Zane's POV I couldn't believe what my ears just heard. Duncan Ryder was trying to divorce the woman he loved so much that he tortured his own daughter and previous wife because of her? Is it because he had finally discovered that she never really loved him and was only just using him as the means to an end? Is the puppet trying to free himself from the clutches of his puppet mistress who had been pulling his strings and playing him as a fool all this while?The lawyer solemnly nodded and reiterated. “Yes, Duncan Ryder is definitely divorcing his wife. In fact, he had secretly started the process a long time ago. But after his ex-wife's sudden death, he was forced to halt everything because he wanted to conduct a secret investigation about her mysterious death first and didn’t want his wife Emily to suspect anything.” Hearing that, my brows instantly furrowed. Something about this didn't sit right with me. So in a cool voice, I ordered. “Elaborate.” The lawyer sighed as if preparing
Zane's POV The lawyer just sighed and shook his head before responding. “The only reason why you didn't find any evidence of that is because you only looked into his past, Sir. You didn’t check what he was currently doing in secret. If you had, your investigators, who I know are the best, would have definitely found it.” He paused before adding, “And as for his terrified reaction when you exposed the dirt in his name and everything else... it wasn’t because he was devastated that he had just lost money for himself, Sir. No, not at all. It was actually because of Ms. Sarah’s two children who are now the inheritors of the company, according to the last will Ms. Sarah had made before she went into a coma. The truth is, he was busy working very hard behind the scenes, desperately trying to source legitimate funds to clear all the debts and also erase all those crimes you uncovered which Emily had committed in his name, just to make sure that the company was completely clean before handi
Trina’s POVFor a prolonged time after we finished our discussions and staggering revelations to each other, Mason and I just remained sitting in the living room, not doing or saying anything more as we were still trying to process the tangled mess of truths and revelations that had we had unraveled to each other in the past few hours. I have no idea what was going on in Mason's mind but as for me, my own mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts which were mostly questions that I have no immediate answers for. Like what step should Mason and I take now after knowing all that we have come to know today. Just then, out of the blue, the sharp ding of the oven timer broke through the silence. At first, my brows furrowed in confusion as I was momentarily disoriented before I suddenly remembered what I was doing before Mason arrived.I exhaled deeply. Of course, it's the chocolate cheesecake. I have completely forgotten about it! Grateful for the distraction, I quickly stood up and made
Trina's POV Before I could react to her loud squeal of delight, my mischievous little munchkin had already sprinted towards us, with her little feet barely touching the ground as she literally flew to my brother. She crashed directly into Mason’s waist, with her arms automatically wrapping themselves tightly around him. Caught off guard, Mason almost stumbled back but due to his physique and balance, he fortunately didn't. He laughed out loud, obviously very pleasantly surprised as he exclaimed and greeted. “Whoa! Hi there, Princess Eleanor!” Hearing her beloved nickname, Eleanor instantly beamed. She tilted her head up at him, with her doe-like light blue eyes shimmering with awe. “It’s really you?” she whispered, before tightening her little arms around him, as if afraid he might vanish. With a huge, pleasant grin on his face, Mason knelt down to her level, and in a very soft and gentle voice, addressed her. “Yeah, kiddo. It’s really me.”She instantly threw her arms around h
Trina's POV The morning started as it always did this past few weeks since both of my children started living with me. It was chaotic, noisy, and filled with the usual back and forth of both the silent whizz kid Jayden and chatterbox Eleanor getting ready for school. Between helping Eleanor finding her misplaced shoes, reminding her about her forgotten lunchbox, listening to the mild bickering between the two siblings and last minute homework checks for Eleanor, I barely had time to dwell on my own thoughts. Mason and I drove them to school, with the car filled with Eleanor's usual cheerful chatter and Jayden’s occasional interjections. When we arrived, my little munchkin, as always, hugged and kissed me goodbye before she turned to do the same to Mason. After pecking him on both cheeks, she pulled back and raised her little finger at him in a warning gesture, saying, “Don’t you dare pull another one of your disappearing stunts on me again. You had better be right here in this car
Trina’s POV With the amount of earth-shattering revelations we have been having these past few days, it has been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster for both Mason and I. And this latest revelation about our late Mom being the sole heir to the vast multi-billion dollar Caldwell empire left me feeling completely drained, yet somehow more complete than I had felt in years because even if nothing, I have come to realize that my late Mom wasn’t really abandoned completely by her family as we had thought. All that while when both she and I thought she had no one but Mason and I, her aunt and father had secretly been yearning for her and loving her in secret. The only sad thing is that Mom never got to know this before she died, all thanks to that devil incarnate Emily Ryder!Heaving a deep sigh, I turned to Mason, my dear younger brother who was also as emotionally drained as I was. Then in a tired voice, I said. “What do you think we should do now, Mas? This… this is something I hav
