LOGINMeredith bit her lip. "No one put me up to it. My mother's seriously ill and needs surgery money right away. The Malcolms happened to approach me at just the right time, so I agreed. "Afterward, I knew Miss McKinzie would investigate, so I pinned it on Thomas instead. He came from nowhere; he'd only been by Miss McKinzie's side a short time, and he's lost his memory — she was never going to trust him completely. He was the perfect person to frame."Wendy asked angrily, "If you needed money, why not just tell Sharon? Do you really think she'd refuse to lend it to you?""I could have asked Miss McKinzie for a loan," Meredith said. "But she can help me once — she's not obligated to help me forever. There's a saying: help in an emergency, not out of poverty. "My mother's illness is a bottomless pit. It needs money poured into it constantly. I can't keep going back to Miss McKinzie every single time I need more for medical bills. "A debt too large becomes resentment over time, and
Wendy nodded firmly. "Yes, I had someone follow her."Meredith was the bodyguard Silas had found for Sharon. After they'd looked into her background, Sharon hadn't had much reason to suspect her. But hearing Wendy bring her up now, everything from the past little while came rushing back to Sharon.If Thomas was under suspicion, then... Meredith, who'd "accidentally" broken his phone, was just as suspicious. Except the evidence had turned up on Thomas's phone, not on Meredith's.Had she wronged Thomas after all? Or... were Meredith and Thomas working together, and she simply hadn't caught Meredith yet?Three hours later, Wendy got a call from the person tailing Meredith."Miss Cohen, Meredith's headed to the airport. Should we send someone to stop her?"Wendy relayed this to Sharon.Sharon was quiet for a moment, then told her, "Send a few people who know how to handle themselves to bring Meredith back."Wendy studied Sharon's expression and gave a small nod. If Meredith turned
Watching Thomas's retreating back, a flash of frustration surfaced in Julliard's eyes."Sharon, are you really just going to let him off like this? Letting a tiger return to the mountains is dangerous..."This time, it was Wendy who cut Julliard off."Julliard, this is Sharon's decision to make. Let it go."She used to think Julliard was gentle and considerate. Why was he being so tone-deaf all of a sudden? Sure, it was very possible Thomas had gotten close to Sharon on purpose. But what if he hadn't? Thomas had saved Sharon's life once, after all. Taking matters into their own hands without any real evidence — what kind of person would repay a debt like that with cruelty?Sharon closed her eyes. "I'm a little tired. All of you go on ahead — I'd like some time alone."Julliard could tell Sharon was in a bad mood, and in the end he didn't push further. Forget it — they hadn't known each other that long anyway, and Sharon didn't have particularly deep feelings for Thomas. He'
After all, they hadn't known Thomas all that long. No one could really say what kind of person he truly was.It was Julliard who finally broke the silence."Thomas, do you have anything left to say for yourself?"Thomas's gaze stayed fixed on Sharon."Sharon, if I told you this had nothing to do with me, that I never knew about any of it from the very start — would you believe me?"Sharon looked at him. "Then can you explain why a transfer and chat logs turned up on your phone, and why your phone just happened to break at exactly the right time?""I can't explain it," Thomas said. "And even if I did, I doubt you'd believe me."Before Sharon could respond, Julliard cut in first. "Thomas, did you deliberately get close to Sharon from the very beginning? That so-called kidnapping, the car that failed — that was all your doing, wasn't it? And then you faked amnesia and stuck close to her side. All of it just to steal the Kalen Group's trade secrets. Am I wrong?"Thomas glanced up a
Just then, the hacker beside them spoke up. "There's nothing useful on this phone."Julliard asked, "What about the old, broken one?"Meredith said, "It was smashed beyond repair at the time. There was no point fixing it, so it went straight in the trash."Julliard looked at Sharon. "Sharon, isn't it a strange coincidence that Thomas's phone just happened to break right after your bid failed? Did Meredith really just drop it, or did she use that as an excuse to destroy it for him?"Thomas let out a light sigh. "Your imagination is really something else. An ordinary accident, and you're already pinning the whole thing on me."Julliard scoffed. "Whether it's a frame-up or not, we'll find out soon enough. Don't think that staging an accident to break the phone and then tossing it out counts as destroying the evidence."The way Julliard put it, it was as if Thomas had deliberately broken the phone himself.He turned to Sharon. "Sharon, you could send someone to retrieve that old pho
Julliard looked at Thomas, the corner of his mouth curling into a barely perceptible smile.After today, he'd finally be rid of this man who'd been such an eyesore to him.Julliard stared at Thomas, his voice cold. "Thomas, Sharon's been so good to you. Why would you betray her?"Thomas looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I'm not following."Julliard struck first. He'd already made up his mind — today, he was going to bring Thomas down for good."Don't play dumb, Thomas. The reason Sharon lost that bid was because the quotation and the project proposal were leaked. During that period, only a handful of people had access to her office. Aside from you, who else could it have been?"Thomas looked taken aback. "So just because I've been in and out of Sharon's office, you've decided I'm the traitor?""Of course that's not all." Julliard tossed the file of investigation materials from the table onto the ground in front of Thomas. "Thomas, you and the Malcolms have shown up at the same
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
"Harry, you keep throwing the word 'loser' around. Could it be you've spent so much time being one that you felt the need to come here today and share your expertise?"She had never cared much for insults aimed at herself. But anyone who dared to target the people beside her—that was a line she wou
"I asked Matty about it," Wendy said. "He told me that for as long as he can remember, Xavier has never had a woman by his side. And honestly, whenever you need help, Xavier is always there. He's reliable, solid as they come."Sharon sighed, feeling a little helpless."I only see Xavier as a frien
Thomas extended the bouquet of baby's breath toward Sharon."Sharon, congratulations on your victory."Sharon's gaze fell on the flowers.Baby's breath—her favorite.It must have been Wendy who told him to prepare them.She accepted the bouquet with a smile. "Thank you."Just then, hurried foo







