At six in the evening, Sydney was heading to her car in the parking lot when she spotted a familiar Ferrari. Before she could place whose it was, the door opened.A woman stepped out, her face cold and emotionless, her eyes staring at Sydney as if she were looking at a corpse.After a long moment, Sydney finally came to her senses and asked uneasily, "Miss Wilson, what brings you here?""What? Am I not allowed to see you?" Vivian looked at her with contempt.She suddenly moved closer to Sydney and said coldly, "Tell me, what's the deal with that recording?"Recording?Sydney hadn't processed what she meant. She'd been busy with work all day and hadn't seen any news.She had no idea what had happened at Wilson Industries, let alone about any recording. Vivian's eyes held pure malice as she took out her phone and played the recording.Hearing the familiar voice, Sydney's eyes widened. That voice... it was hers.She stared at Vivian in shock. "This... this recording...""Did you
Vivian gave her a cruel smile. "How naive of you to believe everything I said."Sydney was terrified. She'd seen Vivian's ruthless methods before and knew the consequences of crossing her.Avoiding Vivian's gaze, she stammered, "You can't do this. I don't have money. How am I supposed to get that much?"Vivian said casually, "The Blancos can't be that broke. Your family can pay your debt - unless they refuse to help. Then you'll have to take the fall alone.""Vivian, aren't you afraid I'll...""You'll what? Who are you going to tell? What are you going to do?"Vivian said quietly, "Shut up. I'm warning you - if you don't have the money in five days, you'll see what happens. Or... there's one small favor. If you help me with it, I might forget about all this."Sydney grabbed at this lifeline. "What favor?"A glint flashed in Vivian's eyes. "It's simple..."...At Adams University, Sarah thought it was over, but one incident pushed everything to a climax.The whole school was
Sarah's gaze turned cold as she looked at Amy. Despite her hateful expression, Sarah caught a glimpse of sly satisfaction in her eyes - the smirk of someone who thought they'd won.The crowd began buzzing with gossip, from both teachers and students."I can't believe it. Professor Letito seemed so honest - how did he end up with Sarah?""I'm shocked someone as beautiful as Sarah would go for someone like Henry Letito. Though given how many men she's supposedly been with, maybe it's not so surprising.""Really? I always thought Miss Sarah seemed nice.""How naive. You never know what someone's really like. Anyone can act sweet and proper in public. Who knows what they're like behind closed doors."...Sarah couldn't help but glance at the people gossiping about her - some were friendly acquaintances, others she'd never even spoken to.Mia stood beside Sarah, glaring angrily at the judgmental stares. "What are you all looking at? Just look at Sarah and look at Professor Letito! H
Sarah tried to move closer, but Amy stepped back. "Stay away! One more step and I'll jump!"Sarah stopped, speaking sharply. “Miss Gabble, you don't really want to die, do you? Otherwise you wouldn't be asking for money. I can give you the two hundred thousand - it's nothing to me. But I want to know who sent you. Who told you to frame me like this?""I don't know what you're talking about." Amy's eyes darted away.Something had felt off to Sarah from the start. When Amy was first arguing with Professor Letito, despite the crowd, she kept glancing at Sarah, as if confirming her target.Today's scene felt even more staged - so obviously planned that it barely needed analysis."I don't know anything. Don't push me." Her eyes were red as she started losing her balance.Suddenly, Henry, who was also at the edge, lunged at Amy and the child, tackling them to the ground.Security guards immediately grabbed both Henry and Amy, preventing another suicide attempt."Let go of me! Henry,
Sarah was silent for a moment before finally agreeing. "Alright."After hanging up, Michael breathed a sigh of relief. At least she'd agreed to help.Back in his cell, his anxiety finally began to subside.At Adams University, just after resolving the chaos with Amy and Professor Letito, Sarah rubbed her temples. One problem after another."Hurry up! That's her! Stop dawdling and do it!""Quick, faster! She's about to walk past!"...Sarah walked normally beneath the residential building that housed school staff and a few students' parents.Something felt odd today. The street was unusually quiet when it shouldn't have been.Before she could process what was happening, danger struck from above. Ice-cold water poured onto her head, bringing both the pain of being struck and a bone-chilling cold.Before she could even react, she was soaked through. Her hair clung to her scalp, and her clothes were drenched from top to shoes.Sarah only heard giggling from above, but when she l
Sarah firmly pushed Zachary away and spoke coldly, "No need, Mr. Reynolds. You should go back. I don't need your concern.""Sarah, it's cold. Please, just let me take you home?" Zachary's voice was urgent.But Sarah still refused, resisting his presence, not wanting him to come closer."Mr. Reynolds, I really don't need this. This kind of concern... things ended between us long ago. Please don't come near me and cause misunderstandings." Sarah lowered her eyes.She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes, her nose red and stinging.Sarah stared at Zachary's feet, waiting until he turned to leave before slowly looking up. Watching his dejected figure walk away, for a moment she wanted to run after him.It hadn't been that long, but he looked much more haggard.Sarah turned to leave, but after a few seconds, she heard a heavy thud behind her. That dull sound gave her a bad feeling.Looking back, Zachary had collapsed. Her heart jumped, and she ran to him. "Zachary! Zachary!"
