David smiled faintly at her.Everyone always referred to him as the Ninth Master, and it had been a while since he was called by his full name."I've brought you something. I believe you'd want to stay once you see what it is.""Open the door now. Let me out!" Catelyn refused to believe David and shot him a deadly glare. Nobody would like being shoved into a car in the middle of the street.David completely ignored her plea and opened the box, retrieving a stack of photographs. "Are you sure you're not interested?"Catelyn froze in place the moment she saw the photographs.Those were pictures of Ollie and Miles—the exact ones she received the card from the mysterious man."So you are the mysterious man!" Catelyn snatched the photographs from him and glared at him repulsively. "The only thing you're good at is using my children to threaten me. How despicable!"David chuckled and asked in a serious tone, "Do you know Cedrick has been investigating you and your son?"Catelyn's fa
"He won't succeed," interjected Cedrick, cutting off Javier from continuing."It's better to be safe than sorry." The worried Javier nervously continued, "Nine has always been a cunning man, and no one knows who's working with him. Cedrick, you should remove Catelyn from the company. Let me help you—"Cedrick glared at him and rolled the car window up. "Drive!"Javier sighed deeply. 'Has Cedrick been lured senseless by a woman? I must find a way to kick Catelyn out!'…That afternoon.Catelyn got out of the car and felt anxious for the rest of the day.The last thing she wanted to do was to betray Cedrick. Even if it was for her sons, he was their father!Still, what was she supposed to do, being under the pressure of such an aggressive man?Her sons and she became the casualties of a battle between two relatives the moment she got forcefully involved."Catelyn." Winnie tapped her fingers on her table when she blanked out. "Mister Cedrick had requested for me to guide you. Pl
Javier pursed his lips together and hopped out of the office.He did not resume his work right away, instead sitting in front of his computer and taking out his smartphone to type out a text.[Be more alert tonight. Make sure everything goes smoothly.]He quickly received a reply.[Consider it done, sir.]Javier thus clicked out of his messaging app to his camera app, switching it to self mode to look at his reflection. He rubbed his chin and was pleased with how handsome he looked from this angle.…The sky grew darker, while the clouds were blacker than usual like it was brewing for a storm.It was 11 p.m. when Catelyn finished her work. She had done verifying all the numbers and cleaned them up before handing the flash drive back to Winnie."I'm done with these, Miss Winnie.""Alright, you can leave the office," said Winnie as she accepted the drive."Aren't you leaving? It's after eleven," Catelyn asked, surprised."I'll leave shortly. Don't wait up." Winnie did not exp
Catelyn did not reply."Maia was with him for four years, yet you came out of nowhere and snatched him! I warn you: if you dare betray him in any way, I'll feed you to the sharks!""...""Are you listening to me?"Catelyn sensed danger at that moment and, grabbing onto Javier's arm, sprinted toward the parking lot. "These people are dangerous. Run, and don't look back!"Javier leaned forward from the sudden impact.He turned around to find that the bikers were getting closer to them. The bikes stopped and a few men in leather jackets and helmets got down from their bikes with bats in their hands.Javier wanted to curse at the riders but stopped himself when he saw them.He internally cursed himself. These men were not whom he had called for!They looked far too intimidating and ruthless.Where did they come from then?Catelyn dragged Javier away, which prompted the men to chase after her."Stop running!"Catelyn merely picked up the pace. It would be stupid for anyone to s
The yells and footsteps of the men disappeared in another direction.Javier held his breath and hid quietly under the trash can.At that moment, he felt a sudden rush of regret. If it was not for him, this might not have happened.Still, how did the men know that Catelyn would leave the building at this hour?Javier fell into deep contemplation.…Catelyn kept running barefoot on the gravel road, and the soles of her feet had been cut open by the rough sands, so much so that it was excruciating.She could not stop running, though. She could not begin to imagine what would happen if they caught her.Once Javier was safe and managed to get help, she would be fine.Catelyn summoned every bit of her zeal solely from that belief alone and kept on sprinting, but outrunning the gangsters was impossible.Soon enough, Catelyn was surrounded.…Cedrick returned to Mason Estate once he was done with the gathering, but at this moment, he was quite tired yet.Sweat rained from his body
"Don't play dumb with me! You're Cedrick's woman, so you should know what I'm talking about," sneered the man with a sinister smirk.Catelyn felt her soul leave her body when she realized that they knew about her relationship with Cedrick.Who were those people? Were they David's men?"I really don't know… You got the wrong person!" She vehemently shook her head."Oh, you don't know?" The man scoffed coldly and growled, "If you don't tell us, I'll cut your face up and ruin your beauty! Cedrick would surely dump you then."The man traced the back of the knife along Catelyn's skin, the icy-cold metal sending shivers throughout her body as every hair on her body raised. Her neck was strained as she leaned her head back, and the back of her shirt had been completely soaked with cold sweat.Still, her answer never changed."I don't know, I swear! No matter how many times you ask, my answer will be the same!"She could not do it, whether it be for herself or Cedrick.If she refused
"Cedrick, can I participate in getting the reward?" Javier raised his hand up greedily, traces of guilt evident on his youthful face.He had joined Mason Group without telling his mother, and because of that, she punished him by cutting off his pocket money when she found out."If it wasn't for the fact that you're my cousin, you wouldn't even be here right now." Cedrick glared at him coldly.Javier felt a chill down his spine.He had never seen Cedrick acting the way he did.Cedrick had never looked at him with such a cold look before; it was like he was looking at a stranger."Cedrick, Catelyn and I really had been played! All I did was call a few friends to capture her and put some fear in her to see if she'd betray you. I didn't expect actual gangsters to show up!""The consequence is what matters to me!" Cedrick cut him off coldly, sounding like he could barely tolerate him.Javier dared not to look at Cedrick and hung his head low like a child that had been punished."I'
Even though Catelyn did not want to admit it, it was obvious that she had slowly fallen for how Cedrick cared for her and pampered her.The moment she saw him walking toward her, back-facing the light source, he looked like a hero that had just descended from above, coming to rescue her from the darkness. There was a voice in her head that was telling her that—She had fallen for him."What else am I doing here? For the view?""..."Catelyn's gratitude vanished within seconds.Cedrick stared at her battered, dirt-covered feet. Her toes were curled up, and traces of dried blood were seen in between her toenails, along with specks of sand and dirt.Catelyn felt him observing her feet and rubbed her feet together in an attempt to rub the dirty leaves and dirt off.He put his arm behind her back and thighs and hoisted her up in an instant.Catelyn's lips parted slightly as she hesitated for a brief moment before looping her arms behind his neck and nuzzling into his chest as if sh