Victor was thrown out of the gate, and it slammed shut right in his face.He stood still, staring at the massive doors like they had just insulted him. His pride stung more than anything else. After a moment, he turned around and kicked the ground in frustration.“How did Lyriel even get that contract with security guards like this?” he muttered, breathing hard. His hands curled into fists as his mind raced. Then, like a switch flipping on, it hit him. “Oh… right. Damien helped her.” He scoffed. “Of course. That bastard who decided to wreck my marriage.”He walked a few steps forward, dragging a hand down his face.“First, Jerry dragged me out of the building like I was trash… and now this?” He let out a bitter chuckle, more embarrassed than angry. “Is this how far people are willing to go with disrespect now?”He shook his head and glanced back at the gate, then looked down at himself, feeling the sting of being treated like he was nothing. With no plan in mind, he paced toward his
Damien wiped away a tear trailing down his cheek, still laughing him as he kept his eyes on Lyriel’s peaceful face.“It’s… good to know you’re okay,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I was terrified, Lyriel. You have no idea what it felt like seeing you like this.”His gaze dropped, and he sniffled, trying to steady himself.“For a moment… I thought I lost you.” His fingers curled into fists in his lap. “You wouldn’t believe how much it hurt.”He straightened up, exhaling deeply just as his phone buzzed again. Pulling it from his pocket, he checked the screen, then stood.“I’ll be back,” he whispered gently, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her forehead before heading out of the room.“What?” he answered flatly as he stepped into the hall.“Victor’s planning to visit Mr. George,” came the voice on the other end.Damien dragged a hand through his hair, sighing heavily.“Wish him good luck for me. I’m busy.” Without waiting for a response, he hung up and slid the phone back
Damien didn’t notice the slight twitch of Lyriel’s fingers, but the sudden erratic beeping from the machines beside her made his head snap up. For a fleeting moment, the monitor’s waves turned jagged and unstable. His brows drew together. Something was off.Without wasting a second, he ended the call with his assistant and swiftly dialed a different number, one connected to an apartment just a building away within the estate.Minutes later, three people entered the room; two women and one man, all dressed in lab coats and medical scrubs. They didn’t pause to ask questions as they already understood why he had called.Without waiting for instructions, they went straight to Lyriel’s bedside, putting on their gloves and masks.The youngest woman pulled a penlight from her coat and gently lifted Lyriel’s eyelids, flashing the light to check her pupils. The man took her wrist to check her pulse, while the older woman, who was clearly the lead doctor, began reviewing the vitals displayed on
Sophia and Ava returned to the office a while later. As soon as they walked in, Sophia noticed the hard expression on Victor's face but the moment he knew they were in, he tried to hide his frustration.He slowly looked up from the papers he was reading and looked at Ava first.“You’re here?” he said with a smile. Ava nodded.“Do you need anything?” he asked more gently than usual.Ava shook her head silently.Then Victor turned to Sophia. “What about you? What do you want to do in the company? I don’t want you to just be known as my woman. I want you to have a real role. Something that matters.”Sophia didn't hesitate with her reply as she smiled softly."I should oversee every other thing," she said. "Anything that’ll make the work easier for you. I did that with Lyriel back in the years. She taught me how to handle one or two things around here."Victor nodded slowly, thinking about it."Alright," he said. "Tomorrow at the board meeting, we’ll bring it up. I’ll introduce your new p
That morning, after breakfast, Sophia and Victor decided to visit Lyriel’s company.They didn’t want to leave Ava at home, so they took her along. The car ride was mostly quiet. Sophia stared out the window while Victor held her hand with one of his, driving with the other. Ava sat silently in the backseat, looking distant.When they arrived at the company, a swarm of reporters rushed toward them. Cameras flashed, and microphones were pushed in their faces."Mr. Maddox! Do you know who uploaded the video of Lyriel?”"Was she pretending to be Duska all this time?"Victor calmly raised a hand to quiet them. With a serious look, he said, "I don’t know who leaked the video. But Lyriel trusted me with her company, and I intend to make it thrive in her name. I’ll honor her by keeping her legacy alive.”There was a brief silence. Then some of the reporters began to smile, touched by his words.A few of them turned their attention to Sophia. They began whispering among themselves."Isn’t that
Jerry had barely rubbed the sleep from his eyes when he reached for his phone. As usual, the brightness stung for a moment, but what really caught his attention was the flood of notifications blowing up his screen.A headline stood out:SHOCKING VIDEO OF LYRIEL WHITMORE SURFACES ONLINEHe sat up quickly and tapped on the video.It took a second to load, then Lyriel’s face appeared. She looked calm like she’d been expecting this.Jerry couldn’t keep watching. He paused the video, got up, and walked straight to the living room.As Jerry walked in, he saw Damien sitting alone on the couch, staring blankly. He looked calm, but Jerry could sense he was angry."Good morning," Jerry said carefully.Damien gave a small nod. "Morning."There was a short silence before Jerry asked, "I saw the video… What’s going on?"Damien leaned back. "It’s out there now. We can’t take it down."Jerry frowned. "So… we’re not doing anything?"Damien looked at him. "Not yet. For now we wait and watch."Jerry sh