LOGINNatalie cast him a brief, cool glance, and the shadow immediately turned his head aside and stayed quiet.She lowered her gaze and began scanning through the documents in her hand at a rapid pace.The more she read, the more unsettled she became, and by the end, a cold glint flickered across her eyes.With a sharp snap, she tossed the tablet into the compartment of the car and leaned back against the seat, her expression completely frosted over.Ivy sensed the air inside dropping several degrees and swallowed hard, not daring to look back.Natalie closed her eyes, her shoulders trembling faintly from the anger she was trying to contain.Just as she had expected, her encounters with Samuel had been orchestrated on purpose.Even those meetings seven years ago or four years ago had been arranged by someone behind the scenes.What unsettled her most was the discovery that parts of her business layout were somehow connected to Samuel as well.Her mind drifted back to when she met him at th
“Yes.”“Alright.” Marcus’s smile returned with a simmering anger beneath it, and his gaze shifted to Natalie behind Samuel. “Then I will announce that Natalie has won the final match.”Hearing the result, Natalie had not expected him to concede so easily.But in the next second, her expression changed.“But it is far too soon to talk about taking over. You still need a few years of practice, and I will need a thorough assessment. After all, the leader’s position is not something taken lightly.”As soon as he said this, the temperature in the office dropped sharply.Samuel hadn’t expected Marcus to hold back like this and immediately tried to speak.“The leader is right. We will both listen to you.” Natalie stepped in before he could argue, her expression calm, as if the matter weren’t important.Marcus’s lips curved in satisfaction, and he seemed to return to the gentle elder he always pretended to be. “You must be tired from today’s fight, so go rest for now.”After leaving the offic
Natalie ignored him, and her movements grew faster and sharper.In the end, Samuel wrapped an arm around her waist, forcing her to meet his gaze.As he leaned in, he noticed the Band-Aid on her forehead, and his eyes shifted. “What happened to your head?”The moment the question left his lips, he remembered the two times Natalie had been hunted down in America. His expression darkened, and so did his voice. “Did you run into the people chasing you again on the road?”Both of them froze as soon as he said it.They were in State M now. How could those people know she was here and still be pursuing her so relentlessly?A chill crept over Natalie, and she instinctively glanced toward Marcus sitting below.“Stop talking nonsense, our match isn’t finished yet.” She looked away, lifted her leg, and kicked hard, slipping out of his hold the moment he loosened his grip.Samuel watched her decisive movements, his gaze turning cold. When she came at him again, he caught her wrists behind her bac
Natalie headed toward the competition venue.Along the way, she received a call from America. It was Zoe, who was currently on a business trip to country K. After hearing something from Nathaniel, she assumed Natalie was still in country K and wanted to meet her before returning.“She’s not in country K anymore.”Zoe sounded disappointed. “I was hoping you’d be here. We’re going back to America in a few days, so where are you now?”Natalie pressed her lower lip lightly, her gaze shifting aside as she frowned. The accelerator was held down firmly beneath her foot. While watching the road ahead, she responded to Zoe with a distracted tone.Their conversation only ended when another incoming call interrupted.Lowering her eyes, she tapped the screen. The moment she looked up again, her vision narrowed sharply at the harsh beam of light flashing toward her.A black car had veered out of its lane and was rushing straight at her. A bad premonition struck her instantly.Before the thought fo
Ivy reacted quickly, twisting the red ribbon into a tight ball and tossing it aside. “Everything written there is nonsense, Boss, please ignore it.”Natalie gave him a calm glance but chose not to respond.“Go through this diary carefully and tell me if anything stands out.”She had been somewhat curious at first, but now the interest was gone. She no longer wanted to dig into someone else’s secrets. And the person behind all of this was still that same individual. No matter how much she learned, there was nothing she could do for the moment.She could only wait until she won the contest against Samuel three days later, then received permission to enter the intelligence department.On her way back to the villa district, she happened to run into Marcus stepping out of his car, dressed neatly in formal wear.He appeared slightly surprised to see her at the entrance, though he hid it well. With a small smile, he asked, “Where did you go?”“Just stepped out to handle something.”“Oh.” Wit
"Then listen to the Master."Ivy was nearly speechless when he learned that she had agreed to fight another heir. "Boss, this is clearly deliberate, letting you clash like a snipe and a clam while he benefits. Why did you actually agree already?""Stop talking nonsense. Go find a mask for me." Natalie cut him off coldly."Oh."Marcus moved quickly. Early the next morning, he sent a housekeeper to inform her that the time had been set for Friday, just three days away.She had no objection to the schedule, but she felt slightly irritated.The speed of the decision showed that Samuel also intended to compete for the leader’s position. Although she was confident in her own strength, she could sense that Samuel was not any weaker.And every time she remembered that Samuel had been her target of interest, yet concealed the reason he went to Country K, irritation welled up in her again.Still, to be fair, she herself had not revealed her identity to him either, but even so, something felt un







