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Chapter 251: Disbelief

Regina’s POVFrom the steely look in Maxwell’s eyes, I knew he had pieced it together.I had dreaded this moment, dreaded it all week.There had been nights I lay awake staring at the ceiling, convincing myself I could simply hand the responsibility to Lindsay. She could have led Phoenix Design Studio’s presentation, polished and capable as always.It would have been easier to step back, to let her face the crowd while I hid in some corner of the courtyard nursing my embarrassment about what had almost happened.How could I have been so foolish?But that was exactly what Joshua Beck wanted. For me to shrink. To doubt myself. To carry the weight of what he had done in silence until it ate away at me.I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.So I buried the fear in the back of my mind, locked it behind a steel door, and told myself over and over that today I would stand tall.Easier said than done.Every time someone approached me, I flinched. A handshake, a polite greeting, a casual quest

Chapter 252: Damage Is Done

Regina’s POVI forced my breathing into rhythm before walking back into the courtyard. One inhale, one exhale. Just enough to keep my hands from shaking, to stop the thoughts of Maxwell’s words from unraveling me completely.The showcase was already underway again. I could see Maxwell across the way with his team, the Kingsman Group, gathered around their station. Their energy was steady, professional, almost triumphant.He hadn’t even looked at me since storming away, and though the hurt of it sat like a stone in my chest, I straightened my shoulders and moved toward my own team.Lindsay caught my eye as I approached. She didn’t say anything, didn’t need to. She simply shifted a fraction closer, and I stepped into place beside her as if we had rehearsed the motion. That small, silent show of support kept me from falling apart on the spot.One after another, different firms were called forward, each taking their turn presenting the months of work they had prepared. There were sleek di

Chapter 253: Encoded

Regina’s POVI didn’t wait.Not for applause. Not for polite smiles. Not for the next team to be announced.The moment my slides flicked off the screen and the moderator’s voice moved on, I walked. My heels clicked against the courtyard stones, too loud, too sharp.Whispers followed me, rising, hissing, overlapping like a wave that threatened to crash over me.I didn’t dare look back.The sound of laughter, stifled, but unmistakable, shot through me, hurting my insides.Some people were shocked, some curious, but others… others thought it was funny. My humiliation, my past, a joke for them to carry out of here and murmur about over cocktails.I could feel their eyes sticking to me like glue.Lindsay appeared at my elbow, a hand firm at my back, guiding me through the crowd. She didn’t say much. Her silence was the one mercy I had left.“Come on,” she murmured, pushing the glass doors open.Outside, our driver was already waiting, the car idling at the curb.“You go back to the office,

Chapter 254: Too Broken To Condemn

Morgana’s POVThe waiting room smelled faintly of disinfectant and stale coffee.My attorneys flanked me on either side, whispering instructions I barely listened to.I knew the rules of this game, I knew when to appear lucid, when to let myself slip, when to make them believe that I wasn’t in control. They thought they were leading me into a cage. But cages are illusions.I had been ready for this day since the judge gave the order. I spent sleepless nights in jail. It was taking too much time.My attorney said there are thighs to do, and my deal with Frederick was going smoothly, still we had to be prepared in case of a fall out with Frederick, just in case he changed his mind.Fortunately, it didn't happen. Still, I had never been the one to put all my eggs in one basket.I had one more hand to play, but for now, Frederick had made himself useful.“Ms. Faye,” the clerk called, her voice clipped and professional. “You may come in now.”I rose gracefully, smoothing my clothes, tiltin

Chapter 255: Fallout

Maxwell’s POVI don’t know how I sat through the rest of the showcase. Everything was a blur, voices distant, shapes melting into one another.The only thing sharp in my mind was the image of Regina standing frozen as that damned video played, her pain broadcast for the world to devour.My team whispered among themselves. I could see it, the darting eyes, the murmurs they thought I wouldn’t catch. Their mouths shaped her name like it was gossip fodder instead of someone’s life ripped open.“Enough.” The word cut out of me like a whip. I slammed a hand on the table, and the room stilled. Their faces paled. Immediately, a part of me felt bad. I shouldn’t have lost it like that but when it came to Regina, I couldn’t just keep a lid on what I was feeling.I exhaled, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m sorry,” I said, softer. “But listen carefully. None of you, none of you, are to speak about what happened in that room. Not to friends, not to family, not to anyone. Am I clear?”A hushed

