst possible times for him to walk in. She chuckled dryly, eyes darting to Abigail briefly.

"What a coincidence," she went on, brushing a strand of hair from her face with mock ease. "Don't tell me you're actually here to apologize to Abigail." Her voice dripped with sarcasm disguised as cheer. "You know… for the way you've been treating her. The cold shoulder. The silence. All of it."

She narrowed her eyes just a little.

"Well, if that's why you're here," she said with a forced smile, "then that's a very, very good thing to do."