At the same time, Lucas—who had just left the villa—also received a text. Of course he had Morgan's number."If you won't show mercy, don't blame me for being ruthless. This daughter of mine is no longer a tool I can use at will anyway. If you all force me into a corner, I'll use her to make a big score."You care about her so much, right? Then she stays as my bargaining chip. Try to kill me, and I'll drag her down with me! Lucas, you drove me into this. No one will have it easy now. Either meet all my demands, or I take her and disappear."Lucas crumpled the cigarette between his fingers. He didn't even notice the burn.How dare that bastard threaten him with Ariel? Something had obviously gone wrong. But Morgan hadn't told him his location.Lucas' face was drained of color. He ran straight for the garage.Wendy walked in with a reserved card just as Lucas was heading out. She couldn't think of anyone else who could make him look that tense.She had come to plead with him to ta
Seeing that, Jayson froze in place. His eyes locked on the name.After a long moment, he finally let out a breath and sent Ariel a text. "Where are you? Want to grab dinner tonight? I can pick you up."After sending the message, he stared at the chat for a moment and then pinned it to the top.…Ariel was in a meeting with Faye Technologies' tech department, discussing current system optimizations with Noah and Chad.Chad frowned when he saw her. "You just never stop, do you? Why don't you rest for once?"Ariel watched the numbers flicker on the screen and smiled slightly. "I'm fine. Keeping busy helps. Plus, my surgery date is basically set."Chad put down his folder and frowned. "That surgery plan…"He had heard Janice mention it. Ariel's condition wasn't good. It might require a full hysterectomy.Ariel blinked and kept jotting down data. "I have to do whatever has to be done."Chad saw the worry lurking under her calm and patted her shoulder. "As long as the operation goe
As soon as Lucas left, Morgan felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar. He stood there, dazed, and his face grew paler by the second.He knew what Lucas was like. Back in the company, Lucas' methods had a reputation for being ruthless.Lucas knew every shady move Morgan had ever made in business. If any of it came out, Morgan wouldn't have a way to survive.Forget the law; even the companies he had screwed over in the past wouldn't let him off the hook. His life would be watched—and hunted—by everyone he'd crossed. Lucas wanted to crush him completely."Dad, what do we do? Let's go to Ariel. She can't just ignore us, right?" Lori's teeth chattered as she stared in the direction Lucas had gone. Her eyes were filled with helpless frustration.Morgan stared at the hand Lucas had ground down so mercilessly. Pain made his lips tremble. "It's over… Jayson was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Lucas probably has more tricks up his sleeve."Those two were both gunning fo
Jayson had always loved everything Ariel cooked. He would eat every last bite. If she gave the recipe to Georgia, he might actually eat a little.Georgia looked at her. "Mrs. Larkin, are you leaving?"Ariel glanced toward the bedroom. "I've got some urgent work to handle."She didn't explain further. After all, she had a lot to process after the conversation with Jayson.Georgia didn't press. Ariel left her the recipe and headed to Faye Technologies.There really was a work issue. Something tricky had come up in the tech department, and she needed to go handle it.…Meanwhile, Lucas went to Sanderson Manor.Sanderson Group was collapsing, and rivals were circling.Morgan sat in the living room, unable to recover from the blow.He didn't understand. He had already repaid part of what he owed, so the remaining companies shouldn't have been pressing him so hard. Yet suddenly, everything had shifted. Several companies had joined forces, squeezing him from all sides.When Lori sa
Suddenly learning all this, Ariel stayed quiet for a while. "Is that so? But did you really have no feelings for Nancy at all? People's emotions aren't fixed. Everyone saw how close you two were. On the day I was diagnosed, you were even setting off fireworks for her birthday."Jayson had been with Nancy even on her birthday."That day was her birthday, but it was also our anniversary," Jayson said, looking at her. "Lucas was about to get out of prison, so I thought you might forget our anniversary. I thought you'd remember after seeing the fireworks."That day, he had been testing her because Lucas would be free the very next day."His release put me on edge. Normally, you never forget our anniversaries, but that time, you didn't mention it for so long. I naturally read too much into it." Jayson finally spilled all the selfish, messy thoughts he had kept buried.After that day, Ariel asked for a divorce.He had seen it coming. He had always known that he had been skirmishing wit
Jayson kept his eyes on Ariel. "But I didn't cheat on you."Ariel stayed quiet, letting him speak.Jayson, still aching from the headache, held her hand and pressed it to his chest. "No one else has ever been here. Ariel, whether it was before or now, I've devoted nine years to you alone."It sounded like a final, desperate confession, as if he were throwing caution to the wind. Perhaps his illness was making him unusually blunt."You really don't remember that 'matching profile photo' you misunderstood?" His tone was tinged with helplessness. "You don't even remember your own drawing?"Ariel's frown softened, but she couldn't recall anything.Jayson opened the bedside drawer and pulled out a framed hand-drawn picture.On an A4 sheet, it showed the original copy of Jayson's profile photo, with a small signature—"Ariel"—in the lower right corner, written in neat, elegant script.It was indeed her writing.The moment Ariel saw that, a flood of distant memories began to return.