Justice of the Supreme War God

CHAPTER 41 PART 2

Back at the Morrison villa, Diana paced the living room, her phone clutched in her hand. Marcus still hadn't responded. The police station claimed he'd never been there. None of it made sense.

Catherine swept in through the front door, her expression smug. "Well? Did they arrest that thieving husband of yours?"

"Mother, not now." Diana's patience was wearing thin.

"What do you mean, not now? Diana, this is serious. That man has been stealing from you, and you're just going to let him—"

"He didn't steal anything!" Diana's voice cracked like a whip through the foyer. Catherine actually took a step back, shocked by her daughter's vehemence.

"What are you talking about? The withdrawals—"

"Were made by a hacker who planted malware on my phone." Diana's words were clipped, controlled fury barely contained beneath the surface. "Marcus tried to tell me. He knew immediately what was happening, and I didn't believe him. I called him a thief and let police officers drag him away for something he didn't do."

Catherine's mouth opened and closed. "Well, how was I supposed to know—"

"You weren't supposed to know anything, Mother, because it wasn't your business!" Diana's control finally snapped. "You showed up with police officers to arrest my husband based on what? Gossip? Assumptions? Did you even ask for proof before you tried to have him locked up?"

"Don't you dare take that tone with me, young lady. I was trying to protect you—"

"By humiliating me? By treating my husband like a criminal without a shred of evidence?" Diana laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Marcus has turned down more money in the past week than most people see in a lifetime. He rejected your fifty million, Ryan's hundred million, payment from Grandma. But sure, Mother, he's definitely stealing ninety thousand dollars from my company account."

Catherine's face flushed red. "How dare you speak to me this way—"

"Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"Get. Out." Diana pointed to the door. "And the next time you want to interfere in my marriage, don't. The contract Marcus and I signed might be cold and businesslike, but it's still a legal marriage, which means you don't get to show up with police officers whenever you feel like it."

Catherine gathered her designer purse with shaking hands. "You're making a terrible mistake, Diana. That man is going to ruin you."

"The only mistake I made was not trusting him when he told me the truth." Diana turned her back on her mother. "Goodbye, Mother."

The door slammed with enough force to rattle the windows. Diana sank onto the couch, her head in her hands. Where was Marcus? And more importantly—who had hired a world-class hacker to frame him?

Her phone buzzed with an unknown number. Diana answered immediately. "Hello?"

"Ms. Morrison?" An unfamiliar male voice. "This is Detective Chen from the Financial Crimes Unit. We need to talk about the unauthorized withdrawals from your company account."

Diana sat up straighter. "I'm listening."

"We've traced the withdrawals to a hacker operating out of the industrial district. We're moving to make an arrest now, but I thought you should know—your husband filed the complaint that led us to the suspect."

"Marcus did?" Diana's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yes, ma'am. About an hour ago. He provided us with evidence we wouldn't have found on our own. Whoever your husband is, he's got connections that even we don't have access to."

The line went dead, leaving Diana staring at her phone in the gathering darkness of the villa. Marcus hadn't just proven his innocence—he'd actively tracked down the person trying to frame him.

And she'd called him a thief.

Diana closed her eyes, remembering Marcus's face when she'd hurled that accusation at him for the second time. The slight tightening around his eyes, the only indication that her words had hurt him before his expression smoothed into that maddeningly calm mask.

Who are you, Marcus Hayes? she wondered, not for the first time. And what have I done?