LOGIN“Go ahead.”Serena froze. For a moment, she looked at Ryder as though she had misheard him. She had clearly expected fear, panic, or at the very least some desperate attempt to stop her from exposing the marriage. Instead, Ryder stood there with an almost irritating calmness, his injured body supported by the strength of his stance as he looked at her without the slightest sign that her threat had frightened him.“What?” Serena asked, her voice losing some of its confidence.Ryder folded his arms carefully, wincing almost imperceptibly from the movement before settling back into his usual expression. “I said go ahead. Tell the whole world.”Serena stared at him.Victoria, who had been standing beside him, was equally surprised. She had expected Ryder to deny everything until Serena left. She certainly had not expected him to challenge her so openly.Ryder continued, “You seem very determined to expose my marriage, so why are you still standing here talking about it? Go outsi
Serena had the audacity to roll her eyes like Victoria was the one being a nuisance.Like she hadn’t just barged in through someone’s front door in the middle of the night.“I came to visit Ryder, obviously. I wouldn’t come here for you even if they paid me.” She casually looked down at her nails like she was in the middle of a fashion check. “Where is he? The hospital said he came back home.”Victoria folded her arms and stood defensively. “You’re not going to see Ryder because you might infect him with your shamelessness, because you reek of it!”Miranda, who was standing by the side, snickered. “Good one, Victoria! And who’s this blonde bimbo?”Serena's head snapped toward Miranda.For a moment, she looked genuinely offended that someone had dared to interrupt her.“Excuse me?”Miranda gave her an innocent smile. “I asked who you were.”Serena looked Miranda up and down, clearly trying to determine whether she was someone important enough to deserve an answer. “I’m Serena.
“So...what do you wanna do first?” Victoria asked, standing awkwardly at Ryder’s room entrance.Despite the hospital’s recommendation that he rest, Ryder had insisted on at least being moved to the penthouse, which was familiar territory, while the medical team monitored him from there. He had spent enough time in the hospital already. Although the doctors had made it very clear that he needed to take things slowly after being stabbed, Ryder had never been good at doing what people told him to do.“I have to continue gathering some evidence I was accumulating against my father.” Ryder said, scrolling furiously on his laptop.“Oh, I see.”Victoria remained at the entrance for another few seconds, unsure whether she should come inside or leave him alone. Ryder was already buried in whatever he was reading, his attention fixed on the screen as he moved between different files. The bandage beneath his shirt was hidden from view, but she knew it was there. She had seen the wound,
Having merely spent only a few hours in detention, Rita had already lost it.“You there! Get me my husband! Put him on the phone!” She yelled at one of the staff on duty, gripping the bars of her cell as though she could force the woman to obey through sheer anger.“I’m sorry, ma’am. I already said I called him and he said he has no intention of visiting you.”“What?!” Rita stared at her in disbelief before her face twisted with fury. “That ungrateful bastard! After the NFL rejected him and he was in debt, I put a roof over his large empty head!”“Ma’am, please calm down.”“Don’t tell me to calm down!” She screeched, clawing at the silver bars like a manic animal.The staff member flinched and took several steps back, clearly deciding that arguing with the hysterical woman would accomplish nothing. Rita remained pressed against the bars for several seconds, breathing heavily, her hair dishevelled from the hours she had spent pacing around the small cell.Eventually, her stren
The door burst open before Rocco could respond.Two nurses hurried inside with a doctor close behind them, followed by two security officers who had clearly been called by Julius. The doctor took one look at Rocco standing over Ryder's bed with a fist still bunched in the front of his hospital gown and immediately understood that something had gone very wrong.“Sir, step away from the patient.” The doctor ordered as he moved towards the bed.Rocco released Ryder completely and straightened his jacket as though nothing had happened. His face settled into an expression of irritation rather than guilt.“There is no need for all this.” He said, brushing a hand over the front of his shirt. “I was simply talking to my son.”Victoria stared at him in disbelief. “You were holding him by his collar.”Rocco turned towards her with a sneer. “Don't exaggerate.”Julius gave him an incredulous look. “Exaggerate? I watched you grab him.”One of the security officers stepped between Rocco and
Hearing his ugly laugh, Victoria was taken aback, but maintained an unyielding look. “What’s so funny?”Rocco shook his head, practically wiping away tears from his eyes. “You really think that will scare me? You think a few accusations from you can destroy me?”Victoria didn’t miss a beat. “I think the truth can.”Rocco walked closer, his confidence returning. “Well you think very very wrong. You are looking at this as though the world is fair.”Victoria remained standing still even as he came, so close to her, her hair’s stood.“The world isn’t.” He gestured around the room. “You are in a private hospital room because I allowed this hospital to treat my son without the media turning his injury into a circus. You were allowed to come in because you found a way around my instructions.”He straightened his jacket. “I am rich and powerful. Of course I’ve done so many bad things. A little ant like you can never take me down.”Julius’s expression darkened. “Sir. This is no time







