تسجيل الدخولBut Vance acted as if he hadn't heard her cries. He calmly unlocked his phone and saw that it was still open to the email page—even the attachment preview was visible."It's our baby... It really hurts..." Catherine groaned, hoping to distract him from realizing she had been snooping through his phone.He remained unmoved and watched her coldly. She braced herself against the table and struggled to stand up. "If you don't care about our baby anymore, I'll go to the hospital by myself. It hurts so much..."She used the classic push-and-pull tactic. Vance simply sat down and watched her performance.She lingered instead of leaving, waiting for him to comfort her. But all she got was one cold sentence."Aren't you going? I thought Aiden was waiting for you.""W-What are you talking about?""Do I have to spell it out for you?""You mean looking into your phone? Aiden asked me to do it. I'm sorry. You're not going to get mad over something so small, right?"He interrupted her drama
"Maybe you're overthinking it," Catherine said. "Vance has always valued our friendship. He used to say we were the closest thing he had to family. How could he suspect you?""You said 'used to' yourself," Aiden said. "You're useless. Turn on the video. Point the camera at his phone so I can check."She cursed him under her breath but opened the video call anyway. She searched every app and folder for anything related to Aiden. There was nothing.She went through his email several times—even some of his business correspondence. Still, nothing was connected to Aiden."That's impossible. Doesn't he suspect anything at all?" Aiden muttered to himself, then remembered something. "Check if he has another account logged in!"She followed his instructions and found a secondary account."That's it! Switch to it!""It won't let me. There's a secondary password.""That's suspicious enough!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Try guessing the password."So, they started another round of password g
That was when Vance suddenly realized his phone was missing."Your phone is gone? Did you leave it in the car? Go check," Catherine said, glancing at the laptop Vance had brought with him.He frowned. "I'll go take a look."He stood up and left the room, taking the laptop with him. She stared at him in disbelief.Why would he take the laptop just to check the car? How was she supposed to look through his files now? She had thought it would be a good chance.Before Vance could walk out of the hallway, the door to another private room suddenly opened. Someone clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him inside, then quickly shut the door."Mr. Bradford, please cooperate. We won't hurt you," the person whispered behind him.Meanwhile, Catherine was racking her brain inside the room, trying to figure out her next move.Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Room service.""Come in," she answered irritably.A server in a white shirt and bow tie walked in holding a phone. "Excus
Aiden paused outside the room, almost certain Vance was putting on an act.He wondered if Vance had found out about everything he had done over the past few years. Anyway, he couldn't just sit and wait.He needed to figure out what Vance knew. But how could he test the waters? There was only one person he could use.When he came to find Catherine, she was still sulking. But the moment he handed her 100,000 dollars in cash, her anger vanished."You're the mother of my child. I won't abandon you," he said, playing the emotional card.She felt better, even thinking that she might have to stick with Aiden in the end. After all, she was carrying his child.If she stayed with Vance, that landmine would eventually explode, and when it did, she would have nowhere to run.As her tone softened, Aiden began his performance, downing wine one glass after another."What's wrong?" she asked.He sighed dramatically and refused to speak. Finally, he pretended he was at the end of his rope and
Vance never held back when telling them what he wanted to eat. It was better to keep them busy than let them sit around sighing every day.After dinner, he helped Andrew tend to the small vegetable garden in the backyard. The once-overgrown yard now had neat rows of vegetables and finally felt alive again.But as he squatted among the plants, he couldn't help recalling the time he and Rebecca had gone back to Josette's suburban house.They had sat at the front door watching the melons and flowers blooming in the yard. The pain hit him without warning, but there was nothing he could do.Only when it was dark did he leave the place and return to the hotel.The next morning, he showed up at the office. Aiden had arrived earlier and was waiting with several outsourcing company representatives."Let's go to the conference room," Vance said."Now that Mr. Bradford is here, you can finalize the renewal contracts with him," Aiden told the representatives smoothly.Everyone sat down aro
Vance was stumped and felt a wave of embarrassment.Without another word, Edwin turned and went back into his office. Vance sat down in the waiting area, not stepping forward until Rebecca came out two hours later.A few days apart, saying her name felt like it belonged to another lifetime, but clearly, she didn't want to see him.In her mind, they had said goodbye and should not cross paths again.He saw the impatience in her eyes and smiled bitterly. "You won't even see me for a minute? Do you really hate me that much?"She shook her head. "I don't hate you."Hope flashed in his eyes, but her next words sent him straight back to hell. "I've already erased you from my life. If you don't show up, I don't even remember you."At that moment, Vance finally understood what people meant when they said indifference was crueler than hatred. For a second, he wished she would hate him. At least then, she would still think of him sometimes.She started toward the exit. He fell into step
Vance snapped out of it. "I agree."Catherine looked devastated, biting her lip so hard it nearly bled.Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "How do we make this legally binding? It can't just be words."Vance frowned. "You don't trust me? My word is my bond."She was unimpressed. "You have zero credibili
"Vance, say something about the snake you married!" Aiden shouted.Vance touched the stinging scratches on his face, then stepped forward. "Let's not get sidetracked. What do you want, Rebecca? Name your price.""Yeah," Catherine chimed in, moving closer, "Lucas is right. Your footage probably won
"Yeah, I've only ever seen them online. I'll buy a set, and we can test it together," Rebecca said, excitement bubbling in her voice. "And once it's set up, I can take you traveling whenever we want. No more worrying about the flowers drying out or bothering the neighbors to water them.""But..." J
Rebecca's bag was kept in a locker. She didn't even know if he had called her afterward. But even if she had known, she wouldn't have answered.Now Vance looked rattled. She had known him since she was fifteen, and there was only one person who could ever make him lose his composure like this.Whe







