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
"Is someone chasing you? Is it those people from before?" Tatiana asked, recalling that Kansas had been placed on an international wanted list a long time ago. Many wanted him dead for the reward.The reason for the bounty was Kansas's reckless act of infiltrating a highly classified international location and causing significant damage. After that incident, Kansas had been living a life of hiding and evasion."No," Kansas shrugged, her eyes filled with annoyance as she thought about the person pursuing her. "It's just a kid. I have no idea how he does it, but he’s incredibly persistent. I've tried to shake him off several times, but he just won't give up.""You couldn't lose him?" Now Tatiana was intrigued. "Someone you can't shake off? I'm curious. Who is this person?"Kansas looked at Tatiana, who was genuinely curious, and huffed in response. "Don’t you care about what I’ve been going through lately? Instead of asking about this kid's name."Tatiana shot her a look, unimpresse
She turned to Maxim and asked, “What about Jayden? We haven’t been home for a while, and I completely forgot about him. I thought he was still at his old company, but I just remembered he’s already left.”Maxim glanced at Tatianaand replied, “You’re only thinking about him now? As his sister, you’re not doing a very good job.”Tatiana wasn’t offended by Maxim’s comment; she just laughed and said, “I’ve been so focused on my husband that it’s easy to forget about Jayden!”Lately, Maxim had been flirting with her so much that she felt like a naive young girl.After all, she was supposed to be older than Maxim in terms of maturity. How could she let herself be swept away by a man like him?With that thought, Tatiana decided to tease Maxim a bit more. “Why are you so quiet, honey? Are you unhappy?”As she spoke, she leaned closer to Maxim. He had been looking down, and when she said that, he didn’t lift his head. Tatiana took it as a sign that he was charmed by her, so she grew bolder
Seeing the puzzled look on Tatiana's face, Maxim continued, "As long as he promises a higher profit to the other side than what I'm offering, taking this company from me would be a piece of cake."Tatiana’s confusion deepened at Maxim's words. "But if that's the case, won't he end up losing money? If he uses the company's funds like that, the company will suffer losses. If you tell the company about this,they would never allow it.”After Tatiana finished speaking, she looked into Maxim's eyes, lowered her head for a moment, and then came up with a bold idea. She turned to Maxim and asked, "Do you think he's using his own account to cover those expenses that shouldn't need to be paid?"Maxim paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.Seeing Maxim nod, Tatiana was genuinely shocked. "If this keeps up, he'll be bankrupt in no time. This can't possibly be a long-term plan; he must have some other way.""Yeah, this investment will definitely fall back on me in the end. But John is b
He had intended to bring up Maxim's progress to knock down his inflated ego, but Tatiana's comments had derailed his thoughts.John seethed with anger toward her. She had repeatedly disrupted his plans, and once he took control of the company, he vowed she wouldn't have it easy. He would make sure to toy with her before casting her aside. That ungrateful woman!John dared not voice these thoughts in front of the two of them, so he silently cursed Tatiana in his mind. However,sitting across from him, Tatiana could read his eyes clearly. She lowered her head with a cold smirk; his gaze was utterly disgusting. If it weren't for her current status, she would have long ago plucked his eyes out."Alright, alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Since Maxim is off having fun with his wife, there's no rush on this job," John said, pulling out a cigarette to offer to Maxim. To his surprise, Maxim merely glanced at it and replied, "I don't smoke. If you like it, you can keep it, Uncle
As Maxim spoke, Tatiana felt a stir of emotions. However, she didn't want to let him off the hook so easily, so she kept her face cold and remained silent."The events that followed are what you see now. I was just a kid back then, and I didn't understand much. Even though I knew John wasn't a good person, I had no choice but to let him manage the company. It wasn't until I became an adult and joined the company that I realized many of the key players had sided with him over the years. Trying to take back the company has been a complicated matter, and John has been working behind the scenes to stop me.""I knew John's intentions the day after I married you,” Tatiana said, turning to look at Maxim. "The poison in you was planted by Jihn. It's a rare toxin, and I don't know where he got it. He’s been administering a slow-acting poison to you all this time. I showed you before that this kind of poison takes at least ten years to show its effects."Listening to Maxim's words, Tatiana beg
