As she stood in front of Irene, Alice grinned.
"My dear sister, are you moving out?"
Irene rolled her eyes at her and put on a fake smile.
"It's been so long since we last saw each other. Why do you still like asking dumb questions so much? Does a bear shit in the woods?"
Her remark left Alice livid. But she soon suppressed her anger, changing into an innocent expression again.
"I'm just trying to show you some concern. How can you think of me that way?"
Concern?
That was funny. She just wanted to mock her.
With a face devoid of emotion, Ivan intervened in their conversation. He reminded Irene, "Mrs. Marshall, it's time for you to leave. Mr. Marshall is about to come back."
The corners of her mouth twitched. She pointed at Alice and said to Ivan, "It's not that I don't want to leave; it's just that there's a mad dog blocking my path. I'm afraid that she'll bite me."
Ivan was rendered speechless.
Alice began to shed crocodile tears.
"Irene, I know you're getting divorced today. I was really worried that you'd be sad, so I left my work early to come to see you. How… How could you say that to me? I'm your sister."
"Shut up! I don't have a dog for a sister."
Irene quickly distanced herself from Alice and turned to Ivan again.
"Ivan, shall we?"
His temples began to ache, and he failed to maintain his stern expression for a moment. Left with no other choice, he said to Alice,
"Miss Jenkins, please excuse us."
Alice bit her lower lip. Her eyes were fiery with rage at this moment, but they were covered by her bangs.
"Ivan, an untrained dog cannot comprehend human language," Irene said to taunt her.
That remark made Alice fume with rage. She clenched her fists and glared at Irene.
Upon seeing Alice restrain her anger, Irene tilted her head a little, smiling to vex Alice even more. The arrogant smile on Irene's face annoyed Alice.
'What the hell is going on? Irene is usually timid, and she's always obedient and grateful to me. Why did her personality turn upside down?'
"Miss Jenkins," Ivan called out; his voice held a hint of impatience.
Alice pressed her lips, hiding her suspicions.
"Ivan, I'm not implying that I don't want my sister to leave. It's just that Lennon asked me to see how things are going here."
Both Ivan and Irene were surprised to hear that.
"Lennon knew that I was coming here, so he specifically told me to watch Irene pack up and leave. He said that according to the divorce agreement, Irene wasn't allowed to take anything that belongs to the Marshall family. I'm just here to make sure she upholds the agreement."
Alice looked at the suitcase beside Irene.
"So, Irene, could you please open your suitcase? I need to check if you took anything that doesn't belong to you."
Irene frowned at that.
"It only contains a few clothes. I didn't take anything that belongs to the Marshalls!"
Alice grabbed the suitcase from her and said, "I'm afraid it's not up to you to decide. If you didn't take anything inappropriate with you, why are you so afraid of letting me see the contents of your suitcase?"
After that, she laid the suitcase on the ground and opened it.
Inside, several clothes had been piled up in a mess. It seemed that Irene really didn't take anything valuable with her.
Alice gritted her teeth. She didn't expect that Irene was telling the truth.
Unwilling to let her go so easily, Alice rummaged through the clothes. It was as if she wasn't going to stop until she had found a piece of evidence that could prove Irene had stolen something from the Marshalls.
The only contents of the suitcase were Irene's clothes and cosmetics, and yet Alice kept rummaging through the suitcase for over ten minutes.
"Are you done checking?" Irene glanced down at Alice.
"I'm just following Lennon's orders. It's better to check thoroughly," Alice replied softly.
"Fine. Go ahead and check those clothes for as long as you want. I don't want them anymore."
Irene shook her head. The bruises on her body still hadn't healed yet. She really didn't want to waste any more time with Alice, and she didn't want to wait for Lennon to come back and try to strangle her again.
Now that she had said her piece, Irene walked past Alice, headed to the elevator, and pushed the button. Ivan followed suit.
Ding!
Before long, the elevator arrived at the third floor. The sliding doors opened slowly.
Just before Irene could walk in, she suddenly felt a chill. The temperature around her dropped several degrees, making her shiver and stop in her tracks.
The first thing she saw was a pair of shiny leather shoes. When she raised her head, she caught sight of Lennon's aloof face.
"Mr. Marshall." Ivan was the first to react, bowing his head respectfully.
"Irene, it seems that you've forgotten what I told you this morning."
There was a flash of warning in Lennon's eyes, and he sounded ill-tempered.
The second she saw him, Irene thought of how Lennon choked her that morning. She trembled with fear, wary of what he might do to her.
Standing at attention, she said, "No, I remember."
"Oh, you do? Then why the hell are you still here?" Lennon asked, striding towards her.
Irene kept pacing backward until her back was against the wall.
She closed her eyes for a second and then braced herself to look into his eyes.
"You should ask Alice. I was about to leave, but she appeared out of nowhere and delayed me. That's why I…"
Irene was halfway through her explanation when Alice suddenly interrupted her.
"How could you lie like that?" she asked with tearful eyes.
"I'm not lying!"
At this moment, Irene was cursing Alice in her head.
If it weren't for this woman, she would've left an hour ago, and she wouldn't have run into Lennon.
As if she was about to break into tears, Alice said, "Lennon, I didn't mean to delay Irene's departure. I was just following your orders to check her luggage. I'm afraid that she'll steal your stuff. My sister revels in lying. I didn't expect that she'd lie again this time."
Alice's words reminded Lennon of everything that Irene had done, making him look more sullen than usual.
"Do you honestly think I won't try to kill you?"
All of a sudden, he strangled Irene with his hand, slamming her head against the wall.
She didn't see that coming, but she managed to grab Lennon's hand instinctively. The pain coming from the back of her head made her dizzy.
"Vic… Lennon!" Irene called out with difficulty.
"How dare you test my patience over and over?" said Lennon.
With every passing second, Irene was losing her consciousness. She couldn't break free from Lennon's grasp at all.
Upon seeing the situation, Ivan decided to intervene. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Mr. Marshall, if something happens to Mrs. Marshall, those bastards in the board of directors will use that against you. If that happens, your plan of concentrating equity will be hampered."
"Fuck off!" Lennon roared.
His fingers that were gripping Irene's neck turned pale because of how strong he was gripping her.
As much as he worried about Irene, Ivan didn't dare to talk back to Lennon again.
She didn't want to die. She used the last of her strength to push Lennon's hand away.
Once she was able to catch her breath a little, she stared at him; her eyes turning red.
"If I die here and now, then I will die as your wife; still a member of the Marshalls. Someday, when you die, you will be buried next to me, and I will haunt you beyond the afterlife!"
Irene said those words with difficulty; her face had turned red due to the suffocation.
Gradually, Irene had no strength to struggle. Little by little, she could feel her consciousness slipping.