Every passing moment was another moment closer to Renee's death.But when everyone arrived at the hospital, Kayla stuck to her guns, threatening suicide when Aaron and Julian questioned him to prove her innocence. The Spencers naturally believed her.As for Alison, she could not produce any evidence despite her suspicion.Before leaving, she pointed at Kayla and snarled through gritted teeth, "You'd better pray you're actually innocent, or I'll make sure you're jailed for life, no matter what it takes!"At the same time, Jasper leveled a cold glare at Aaron, shaking the elderly man to the core. He quickly told Alison, "Please calm down, ma'am. And don't worry, Mr. Zeller—all my people will assist with the search right away."Julian was worried about Renee too. "I'll help too, Grandpa."As they left the hospital together. Julian quietly approached Jasper and asked under his breath, "Mr. Zeller, why are you always concerning yourself over Renee Whitley? Could it be…" He pause
Emotional and hysterical, Kayla was choking even as she sobbed, "Please, Adam—I know I made a mistake before, but that's only because I loved you too much and was so afraid of losing you! That's the only time I couldn't think straight and ended up hurting Renee…"Then, looking downward pointedly at her own bleeding wrist, she kept rambling even as she fought against the heartrending pain, "I can't live without you… Please, Adam—you're everything to me, even more important than my own life!"Once she finished, she threw herself into Adam's arms and bawled out loud, as if her heart was breaking.She dulled in comparison to Renee's beauty, but she could still hold her own.And with her tears raining like that, anyone's heart would ache for her.As Adam didn't have a heart of stone, he sympathized and patted her back. "It's okay, I believe you. Just calm down, okay?"Then, he leaned over to press the bedside buzzer, barking, "Doctor?! I need help, stat!"The medical staff promptly r
Knowing that Renee was never one to be tardy, Jasper asked in concern, "Hasn't Ms. Whitley arrived yet?"Alison smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, silly me—I was too busy watching the race. I'll call her again."During the Poochie race, her secretary had told her again that she couldn't reach Renee, but she didn't think much of it at the time.She swiped through her contacts, found Renee's number, and tapped on it. Beep, beep...Once again, the dialing tone kept droning on, until it cut off automatically.She tried again, but still no one answered."She's still not answering?" Jasper asked, noticing her frown.As Alison looked up at her brother, they held each other gazes for a moment as a foreboding sensation kicked in."Something must've happened!" Alison paced around her office, suddenly frantic. "It must be Kayla Spencer again… I'll find her, and I'll kill her…"Still, she paused and turned to Jasper. "Please, Jas—you have to send everyone you have. It's clear Kayla w
Renee kicked and banged her head against the wooden crate, but the planks held fast.Her wrists and ankles were already bleeding from the exertion, and the slightest movement was soon starting to hurt, but that seemed not to matter much in the face of death.Even so, her struggles were futile.Before long, she felt herself suddenly being lifted into the air and moved into another vehicle.As she lay on her side, she realized she could stretch out her legs but couldn't turn much—she was nailed into the coffin!So Kayla was planning to bury her alive?!At that point, Renee stopped moving and decided to save her strength—further exertion would just waste the air in the coffin, ultimately leading to suffocation.All she could do was hope and wait for Alison or someone else to notice that she was missing and come looking for her.After all, she had no choice—with her hands bound behind her back, she could only lie helplessly on her side. The scent of sawdust and thinner filled her
Alison rolled her eyes—she had always said that she and Jasper were oil and water when it came to work, and this proved it all the more. She couldn't stand his condescending attitude, and he belittled her competence—one might even say they hated each other's guts.Still, Alison dialed Renee's number again. "Well, Ms. Whitley told me yesterday, but she's also the boss, so I gave her full clearance. What's going on here? She did call earlier to say that she'll be dropping by the police station, and she should be done by now… I'll call her." "Hello, the number you're calling is busy at the moment..." Alison sighed and simply presumed it was her secretary.Jasper, watching Alison put her phone away, asked coldly, "She's a shareholder too?'"Yep," Alison replied, nodding.Jasper sighed. "One of the biggest taboos for startups is keeping friends and family out of the board to prevent conflict of interest. Don't you understand that?"Alison waved him off. "Don't get so paranoid—tha
As Jasper got into the car, Renee stood by, smiling formally as she said, "Mr. Zeller, the Poochie race starts at ten in the morning today. Please be there on time."There wasn't even a hint of friendliness from her—not when her admiration for him instantly dropped to zero following yesterday's exchange.Still, she knew she couldn't afford to offend him at all, not when he was a potential client that corporations could only dream off.Jasper reclined against his seat, his dark eyes dead calm as he looked at her in turn. "It's a shame you're not in theater with how quick your personality changes, Ms. Whitley."Renee's smile froze again, and he reached out to close the car door, but she dared not retort and simply kept smiling.Simon was left scratching his head beside her. "Ms. Whitley, what was the boss talking about?""His appreciation for theater, perhaps," she replied noncommittally and headed for her car.As she drove out of the parking lot, she called Alison along the way a