Thank you for reading another chapter ❤️ I hope you're enjoying the beginning of the story. I'll be adding one chapter a day for the next few days, but I promise to add more frequently after the 29th. I'm incredibly grateful for all your comments, reviews, and gems!!! 😊💎🥹
Restlessness held me in tight clutches. Could my father truly be responsible for Darren's father's death? Instead of trying to get some sleep, I turned on my laptop and started searching for anything related to Darren Knight and his father.It didn't take long to find out that Ellard Knight, the former CEO of Eques Gold Corporation, died five years ago. Darren's father was on his way home from a medical conference in Paris. He was on board his private jet when it exploded. The investigators found traces of explosives and confirmed that it was a bomb that caused the explosion, yet the police had never found the one who planted it.Of course, the lack of hard evidence didn't stop the rumors from spreading, and those said that Ellard Knight and my father had a huge argument the night before. According to some, my father had threatened Ellard's life, saying that he would make him regret it. Others also claimed that they had seen my father bribing one of the technicians at the Paris privat
The ginger-haired bimbo stood a few feet away from me. Her lips were curved downward, and her arms folded across her chest. One of her feet in Louboutin pumps nervously tapped against the floor. Her two friends stood half a step behind her, mimicking her disdainful expression, even though I was quite certain neither of them knew me. “You surely have the audacity to show up here,” Kathrine scoffed. “Your pathetic accusations caused Doctor Rogers a lot of trouble. Thankfully, Kenneth vouched for him.” “Of course he did,” I spat, rage seething through every pore of my skin. “He was Kenneth's accomplice after all.” I knew I shouldn't have lost my composure, but this matter kept awakening raw pain and uncontrollable anger. Kathrine stepped closer. She nonchalantly smoothed the lapel of her lilac jacket, making sure the diamond on her finger would sparkle enough to be noticed. “Why are you here, beggar?” I had to admit that I underestimated the size of her stupidity. Even after everythi
For the past two years, I had been dreaming of the possibility of sending that bastard Nicolas Rogers to prison. Certainly, Kenneth was equally guilty, but he wouldn't have killed my baby if it hadn't been for Doctor Rogers giving him the pill.I talked about it many times with my uncle—Norton Hayes—who aside from being the General Director of Hayes Laboratories, was also an excellent lawyer. Unfortunately, we both knew that with the prescriptions written in my name, all I had was my word against his. But that was before I realized Doctor Rogers tricked his female patients more than once…Two days later, Raven informed me that I could visit the woman she had operated on. Her name was Mary Lewis. I showed up in her room with Uncle Norton. She turned out to be a petite blonde with large blue eyes. Her face was pale and nearly lifeless, and those large blue eyes stayed completely still as we walked toward her bed.“Doctor Bryce said that you wanted to talk to me.” Her voice was barely lo
Anger coiled in the pit of my stomach, but shamefully, it did nothing to lessen the ache in my core. Darren inched closer, his eyes roaming up and down my body as if my dress wasn't a barrier enough to hide my skin, as if he could see me bare. A wave of heat washed over me. How I could be pissed at him while wanting him was beyond me, but I couldn't allow him to see my lack of control. My hands fisted into balls, allowing my anger to win.“I believe that's none of your business,” I hissed.“Ms. Hayes! I apologize for being late!” Grant Denson called out as he ran into the hall and halted in front of me.I gave Darren a meaningful look before shifting my eyes to Grant. “It's all right. I came less than a minute ago,” I assured him, smiling.He glanced at Darren, giving him a curt nod, and then he turned to me. “Shall we?” He gestured at the empty table by the window.“Lead the way, Mr. Denson,” I told him.Grant started walking. I was about to follow him when Darren grabbed my hand. “A
The next ten or twenty minutes were a blur. I vaguely remember trying to wipe my phone and save it from the sweet and sticky liquor that flooded it. I remember Grant shouting and cursing me as if I were the one who spiked his drink, not the other way around. I recall the police taking him away…I watched it all happen like I was watching some bad movie. My heart kept hammering, and the dull, constant tone in my ears blocked out most of the noises and voices of the people surrounding me. I kept squeezing my phone, pressing it tightly to my chest, like I was holding a remedy for all evil.“Miss, we will need your testimony.” The policeman standing in front of me tore through my bewilderment.I drew a trembling breath and tugged a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. Then I opened my mouth but wasn't sure if I was able to come up with any words.“You do want to testify against that man, don't you?” the policeman urged when I stayed silent for more than a few seconds.“She does,” answer
Finding Nicolas Rogers's former patients wasn't as easy as Raven and I initially thought. Four of them moved out, and it was impossible to track them without hiring a private investigator. The fifth was in the mental institution, and the final one refused to talk about her miscarriage, threatening she would call the police if Raven or I mentioned it again.But I didn't give up. I hired that damn investigator and found a guy specializing in clearing the recorded sound. Now I could only wait for the results… which was the hardest thing to do. I wanted to see Nicolas Rogers behind bars. He destroyed enough lives, and he needed to pay, preferably immediately.Unfortunately, everything required time, and I had to shift my attention to my work and the new vaccine project. With all the reagents delivered to the lab, the tests began, and while my genius team was busy developing the product, I spent long hours researching and analyzing costs.I could hardly notice the passing days, and I only
I stormed out of Darren's office and then out of the club. I hated his arrogance. I hated that he looked down on me. But, most of all, I hated that he was right. I was nothing but a tool for his revenge on my father. He wanted me to suffer. Getting close to him would only bring me harm. It would have been only natural if I found him repulsive. So why did my body betray me every time I was close to him? Why did my heart pound so madly? Why did I want to be in his arms? I craved his touch, his kisses, his body on mine, him inside me... There had to be something seriously wrong with me, and I should probably ask my team to develop some kind of cure for that disease.I sat behind the wheel in my Porsche and drew several long breaths to calm down. “Lilly, you gave him that damn jacket. You don't have to see him anymore. You will avoid him. You will focus on work, and everything will be fine,” I told myself. It sounded like a good plan. I forced myself to smile and went back home.For the n
“Ms. Hayes, you and your team, please follow me,” said Mr. Stephenson, who welcomed us at the entrance.I couldn't believe that we had just walked inside the Pentagon. My heart pounded in excitement as we passed the labyrinth of corridors. Finally, we found ourselves on the third floor, where we were asked to wait in front of something resembling a conference room. My restlessness grew as I stared at the door.“Do you think the other team is already inside?” I asked softly as I sat on one of the sofas in the hall.“My guess would have been yes,” Sakura replied, sitting next to me. “We can only hope that we figured out something more efficient and clever than they did.”Suraj and Tim sat in armchairs in front of us. “I doubt that they figured out something more clever than our fabulous cocktail.” Suraj grinned. It was a contagious grin that caused my lips to stretch, mirroring it.“I just wanted you to know that I'm proud of you. You've done an amazing job, no matter if we get that con