Feeling the sting, Tatiana finally snapped back to reality. She rubbed her forehead and looked at Maxim, saying, “Why did you flick me?”“Who told you to zone out? Do you remember what I just said to you?” Maxim didn’t need to guess that she hadn’t been paying attention, so he reluctantly repeated himself.To his surprise, Tatiana replied, “I was talking to you, but you didn’t hear me. You were busy chopping vegetables, and I was worried you’d cut yourself, so I didn’t want to distract you. I just wanted to help, but I didn’t realize the water was hot and ended up burning myself.”After saying that, she felt like she had only added to Maxim’s troubles. With a pout, she said, “Fine, I’ll just leave you to it. Take your time.”With that, Tatum waved her little hand and walked away.Watching her retreating figure, Maxim couldn’t help but feel helpless. He lowered his head and continued chopping vegetables, but the love in his eyes and the smile at the corners of his mouth were almost o
While Tatiana was absorbed in the movie, she didn’t notice that Maxim, who had previously worn a serious expression, broke into a smile the moment he felt her lean closer.The film was a classic, and as it wrapped up, Tatiana finished the last of the fruit on the platter.The softness of the couch made Tatiana reluctant to move, so she just stayed seated."Are you not getting up? Do you plan to skip dinner tonight?" Maxim asked, looking at the person still lounging on the couch with irritation."Um..." Tatiana's originally cool tone took on a sweet, childlike quality due to her lazy demeanor, and Maxim found himself surrendering.With no other choice, Maxim said, "Alright, if you want to keep sitting, then go ahead. Do you need any fruit?""Yes, please." Handing the fruit platter to Maxim, Tatiana looked up and smiled at him.After Tatiana finished a small plate of fruit, Maxim insisted on taking her to the supermarket.The two of them pushed a shopping cart together. Looking at the
While Tatiana was absorbed in the movie, she didn’t notice that Maxim, who had previously worn a serious expression, broke into a smile the moment he felt her lean closer.The film was a classic, and as it wrapped up, Tatiana finished the last of the fruit on the platter.The softness of the couch made Tatiana reluctant to move, so she just stayed seated."Are you not getting up? Do you plan to skip dinner tonight?" Maxim asked, looking at the person still lounging on the couch with irritation."Um..." Tatiana's originally cool tone took on a sweet, childlike quality due to her lazy demeanor, and Maxim found himself surrendering.With no other choice, Maxim said, "Alright, if you want to keep sitting, then go ahead. Do you need any fruit?""Yes, please." Handing the fruit platter to Maxim, Tatiana looked up and smiled at him.After Tatiana finished a small plate of fruit, Maxim insisted on taking her to the supermarket.The two of them pushed a shopping cart together. Looking at the
"I have a high tolerance for you, but I also hope you won't keep showcasing your limited intelligence in front of me. It only makes me look down on you more, and it’s utterly pointless."With that, Tatiana turned on her heel and walked away, not bothering to glance back at Delany. There was really nothing more to say to someone like her.As Tatiana walked down the street, she initially planned to head home. However, she remembered Tara and realized she hadn’t seen her in the hospital earlier. She took out her phone and sent Tara a message. It didn’t take long for Tara to reply, confirming that she was back at school and not in class. Tatiana decided she would go visit her. Tara was happy to hear that.Putting her phone away, Tatiana hailed a taxi and headed over.Meanwhile, Tara had just finished her meal and put down her empty plate. She left the cafeteria, planning to wait in a small garden behind the school for the hot pot delivery to arrive.Just before Tatiana arrived, Tara s
