LOGINRick 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
Feeling Scott's gaze land on him, Rick's eyelid twitched."Thomas got hurt pretty badly in that whole business, too," Scott added, "so he came back with Sharon."Richard set down his chess piece. "In that case, let's go down and see him."Downstairs, Sharon and Thomas were already waiting in the sitting room, sitting together and talking through some wedding details. Jamie sat a short distance away, holding a tabby cat, his face blank.Partway through the conversation, something seemed to occur to Thomas, and he turned to look at Jamie."Jamie," he said, smiling, "you really have helped Sharon out a great deal these past three years. I'd say that makes you a friend of hers by now. Would you like to be a groomsman at our wedding? Can't be the groom, but standing in as a groomsman should be some consolation, wouldn't you say?"Jamie glanced at him. "You've got some nerve, inviting me to your wedding.""Why wouldn't I?" Thomas said. "Unless you're planning to steal the bride?"Jam
After Audrey's true colors came to light, Richard felt like his whole life had turned into a joke. For the first time, something close to regret stirred in him. He shouldn't have made the choice he did, back then. And yet some stubborn corner of his heart still clung to resentment — if Shayla hadn't been so determined to leave, maybe none of this would have happened.They hadn't seen each other in so many years that whatever feeling remained between them should have faded to almost nothing by now. And yet, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, Richard found himself missing Shayla. Memory after memory of their happier years together came flooding back — back before he'd lost his memory, before Silas and Scott were even born. Their marriage had been a genuinely good one back then.Shayla used to give him gifts she'd made with her own hands. She'd once painted a portrait of the three of them together as a family. She was clever with her hands and skilled at every kind of craft — she'
Rick composed himself quickly. He could just as easily claim that the Waltons had lured him there too. He hadn't actually taken part in any of it — Harley really had tricked him into showing up. Even if something had gone badly wrong, none of it could be pinned on him.Afterward, he lost contact with Harley entirely. Through a few channels, he picked up word that Lesley appeared to be dead, Jamie was injured, and even Thomas seemed to have suffered something serious enough to be rushed back to Leistre. Meanwhile Sharon, the one person Rick most wanted to see in trouble, had come out without a scratch. The commotion that night had been loud enough that none of it could stay hidden for long.The moment Richard heard about it, he went straight to Rick. "Rick, do you know exactly what happened between the Waltons?"Ever since Victoria and her mother's true colors had been exposed, Richard's hair had gone gray almost overnight. He'd dyed it back to black since, but there was no hiding
Now that Sharon and Thomas were back, it was time to deal with Rick and Harley. Jamie had been hurt earlier, though not fatally, and after a month in the hospital, he'd been discharged. Once out, he went straight after every hidden asset his father had entrusted to Harley, rooting them out and settling the score one by one. Jamie had paid dearly this time — he'd very nearly died at Harley's hands — and there was no way he'd let the man off easy after that.With Thomas's arrangements in place, the plan targeting Rick officially got underway.Rick's mood, lately, had been foul. His alliance with Lesley had gotten him nowhere with Sharon and Thomas, and it had cost him Victoria entirely. Then Harley had come to him, claiming Lesley had only ever been using him and never had any real intention of working together. Thinking back over everything he and Lesley had done together, Rick had to admit that aside from sending men to try to assassinate Jamie, nothing had actually worked in his
Over the past two days, when Johanna came to visit, Victoria had heard her mention the painting.Of course, Johanna wasn't foolish enough to tell her that Jamie had been reluctant to part with MK's work. Instead, she had twisted the truth, saying that Jamie recognized the figure in the painting as
When Sharon returned to the ward, she said to Thomas, "Thomas, what do you want for lunch? I'll go buy it for you."Thomas's eyes fixed steadily on her. "You're going to expose Kelly?"Sharon didn't bother to hide it. "Yes.""Because of me?" he asked.She answered with honesty. "This does involv
For the first time in his life, Harry tasted the bitterness of such a humiliating defeat. The blow struck deep, leaving him dazed and hollow.Maestro Warner, accompanied by Reina and the others, escorted him back. Watching Harry's current state, Warner could only sigh inwardly. To lose against an u
It wasn't that Sharon's group had performed poorly—quite the opposite."Sharon is incredible! To think her skill is on par with a virtuoso like Harry!""Maestro Warner brought in Harry specifically to lend prestige to Kelly, even if it meant lowering his own standing. And yet, despite both teams r