Chapter 256: Cuddles After A Hard Day

Regina’s POVWhen I finally stumbled back into the house, I didn’t meet anyone’s eyes. I couldn’t. My skin burned with shame, with the imagined whispers of every face I’d passed at the showcase.The meeting at the office had been worse somehow. Those were the people who worked under me. Today, they had seen a side of me I never wanted anyone to see.I wondered what must be going through their heads. Had they lost a little bit of respect for me, or worse, did they straight up pity me now?If I saw even the smallest flicker of pity or curiosity here, within these walls, I knew I’d shatter all over again.So I did the only thing I could, I went straight to my room.I moved quickly, head down, steps almost frantic. The halls blurred until I reached safety, shut the door behind me, and locked myself in the washroom.And then it happened.The dam broke.I collapsed against the cold tile, ugly sobs tearing out of me, louder than I could contain. I pressed my fist to my mouth, as though I cou

Chapter 257: Doubts

Regina’s POVI let Mia slip off to play with Mother, who welcomed her into the kitchen with the promise of cookies.The last thing I wanted was for my daughter to catch even a glimpse of what was happening in the sitting room.Alexander was already there, pacing like a caged animal. He had a tablet in his hands, scrolling furiously through article after article. His jaw clenched with every swipe.I sank down on the couch, feeling hollow. My legs barely carried me here. My heart was too heavy, my head too clouded. I didn’t even have the strength to pretend anymore.Alexander stopped mid-stride and thrust the tablet in my direction. “Look. Look at this, Regina.”I flinched. My eyes dropped unwillingly to the screen.It wasn’t the video. Thank God, not the video. But there, blurry yet unmistakable, was me. Standing frozen on that stage, face pale, eyes wide, terror carved into every feature.Someone had taken a picture on their phone and sent it out into the world.And now the world was

Chapter 258: The Lighter

Maxwell’s POVI woke up with a gasp, heart slamming against my ribs like it was trying to claw its way out. Sweat slicked my skin, plastered my shirt to my back, dampened the sheets beneath me. For a second, I didn’t know where I was. The nightmare had been too vivid, too real.Regina’s cries still echoed in my ears.I dragged a trembling hand over my face, but the images wouldn’t leave. She was there in front of me, Regina, clawing at the bedsheets, her nails tearing the fabric, her body writhing in desperation. “Please,” she’d sobbed, her voice shredded, raw. “Please, I can’t—I need—”And then it was me.My hands filling the syringe. The click of the plunger, the glint of liquid under the light. I had watched myself press the needle against her trembling skin, piercing it without hesitation.I had sneered at her. Sneered.The twisted smile on my face in that dream still curdled my stomach.“No,” I muttered aloud, shaking my head hard as if I could dislodge the memory. That wasn’t me.

Chapter 259: Caught Out

Regina’s POVI never thought I’d find myself standing in front of a prison.The air outside the gates smelled faintly of iron and smoke, sharp enough to sting the back of my throat.I crossed my arms, though it did little to shield me from the cold. The tall, grey building loomed like some monster from an old fairytale, ready to swallow me whole.Of all the places I could be today, this was the last I expected. And yet… here I was.I kept telling myself I had no business being here. That walking through those doors would do more harm than good. But there was something restless inside me, gnawing away, refusing to let me stay home and wallow in silence.It felt like something I needed to do, that it might give me some answers, fill between the gaps of all I had found regarding Frederick and Morgana.Frederick wasn’t speaking. He was keeping whatever he knew locked behind his smug, careful facade. But there was one other person, one who had never been shy about her venom, who knew the t

Chapter 260: Letter

Lindsay’s POVThe office was too quiet without Regina.She’d taken a day off today, one of the rarest things in the world. If it were up to me, I’d have told her to take the whole week. Hell, the whole month. Too much had happened. Too much had been ripped open, and she deserved a break from all of it.I was coming back from my lunch break, sipping on the last of my coffee, when I froze mid-step.A figure slipped out of Regina’s office.Not just anyone.It was Frederick.My eyes narrowed as I watched him move, quiet and deliberate, leaving something on her desk before walking out without a second glance.The coffee went cold in my hands.I didn’t think, I just went straight in, my heels clicking on the polished floor. On Regina’s desk was an envelope, the handwriting neat, familiar.I picked it up.On the front, it read:This contains all the answers you’ll ever need, Regina.My stomach dropped.The finality in his tone, in those words… it made something coil uncomfortably inside me,

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