Her next stop was the law office, where she replicated the incriminating video and penned the allegations. She handed the dossier to her secretary with clear instructions. "Rex is our best divorce attorney. Entrust this to him. I'm seeking a swift divorce."

The secretary, lips quivering, addressed her with concern. "Ms. Fowler?"

Alexis conjured up a semblance of reassurance. "I'm not so easily toppled."

Following this facade of resilience, Alexis felt her energy drain away.

The Fowler residence was vibrant with her children's presence over the weekend, but she returned to the villa in solitude. The greetings of the household staff failed to penetrate her reverie. She sequestered herself within the study.

There, the playback of the video became a relentless cycle on her laptop.

She watched Leonel's embrace with another, a haunting repetition.

She immersed herself in the imagery until a wave of revulsion overwhelmed her, and she succumbed to nausea.

Leonel exited the Fowlers' residence marked by the evidence of a confrontation-red imprints stained his face, and a trickle of blood stained the corner of his mouth.

Despite the damage, Waylen's frustration lingered, feeling his reprimand had not been harsh enough.

As evening's shadows gathered, Leonel's phone buzzed incessantly with Anika's calls.

Glancing at the insistent caller ID, he dismissed the call, only for it to ring again.

With a flick, he silenced it entirely and sought solace in the smoky tendrils of his cigarette, contemplating the sky.

He arrived back at the villa under the cloak of eight o'clock. The servant's greeting was a hushed whisper. "Mrs. Douglas has returned. She's confined herself to the study, visibly agitated. Mr. Douglas, she might need you."

With a ghostly pallor under the study's crystal light, Leonel ascended the stairs. At the study's threshold, he knocked tenderly.

"Alexis?"

Silence was his only answer, prompting him to enter.

The study was shrouded in darkness, saturated with the tang of spirits. There, Alexis was ensconced on the floor, her laptop casting an eerie glow, while discarded photographs lay around her like fallen leaves.

The laptop screen played a looping embrace, the audible intimacy echoing in the quiet room.

A shiver ran through Leonel at the sight, his voice a low echo.