VIP Lounge, ManhattanThe heavy door sealed off the noise from outside, leaving the private lounge in a stifling silence.Liam and Caesar sat opposite each other, an invisible tension stretching taut between them.Liam picked up his glass, fingertips tracing the cool surface. He took a sip and spoke first. "I'm listening."Caesar didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled a folder from his briefcase but made no move to hand it over. His eyes fixed on Liam, his tone cautious."Before we begin, I'm curious—how did you learn about the will?"A faint, ambiguous smile touched Liam's lips."As you know, Cecilia can be impulsive. When she's upset, she says things." He paused, his gaze sharpening as his voice turned cold and emphatic. "But I know her grandfather was no fool. The terms of the will are nothing like what she described.""What did she say?" Caesar leaned forward almost imperceptibly.Liam's tone laced with unmasked scorn. "She claimed that once married, she would gain full con
On the other side of the city.The night was deep. The lights from skyscrapers wove a tapestry of shimmering reflections on the glass facades.Before a floor-to-ceiling window, Margaret stood with graceful poise, her figure blending into the darkness as if part of it.On the leather sofa, Dave looked stern, his fingers casually picking up a photograph from the table.The young woman in the picture looked so much like her late mother it made his chest tighten.“You went through all that trouble to call me back. For what?” he asked coldly. “Isn’t the life of a wealthy socialite good enough for you?”Margaret turned slowly, placing her wine glass on the windowsill.A bewitching smile bloomed on her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I also thought everything would be perfect after that woman died.”She took a step forward, her voice dropping. “But I underestimated Hardy&helli
Inside the car, Cecilia went cold.She instinctively curled up, trying to hide in the shadow beneath the dashboard. It was useless.“Cecilia! Did you really attack Ethel?!”“Does MT’s silence mean they’re admitting guilt?!”“Is your father deliberately avoiding this? We need a statement!”The windows shuddered under a barrage of pounding hands and camera lenses, threatening to shatter.Cecilia’s breath hitched, her fingers turning to ice. She was drowning, suffocating in the chaotic siege.Then—A tall figure tore through the mob, planting himself in front of the car like an unshakable shield.Liam.An aura of glacial intensity radiated from him. His gaze swept over the mob like arctic ice. Every word he spoke fell with absolute clarity into the suddenly dead silence.“It wasn’t her.” His voice was iron-clad, leaving no room for doubt. “—I did it.”The parking lot fell into an eerie, utter silence.
The private green space behind the hospital baked under the harsh afternoon sun. The air was thick and heavy, the heat oppressive.A few people hurried past, but no one dared to approach this secluded corner.Caesar stubbed out one cigarette and immediately lit another. He took a deep drag, the smoke blurring his vision but doing nothing to ease his frayed nerves.Finally, he spoke, his voice low. “Sir, can you tell me… what exactly happened?”Liam slowly lifted his chin, crushing his own cigarette against a nearby trash can.His voice was calm, unshaken.“My apologies. A gentleman should never raise his hand to a woman. But—” He paused, his gaze sharpening as it cut toward Caesar. “She attacked my wife. That, I will never tolerate.”Caesar froze, his lips parting soundlessly.It wasn’t the admission of violence against his daughter that shocked him—it was the word wife.He’s married? Since when?As far as he knew, Liam Sinclair had only recently returned to the States.His powerful f
“So that’s Caesar Hasley?” Liam was the first to break the silence, his tone dripping with undisguised scorn. “Ethel… is his daughter?”Cecilia slowly pulled her gaze back from the car window and gave a slight nod, her fingers tightening unconsciously. “This might be complicated. Caesar is infamous for spoiling his daughter. He has no principles when it comes to her.”Everyone knew Ethel had grown up abroad with her mother and was practically a stranger to her father.By the time she returned, Caesar’s legal empire was at its peak—his firm, H&H, had a near monopoly on the country’s most critical cases. Criminal, corporate, financial—he hadn’t lost a single one.Yet, her father's prestige earned neither her respect nor admiration—only endless indulgence born from his guilt.Especially after Ethel got involved with Gordon, she became stubborn and blind to reality.Everyone knew Gordon was a notorious playboy and utterly unfit for marriage, yet she refused to see reason, deluding herself
Cecilia, however, was far past reason.She lunged forward, seizing Ethel’s carefully styled curls in a vicious grip, yanking her head back until Ethel was forced to look up at her.“Pathetic,” Cecilia spat. “I’ll warn you one last time—don’t mess with me. And stop trying to copy me, Second Cecilia!”The insult landed like a knife straight into Ethel’s chest.She had clawed her way into high society by clumsily mimicking Cecilia’s wardrobe, mannerisms, even her tastes.That nickname—“second Cecilia”—was the one thing she could never bear to hear.Her face flushed crimson, rage and humiliation twisting her features.“You—” she hissed, panting as her hand fumbled across the table until it closed around a glass.Wildness sparked in her eyes. With a desperate cry, she swung the glass high, aiming straight for Cecilia’s face.