Trina’s POV Morning light filtered through the thick curtains, flashing on my closed eyes and waking me up. With a yawn, I tried to sit up on the comfy bed, only to yelp when I felt sharp, pounding pain in my head. But as I got up into a sitting position, all thoughts of pounding headache completely vanished as my groggy eyes fell on the most shocking scenario ever— there was a man, a completely naked stranger lying down on the bed beside me! The sleep instantly wiped off from my eyes as they widened in shock. With a throbbing heart, I looked down at myself, only to discover that like him, I was also as naked as a jaybird! I couldn't believe my eyes. What happened? How come? Who's this stranger?– Incredibly handsome stranger if I may say. And how on earth did he get into my bed?! I tried to rack my brain and bit by bit, the memories of the previous night came flooding back to me… Last night, my dad and stepmom, Duncan and Emily Ryder, hosted a gala party at a five star hotel wh
Trina's POV Back at the mansion, I took a deep breath before entering the house that hadn't felt like home for the past several years. However, what I heard echoing from the living room made me freeze on my tracks. “So, was your mission accomplished last night, princess? Did she fall for it?” It was Dad. “Of course!” giggled Stacy, “She's just so naive! She really thought I was trying to make her enjoy her first posh party!” “Well done, darling!” chimed in Emily, “You did a tremendous job. I knew her beauty will come in handy sometime. I’m sure the investor will be pleased. Now all we have to do is wait for his call! We nailed this gig!” “Thank you, mom. But you were the one who did the most splendid part. That aphrodisiac you gave me to spike her drink with is the bomb! You should have seen how she passionately jumped his bones like a she-wolf on heat! I had to turn off the live stream of the micro camera I placed on her dress when they started ripping off each other's clothes
Trina’s POV With the amount of earth-shattering revelations we have been having these past few days, it has been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster for both Mason and I. And this latest revelation about our late Mom being the sole heir to the vast multi-billion dollar Caldwell empire left me feeling completely drained, yet somehow more complete than I had felt in years because even if nothing, I have come to realize that my late Mom wasn’t really abandoned completely by her family as we had thought. All that while when both she and I thought she had no one but Mason and I, her aunt and father had secretly been yearning for her and loving her in secret. The only sad thing is that Mom never got to know this before she died, all thanks to that devil incarnate Emily Ryder!Heaving a deep sigh, I turned to Mason, my dear younger brother who was also as emotionally drained as I was. Then in a tired voice, I said. “What do you think we should do now, Mas? This… this is something I hav
Trina's POV The morning started as it always did this past few weeks since both of my children started living with me. It was chaotic, noisy, and filled with the usual back and forth of both the silent whizz kid Jayden and chatterbox Eleanor getting ready for school. Between helping Eleanor finding her misplaced shoes, reminding her about her forgotten lunchbox, listening to the mild bickering between the two siblings and last minute homework checks for Eleanor, I barely had time to dwell on my own thoughts. Mason and I drove them to school, with the car filled with Eleanor's usual cheerful chatter and Jayden’s occasional interjections. When we arrived, my little munchkin, as always, hugged and kissed me goodbye before she turned to do the same to Mason. After pecking him on both cheeks, she pulled back and raised her little finger at him in a warning gesture, saying, “Don’t you dare pull another one of your disappearing stunts on me again. You had better be right here in this car
Trina's POV Before I could react to her loud squeal of delight, my mischievous little munchkin had already sprinted towards us, with her little feet barely touching the ground as she literally flew to my brother. She crashed directly into Mason’s waist, with her arms automatically wrapping themselves tightly around him. Caught off guard, Mason almost stumbled back but due to his physique and balance, he fortunately didn't. He laughed out loud, obviously very pleasantly surprised as he exclaimed and greeted. “Whoa! Hi there, Princess Eleanor!” Hearing her beloved nickname, Eleanor instantly beamed. She tilted her head up at him, with her doe-like light blue eyes shimmering with awe. “It’s really you?” she whispered, before tightening her little arms around him, as if afraid he might vanish. With a huge, pleasant grin on his face, Mason knelt down to her level, and in a very soft and gentle voice, addressed her. “Yeah, kiddo. It’s really me.”She instantly threw her arms around h
