The Loyal Puppet: A Love Built on Lies novel Chapter 19

The woman was startled and struggled fiercely.

Mason, afraid she might hurt Chloe, pulled her away with all his strength.

Chloe's eyes were bloodshot, her arms trembling, her whole body shaking.

"Chloe, let me handle this."

"I'll figure it out. Just trust me."

Chloe shoved Mason away, her gaze filled with rage and grief as she glared at the woman.

Mason stood frozen, stunned.

Chloe glanced at him, then turned and walked off.

He reached out and grabbed her wrist, but Chloe yanked it away.

"You can leave too."

Mason's anxiety spiked as he watched Chloe head upstairs, confusion written all over his face.

He called Noah.

"Can you dig into Chloe's family for me?"

"I need to know who's in her life."

"Bro, are you serious?"

"You were with her for five years and never bothered to learn about her family?"

Noah's question left Mason speechless.

Mason hesitated.

He'd never really cared enough to look into her background.

He'd treated her like all the others—just a fling, something to pass the time for a month or two.

Why bother learning about her family?

But somehow, she'd stayed for five years, and he still didn't know where she came from.

If he'd never truly cared, why was he so frantic and torn up over her now?

Why was he so angry and tangled up over her supposed "fake feelings"?

When Chloe came downstairs with her things packed, Mason was still there.

Chloe knew he wouldn't let this go until he got the truth.

She opened the car door and got in.

Even though they were close, Mason could feel the icy wall she'd put up between them.

"That woman is my stepmom."

"My dad was doing business in Africa, trying to expose a diamond smuggling ring."

"He married her so someone could take care of me back home."

"It was an arranged thing," Chloe said bluntly, not holding back.

"Later, my dad got seriously injured."

"The peacekeeping forces saved him, but the local medical conditions were terrible, so they sent him back."

"We lost everything."

"My dad was paralyzed and stuck in the hospital."

"She saw her future going down the drain and demanded a divorce."

"She wanted a million dollars. My dad felt guilty, so he agreed."

"But she wasn't satisfied."

"She's been coming after me for money ever since. That's it."

Mason's voice caught when he heard her say "a million dollars."

"The Three hundred grand my mom gave you... was that for her?"

Chloe pressed her lips together.

"A million for her, the rest for my dad's treatment."