Sitting in the car, Edward felt utterly dejected. He was worried sick about Macie's safety. He was aware that with the Hales around, she wouldn't be in any real danger, but he needed to see her with his own eyes to feel at ease. All of a sudden, an idea popped into his head, and he pulled out his phone to call Alice. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about her. He wasn't allowed upstairs to see Macie, but Alice must've been able to. As soon as the call connected, he cut straight to the chase, saying that Macie had been abducted the night before and asking Alice to go to the hospital to check on her."I've already been. I just returned to the office," she responded.After hearing that, he immediately snapped, "Why didn't you wait for me?" If she had just returned, that meant that Edward had missed her by less than half an hour. He cursed himself for not going to the hospital sooner. "You're really weird. Why on earth would I wait for you?" she asked, baffled. "So you
Diana thought about the phone call earlier. Sean had every chance to tell her the truth. Yet, all he'd said in the end was that she would regret it. Diana pressed her hand to her forehead. The weight of the realization sank in. For a moment, she considered calling or messaging Sean. However, she ultimately lowered her hand and sighed heavily. …Meanwhile, on the first floor of the inpatient wing, Edward sat in a wheelchair pushed by his bodyguard. He still couldn't find out which ward Macie was in. Moments later, he saw Elias' secretary, Mitch, step out of the elevator with several bodyguards in tow. The group approached him, and Mitch said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fowler. Mr. Hale has given orders that you are not allowed near Ms. Smith. Please leave."Edward looked him straight in the eye. He didn't say a single word, but he didn't back down either. Mitch stood his ground while the bodyguards stepped up to block Edward's path. Edward didn't argue with him. He was well aware that th
"Macie and Alice are close friends, but you probably haven't met Macie before since you didn't recognize her," Mira continued.After hearing that, Diana plastered a smile on her face and forced herself to speak. "That's right… I hadn't seen her before."Mira didn't catch the change in her tone. Lost in her own emotions, she went on, "I kept wondering why I couldn't dig up anything about her during the rest of the banquet. I even asked Elias to look into her. "It turned out that Elias had also run into his sister that night. But before he could dig any deeper, my daughter had already been set up by Sharon…"Mira's voice cracked every time she spoke. Diana listened and could only murmur hollow reassurances while her own mind churned. How was she supposed to smooth over her lies, salvage her relationship with the Hales, and make Macie forgive her for the cruel things she had said?Diana had once dreamed of binding the Harts and Hales together through marriage. Yet now, it turned out
The phone rang for over ten seconds before Mira finally picked up. Diana chirped, "Mira, it's me, Diana! Do you have any plans today? "We're hosting a product launch at 2:00 pm. Why don't you bring your daughter along? It'll be fun!"Mira's voice out scratchy as she declined. "I'm sorry, Diana. I won't be able to make it. My daughter had been abducted and assaulted. She's still lying in the hospital right now."Diana froze for a moment when she heard that. Then, she fretted, "Sharon was abducted? Who did it? Have you found the culprit?"Which hospital is she in? I'll drop by later to see her!" Diana rose from her seat and was about to head upstairs to change her clothes. However, she'd only taken a few steps when Mira's next words left her stunned and rooted to the spot."My daughter's not Sharon. She's the culprit, the vile woman who tried to harm my daughter! My daughter is Macie. "Sharon has tried to have her killed more than once. This time was no different… Macie almost
"How could it not be Macie, Sean? At this point, you don't have to hide it from me," Diana said sternly. "I've already made myself clear. You can't be with a commoner! The sooner you let go of that idea, the better.""Nothing is going on between Macie and me!" Sean said through gritted teeth."I know, but that's only temporary. You don't look at her the same way as you do with others, and as your mom, I'd be blind not to notice!" Diana fumed. "I don't think I've done anything wrong. I'm simply nipping problems in the bud." Sean listened to his mother's cold, indifferent words. Usually, he would've thought that she was just being unreasonable and paranoid. Yet, at that moment, there was one thing he could no longer deny—his feelings for Macie were far from ordinary. The problem was, he still hadn't figured out why yet. He wasn't even sure if he liked her."So, you admit you went to see Macie and threatened her," he said lowly. "I did not threaten her! She was cooperative and se
"How many times has this happened? How many times have you reported my whereabouts to her?" Sean demanded. As soon as his words fell, hesitation flickered across the driver's face. When Sean noticed that, his eyes widened. He had popped the question without much thought, yet to his surprise, this genuinely wasn't the first time. "You'd better come clean while I still have patience," he snapped.The driver panicked, his composure breaking. Fear took over, and he spilled everything without another moment of hesitation. "Mrs. Hart instructed me to inform her anytime you met with Ms. Smith. She never questioned me about anything else. But I told her when Ms. Smith brought you meals, when you drove her home, and when you carried her into the apartment complex…" Sean started connecting the dots and mapping out the timeline based on what his driver had described. To his astonishment, it had started much earlier than he ever imagined."Mrs. Hart never gave me any other orders. She just w