Trina’s POVFor a prolonged time after we finished our discussions and staggering revelations to each other, Mason and I just remained sitting in the living room, not doing or saying anything more as we were still trying to process the tangled mess of truths and revelations that had we had unraveled to each other in the past few hours. I have no idea what was going on in Mason's mind but as for me, my own mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts which were mostly questions that I have no immediate answers for. Like what step should Mason and I take now after knowing all that we have come to know today. Just then, out of the blue, the sharp ding of the oven timer broke through the silence. At first, my brows furrowed in confusion as I was momentarily disoriented before I suddenly remembered what I was doing before Mason arrived.I exhaled deeply. Of course, it's the chocolate cheesecake. I have completely forgotten about it! Grateful for the distraction, I quickly stood up and made
Zane's POV The lawyer just sighed and shook his head before responding. “The only reason why you didn't find any evidence of that is because you only looked into his past, Sir. You didn’t check what he was currently doing in secret. If you had, your investigators, who I know are the best, would have definitely found it.” He paused before adding, “And as for his terrified reaction when you exposed the dirt in his name and everything else... it wasn’t because he was devastated that he had just lost money for himself, Sir. No, not at all. It was actually because of Ms. Sarah’s two children who are now the inheritors of the company, according to the last will Ms. Sarah had made before she went into a coma. The truth is, he was busy working very hard behind the scenes, desperately trying to source legitimate funds to clear all the debts and also erase all those crimes you uncovered which Emily had committed in his name, just to make sure that the company was completely clean before handi
Zane's POV I couldn't believe what my ears just heard. Duncan Ryder was trying to divorce the woman he loved so much that he tortured his own daughter and previous wife because of her? Is it because he had finally discovered that she never really loved him and was only just using him as the means to an end? Is the puppet trying to free himself from the clutches of his puppet mistress who had been pulling his strings and playing him as a fool all this while?The lawyer solemnly nodded and reiterated. “Yes, Duncan Ryder is definitely divorcing his wife. In fact, he had secretly started the process a long time ago. But after his ex-wife's sudden death, he was forced to halt everything because he wanted to conduct a secret investigation about her mysterious death first and didn’t want his wife Emily to suspect anything.” Hearing that, my brows instantly furrowed. Something about this didn't sit right with me. So in a cool voice, I ordered. “Elaborate.” The lawyer sighed as if preparing
Zane's POV Even though every single fiber of my being screamed at me to go after Duncan Ryder and demand answers about what had just transpired between him and Trina and why both of them had looked so shaken after he had left, I just couldn’t bring myself to leave. At least not yet. Not without making sure Trina was okay first. I knew that even if I did leave to chase after him, my mind would still be stuck here with her. So, instead of going myself, I spoke into my earpiece, giving my bodyguard Don a direct order. He had followed my car on his power bike and was the perfect man for the job. “Tail him.” I said to him. “Report to me about every place he goes and every single thing he does.” Don instantly responded, “Roger that, Sir.”And as he revved off his power bike and immediately zoomed after Duncan Ryder, I refocused my attention back on the house. Through the thin curtains, I could see Trina still sitting frozen in the exact same position she had collapsed into earlier.
Trina’s POV I took in a very deep breath just to steady my racing heart before looking Mason in the eyes. I know he would find it very, very hard to believe what I was about to say but I just had to say it. So in a low and solemn tone, I said to him.“I know who your so-called mysterious higher-up guardian angel is, Mas.” Mason's brows furrowed in confusion while his eyes widened with incredulity as he responded. “You know who he or she is?!” He paused a little as his voice rose in disbelief before he added. “But you didn’t even know I had a higher-up guardian angel until just now when I told you about it! So how on earth do you know who it is?” I inhaled deeply once again, steadying myself before dropping the bombshell by saying, “It’s... Dad, Mas. Dad is your mysterious 'higher-up' guardian angel.” At my words, Mason instantly recoiled backwards as if I had just slapped him. His mouth opened, then closed, as if he was struggling to form words to respond to me. When he finally
Trina's POV After Dad left, I found myself still standing at exactly the same spot he had left me, frozen on the spot. Different emotions and thoughts buzzed in my head and mind and I didn't know what to think or what to believe anymore. Remembering what he had said about pleading with Zane to sell the piece of land where Mom was buried to him so he could modify her grave, I decided to push my inhibitions aside and contact Zane for the first time since that fateful night by sending a message to him, asking if it's true.And when his reply came just a few seconds later and I read it, I felt my breath hitch all of a sudden. The phone slipped from my fingers, and fell onto the carpeted floor while my legs buckled beneath me, and before I could steady myself, I had already slumped into the nearest chair.So it was indeed true. Every word Duncan had said to me, every staggering, shocking and unsettling revelation, was indeed true!Even though I was already sitting down, I still felt a wa