LOGINDerrick's plan was now very clear to us.Derrick was planning to trick Victoria into the apartment unit. Then, he would take the money from her and set fire to the place where he'd have turned on the gas. The resulting explosion would then blow Victoria into pieces.After all, once she was dead, she would never be able to snitch on him, and he could also continue using her as a scapegoat for his crimes.I went through the information Xander handed to me and felt the cold spreading from my hands to my feet. I sent an anonymous text message to Victoria at once."Derrick is mad that you betrayed him and wants to kill you! There's a gas leak in the apartment. Get out of there as quickly as you can! That crazy man has gone out of his mind! And make sure you keep your family safe!"…Victoria arrived at the agreed apartment unit.When she found a suitcase stuffed full of cash under the bed, she was so excited that she couldn't stop herself from shaking. Just as she was about to make a
Derrick's case was about to be brought to trial. Since the stolen amount was massive and the evidence was piled up against him, he was most certainly going to get 15 years in prison at the very least.However, three days before the trial, Derrick managed to escape when his accomplices attacked the police van ferrying him from one detention center to another.So, now, Derrick was a fugitive on the run with a large sum of money.That sent Schmidt Industries to the center of gossip once again.I withstood all the pressure and handled the company business in an orderly manner. Meanwhile, Xander used all his connections to stabilize the situation while also tracking Derrick down to the best of his abilities.Mom and Dad were scared now. They'd finally realized that they had been keeping a wolf amongst their den of sheep for a very long time without knowing just how terrible Derrick could be. They just continued wallowing in regret and went along with every decision I made at the compan
Everyone was stunned by my words. This was a huge gamble I was making, and both Schmidt Industries and my entire future were at stake.Xander stood right behind me and gave me a look of certainty.I knew that I wasn't alone this time.Over the next few days, I never left Schmidt Industries and practically lived in my office, working nonstop and only getting three to four hours of sleep a day.With Xander's help, I quickly got rid of all of Derrick's people in the company and presented a whole new proposal that we had prepared beforehand. It was on a cooperative venture in the new energy sector.We made waves in the industry as soon as the project was announced, and Schmidt Industries' stock prices began rising steadily.…Meanwhile, Derrick wasn't exactly enjoying his time in the detention center.His parents tried to get him out on bail, but the evidence against him was too incriminating, and nobody dared to help him.Thoroughly in despair, Derrick suddenly thought of Victori
I watched Mom and Dad as they yelled at me one after another. I found it both amusing and disheartening at the same time.I then looked around at all the board members in the room before finally resting my gaze on Derrick."Apologize?" The corners of my mouth tugged upward into an icy smile. "I think I'm not the one who owes anyone an apology."Derrick looked at me with a hurt expression. His acting was far better than any actor I'd ever seen."Are you still mad at me, Cassie? I know now that I was wrong. I shouldn't have thought of saving Victoria first in that kind of situation. Can't you forgive me? Let's not make this worse than it is. The board is watching us."Derrick really knew how to manipulate the situation with his words. Just like that, he made me out to be a petty and unreasonable person."Don't change the topic, Derrick."I took out the thick stack of documents from my bag and flung it onto the table. The documents slid right into the center of the table."Dearest
Derrick got to work faster than I thought he would.Not long after I ended the call, the internet exploded with news and tabloids about me.The header read, "Schmidt Industries Heiress Has an Affair with the Tarantino Heir, Abandoning Heartbroken Three-Year Fiance."The rest of the article described Derrick as the "perfect fiance" who was betrayed by his fiancee. The accompanying photo had been taken yesterday when he was supposedly frantically looking for me during the typhoon.A second photo showed him waiting forlornly at Schmidt Industries' lobby, looking absolutely disheveled and heartbroken while being ambushed by the paparazzi. Everyone in the comments was swearing at me and calling me all sorts of derogatory names."What the actual fuck? How could that bitch be so shameless? How could she just run off with another bastard, all because her fiance saved her friend first?""That bitch is such a gold-digger. Don't you know that the Tarantinos are a hell lot richer than the
Xander drove his car straight to a mansion in the middle of the hills. The mansion was situated on higher terrain, and thus, it wasn't affected by the typhoon at all.Xander carried me out of the car and into the mansion before gently setting me down on the couch in the living room. His family doctor immediately attended to me.I was given a warm room, a piping hot bowl of soup, and some clean and dry clothes to change into. Everything was already arranged for me beforehand.It had been so many years since someone treated me like this that I'd forgotten how nice it felt.All Derrick had ever done for me in my past life was splash that bucket of water in my face and pin me to the ground while calling me all sorts of derogatory names.After the doctor administered some medications to me, I had some of the soup before falling into a deep sleep.This was the deepest sleep that I had ever gotten. Even the nightmares disappeared, along with the fear and pain of getting shot in the ches







