LOGINA man's true tastes, it turned out, were never quite what they seemed on the surface.Sharon had just finished straightening her outfit and was about to step out when someone pulled her from behind.She stiffened. Before she could even turn around, a pair of arms had already circled her waist."All changed?" Thomas's voice came warm against her ear, his breath brushing her neck and sending a fine shiver through her.Sharon instinctively tried to pull free, but he only tightened his hold. His chin settled into the curve of her shoulder, his gaze sliding past her to the full-length mirror in front of them.In the mirror, she stood in the black-and-white maid's dress, the hem grazing her knees, a white apron cinched at her waist with a neat bow tied behind her. The neckline wasn't cut low, but it traced the line of her collarbone just right. Atop her head, the fluffy rabbit ears trembled faintly, making her look soft and delicate."Sharon." His voice dropped low and rough. "You're b
Sharon had no idea what Thomas was looking at so intently.She crept up beside him, and when she saw what he was holding, she froze for a second before her face went scarlet.It was the lingerie Wendy had given her.After her failed attempt to "seduce" Thomas the last time, Sharon had packed the whole set away. Wendy, assuming Thomas simply hadn't liked the style, had gone out and hunted down an entire wardrobe of different outfits for her—some so skimpy the fabric barely qualified as clothing, some cosplay-style uniforms modeled after schoolgirls, nurses, and flight attendants, and a small arsenal of other props guaranteed to make anyone blush. There was nothing Wendy hadn't thought of.After Thomas turned her down once, Sharon had buried the entire collection at the bottom of a box. Even when Wendy kept sending more, Sharon barely glanced at them.She never expected Thomas to one day dig them out.Thomas turned his head, his dark eyes settling on her."Sharon, you said you'd m
Afterward, they could claim self-defense — that Rick had attacked the head of the family and been met with a forced response — and no one would find a single flaw in the story. He would have died for nothing, and stripped of his shares in the process. Sharon would come out the undisputed winner, with no threat left standing against her.Watching the scene unfold, Richard felt a moment of dazed disbelief, followed by a long, weary sigh. He'd spent too many years dominating the business world not to see exactly what this whole performance had been aimed at from the start. They wanted Rick brought down, wanted every last share stripped from his hands.Richard knew his son's character well enough to be certain Rick hadn't actually killed Harley or Lesley. But what good did that knowledge do him? With this much evidence stacked against him, even if everyone in the room believed Rick had been framed, it wouldn't change a thing. Thomas and Jamie had come prepared today — there was no versio
If Harley meant to pin the blame on Rick, he'd have needed to quietly keep evidence of his own to fall back on. As for the footage of Rick and Lesley meeting — that one had come from Lesley himself, handed to Wendy the night everything happened.Lesley had once promised Wendy that if she helped him, he'd help her and Sharon take Rick down for good. But he hadn't been certain he could actually beat Jamie in a direct fight. To prove his sincerity, and to make sure his promise to Wendy wouldn't die with him, he'd given her the evidence ahead of time, telling her to pass it on to Sharon after he was gone. That way, Sharon could still use it to bring Rick down regardless of how the fight turned out. If Lesley won against Jamie, he'd meant to deal with Rick himself, personally, and spare the two women from having to get their hands dirty. But even if he lost, he intended to keep his word to Wendy either way.After learning of Lesley's death, Wendy had spent weeks in a daze. Still, befo
Rick found himself with nowhere left to turn. If he'd gone to the scene to rescue Sharon, that meant he'd already known she was in danger before it happened. So the question became: if no one had tipped him off, how had he known? And if he hadn't gone there to save her, then what had he actually gone there for?Thomas went on. "Rick knows perfectly well that was infighting between the Waltons. What does a fight within the Walton family have to do with him? What reason would he have to get involved in someone else's internal business?"The security footage had captured Rick's face too clearly for any denial. He could hardly claim Harley had invited him — saying that out loud would be as good as admitting he'd been in contact with Harley all along.Everyone in the room was sharp enough to read between the lines the moment Jamie laid out his evidence. Whether Rick had personally taken part in the violence, no one could say for certain. But that he'd been involved in this whole affair
In the end, to keep Jamie from actually getting shot right there in the sitting room, Sharon steeled herself and agreed to Thomas's terms.Thomas lowered the gun slowly, tucking it away. "For Sharon's sake, I'll let it go this time."Jamie looked a little surprised at how easily Thomas had backed down. But catching sight of Sharon's helpless expression, his eyes darkened, his lips pressing into a thin line. He'd been played by that scheming, shameless man again. Thomas had deliberately brought up the groomsman idea just to set this up. There was no telling what unreasonable demand he'd just used Jamie to extract from Sharon.Just then, footsteps sounded. Richard, Rick, and Scott came down together. Richard caught the tension in the air immediately, his gaze sharpening, though he said nothing about it. At the sight of Sharon, his face softened into a gentle smile."Sharon, you're back."Sharon nodded and offered him a polite, distant "Dad." Something twisted in Richard's chest
An hour later, Sharon left, satisfied with her work.Jamie watched her brisk, confident stride, a cold, sharp smile curling at the corners of his lips. He couldn't believe she could assemble the Victory with her own hands. A car like Victory, custom-made to this degree, required detailed schemati
Hearing Thomas' words, Sharon couldn't help but feel that Jamie was indeed acting strangely.He still carried the same cold, detached aura—but compared to before, something about him felt off, subtly different. She thought it over and over, but couldn't pinpoint why."He's extremely dangerous," Th
A sweet smile spread across Johanna's face, her voice softening almost involuntarily. She handed the menu to Thomas."Thomas, what would you like to drink?"Thomas didn't take the menu. He said, "Victoria mentioned that the lattes here are their specialty. I'll have one of those."Johanna's smile
Yet, Jamie still couldn't place where he had seen such a scene before.After carefully putting the paintings away, Jamie called his assistant."Have we located MK yet?"The assistant replied, "Not for now. Ginny was very careful when she took the paintings—seems like she was deliberately hiding h