The company's online forums were under constant attack, and their stock price kept falling. She couldn't let this continue any longer.After consulting with board members, they decided to hold a press conference to clarify that they would abandon the controversial project.The design returned to Melvin's control. The board had met twice to debate whether to use the plans, with Melvin ultimately deciding to move forward with them.Cold wind rattled the car windows as Sarah drove, making sure they were sealed tight against the autumn chill.Though she knew Zachary was safe at the hospital, she still needed to see him.Thirty minutes later, she stood in his hospital room.He lay there sleeping. The doctors said he was stable, but he still hadn't woken up."Zachary?" she whispered softly.The room remained silent.She sat beside his bed - these stolen moments were the only times she could really look at him.She reached out and gently touched his nose."What do you think you're
Vivian yanked them apart and said arrogantly, "You can leave now, Miss Sanders. I'll take care of Zachary."Sarah left without another word.Vivian took Sarah's place by the bed, holding Zachary's hand, her voice full of reproach. "I'm right here beside you, so why did you grab her hand? Why won't you look at me instead? Aren't we good together?"She lowered her eyes dejectedly. "I've always known you loved her! Zachary, you really aren't afraid of her getting her memories back, are you?"Vivian knew the man on the bed wouldn't respond, but she couldn't help laughing. She was truly looking forward to seeing Sarah's reaction when she recovered her memories.When Sarah returned home, Sydney was waiting for her angrily, just as Mia came out of her room."You witch, how dare you record what I said! Using such underhanded tactics." Sydney spewed insults.Sarah laughed coldly. "You said those things yourself. I just recorded them.""You're disgusting, deliberately tricking me. If you
Upon hearing this, Manager Sullivan's face changed, and he glanced at Charlie, standing among the crowd, with a severe look of malice. Charlie, for his part, was clueless about what was happening. He was sure he had sabotaged the machinery effectively, given his years of experience in the factory and his knowledge of the equipment.But why hadn't it worked this time?He looked towards the technician with a puzzled expression, but the technician's confident gaze only increased his panic.After the meeting, Manager Sullivan called Charlie into his office and immediately started berating him as soon as the door was shut. "What happened? Weren't you supposed to have completely destroyed the equipment? Why does the technician say it can still be fixed? What did you do?"Charlie was even more baffled. He reflected on how he had damaged the equipment, unable to figure out what went wrong. "Manager, I was sure I had completely wrecked it. I even checked again after damaging it to ensure it
Before Sarah could speak, Manager Sullivan blurted out, "Miss Sanders, if I catch whoever did this, they won't get away with it!"Mr. Lambert sarcastically interjected, "What if it's a case of the thief crying catch the thief?"Manager Sullivan became defensive, "Mr. Lambert, you should think before you speak! I'm the manager of this factory. Every day the factory is down, I'm the most anxious of all! Are you really accusing me now? Miss Sanders, if you're going to suspect me as well, you might as well have headquarters fire me."Sarah quickly tried to defuse the situation, "Manager Sullivan, what are you talking about? You're the manager of this factory; of course, I trust your commitment to it. It’s just that this situation is serious. The old equipment that was destroyed in the last batch was due for an upgrade anyway, so that wasn’t a loss. But this time, it’s different."She paused before continuing, "This equipment was ordered from Germany by our headquarters half a year ago.
