Hearing this, Tatiana raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconcerned. "I know, I’ll be back early."After saying that, she intended to turn and leave, not wanting to interrupt Maxim’s work. However, to her surprise, Maxim turned around and asked, "You seem to be pretty close with Tara."After a moment of thought, she replied, "Yeah, her dad asked me to look out for her. Plus, I really like Tara’s personality, so it’s no trouble at all.""You know Tara’s father?" Maxim furrowed his brow, a shadow of something flickering in his eyes.Perhaps Maxim's tone was too shocked, or maybe Tatiana caught the brief flash in his gaze. She frowned slightly, then looked up and casually asked, "Are you surprised? The last time I went out to eat, it was with Tara and her dad. That’s when he asked me to keep an eye on her.""I'm not that surprised," Maxim said, realizing his emotions had slipped out. "It's just unusual for a professor like you to take the initiative to meet a student's parents.""Well, it'
Originally, Tatiana had planned to head back for dinner, but Tara's persistent coaxing made it impossible for her to refuse. In the end, the three of them went out for dinner together.After finishing their meal, it was already quite late, and the streets were nearly empty. Standing at the entrance of the restaurant, Tatiana turned to Tara and said, "It's late. Make sure to get some rest; you have class tomorrow. I'm heading back now. Goodbye!""Goodbye, teacher."As she watched her teacher walk away, Tara turned to Roman and asked, "What do you think of my teacher? Isn't she really great? When I was bullied at school, she was the one who stood up for me."Roman looked in the direction Tatiana had gone, deep in thought. After a moment, he replied, "Your teacher carries herself very well. I imagine her family must have placed a lot of importance on that.”Roman thought about the Gold family and their dynamics, as well as the teacher's husband. He turned to Tara and said, "Well, I g
Tatiana smiled faintly and replied, "My husband and I came here to handle some matters. But weren't you the one who mentioned you had a big case to deal with?"When Vance heard about the case, his expression turned troubled. Not wanting to upset Tatiana, he replied, "I'm still working on it. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about your case. Once this is over, I'll look into your mother's situation."As Tatiana listened to Vance, she was about to respond when she noticed another light flickering in the distance, accompanied by a voice saying, "Vance, wait for me!”Raising an eyebrow, Tatiana recognized the voice. It belonged to Delany, right?"Is she still with you?"Tatiana's tone suggested she wasn't particularly surprised. Vance nodded helplessly. "Yeah, the higher-ups asked me to keep an eye on her."Just as they finished speaking, Delany approached them. She didn't immediately notice Tatiana and instead directed her attention to Vance. "Why did you leave so suddenly? Do you k
All done. Just avoid getting it wet for a while, and be careful. In a few days, we can change the bandage again. Once we get back, I'll have them buy some scar cream for you to apply, so you won't have to worry about scarring."Tatiana nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.Looking at her, Maxim asked, "So, who did this to you?""I don’t know. It was a stranger. I tried to stop him from leaving, and he just... stabbed me," Tatiana replied, then looked at Maxim with determination. "Don't worry, I'll find that person.”"Find him. Then expose him.""You don't even know who he is. How are you going to find him?" Maxim challenged.Tatiana smiled and replied, "Of course, I have my suspects. But let's not dwell on that. If I find her, I will make sure she pays for what she did. I'm not that kind-hearted, am I?"After saying this, Tatiana turned her gaze to Maxim and asked, "But enough about my issues. What about you? Have you finished your work? Usually, at this hour, you're in.yo
As she got out of bed and opened the window, she noticed someone approaching.Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Taitana pulled the curtain back slightly, ensuring she wouldn’t be seen while still being able to observe the person outside.There were three individuals dressed in black, each carrying something in their hands. The sky was dim, making it difficult for Tatiana to see what they were holding. She watched as the three of them entered a nearby house.Closing the curtain, Tatiana suddenly remembered that it was the house of someone named Remington, the place Kansas had visited before. She glanced at the location of Remington's house and frowned. What were they doing? When did Kansas get to know Remington?Just as Taitana was trying to make.sense of everything, her phone rang again—someone was calling.She walked over to the bed and picked up her phone. It was an unfamiliar number. Not knowing who it was, she answered without saying a word. On the other end, a voice asked,
That was good enough for Maxim, who felt relieved as he watched Tatiana head out.Once outside, she made her way to the breakfast shop. Upon arriving, she noticed a breakfast place that looked a bit different from what she had seen online. Although she felt a bit puzzled, Tatiana didn’t dwell on it and walked inside, casually ordering some food.After finding a spot to sit down, it wasn’t long before she spotted Vance and Delany approaching from a distance, seemingly also there for breakfast.After yesterday's phone call, Tatiana felt a twinge of anxiety at the thought of Vance recognizing her voice. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, she focused on her hands and decided not to greet them.Just then, her breakfast order was ready. However, when she looked at the buns on her table, she felt deceived. The buns in the pictures looked so appealing, but the one in her hand was not only unappetizing in appearance, but also tasted bland after she took a small bite.Frowning, Tatiana felt