Vance was taken aback by Tatiana's words. The Tatiana he knew always seemed aloof, quiet, and regal, but hearing her comfort Emily made him realize she wasn't the person he had imagined.Tatiana, however, was too focused on the girl in front of her to notice Vance's daze. As Emily began to lower her guard, Tatiana smiled warmly."What's your name?" she asked kindly.Emily looked at Tatiana's face, shyly smiled,and replied, "I'm Emily, just an ordinary sophomore here. I know the girl who saved me; her name is Tara. She just came to our school not long ago. Funny enough, we're from the same city. I went to high school there too, but I ended up here for college after the entrance exams."Emily had initially thought Tara had always studied in that city, not realizing she had moved there for college. But she felt there was no need to explain that. Instead, she asked, "So, your parents don’t know about what happened? I haven’t seen them come to check on you."When the topic of parents cam
As Tatiana read about his background, she learned that he had a very reclusive and troubled adolescence, suffering from various illnesses and often being abused by his mother. Even after marrying and having children, he was plagued by depression, which eventually led him to commit his first murder.From there, the list of victims continued to grow. As Tatiana read through the details of how the killer had murdered these individuals, she looked down at the case file in her hands. She was now certain that this murderer was mimicking Luca's methods—specifically, the pattern of rape andmurder.However, Luca had truly developed a mental illness due to his sickness. As Tatiana looked at the photos related to the case, she couldn't determine if this murderer was indeed him. It seemed like a highly skilled impersonator; so far, there had been no details discovered about the actual person involved—everything pointed to Andre. At this rate, it felt utterly useless.Putting down the case in
As she pondered this, Tatiana thought about what it would mean if she chose to help them. She would be working alongside Vance. However, it was clear that the higher-ups wanted Delany to stick with Mason too. Tatiana didn’t like the idea of having someone she didn’t get along with hovering around her. With that thought in mind, she decided to call someone on her phone, hoping to have Delany reassigned to another location for a while. It wouldn’t hurt to make that change.Once she settled her thoughts, Tatiana finally focused on the heavy case file in her hands.The next day, Tatiana called Vance to let him know she would be stopping by in the afternoon. The reason for the afternoon visit was simple: she had a meeting with Maxim in the morning to sign contracts with a company. It seemed everything was progressing smoothly.However, when she saw John walk in, her brows furrowed in confusion. She couldn't understand why he was here at this time.Maxim was clearly a bit surprised,
Tatiana listened to him while glancing at the well-dressed Delany beside her. She smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. Just show me the case files, all of them, including the information on the previous victims. I need everything, but I don't have much time to go through it here. I’ll need to take the files with me to reviewat my own pace. Is that okay? Please let the higher-ups know about this.""They mentioned from the start that they were aware of your preferences, so they just asked me to cooperate with you. If there are any other issues or needs, just let me know directly. You don’t have to worry about anything else," Vance replied.After saying this, he observed Tatiana's expression, unsure why she had agreed this time. The higher-ups were anxious that she might suddenly withdraw her help, which would make the case much harder to crack.Rebecca was well aware of the internal dynamics but felt it was unnecessary. She had always been someone who kept her word. Mason's behavio
"Developing games? I remember someone from our company was quite interested in that area. As for the film side, isn’t Jayden the only one under your wing? If you want to avoid losses, you’ll need to bring in more people later on."Maxim looked a bit confused by Tatiana's comment. He didn’t quite understand why she suddenly mentioned her company alongside his.Seeing his puzzled expression, Tatiana smiled and clarified, "I mean, we shouldcollaborate again on our projects.”"We're collaborating again. By signing the contract with the company you need now, it's like signing with two companies at once, right? This way, the money we make will surpass what John can offer all at once. It’s a win-win for us, while John will only end up losing both money and resources."After hearing Tatiana's words, Maxim finally understood. This approach was something he hadn't encountered before, so whether it would work was uncertain. However, given the current situation, it seemed like the only option. If