Fresh from the gambling den, Charlie was ecstatic, clutching a bundle of cash and laughing wildly. "Zach, we won thirty thousand! Can you believe they just let us walk out?"He found it unbelievable, but Zach seemed unfazed. They hadn't just taken the house; they'd also won a considerable amount from other gamblers, and even helped the house make a profit. It was no wonder they weren't stopped.Holding the money, Charlie mused, "Zach, you wouldn’t believe it. The rich just keep getting richer. Today, our factory received a shipment of equipment, and I heard just one machine costs millions. Compared to them, this thirty thousand really isn't much."Zach casually mentioned, "It seems like the Sanders factory is the only big one left around here."Charlie quickly retorted with a smirk, "Actually, in West Ridge, Sanders isn’t the biggest."Zach raised an eyebrow, "Really? I thought I knew West Ridge pretty well. Apart from Sanders, I haven’t seen any factory bigger than theirs."Char
Charlie finally got it—Manager Sullivan was forcing him to take on this task. He gritted his teeth and determinedly agreed, "Manager, I'll do it."Manager Sullivan smiled approvingly, "That's the spirit! Good employees like you are what this factory needs. Don't worry, the higher-ups won't let your efforts go unrewarded. If you pull this off, you could be looking at a bonus of several thousand."Charlie nodded, "Tonight, then?"Manager Sullivan's expression grew serious as he nodded back, "Yes, tonight."That afternoon, Charlie clocked out and went straight to find Zachary. He couldn’t go back to the old gambling den—they had made a mess last time and were probably blacklisted. As for the money he owed, Charlie didn’t care anymore. After all, they had won a lot last time only to have it stolen, which he figured squared things. Still, that didn't stop him from wanting to gamble again.Just a few days later, he found Zachary and even brought what he considered a fine cigar.As for
Outside the Sanders factory, several trucks were parked at the entrance. Sarah followed Manager Sullivan and Mr. Lambert, watching the unloading process. "Manager Sullivan, all this new equipment has arrived today, right from the headquarters' stock, and it's too late to ship from Germany now," Sarah observed, her voice serious.Mr. Lambert smiled, "I didn't expect you to handle this so quickly, Miss Sanders. It's only been a few days since you went to headquarters to file a complaint, and you've already got the equipment here.""It's all for the good of the factory," Sarah replied, her face still stern. "So, Manager Sullivan, the factory can operate normally now, right? Getting the production line back up is inevitable."Manager Sullivan's expression wasn't much happier; he hadn't expected Sarah to pull this off so quickly. He forced a smile, "Of course."As the equipment was moved into the factory, Manager Sullivan returned to his office, wiping sweat from his brow with his handk
Sarah was puzzled. "An explosion at such a critical moment would make anyone suspicious, wouldn't it? It looks like someone's trying to cover something up."Zachary nodded, his face showing disdain. "You're not the only one who thought so. But Old Mr. Wilson presented the last batch of drugs from their factory, which were supposed to be delivered to hospitals. The tests came back clean, and they claimed the explosion was due to a mishandling of ingredients."Sarah raised an eyebrow. "And everyone just bought that?""Yes, everyone did.""So, you want to prove the explosion wasn't an accident and use that to bring down the Wilson family?" Sarah asked softly.Zachary's face paled; he shook his head slightly. "It's not just that. I want to do more, but..."Sarah shrugged, as if she was used to this kind of talk. "Let me guess, the timing isn't right yet?"Zachary looked at her sincerely. "Sarah, I'm really glad you came to help me with my wounds. When the time is right, I'll come to
Sarah didn't respond to Zachary's earlier words—she simply moved with even more care as she cleaned and bandaged his wound. Her eyes stayed fixed on the task at hand, but her expression was unreadable.Zachary, watching her in silence, gave a soft laugh. "You do care about me, Sasa. No matter what you say, you're not as heartless as you pretend to be."Sarah shook her head, her voice calm but cool. "You're overthinking it. We're both from East Coast—I just don't want to see you die. Besides, you're getting engaged to Miss Wilson in just over half a month. I’m clear of our positions. So please, don't say things like that again."Zachary's face changed instantly. He knew she was right—his engagement to Vivian was a chasm between them, one that he couldn't just leap across. Not while the truth remained buried.That engagement wasn't just a label. It was a shield. A smokescreen. A compromise he'd made to protect Sarah. But knowing she believed it, that it stood between them, only deepe
Charlie felt a chill run down his spine from that single glance. Considering her status, he dared not push any further. "That's all I have to say. The rest is up to you to figure out."He fled the scene, leaving Sarah alone in the room.After washing up, she lay on the bed and checked her emails. Her cousin had sent her updates on the construction progress at Pine Mist Island.Once she finished handling her affairs, Sarah tucked herself under the covers and closed her eyes, trying to sleep, but rest eluded her.Her mind was filled with what Charlie had said about Zachary being injured. He was hurt, and she had no idea how serious the wound was.If it was severe, he would need hospital treatment, which would certainly leave a record and expose his location.If he didn't want his whereabouts known, he would have to treat the injury himself at home.But that wound...Sarah couldn't calm her thoughts. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.Under the bright moonlight, a figu
After the doctor left, Charlie yanked out his IV and clambered off the bed, urging Zachary, "Let's get out of here. This place just drains you dry."Zachary, indifferent since his injuries were feigned, asked, "Your injuries alright?"Charlie, ever so casual about his resilience, boasted, "Ah, I've been roughed up worse before. Just give me a couple of days to rest at home, and I'll be as good as new."With unresolved matters and a longing to see Sarah, Zachary reluctantly set aside his desires. "Then you head back. Call me if you need anything."Charlie, sensing something off, gently tugged at Zachary's suit and noticed his white shirt stained with fresh blood. "Zach, you're hurt!"Zachary's lips were pale, his voice dry. "Yeah.""I'll get the doctor to bandage you up," Charlie said, moving to leave."No need," Zachary stopped him quickly, not wanting to expose his whereabouts by registering at the hospital."What about your wound?""I have a first aid kit at home. It's just