In his mind, Tatiana was just a sophisticated woman with a bit of intelligence, not someone connected to criminal psychology. That’s why he hadn’t recognized her voice during their phone call last night.He never considered that this situation could involve Tatiana; reality often took unexpected turns.After the initial shock wore off, Vance felt a wave of excitement. Even though she was reluctant to help them, at least they now knew she was right in front of them.So, when he returned, Vance informed his superiors that he had found Tatiana and asked if they could send her the details of the current case. He received their approval, and that evening, Tatiana received all the information about the case on her phone.But that was just part of the story. After Tatiana returned home, Maxim emerged from his study.He noticed that Tatiana’s hands were empty as she leaned casually against the doorframe, looking at her with an amused expression.It was only when Tatiana saw Maxim that she
Once Maxim left, Tatiana flipped her book over and froze for a moment when she saw the title. It was a book on criminal psychology, written by that famous author. No wonder she had been so absorbed in it.After a brief moment of distraction, Tatiana snapped back to reality, quickly changed her clothes, applied a light touch of makeup, and finally headed out with Maxim."It's a bit far, so you should have some snacks to hold you over," Maxim said, handing a piece of bread to Tatiana. "There's a thermos in the car with some hot water I just picked up. Drink some when you get thirsty.""Are you sending me off to be sold?" Tatiana joked as she tore off a piece of the bread and started eating.The journey was indeed a bit long, taking about an hour before they finally arrived.After getting out of the car, Taitana walked into a small private room in the restaurant with Maxim.Once inside, Tatiana noticed that no one else was there yet."Aren't they here yet?" she asked, looking a bit co
Three days later—The first thing Tatiana saw when she opened her eyes was a blanket of white. After a few moments of confusion, she blinked and slowly turned her head to look around, realizing she was in a hospital.Before she could take in her surroundings, she heard the sound of a door opening. Turning toward the noise, she saw Maxim walking in.When Maxim saw Tatiana awake and looking at him, he felt a rush of excitement. He quickly approached her and asked,"You’re finally awake! How do you feel? Is there anywhere that still hurts?"Tatiana slowly shook her head, wanting to speak, but her throat was dry and raspy. Instead, she looked at Maxim, hoping he would understand that she needed water.Fortunately, Maxim got the hint. He smiled at her and hurried over to pour a glass of warm water. After helping her drink, Tatiana felt a wave of relief wash over her. "I’m fine. How long was I out?""Three days," Maxim replied, his eyes filled with an emotion she couldn't quite place.Emo
With that thought, Riley quickly left those people behind.Tatiana, on the other hand, was unaware of Riley's situation. She stood facing the assassin in front of her, her expression icy."Miss, we hope you can leave this place. We don't want to harm you; we just need you to leave that man behind. We assure you, you can leave here safely."These people had been here for a long time, trying to persuade Tatiana to leave. Their boss had ordered that she couldn't be harmed, but they couldn't understand why this woman refused to budge. They had been standing there for what felt like ages.Realizing that convincing Tatiana was futile, the leader turned his attention to Mazim. "Maxim, are you still a man? Hiding behind a woman?”Maxim pressed his hand against his shoulder, his face pale from blood loss. He managed a weak smile and replied, "Better than being unprotected like you."Though he said that, deep down, he hoped Tatiana would leave soon. He didn't know how long they could mainta
Crushing the herbs and applying them to the wound, then bandaging it up was all she could do for now. After tending to his injury, he looked at Tatiana and said, "You need to get out of here quickly. They’re not after you, and they won’t chase you. Find a way back and get someone to rescue me."Tatiana replied, "By then, it won’t be about saving you; it’ll just be about collecting your body."Seeing Maxim’s pale face, Tatiana insisted, "I’m not leaving. It was my idea to come here, and I won’t just abandon you.""Why are you being so foolish?" Maxim's lips curled into a slight smile. In such a dire situation, all he wanted was for Tatiana to leave.She was the girl he liked, and he wanted her to be safe, away from this suffering. But why, upon realizing she wouldn’t leave, did he feel even more touched and reluctant to let her go?"I’m not foolish. I’m with you, and we’re married—even if it’s just pretend. We’re friends, right?" Tatiana said, helping Maxim to his feet as they slowly
