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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Penulis: Emelda Martins
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-10-30 16:35:32

Alexander's POV

The first headline popped up at 6:45 AM, and I was already awake, staring at my laptop, waiting for it.

"Thompson Enterprises CEO's Criminal Past Revealed"

I clicked through and saw her mugshot, nineteen-year-old Lily with wide terrified eyes and no makeup, looking like a kid who'd just had her world destroyed.

My stomach twisted but I kept reading.

The article laid out everything exactly as I'd provided it: the arrest for art forgery and fraud, the police investigation, and her involvement in creating fake paintings that sold for thousands of dollars.

Torres had buried the part about charges being dropped in the seventh paragraph where most people wouldn't see it.

Perfect character assassination.

I should have felt victorious but instead I felt nothing except a strange hollow sensation in my chest.

My phone started ringing immediately, and I ignored the first three calls before Robert Hartley's name appeared, and I knew I had to answer.

"Alexander, have you seen the n
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  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

    Alexander's POVI spent all night reviewing my parents' accident files until the words blurred together and dawn light filled my apartment.At seven AM I made a decision that terrified me more than any corporate battle.I needed to tell Lily the truth about my parents and why Victor Walter would always be my enemy regardless of business logic.She deserved to understand the history between our families and why I'd reacted so strongly to her meeting with him.At nine, I walked into her office without knocking, and she looked up from her laptop with surprise."Alexander, I wasn't expecting you this morning." Her voice was cautious. "Are you okay?""No. But I need to talk to you about what Victor said last night." I closed the door and sat across from her desk. "About my parents' accident and why I can never trust him."Lily set aside her work and gave me her full attention. "I'm listening.""My parents died fifteen years ago when I was seventeen. Car accident on the causeway, brake fail

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

    Lily's POVSophia showed up at my apartment on Thursday morning with coffee and pastries, just as she always did when I was upset."I know you're angry about the Victor thing but please let me explain." She set the food on my counter. "Everything I did was to help you.""By taking money to spy on me?" I crossed my arms. "Sophia, he paid you nearly two hundred thousand dollars.""For legitimate consulting about corporate culture and your adjustment to the CEO role." Sophia's voice was earnest. "Lily, Victor genuinely cares about your well-being and wanted an insider perspective on whether you were being supported properly.""Or he wanted confidential information about board meetings and financial strategy." I grabbed coffee anyway because I was exhausted. "Alexander showed me the payment records.""Alexander is paranoid and sees conspiracies everywhere." Sophia sat on my couch. "Has it occurred to you that he's just like Richard? Keeping secrets, manipulating information, deciding what

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

    Alexander's POVI drove home on autopilot while Victor's words echoed through my mind like poison."The accident that killed them wasn't actually an accident."At my apartment I poured scotch with shaking hands and stood at the window staring at Miami's glittering skyline the way I had fifteen years ago the night my parents died.I'd been seventeen not fifteen like I'd told Lily, old enough to understand death but young enough to be destroyed by it.The police had called Richard at two AM saying there'd been an accident on the causeway and my parents' car had gone into the water after brake failure.Mechanical error they'd ruled it after a cursory investigation that Richard had seemed eager to close quickly.I remembered standing in Richard's study three days after the funeral demanding to see the accident report."Why did the brakes fail? Dad just had the car serviced." My voice had been raw from crying. "Something's wrong about this.""Sometimes accidents just happen Alexander. Mech

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

    Lily's POVI caught up with Alexander in the parking lot, where he stood beside his car, gripping his keys so tightly his knuckles were white."Alexander, stop. We need to talk about what Victor just said." I touched his shoulder and felt him tense. "What was he talking about with your parents' accident?""It's not relevant to anything." His voice was flat and emotionless in a way that meant he was barely holding himself together. "Victor was just trying to distract from his own crimes by throwing out conspiracy theories.""It didn't sound like a conspiracy theory. It sounded like something specific that he knows about." I moved around to face him. "Were there questions about how your parents died?""There are always questions when someone dies suddenly. It doesn't mean anything." Alexander unlocked his car. "I need to go home and review the accident investigation files.""Then let me come with you. We can look at them together." I grabbed his arm. "Alexander, you just found out I'm

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

    Alexander's POVI walked through Marcel's directly to their table and the look on Lily's face when she saw me was equal parts surprise and anger.Victor smiled like he'd been expecting me which made my blood boil hotter."Alexander Thompson. What a pleasant surprise." Victor's tone was amused. "Would you like to join us for dessert?""I'd like you to stop manipulating Lily while she's vulnerable." I kept my voice low because we were in a public restaurant but fury made every word sharp. "Whatever you're offering her is poison wrapped in concern.""Alexander, what are you doing here?" Lily stood up and her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. "You followed me?""James told me you were meeting with Victor and I came to make sure you understood who you're having dinner with." I looked at Victor. "He's been working with Sophia to undermine you. He has sources inside the company feeding him confidential information. This dinner isn't about helping you, it's about positioning himself to

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

    Alexander's POVJames called me on Wednesday evening while I was reviewing debt restructuring proposals that couldn't hold my attention."Alexander, I just heard something you need to know." His voice was tight with concern. "Lily's having dinner with Victor Walter tonight at Marcel's."The papers slipped from my hands and scattered across my desk. "What?""Diana saw the reservation when she was monitoring Victor's activities. Seven PM tonight, table for two under his name." James paused. "She's meeting with him Alexander."My chest constricted because after everything we'd shared about Richard being her father and the letters and building trust, Lily was meeting with the enemy."Did she tell you about this?" James asked when I didn't respond."No. She asked for space to process everything about Richard but she didn't mention meeting Victor." I stood and paced in my office. "She's keeping it secret which means she knows I wouldn't approve.""She's vulnerable right now. Just learned he

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