Chapter 31: The transfer document

Before she could scream, she was pulled sideways into the dark space between two buildings. A hand quickly covered her mouth, stopping her from screaming.Wren fought back with everything she had. Her bag slipped from her hand and dropped to the ground. She kicked, twisted her body, and tried to bite the hand over her mouth, her heart beating so hard that it hurt her chest."Ms. Michaels, stop. It's me," the voice said as he lowered his hand from Wren's mouth.Wren stopped. She knew that voice. It was low and calm and sounded very familiar. She slowly turned."Cole?" Wren called carefully, her voice low, surprise written all over her face.Cole put a finger to his lips as a sign for her to be quiet."Be quiet, don't scream," Cole said as he looked behind her, checking if they had been noticed.Outside the gap, the footsteps came closer. Wren held her breath, her body shaking with fear.At the end of the narrow space, she could see a little light from the streetlamp, and two dark shado

Last Updated : 2026-10-15

Chapter 32: Not a property

She froze, her lips slightly parted as she stared at the document."After signing that, tomorrow when Damien comes, you'll…" Isabelle said, but Wren cut her off."I'm not signing this," Wren said sharply, her voice hard and angry, her head still bent as she looked at the document on the table.Every board member turned to her."What do you mean?" Isabelle asked, her voice going low and sounding dangerous.Wren slowly raised her head, and her eyes landed on Isabelle then moved to everyone at the table."You heard me clearly. I'm not signing this." She pushed the document away from her, and it slid to the middle of the table. "Ashford Dynamics has no ownership over me." Her eyes moved to Isabelle again who stared at her in amazement, then back to the board members at the table. "I am a worker here, not a property. So nobody has the right to bargain over me."Elliot began nodding. "Fine, you're correct," he said, and everyone's eyes moved to him, including Wren. "You aren't something tha

Last Updated : 2026-10-16

Chapter 33: The strange caller

Wren shook her head, trying to push the thought of Damien's voice out of her head, then walked away from the door to her seat and sat down.She grabbed a bottle of water, drank half of it in one go, then rested her head on her hand, replaying what had happened in the boardroom.Her office phone began ringing.She reached for it, picked it up, and placed it to her ear."Hello," she said. "This is Ashford Dynamics secretary speaking, how may I help you?" She picked up a pen and a notebook, opening it to write down the caller's needs.There was a pause. No response came for several seconds."Hello," Wren said again, slower this time."Ms. Michaels," a deep male voice came through, calm and relaxed.Her expression changed, confusion crossing her face as she set the pen down."Who is this, please?" she asked.The man let out a low, unsettling laugh."You really want to know who you're speaking with?"She paused for a moment. "Yes," she said, stretching the word out. "And how do you have th

Last Updated : 2026-10-20

Chapter 34: The conference room

She reached out and opened the first envelope she picked up, then ran her eyes over it. It was a letter Theo had written to her, the date written at the top.July 15, 2014.Wren couldn't believe it. She set that one down and quickly picked up another, opening it. Another letter addressed to her, dated:May 9, 2022.She read it, then lowered it, staring at the bundle of letters scattered across the floor."He... he really wrote letters to me," she said to herself, her voice shaking, her eyes growing wet as she fought to hold back tears. Then the office door burst open.She lifted her head fast, meeting Cole's eyes."What are you doing?" he asked, anger in his voice as he crossed toward her."I'm... I'm looking for the appeal letter," she said quickly, gathering the letters back into the box.Cole stood over her as she finished, still bent down."What are those?" he asked.She picked up the appeal letter and her checklist from where she'd set them on the floor, then stood to face him."

Last Updated : 2026-10-22

Chapter 35: Just an employee

Theo stared at him. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out.Every eye in the hall was fixed on him, waiting.Cameras flashed brightly in his face as pictures were taken."Mr. Ashford," the reporter called again, calmly.Theo lowered his head slowly.Wren's hand shook so badly she couldn't write on the checklist properly. She waited for his response, her heart pounding hard."The female worker," he said, pausing, speaking into the microphone as he lifted his head, "is an employee under me. Her sudden promotion to Ashford Dynamics was due to her expertise in her field, and we needed someone urgently who could fill the role."Wren's blood ran cold. The pen slipped from her hand to the floor, making an editor seated beside her turn and glance at it, then at her.She stared at Theo, stunned, in disbelief. The Theo she knew could never have spoken like that. Tears gathered in her eyes, her heart aching.He looked at her, and their eyes met.She looked away instantly, dropping

Last Updated : 2026-10-23

Chapter 36: The old lighthouse

She froze, the phone still pressed to her ear, her hand still resting on the cup."Ms. Michaels? Can you still hear me?" Cole asked.She nodded, then caught herself and answered. "Yes, I can.""You resigned? Then what do we do about Damien? How do we respond to the terms he gave us?"Her eyes wandered to the table as she tried to think.She let out a heavy breath. "I'll be at work tomorrow," she said, her voice low."Okay. You'd better be. Where are you right now?""On my way to see someone," she lied, her voice faint."Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." Cole ended the call.She lowered the phone slowly to the table, staring at it, lost in thought, then placed her right hand against her head, then she covered her eyes."Ma'am! Ma'am," the server called, standing in front of her table.She snapped back and looked up."Would you like more bottles?""No, I'm fine. This is enough," she said."Okay, ma'am," the server replied, moving on to the next table.The rain grew heavier outside. Time

Last Updated : 2026-11-05