The man didn’t even have time to react before he collapsed unconscious.The commotion drew attention, and all eyes turned toward Tatiana.“Run!” Tatiana shouted, grabbing Maxim’s hand and sprinting toward the nearby trees.Her shout jolted everyone awake, and the leader yelled for the others to pursue both of them.As Tatiana saw that they were about to disappear from sight, the leader at the front suddenly darkened his expression. He quickly pulled out something and fired a shot toward Maxim.Tatiana turned around just in time to witness this scene, and immediately grabbed Maxim, trying to switch places with him. But little did she know, Maxim had also spotted the bullet heading his way.The leader initially thought the bullet might miss Maxim since the woman beside him was ready to take the hit, but to his surprise, her didn’t let her take the bullet for him.“Bang—”The sound of the gunshot echoed, startling the birds perched in the trees, sending them flying off into the distance
Moreover, John had sent someone to wait for them so early. If they hadn't arrived earlier, and had waited until later to come, things would have been even more complicated.With these thoughts in mind, Maxim felt even more determined. Once they were out of here, he would make sure to pull John down from his position as soon as possible. Someone like him didn’t deserve to be in the company.He believed that his grandfather would never allow such a person to be part of the company either.The next morning, sunlight streamed through the leaves, casting bright rays that pierced Tatiana's eyes. She blinked a few times, slowly waking up.As she looked around, her mind began to piece together the events of the previous day. At that moment, Maxim also stirred awake as Tatiana shifted away from his shoulder.He had barely slept at all last night, finally drifting off only as morning approached.Tatiana stood up and checked her phone, only to find there was still no signal. She turned to Max
"The place ahead is Sylvia's home. Do you think they might not be looking for us and instead have gone to kill them?""No way, these assassins are all managed by someone. They only target their assignments and won't harm anyone else, so we need to protect ourselves first." Tatiana said this without a hint of hesitation, but then she realized that as a young lady, she probably shouldn't know about such things.Thinking this, Tatiana cautiously glanced at Maxim. His expression didn’t seem strange, so he likely hadn’t caught on to what she was implying. With that thought, she quietly sighed in relief; otherwise, she would have to find a way to explain everything, which would only complicate matters. She didn’t want Maxim to get dragged into this mess.With that in mind, Tatiana said, "Let’s stop talking about this and get out of here. We can’t stay for long, and we can’t be sure they won’t come back.”As she spoke, she tugged on Maxim's shirt and led him toward the exit. However, as she
As he spoke, Maxim glanced outside at the darkening sky. They had already wasted too much time, and they couldn't afford to linger any longer. They weren't familiar with the area, and it was best to get back to their car before it was completely dark. Otherwise, they might find it impossible to return.Tatiana understood his concerns and frowned as she looked at the weather outside. "Let's go talk to the old lady about this. If all goes well, we can leave right away. We can bring Sylvia and Marianna back with us when we return the notebook. Right now, going back is too risky."Sylvia and Marianna had only gone out a few years ago. Tatiana thought that it wouldn’t be right to leave them behind while taking Grandma alone, so her initial plan was to bring all three of them back together. However, it was clear that they couldn’t take Grandma on such a journey now. At her age, it wouldn’t be good for her to travel those long distances. They decided that once they returned the book, they
“She left when she was very young, and I don’t know much about it,” the old woman said, shaking her head as she looked at Tatiana. “But I haven’t dared to go into her room all these years, so I don’t know what’s inside. There might be something valuable in there. I have the key; you can go take a look.”Sitting on the stool, the old woman had thought it through. These two didn’t seem like bad people, and sharing this information with them wouldn’t hurt. Maybe they could even find the killer of Cordelia. After all, so many years had passed,and she had come to terms with it. The most important thing for her now was Sylvia and Marianna. So, for their sake, she decided to open the room today.Tatiana was a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected the old woman to be so accommodating, but this could indeed lead to more information. Feeling grateful, Tatiana smiled at the old woman and said, “If you don’t want to go in, you don’t have to. We won’t disturb anything inside.”The old woman stood
The elderly woman knew she was putting them in a tough spot, but she felt she had no choice. This was her only hope after all these years. She couldn’t afford to send her children to school herself, so she had to push for this arrangement. For her kids, she was willing to take the risk.The old man's request was something Tatiana hadn't expected. She thoughthe would ask for wealth or something similar, but it was just about reading books? Was that all?Tatiana appeared somewhat dazed, which seemed to signal to the old man that she was reluctant to give up this opportunity. So she quickly added, "You don't have to feel hesitant. Just take her out. All you need to do is cover some necessary expenses, and consider it a loan. Once they have the ability to earn money, they will definitely come back to repay you. I promise."This time, even though Tatiana hadn't fully processed the situation, Maxim had. He looked at the old man and calmly said,"No need.""What?" The old woman was momentar