LOGINChristopher shook his head. "It's what I should've done."Amelia watched as he pulled into the garage, her fingers absently brushing over the seat belt buckle.In the back seat, Evelyn could barely keep her eyes open. Her head kept drooping forward, and there was still a small smear of ketchup at the corner of her mouth.Christopher got out first and walked around to open the back door, careful not to make too much noise.Evelyn stirred and opened her eyes. The moment she saw him, she seemed to wake up a little. Hugging her toy fries to her chest, she murmured, "Daddy."Amelia came around and picked her up, wiping the ketchup from the corner of her mouth with her thumb. "You're exhausted. Come on, let's get you upstairs, cleaned up, and into bed."Then she looked at Christopher. "Are you heading home after this?"Christopher glanced at his watch. It was already 10 p.m. "No. I'm going back to the office to finish a few things."He kept his phone on silent and out of sight while
As they headed out, Evelyn instinctively reached for Amelia's hand, but she kept sneaking glances at Christopher.Christopher noticed. After a brief hesitation, he reached down and took her small hand in his.Her hand was tiny and warm, and the moment her fingers curled around his, something inside him softened. The tension he had been carrying slowly eased.Evelyn blinked in surprise, then broke into a huge smile and held on tightly. She talked nonstop on the way there, clearly excited.Christopher listened patiently, nodding now and then and asking the occasional question. Before long, the three of them fell into an easy, comfortable rhythm.When they got to KFC, Evelyn hurried up to the counter and stood on tiptoe, studying the menu as she tried to decide what she wanted."Daddy, what do you want?" She turned and looked up at Christopher with complete trust."You pick. I'm good with anything." Christopher looked at her, his voice gentle.Amelia stood beside them, warmth spre
Christopher looked at Amelia, his expression unreadable.His hand slowly curled into a fist at his side. His heart, quiet for so long, suddenly started pounding.His throat tightened. "If you're willing to listen…""Of course I am."Christopher paused. He looked at her, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he held it back. He lowered his eyes and ran his fingers over the project files on the table. When he spoke again, his voice was calm."We need to adjust the schedule for the next round of Fighter 07 testing."Amelia shifted her attention back to work and nodded. "Okay. I was actually going to bring that up. Our partner wants the final data three days ahead of schedule."They quickly slipped back into work mode, going over the technical parameters and figuring out how to rearrange the testing schedule. The tension from a moment ago gradually faded as they focused on the project, replaced by a quiet, almost effortless understanding between them.Every so often, Ch
"Lincoln may not care about controlling the Zephyr family himself, but Nathan can inherit it someday. In the end, that still gives Lincoln what he wants. As long as Nathan remains the heir, I'll keep running the Zephyr family and building it up for him. Lincoln gets all the benefits without having to do a thing."Amelia found the whole thing deeply unsettling. She couldn't believe Gerald and Lincoln had been planning this for years.No wonder.No wonder Gerald had always been so fond of Nathan.Even after it came out that Nathan wasn't biologically related to the Zephyr family, Gerald didn't seem nearly as angry as everyone expected.Everything involving Christopher was part of the act.Christopher said, "So you don't need to worry about Nathan. Lincoln isn't going to mistreat his own son. But if a man like him is willing to use even his own child as leverage, there probably isn't anything he wouldn't exploit."Amelia had no idea what to say. The whole thing felt almost impossib
"So we're really just going to leave Nathan alone and stop caring what happens to him?"Deep down, Amelia had never been able to bring herself to do that.No matter how difficult Nathan was, he was still a child. Now that he was with someone like Lincoln, with no way of knowing what might happen to him, she couldn't help worrying.Christopher remained calm. He had clearly thought this through a long time ago."Some kids need firm boundaries from an early age," he said."If normal discipline hasn't gotten through to him, and a few words from someone else are enough to turn him against us and make him lose sight of what's right and wrong, then what we've been doing clearly isn't working."Even if he behaves when we're around, that doesn't mean the underlying problems are gone. They'll still come out when no one's there to keep him in check."He's had everything handed to him his whole life and has never really had to struggle for anything. He already has some serious character iss
"Come in." Christopher's voice came from inside, calm and distant.Even through the door, Amelia could already picture the cool expression on his face.She opened the door and walked in. Christopher was sitting behind his desk, going over a stack of documents.She asked casually, "Were you busy just now?"Christopher looked up at her. He set down his pen and leaned back slightly in his chair. "No. Samantha just left." His tone was completely matter-of-fact."You two seem pretty close."Christopher held her gaze. "There's nothing going on between us."After a brief pause, he added, "Samantha is Navitech's representative. She was only here to discuss a possible partnership on the 07 project. That's it."Amelia hesitated.He rarely went out of his way to explain himself like this.She phrased the question that way on purpose, never expecting him to give her such a direct explanation.The truth was, Christopher had always understood what was going on. Back then, he simply let
But Christopher was no ordinary man.He wasn't led by lust. No matter how hard Nicole tried to exude charm, she always failed.This troubled her deeply.She knew that Christopher liked her. The deeper a man's love for a woman, the more he would treasure her and not pounce on her that way.There
Hearing Nicole's call, Christopher turned toward her with a smile.He never liked smiling, always looking cold and distant. His expression sent a chill down Nicole's spine. She almost collapsed to the floor and lost her balance.She had come for the competition today, excited at the prospect of
Christopher was the award presenter. He looked pristine and elegant, his tall, towering figure glowing on stage.Nicole should have been the one standing onstage, receiving the top prize.It was all Amelia's fault.It was all because of her!Nicole glared viciously at the woman on the screen.T
Amelia's phone landed on the ground with a heavy, crisp thud.Everyone around turned to look at her.She quickly picked her phone up with trembling fingers. She read the text again, her entire body tense.[Your daughter is in my hands. If you want to ensure her safety, come to the mountain immedi







