---- Chapter 23 Vickie and Alina had orchestrated this entire scheme and incited Robert's fury. "How dare they?" His voice was terrifyingly calm. He suppressed his rage and said, "They used such vile tactics against Eve." Eve lounged lazily on the leather sofa and twirled Samuel's tie around her fingers. "Don't get mad, Dad." She took a casual sip of her coffee. "They're just two desperate people making their last stand." Samuel had been silent before and suddenly said, "Mr. Costa, there's something | wonder if you and Eve are aware of. It's about the car accident that happened to Eve's mother, Maria, ten years ago." Samuel took out a yellowed envelope from the inside pocket of his suit. "My subordinate reported this morning that they found the driver who was driving for Maria when the accident was happening." Robert asked in shock, "The driver? Wasn't he supposed to have died in the accident with Maria?" The air in the study froze instantly. Eve's coffee cup hovered mid-air as she stared at Samuel ---- blankly. "He didn't die." Samuel slowly took out some photos from the envelope. "He has been hidden away by Vickie for the past ten years. He worked as a laborer in the vineyard you gifted her." Robert said in a deep voice, "Go on." Samuel put a second photo on the table. It was Vickie who was handing a thick stack of cash to the driver. They were young at that time. "The brake line was intentionally cut." He looked directly at Eve and continued, "Your mother's accident was a murder orchestrated by Vickie. The latter paid five million dollars for it." Eve was thunderstruck. She had always been calm and collected. But she was uncharacteristically flustered upon discovering that her mother's death was no accident. "My father and | had our suspicions back then. We investigated it, but we found nothing." Robert walked to the fireplace and gazed at Maria's portrait above. "| always had my doubts." His voice was hoarse. "But as Eve said, we found nothing until today, when you confirmed it." He turned around, and his eyes turned as sharp as usual. "Samuel, is the driver still alive?" ---- "Of course. He is secured in the Vittorine family's underground facility." Samuel smiled faintly. "| interrogated him personally." He paused and then looked at Eve. His gaze was inscrutable. "He admitted that Vickie was pregnant back then... and you are not the father, Mr. Costa." Robert suddenly laughed. The laughter made the bodyguards in the corner instinctively step back. "It's brilliant." He caressed the frame of Maria's photo. "So Alina..." Samuel added, "She is the driver's daughter." "Bang!" Robert grabbed the gun from the coffee table and shot the photos. "Prepare the car." He tore off his bow tie and threw it to the floor. He said through gritted teeth, "| want to personally deal with that bitch..." "Dad!" Eve quickly held Robert's hand and gently shook her head. "You stay at the Costa's. Samuel and | will handle the rest. | won't let Vickie and Alina get away with it. I'll avenge Mom myself." Robert looked intently into Eve's eyes. He suddenly took out a small, elegant pistol from the drawer. "It's your mother's." He put the pistol in Eve's blood-stained ---- palm. "Use it to end this." Eve traced the engraved word, "Maria," on the gun. Then she carefully put it away. "| will, Dad." She looked up at Samuel and managed a faint smile. "Come with me somewhere." Half an hour later, they were at the Costa family's cemetery. Eve stood before her mother's grave and wept uncontrollably. "Mom, | will avenge you. I'm married now, and this is my husband, Samuel Vittorine. He's good to me, and you don't need to worry about me anymore." Samuel laid a bouquet of white roses at the grave. "We will make Vickie and Alina pay in the most painful way." Eve leaned into Samuel's embrace, and her face was wet with tears. "You know what? A week before Mom passed away, she promised to take me to study painting abroad... She always said peace and love should prevail and that violence wasn't the only way to resolve conflicts. But in fact, there's no simpler way than using violence as a direct way to ensure justice." Samuel kissed away Eve's tears. "You are right. | promise you, my dear, | will use Vickie and Alina's blood to honor your mother."