The caller ID displayed her father's name. With pursed lips, Maia hesitated before answering."Yes?" She couldn't bring herself to call him "Dad" and spoke impassively. "What's the matter?""Maia, how did your mother's 20 percent stake in the winery end up in Errol's name?" Homer Burgess shouted, “What have you been doing behind my back? When did your mom make this will? Why didn’t I know about it?"Now that Cedric owned 55 percent of Burgess Winery, that 20 percent stake was of utmost importance to Homer. He would be left with no rights if he lost it. Maia gripped her phone. He was being ridiculous.She mocked, "You only cared about your mistress back then. How would you know about Mom making her will?""You must’ve worked with that fucking lawyer Nigel to steal my rightful shares! What did you give him in return? Now that you've got nothing after the divorce, you must be prostituting yourself, huh?" Maia was upset. Instead of a father she could rely on, Homer was nothing but

"I couldn’t bear to," she softly replied, leaving the gloves in the foyer. She then headed cheerfully toward the kitchen."What would you like to eat? How about beef stew? It's perfect for the weather today.""Okay," Cedric agreed.With a sweet smile, Maia hurried into the kitchen to get prepared. The servants were surprised to see her, given her recent divorce from Cedric. They could not fathom why he was being friendlier toward her now. Some of them quickly informed Judy, a maid known to be Rita's spy.Judy hurried into the main hall. Seeing Maia busy cooking in the kitchen, she marched over to the sofa, where Cedric browsed documents on his tablet. "Sir," she called out. "Yes?" Cedric's gaze remained on the screen."There's something I have to tell you, but I'm not sure if I should.""Then don't.""But if I don't, Mrs. Rita will blame me, sir,” Judy said. "Why have you brought Ms. Maia here? If the paparazzi catch wind of it, your reputation might suffer since you're di

Maia froze for a moment. Then she looked up at him and shook her head with a smile. "No, I don't regret it. As you know, marrying you has always been my dream. It may seem unfair that my mother worked with your grandpa to force you to marry me, but I wasn’t aware of it until later." Maia then said, "Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore, does it?""The reason?" he asked. "Huh?" Maia looked at him, puzzled. "Why did you insist on marrying me?" He thought there must be a reason.Maia fell silent.When Rosa was still alive, she was a legendary businesswoman in charge of Burgess Winery and Starlight Entertainment. For that reason, many men wanted to marry Maia. However, she only had eyes for Cedric and always followed him wherever he went. She always smiled at him even if he was highly annoyed with her. Before Maia could speak, Cedric added, "Don't tell me it's love, okay? We hardly knew each other back then." As Maia gazed at him, she recalled the memory of when she was 12 an

"Thank you, Nigel. I understand." After that day, she and Cedric would go their separate ways and never meet again. "It's late. Get some rest, okay?" Nigel said. "Okay, you too. Goodnight." The call ended, and Maia noted that it was almost midnight. Her wedding anniversary was coming to an end. She cleared the table, washed the dishes, and prepared to leave."Oh, Ms. Maia, why didn't you say you were leaving?" July mocked Maia when she saw her in the foyer."Why? Must I report to you?" Maia looked over her shoulder at her with a smile. Judy lashed out. "Mr. Cedric doesn't even love you, okay? Serves you right for getting dumped!" "At least I don't have to fawn over rich people like you do." Maia opened the door, and a gush of wind rushed in with the snow. She shivered. As the wind howled, she could vaguely hear Judy say maliciously, "No men would want you, you dumb bitch!"Maia slammed the door shut with a frown, cutting off the rest of Judy's harsh words. Her warm t

Judy's voice came through on the phone. "Ms. Maia left before daybreak, sir. I tried to persuade her to wait until the snowstorm stopped, but she seemed in a hurry and told me to mind my own business."Cedric frowned. As soon as he hung up, Zera spoke again. "So you were really with Maia…" She lowered her gaze and murmured, "She must have gone to see you on purpose so you wouldn’t suspect her."She grew more anxious as she continued, "This way, she’d have an alibi. Mom's kidnappers would never say she did it if she paid them off or threatened their families. She knew she’d never be charged! Oh, my God, how could she be so evil?"Zera frantically paced in circles. "I wonder how Mom is now…"Suddenly, a loud crash was heard as Cedric smashed his phone to pieces. He looked terrifying as he said, "Find out where Maia is."Baz nodded. "Yes, sir!"...It was still snowing that morning. Maia trudged through the thick layer of snow to arrive at Burgess Winery.Suddenly, a whistle c