Blake was reviewing some files when he heard the news. He looked up, his gaze deep and thoughtful. "Stuart passed away?"Malcolm nodded. "Yes, it happened yesterday morning. I heard Ms. Starr was so devastated that she fainted twice."Blake's heart sank, his focus on work dissipating all at once. He immediately picked up his phone and called Yasmin.It was afternoon in Stanton City and morning in Merania.Yasmin answered the call, her voice barely above a whisper. "Hello.""I heard about Dad's passing," Blake said, his voice on the hoarser side.Yasmin acknowledged the fact with a quiet hum. She didn't say much else.Blake found himself at a loss of words. Over the past few years of dealing with crises at Windmere Group and Yasmin's betrayal, he had distanced himself from anything related to Stuart.During those years, he had seriously considered moving on from her and starting new.But now, Stuart was gone, and the grudges of the previous generation seemed to fade away with h
Yasmin's heart raced in her chest as she grappled with what to do next.Ivan glanced out the window at that moment.Blake was standing across the road, presenting an imposing figure in his black suit. He had watched the funeral from a distance, yet he felt like an outsider who couldn't be further removed from the whole procession.Stuart had passed away, and the person who held a funeral in his memory was Ivan. He had stayed by Yasmin's side throughout the ordeal, holding her and comforting her. She hadn't pushed him away, either.Blake couldn't help the sour feeling coursing through him. Although Yasmin had assured him that she hated Ivan, her reliance on the latter said otherwise. Blake had no idea of knowing if she was lying to him.He shouldn't have come today. Things had been busy at Windmere Group lately, but he figured Yasmin would be lost in her grief following Stuart's passing. And so, he came, only to watch gravely on from afar.Ivan merely cut Blake an icy look. He wou
"But you got off easy with such a peaceful death. That won't do," Blake continued menacingly as he raised the gun in his hand and fired into the decomposition box.A loud bang echoed through the morgue.Hiding behind a column by the door, Wendy was gaping. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. She hadn't expected Blake to be so cruel as to come to the morgue and fire at Stuart's dead body.While Wendy was in a daze, Blake fished out his phone and dialed a number. "Malcolm, Ivan is on his way to the hospital. You only have a couple of guys with you, right? Sneak into the hospital and take care of the bastard for me."Upon hearing that Ivan was in danger, Wendy panicked. Horrified, she quickly called Ivan, but none of her calls went through. She grew anxious and decided to abandon her task at the morgue and head to the hospital right away.Blake smirked when he heard Wendy's footsteps fading away.The decomposition box before him was empty. His display had been an act to fool Wendy an
Ivan frowned as he asked gravely, "Are our bodyguards stationed here?""Yes," Wendy replied."Good." Ivan set his worries aside. The worst thing that could happen was a crossfire, though it wouldn't be the first time. He had slowly gotten used to such violent confrontations.Wendy added, "There's more, Mr. Burke. When we arrived at the morgue, we saw Blake opening the decomposition box and firing a bullet at Mr. Starr's corpse. From the looks of it, Blake hated him."Ivan froze before barking a short laugh. He shouldn't be surprised that Blake hated Stuart who pushed James to his death, nor would he allow Stuart a peaceful death.The information from Wendy reassured Ivan of Stuart's death. Even if Stuart had been faking his death, he was certainly dead now that Blake had shot him.Ivan walked over to Yasmin and said grimly, "Yasmin, I have news, and I need you to stay calm after hearing it, all right?""What is it?" Yasmin asked, her face pale as she stared at Ivan. She was worr
Ivan turned to give Wendy a sharp look. He asked in a low voice, "Do you want Yasmin to die?"His words echoed Wendy's true thoughts, to some extent. In truth, she didn't want him to be with Yasmin. With Blake targeting him these days, she didn't want him to strain himself by having to protect Yasmin while watching his own back.If it weren't for Sander International, Wendy wished Yasmin would die on the spot so that Ivan wouldn't have anyone using her as leverage against him."I suggest you keep those thoughts at bay, Wendy. Yasmin is my wife, and you are therefore answerable to her. I won't hesitate to punish you the next time I catch you with those conniving thoughts." Ivan shot Wendy a dark, warning look before he turned and walked away.Wendy stood in the corridor and nursed her bitterness. She had dedicated her life to Ivan, only for him to cherish some other woman.Gritting her teeth, she trudged down the corridor and stopped in front of the hospital room. She glowered at t
Isaac explained, "Andy just informed me that Blake discovered them while they were trying to get Stuart out of the morgue. He thought on his feet and told Blake it was your idea to drug Stuart into an asystolic state."He said you intended to fake Stuart's death so you could save him from Ivan. Andy also mentioned that you planned to put Stuart up in a nursing home for recovery."Yasmin knew Isaac was telling her all this so that her version of the story would align with what Andy Wuntch told Blake.Andy was the bodyguard with whom Blake had spoken at the morgue earlier. He had been working for Isaac for years and was a loyal confidante to him. She asked, "Does Blake know about your involvement in this?""No, Andy's smart enough to keep me out of it. Unfortunately, things wouldn't have gotten so complicated if I'd been able to go to Merania myself."Blake would never have discovered their covert operation if Isaac had been there to oversee things. But as things were, their missi
Yasmin had borne a grudge against Ivan since she realized he had used her to bring Blake to his downfall four years ago. Wasn't it time that she let him have a taste of his own medicine and make him suffer as Blake had?With that in mind, she stepped forward and twisted the doorknob. The door to the study swung open.Yasmin was admittedly surprised that the door was unlocked. She lowered her gaze and quietly entered the study.The layout was simple; a long work desk took up much of the study space, and a large safe stood on the other side of the room.Yasmin's gaze fell on the safe, and she thoughtlessly walked up to it. Just as her fingers nearly grazed the safe, a sudden thought crossed her mind. She quickly wrapped a cloth around her hand before attempting to open the safe.She considered the possible passwords Ivan would use and keyed in his birthday. The safe remained locked. She then keyed in her birthday, but the safe did not open, either.Disappointed, Yasmin was just abo
Yasmin kept her thoughts to herself. She still looked ashen-faced as she said feebly, "I'm alright."She hadn't forgotten that she was supposed to play the role of a grieving daughter who had just lost her dad. She played up her weak and delicate state as she asked, "I just saw Mr. Burke Senior. When did he… How did he become like that?"Ivan replied flatly, "His paranoia worsened over the last two years, and he was convinced that someone was out to get him. The doctor diagnosed him as a schizophrenic. He's prone to violent outbursts and can hurt someone during an episode.""Why didn't you ever tell me about this?" Yasmin pressed.Ivan's gaze flickered. "Yasmin, I kept this from you because I was afraid of what you might think of me if you ever found out I have a father who's… insane."A nicely spun lie. Yasmin fought the urge to snort but said with compassion, "I wouldn't think differently of you, Ivo. You've been nothing but kind to me. I would never think any less of you.""Th